WSSU Rams get ready to start spring football practice

Winston-Salem State, coming off an 8-2 season in football, will begin spring practice today. And coach Connell Maynor has a message for the 80 or so players who will go through the 14 practices: "Every job is always open," he said.

If there's one thing Maynor isn't about to do, it's to let the older players who were starters last season cruise through spring practice and think they have jobs waiting for them in the fall. Maynor said that even though it's spring practice, the competition for the starting positions will be fierce.

"We will have an edge," Maynor said about practice. "The seniors had a good year and the fans were happy with 8-2 last season, but we didn't accomplish our goal and that was to win the CIAA and get into the playoffs.

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WSSU rivals point to scholarships

Coach Connell Maynor: “That’s what losers do, they complain,” Maynor said. “They make excuses, and we don’t make excuses — we take what we have and we keep going.”

Winston-Salem State has made quite an impact in its first football season back in the CIAA — compiling records of 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. Some opposing coaches say that some of that success can be tied to scholarship numbers.

Last season, in what was supposed to be the final year of transition to Division I, WSSU had 51 scholarship players and was on target to reach the Football Championship Subdivision limit of 63 this season. But school officials decided to change course, stopping the move and keeping WSSU in Division II.

Rams Break Into Top 20 In AFCA Poll; Debut In D2Football.com Poll

Winston-Salem, NC - The Winston-Salem State Rams (6-0, 4-0 CIAA) continued their move up the NCAA Division II polls as the team moved into 17th-place in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and make their debut in the D2Football.com top 25 in the 22nd slot.

After earning their first top 25 ranking since 2002 last week, the Rams followed up their effort with a 49-3 win at Johnson C. Smith. The effort boosted the Rams into the top 20 of the AFCA poll as the team earned a 17th-place ranking.

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Gentlemen, you have to prioritize!!!

What I learned from Coach Kermit Blount

While playing football at Winston-Salem State University, I remember my head football coach Kermit Blount saying “Gentlemen, football is a metaphor for life. But this not pep rally, this is a pep reality." In those team meetings or so-called pep "realities", coach Blount would give us (players) a little dose of reality and a few lessons on life.

I can still hear him in his cool baritone voice like Billy Dee Williams in "Lady Sings the Blues" say: “Gentlemen, you are going to have to learn how to prioritize......and find out what's more important to you: school or girls, football or foolishness, coming to practice or playing video games." "But regardless of what you decide to do, you must prioritize...gentlemen."

Yeah, those team meetings or "pep realities" with coach Blount seemed more like church than a college football meeting. Because he rarely talked about the X's and O's, blocking schemes, or defensive assignments. He focused more on telling players to call their moms, staying out of trouble, and looking out for one another.

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WSSU trying to tweak its Stadium lease

AD Hayes, trying to trim costs, talks of purchasing Bowman Gray

There was much to celebrate in 2006 when the city-owned Bowman Gray Stadium began to build a state-of-the art field house that included two football practice fields.

Winston-Salem State University, the main tenants of the nearly 21,000 square foot complex, signed a 30-year lease then to begin paying off $3.3 million to the city. Most of the athletics department offices are in the field house, along with a weight room and a training room for the football team. However, the lease amount doesn't include the weekly rent that WSSU pays to play its home football games.

Bill Hayes, the athletics director since January, is talking with city officials to try to reduce the expenses for using the stadium on game days.

According to Bucky Dame, the director of Joel Coliseum and Bowman Gray Stadium, the rent for each game will be $3,785, plus operating expenses.

In 2006 the rent for each game was about $400 less, but Dame said that the gradual increase is because expenses are higher.

WSSU, which will play four home games at Bowman Gray Stadium this season, also pays operating expenses for each game. Dame said that those operating expenses vary depending on the size of the expected crowd and other factors.

When WSSU decided to leave the CIAA four years ago to begin transition to NCAA Division I, it decided to start charging for parking and tailgating at Bowman Gray Stadium. Dame said that the agreement, which is still in place, is that the city and WSSU split the revenue for parking.

The city receives all the revenue from concessions, according to Dame.



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WSSU may be eyeing Hayes for vacant AD job

FAMU athletic director William "Bill" Hayes.

Winston-Salem State might reach back to its glory days in football to find its next athletics director. Bill Hayes, who led the WSSU football program to its greatest heights in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is being targeted by Chancellor Donald Reaves for the AD's position, several sources said. Reaves was hoping to introduce the new athletics director today at "Meet the Rams," a fall-sports pep rally at Bowman Gray Stadium scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. However, those plans fell through when Tim Grant took himself out of contention earlier this week.

Hayes, currently the AD at Florida A&M, said Thursday night that he hasn't been contacted by WSSU officials. "I haven't heard anything from them officially throughout this whole process," said Hayes, who is 64 and still owns a home in Winston-Salem. "I don't know what they have planned, but I haven't talked to them at all in an official capacity." Hayes said he has been working hard at Florida A&M, getting ready for another football season.

2009 WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME LOCATION

SEPTEMBER 5, NORTH CAROLINA A&T, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM, 6:00 PM

SEPTEMBER 10, FLORIDA A&M, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM, 7:30 PM, (ESPNU-HD)

SEPTEMBER 19, MORGAN STATE, (N.Y. URBAN LEAGUE CLASSIC)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., GIANTS STADIUM, TBA

SEPTEMBER 26, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE, ORANGEBURG, S.C.
BULLDOG STADIUM, 6:00 PM

OCTOBER 3, HOWARD UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D.C.
GREENE STADIUM, 1:00 PM

OCTOBER 17, UC DAVIS, DAVIS, CALIF.,
AGGIE STADIUM, 6:00 PM

OCTOBER 24, BETHUNE-COOKMAN, DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
MUNICIPAL STADIUM, 4:00 PM

OCTOBER 31, HAMPTON UNIVERSITY, (HOMECOMING)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM, 2:00 PM

NOVEMBER 7, DELAWARE STATE, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM, 1:00 PM

NOVEMBER 14, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM, 1:00 PM

NOVEMBER 21, NORFOLK STATE, NORFOLK, VA.
DICK PRICE STADIUM, 1:00

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Sports drives conversation at WSSU

Dr. Donald J. Reaves: "Staying in Division II and returning to the CIAA is a real possibility for RAMS."

Winston-Salem State fans and alumni hoping for a vote of confidence from Chancellor Donald Reaves about the athletics program's move to Division I didn't get one Wednesday night. Reaves, speaking at a public forum, spelled out what WSSU needs to complete its transition to Division I and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"It's not an expense problem," he said. "We are not having a problem in athletics because it's spending too much. That's simply not the case. If you look at the expenditures of the other MEAC schools, you will see we are not spending nearly as much as they are. "The problem at Winston-Salem State is a revenue-side problem. We simply don't raise enough revenue."

WSSU, in its fourth year of transition to Division I, has lost $6.1 million since starting the move, and charts that Reaves used Wednesday show more losses ahead. Reaves was loud and clear about the key point of his presentation -- WSSU needs to raise nearly $3 million more a year to help offset losses. WSSU currently brings in about $2.9 million a year in student fees for athletics, by far the biggest source of revenue.

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STANDING OUT: Former WSSU star catches scouts' eyes

Safety Nate Biggs has kept a low profile since exhausting his eligibility at Winston-Salem State last fall. But after his performance at an NFL pro day at East Carolina earlier this month, scouts are starting to take notice.

Biggs (6-1, 190) was a four-year starter for the Rams and had eight career interceptions, including three last season to tie for the team lead. He also had 230 career tackles, including 72 last season to finish second on the team.

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Howard edges WSSU in OT

JOURNAL STAFF REPORT

Rams give up three straight sacks, lose 24-21 on field goal

WASHINGTON - Brian Johnson’s three touchdown passes and Dennis Wieh-berg’s 28-yard field goal gave Coach Carey Bailey of Howard his first victory, a 24-21 overtime win over Winston-Salem State yesterday.

In overtime, Howard (1-3) stymied Winston-Salem State (2-3) with three straight sacks, knocking Rams quarterback Monte Purvis out of the game.

On fourth-and-42, Howard’s Thomas Claiborne intercepted a pass from backup quarterback Jarrett Dunston.

Howard’s Terry Perry then rushed for 20 yards on five carries to align Wiehberg for the winning kick.

“Howard stepped up big late in the game and forced us out of our rhythm,” said Coach Kermit Blount of Winston-Salem State.


WSSU 0 7 7 7 0 — 21

Howard 7 7 7 0 3 — 24

First Quarter

Howard—Williams 12 pass from Johnson (Wiehberg kick), 4:15.

Second Quarter

Howard—Williams 4 pass from Johnson (Wiehberg kick), 13:26.

WSSU—Kinzer 20 pass from Purvis (M.Mitchell kick), :35.

Third Quarter

WSSU—Scarbrough 28 pass from Purvis (M.Mitchell kick), 9:06.

Howard—Fowler 32 pass from Johnson (Wiehberg kick), 4:42.

Fourth Quarter

WSSU—Hubbard 0 run (M.Mitchell kick), 1:14.

Overtime

Howard—FG Wiehberg 28.

A—3,302.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—WSSU, Fluellen 17-58, Bines 15-30, Dunston 1-(minus 1), Sherrod 1-(minus 5), Purvis 13-(minus 24). How., Perry 23-87, Johnson 6-17, Whittaker 4-14, Moore 1-3.

PASSING—WSSU, Purvis 14-24-1-261, Dunston 0-3-1-0. How., Johnson 20-35-0-251.

RECEIVING—WSSU, Scarbrough 6-107, Thomas 2-50, Bayne 2-20, Fluellen 1-37, Reaves 1-21, Kinzer 1-20, Bines 1-6. How., Moore 6-44, Williams 4-36, Hood 3-34, Fowler 2-85, Perry 2-14, Whittaker 1-24, Blake 1-8, Duncan 1-6.

WSSU Purvis can't lift Rams to win

By Travis Sawchik, Special to the Winston Salem Journal

CONWAY, S.C.- The Monte Purvis Show wasn’t enough to top Coastal Carolina, which defeated Winston-Salem State 28-21 last night at Brooks Stadium.

Purvis rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries but the Chanticleers rallied late behind quarterback Will Richardson to score twice in the fourth quarter.

“Every day, Coach tells us to come out and prove ourselves,” Purvis said. “(Teams) are not just going to lie down for us.”

With the Rams trailing 18-7 early the third quarter, Purvis rushed for 66- and 80-yard touchdowns to give them a 21-18 lead with 1:24 to play in the quarter.

“(Coach) said to make a play for the team,” Purvis said, “They were taking away our receivers and running backs.”

While Purvis was electric on the ground, Richardson was very good through the air. Richardson was 19 of 26 passing for 301 yards with a touchdown pass and a 50-yard pass to Jerome Simpson that set up the winning touchdown.

Richardson’s sharp play prevented Winston-Salem State from improving to 2-0 after topping N.C.A&T last week.

Coastal built a 6-0 lead early thanks to Justin Durham’s two field goals. Richardson finished off a 70-yard second-quarter drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jamar Anderson that gave Coastal a 12-0 lead.

WSSU answered with its own touchdown drive, keyed by Jed Bines’ 43-yard run, followed by a 1-yard scoring plunge by Purvis to cut Coastal’s lead to 12-7.

After the Rams lost a fumble, Tommy Fraser punched the ball in from the 1 to give Coastal an 18-7 lead.

Purvis then put on a show, but the Chanticleers survived Purvis, and survived the day.

WSSU 0 7 14 0 - 21

Coastal 6 6 6 10 - 28

First quarter

CC-FG Durham 24, 6:18

CC-FG Durham 44, 1:48

Second quarter

CC-Anderson 10 pass from Richardson (kick failed), 7:20

WSSU-Purvis 1 run (Mitchell kick), 2:23

Third quarter

CC-Fraser 1 run (pass failed), 10:21

WSSU-Purvis 66 run (run failed), 4:53

WSSU-Purvis 80 run (Reaves pass from Purvis), 1:24

Fourth quarter

CC-FG Durham 28, 11:15

CC-Fraser 1 run (Durham kick), 08:15

TEAM STATISTICS

WSSU CC

First downs 12 22

Rushes-yards 47-300 52-96

Passing yards 11 301

Comp-Att-Int 10-2-0 24-16-0

Return Yards 82 106

Punts-Avg 6-32.7 3-34.7

Fumbles-Lost 3-3 7-1

Penalties-Yards 13-90 7-45

Possession 26:08 33:52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-WSSU, Purvis 19-165, Bines 18-123, Fluellen 4-23, McRae 3-14, Johnson 1-3, Dunston 1-2, Team 1-(minus-30). Coastal Carolina-O’Neal 17-77, Fordham 15-47, Tolbert 5-26, Fortson 3-4, Fraser 3-3, Richardson 5-(minus-14), Team 4-(minus-47).

PASSING - WSSU, Purvis 2-10-0-11. Coastal Carolina, Richardson 16-24-0-301.

RECEIVING - WSSU, Scarbrough 1-10, Bryant 1-1. Coastal Carolina, Simpson 3-90, Fordham 3-52, Washington 3-23, O’Neal 2-44, Anderson 2-12, Usher 1-36, Fambrough 1-30, Tolbert 1-14.