Norfolk State Spartans win, stays in first place in MEAC

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Linebacker Corwin Hammond got everything he asked for. Brutal conditions for an offense. Ideal for a defense seeking redemption. Cold weather, wind and a crucial MEAC win.

The Spartans beat North Carolina A&T 14-10 on Saturday in front of 18,752 fans thanks to a dominant defensive effort that included seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

Clinging to a 14-10 lead in the second half, the Spartan defense, with help from a 22-mph wind, held the Aggies scoreless despite three trips inside the NSU 13-yard-line. "Everyone remembers these kinds of games," Hammond said. "The rain, even if the fans leave, it's what we had to do to redeem ourselves."

As the game approached and weather reports worsened, Hammond was practically giddy about the prospect, despite the chaos the conditions could, and did, play on NSU's pass-first offense.

"Man, let it rain, let it rain," Hammond said earlier this week, still steamed after giving up 245 yards on the ground to Bethune-Cookman. "Let it rain. We'll see who's tough. Let them run the ball."



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Aggies' last drive falls incomplete

Norfolk, Virginia -- N.C. A&T is 13 yards short of first place in the MEAC. Randy Maynes scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 7:12 left to lead Norfolk State to a come-from-behind 14-10 victory over the Aggies at Dick Price Stadium on Saturday.

A&T's last chance to win ended with three consecutive incomplete passes from the Norfolk State 13-yard line in the final 47 seconds.

A&T wide receiver Torrian Warren, a Dudley graduate, got his hands on the fourth-down attempt. But he couldn't hang on, his bid for a diving catch in the end zone failing when the ball jarred loose on impact with the ground.

"We should have won this ballgame, just like we should have won last week's ball game (at Howard)," A&T coach Rod Broadway said. "We've got to teach our guys how to win. They don't know how to win or how to finish right now. That's (the coaches) responsibility. They're playing fairly hard. We're just not putting them in a good enough position to win."

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2011 MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament

Please click each hyperlink below to read each article on subject MEAC baseball game.

Wed, May 18 BSB Delaware State Maryland Eastern Shore at Daytona Beach, Fla. 10 a.m. 5 - 0

Wed, May 18 Bethune-Cookman Florida A&M . 2 p.m. 18 - 5

Wed, May 18 BSB Norfolk State North Carolina A&T 6 p.m. 14 - 4

Thu, May 19  Maryland Eastern Shore Florida A&M 10 a.m. 11 - 6

Thu, May 19  Delaware State   Norfolk State 2 p.m. 1 - 11

Thu, May 19  North Carolina A&T Maryland Eastern Shore 6 p.m. 11 - 1

Fri, May 20 North Carolina A&T Delaware State at Daytona Beach, Fla. 10 a.m.

Fri, May 20 Bethune-Cookman Norfolk State at Daytona Beach, Fla. 2 p.m.

Bold: Winners

Little things are big to interim AD at N.C. A&T

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Justin Ferrell was headed for his seat in front of the three TV cameras gathered for N.C. A&T's weekly football news conference Monday afternoon. Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed Ferrell by the shoulder, stopping one of the MEAC's toughest defensive players in his tracks.

Earl Hilton's keen blue eyes noticed the back of Ferrell's necktie poking out from under the collar of his dress shirt. Hilton helped Ferrell fix the fashion faux pas -- something the cameras wouldn't have seen, anyway. It was a small act. But it summed up what N.C. A&T's interim athletics director said he brings to the job. Attention to detail.



THURSDAY, Oct. 28: North Carolina A&T at Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
TV: ESPNU - 7:30 p.m.

Short week for B-CU

DAYTONA BEACH -- The good news is obvious. It's right there atop the conference standings, where Bethune-Cookman is perched with an unblemished record through seven games.

The stress is in the details. The Wildcats, whose first-year head coach Brian Jenkins is very big on routine, is now out of its comfort zone, forced to do a week of preparation in just four days as they look to a Thursday night home game -- moved from Saturday at the request of ESPN, which will broadcast the game on its ESPNU channel. Getting Jenkins to admit that his routine is ruffled, however, is another matter.

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Thinking Out Loud: Aggie-vation

One of Tuesday's editorials will react to the firing of N.C. A&T Athletics Director Wheeler Brown in the wake of a student's death during an "unofficial" track tryout in August.

A&T didn't require a mandatory physical and sickle cell screening that could have averted the tragedy that claimed the life of sophomore Jospin "Andre" Milandu. Wins and losses are definitely not life-and-death matters.

But there is a lot of grumbling in Aggieland about problems on the field as well. Brown may have been in hot water anyway.

Editorial: Taking account at A&T

This did not have to happen. The N.C. A&T student who died during an “unofficial” tryout for the track team had a potentially life-threatening condition that should have been detected in advance.

Twenty-year-old Jospin “Andre” Milandu collapsed on Aug. 19 during the workout and later died at Moses Cone Hospital. An autopsy revealed that the Knightdale sophomore had suffered from physical exertion and complications from sickle cell trait, a genetic condition that has claimed the lives of other college athletes.

Of all people, A&T athletics officials should have known better. In 2008, an Aggie football player, Chad Wiley, collapsed following a practice and died of complications from heat stroke. He also had carried the sickle cell trait.

Batter up: New Aggies QB has baseball skills

GREENSBORO, N.C. — After a two-month search, N.C. A&T football coach Alonzo Lee has found his quarterback. On the baseball team. George Hines, a redshirt senior and three-year starter in center field for the Aggies, will be A&T's quarterback for the final four games, Lee said Monday.

"He's more than just an athlete who wants it," Lee said. "He's a guy who wants to be a student of the game. The other guys see that, and that leadership made the difference. He's our guy going down the stretch. ... We'll do a little rotation with the wildcat (offense), but he's going to be our main guy."

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