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Showing posts with label Winston Salem State University Rams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winston Salem State University Rams. Show all posts
WINSTON SALEM, North Carolina - By the kickoff Saturday, the race cars and the oak leaves were long gone, leaving Bowman Gray Stadium awash in red. Red T-shirts. Red sweatshirts. Red uniforms with black shoulders. Red caps. Even red shoes.
The Winston-Salem State Rams wear red when they’re wearing out CIAA rivals, and they wore red while beating California University of Pennsylvania 35-28 in the school’s first NCAA home playoff game since 1991. At least 7,000 of the 7,645 witnesses had some red threads showing somewhere on the breezy November afternoon, a scene that begged for a windy politician.
The Rams, rallying the football base, bypassed the certified office holders and nominated Ced Hickman, the senior running back they laughingly (and perhaps lovingly) call “The Mayor of Winston-Salem.” Hickman has no verifiable ties to the elected mayor, Allen Joines, but he grew up in Winston-Salem and played for North Forsyth High.
Podcast of WSSU Rams vs. California U (Pa.) Vulcans Division II Playoff
NEXT GAME:WSSU RAMS vs. NEW HAVEN CHARGERS, Saturday, December 3rd at 12:00 PM in Bowman Gray Stadium in the NCAA Super Region One Final, WINSTON SALEM, N.C.
DURHAM, North Carolina -- Nic Cooper scored three touchdowns and ran for 163 yards Saturday in leading unbeaten Winston-Salem State to a 38-13 victory over Elizabeth City State in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship game at Durham County Stadium.
Cooper, a senior and former Clinton High School star, scored on a 3-yard run in the first minute of the third quarter, a 1-yard dive later in the period and a 20-yard dash in the fourth period. Quarterback Kameron Smith threw a touchdown pass to Tehvyn Brantley. Smith completed 12 passes for 111 yards.
Defensive back Alton Keaton, a former Douglas Byrd High star, led the Rams with seven tackles, including a sack. He also recovered a fumble. Keaton was named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year earlier. The CIAA championship was the first for the Rams since 1978.
DURHAM, North Carolina -- It had been 11 long years since the last CIAA title, but Winston-Salem State was very comfortable on center stage Saturday in front of about 10,000 fans at Durham County Stadium. WSSU defeated Elizabeth City State 38-18 to win the school's ninth football title.
"Our theme is 'Return to Glory,' and we are back to those glory days and back to winning rings," coach Connell Maynor said. "We are back to winning championships…."
The Rams won the championship with a tough defense that put the clamps on running back Daronte McNeill and an offense that produced when it mattered most. The Rams (11-0) held the Vikings (8-3) to a season-low 210 yards, and Nic Cooper ran for 163 yards on 24 carries and scored on a 20-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to ice the Rams' victory.
Elizabeth City, North Carolina -- It’s been a crazy few weeks here with the end of fall sports and winter teams getting started. Because of that, time and space has been kind of limited, so I guess we have some catching up to do.
But first let’s start with the Elizabeth City State football team, which lost to Winston-Salem State 38-18 in the CIAA title game Saturday.
One of these days the Vikings are going to break through, but this just wasn’t the year. Seems like every time ECSU gets this far, its runs into a team with a little more to play for. Each of the three CIAA championship losses have been to teams that were ranked pretty high in the national polls and had legitimate shots at moving on the Division II playoffs. Not that the Vikings couldn’t have taken that mantle in any of those years, but the power of the opposition has been pretty large ...
Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Michelle Fitzgerald-Foster remembers talking to her son, wide receiver Dominique Fitzgerald, about whether he should transfer after a coaching change at Winston-Salem State in the spring of 2009.
She has a vivid memory of her son's response to the prospect of leaving. "He said he was a Ram for life," she said. That decision by Fitzgerald, and similar decisions by several others who are now seniors, are among the main reasons the Rams are in position to win the school's first CIAA title since 2000.
Fitzgerald, named Wednesday as the CIAA special-teams player of the year, was among those who endured a 1-10 season in 2009. After Kermit Blount was fired and Connell Maynor was hired as coach, 25 players chose to transfer. Fitzgerald, cornerback Alton Keaton and defensive end Akeem Ward were among those who stayed.
"Keaton and I talked about that right after the game the other day," said Fitzgerald, referring to the win at UNC Pembroke. "It's crazy how we've gone from 1-10 to 10-0 in two seasons.
GAME DAY INFORMATION WHEN: Saturday, November 5 - 2 p.m. ET WHERE: Pembroke, N.C. FACILITY: Grace P. Johnson Stadium TICKETS: Single game reserved bench tickets are $15. If available, reserved bench ticket will be sold on game day at the ticket tent. Standing-Room Only tickets ($10) will be available on game day at the ticket tent. Lawn chairs are permitted inside Grace P. Johnson Stadium. BROADCAST COVERAGE:
LIVE STATISTICS: Follow the game action FREE live via a live stats link provided by the UNCP athletic department.CLICK HERE
LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO: Follow the game action via FREE live audio/video streaming through a link provided by the UNCP athletic department. CLICK HERE
Pembroke, North Carolina -- Coach Connell Maynor said he expects Winston-Salem State's game at UNC Pembroke today to have the atmosphere of the playoffs, because that's the goal for both teams. "They've won their last four games, and they are trying to get in the playoffs so if they can knock us off, a team that's ranked No. 2 in the region and seventh in the country, they can get into the playoffs," WSSU's Maynor said.
The Rams are 9-0. The Braves are 7-2. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at UNCP's Grace P. Johnson Stadium. With a win today, the Rams can complete just the third undefeated regular season in program history, but more important is that a victory would keep them in good shape for the Division II playoffs.
UNCP, a fifth-year program, has one of the top offenses in Division II under coach Pete Shinnick and is averaging 511 yards (fourth in Division II). Sophomore quarterback Luke Charles has passed for 2,653 yards and 22 touchdowns, and Travis Daniels has rushed for 1,342 yards and 14 TDs.
The Rams' defense has been stellar all season but has been overshadowed by an offense averaging 45 points a game. Against UNCP, the defense will have to rise to the challenge. WSSU's next game after today will be the CIAA championship Nov. 12 in Durham, but Maynor said he doesn't expect his players to be looking ahead.
Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Wide receiver Jamal Williams of Winston-Salem State will be on familiar turf Saturday. Williams, a former star at UNC Pembroke, will be on the visitors' sideline this time when the Rams close the regular CIAA season with a game against the Braves at Grace P. Johnson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
"I'll have a lot of emotions going back there to play a game," said Williams, a redshirt junior who was UNCP's leading receiver in 2008 and 2009.
Williams said there were no hard feelings when he left UNC Pembroke and that he has found a home at WSSU. He missed two games earlier in the season because of sore ribs but was back on the field for last week's 21-14 victory against Shaw.
That win moved the Rams, who are ranked No. 7 in the Division II coaches poll, to 9-0 and gave them a chance at their first unbeaten regular season since 1978. Williams said he doesn't have any close friends still on the Braves but that he does keep up with how they are doing. "I hear things through the grapevine," he said.
Winston Salem, North Carolina -- About the only suffering coach Connell Maynor has had to endure so far this season is a root canal earlier this week. At 7-0 and ranked 11th in Division II there’s much to be happy about at WSSU these days.
Somebody asked me the other day what is the team’s best feature, their offense or their defense. My response was neither because I think their best attribute is their depth.
While they do have 14 Division I transfers on their roster, several of those transfers don’t start and have to battle each and every day for playing time. That’s a luxury most Division II teams would love to have.
A perfect example is defensive tackle Justin Wilkerson, who originally signed with Duke but never played for the Blue Devils. He transferred to WSSU and with Barry Tripp injured Wilkerson has made an impact.
Salisbury, North Carolina -- Livingstone knew it was operating with a small margin-for-error against 13th-ranked Winston-Salem State on Saturday. It just didn’t know how small.
“They’re not world-beaters,” coach Elvin James insisted after the Blue Bears flatlined and fell 62-7 at Alumni Stadium. “They weren’t the kind of team I thought would come in here and dominate us. But when you give a team ammunition to shoot at you — and you keep doing it — they’re gonna score.”
The visiting Rams (7-0, 6-0 CIAA) threw a cascade of offense at LC, reached the end zone nine times and clinched the league’s Southern Division championship, assuring themselves a berth in the Nov. 12 title game.
“That’s what we set out to do,” said second-year WSSU coach Connell Maynor. “Last year we went 8-2 and didn’t make it to the championship game, so we came in with a chip on our shoulders. Our expectations are high — win every game.”
DURHAM, N.C. -- Winston-Salem State took St. Augustine's best shot Saturday and survived 35-28. The Rams, ranked No. 16 in the Division II coaches poll, improved to 6-0 (5-0 CIAA) and took another step toward the CIAA's Southern Division title, in part because they tightened up on defense in the second half.
"We played a little more man in the second half," coach Connell Maynor of the Rams said. "We played a lot of zone in the first half, and they found a lot of holes, but in the second half we played pretty much straight man, and we protected the ball a little more."
The Rams were cruising along, leading 21-7, but the Falcons (2-4, 1-3) intercepted a Kameron Smith pass and scored two quick touchdowns to tie the score right before halftime. When Tehvyn Brantley fumbled the kickoff after ...
Winston Salem, NC -- Winston-Salem State will try to move another step closer to the CIAA's Southern Division title today. The Rams (5-0, 4-0 CIAA) will hit the road to play the St. Augustine's Falcons (2-3, 1-2) at 1:30 at N.C. Central's O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
Last season WSSU was cruising along at 6-0, but St. Aug's came to Bowman Gray Stadium and pulled a 40-35 upset. Quarterback Kameron Smith struggled in that game, and the Rams had six turnovers.
Coach Connell Maynor of WSSU said turnovers most likely will be a factor again today.
"We have to do a better job of taking care of the football, and if we can do that, we feel we can win every football game that we play," Maynor said. "We still feel that way, so we have to execute."
WSSU didn't exactly roll over Johnson C. Smith last week at Bowman Gray Stadium. It won 28-10, overcoming three turnovers, but the outcome wasn't as decisive as some thought it would be.
Winston Salem, NC - Hardly anything has gone wrong for unbeaten Winston-Salem State this season.
Well, actually, there was one play in last week's 56-20 win over Fayetteville State that didn't work. Punter Landen Thayer just missed Patrick Terry on a fake punt when the Broncos sent 11 defenders and tried for a block.
But that's about the only miscue the Rams have had in building a 4-0 record (3-0 CIAA) and climbing to No. 21 in the Division II coaches' poll. They'll play again at 1:30 today, taking on Johnson C. Smith (2-2, 1-0) at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Coach Connell Maynor has been pleased with the balance of his offense, and the Rams are averaging a CIAA-best 50 points a game.
The Golden Bulls, losers of 10 straight to the Rams, will try to spoil homecoming in a game expected to draw about 20,000.
Winston Salem, NC - Coach Connell Maynor of Winston-Salem State said Monday he hasn't heard any backlash about his team's 67-16 victory over Virginia Union.
He remained unapologetic for allowing backup quarterback Jamie DeGeare, a fifth-year senior, to continue to throw in the fourth quarter, which started with the Rams leading 54-3.
"The game kind of got away from us in the third quarter with those two kickoff fumbles that we turned into touchdowns," Maynor said. "And I put my (second string) guys in during the fourth quarter, and they were just playing football."
Instead of keeping the ball on the ground and running ... READ MORE
RICHMOND, Va. -- Winston-Salem State had its own version of an air show Saturday night in a dominating 67-16 victory over Virginia Union. The Rams, opening up their explosive offense early and often, were clicking on all cylinders while the Panthers (2-1) were left to wonder what happened.
Quarterback Kameron Smith of the Rams opened the game with six straight passes. But when he wasn't moving the offense through the air, he handed off to running back Nic Cooper. Smith completed 15 of 28 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns. Cooper had his second straight 100-yard game rushing with 113 yards on 12 carries, scoring two touchdowns.
The Rams (2-0) had just a 20-3 lead at halftime, but it turned into a laugher in the second half.
"I wanted triple digits," said center Markus Lawrence, who helped the Rams rack up 493 yards of offense. "If they weren't ready to play, that's their fault. We were ready to play."
Richmond, VA - To make a solid run at the CIAA title, Winston-Salem State will have to get more disciplined. That much was evident last week in the season opener, a sloppy 22-17 victory over Elizabeth City State. The Rams had 11 penalties and several mental errors and looked out of sorts for most of the game.
Coach Connell Maynor of WSSU said he hopes today's 7 p.m. game at Virginia Union (2-0) will be different.
"It's a little disappointing," said Maynor, referring to his team's 399 yards of offense and only three touchdowns last week. "We had a lot of penalties that killed our drives. I always tell the guys other teams can't stop us, but we can only stop ourselves, and it was a classic case of that."
The Rams went backward several times at key points because ...
ELIZABETH CITY -- Winning ugly took on a whole new meaning for Winston-Salem State in its season opener Saturday night. WSSU scored three touchdowns in the first half of a penalty-marred game, then held on to defeat Elizabeth City State 22-17.
The teams combined for 22 penalties, and there was a bank of lights out at Roebuck Stadium, making the south end of the stadium more like a dungeon than a football stadium. Despite all that, the Rams won their CIAA opener.
"They had a game under their belt, and it was our first game under the lights," coach Connell Maynor of the Rams said. "We made some mistakes, and we knew we would make some, but the thing is what do you do when adversity hits? Our guys kept fighting and they hung in there."
Elizabeth City, NC - Elizabeth City State has watched the film. The Vikings know they left a lot of plays and, perhaps, the program’s biggest-ever win on the field in Cleveland, Miss., last week.
But that was last week and ECSU has to prove whether the 28-21 overtime loss at Delta State was a fluke, or if the Vikings are truly contenders in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
“The attitude is upbeat,” ECSU coach Waverly Tillar said. “They talked about Delta State on the bus, but by the time we got to the North Carolina line, the talk was about the next game. The attitude is they feel they can win.”
The test of that attitude comes today when ECSU hosts ...
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.
WINSTON-SALEM — The Livingstone men’s basketball team pulled off a big road upset Saturday against Winston-Salem State 81-73.
With the victory, James Stinson’s Blue Bears (12-5, 7-3 CIAA) improved to 3-1 in the division and move into a tie with the Rams for first place in the Southern Division at 3-1. The Rams (15-4) came into the contest as the fourth-ranked team in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region rankings.
Donte Durant had his best offensive output of the season, leading the Blue Bears with 18 points. Darius Cox fell just short of a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds while Quentin Redfern added 13 points with 11 of them coming at the charity stripe.
Winston-Salem State failed to answer the bell against Livingstone on Saturday night at the Gaines Center. Playing their sixth straight home game the Rams thought they could turn it on whenever they needed to but that wasn’t the case as the Blue Bears won 81-73. It was the Blue Bears first victory at the Gaines Center since the 1997-98 season.
“We can’t just flip a switch,” said guard Shelton Carter of the Rams, who was one of many who struggled and scored just seven points. “We need to defend better and not just in spurts – we need to do that the entire 40 minutes.”
The Rams (15-4, 3-1) finally flipped the switch late but...
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Videographer: UrbanSportsITG; Fayetteville State vs. Winston-Salem State 1/28/11
GREENSBORO, N.C. - He's fourth on N.C. A&T's career passing list, but former All-MEAC quarterback Connell Maynor won't be the Aggies' next football coach.
Maynor, the head coach at Winston-Salem State, said during the weekend he turned down A&T's offer to take over for interim coach and longtime assistant George Ragsdale.
After Maynor turned down the Aggies, Winston-Salem States's Board of Trustees Executive Committee on Monday unanimously approved a new five-year contract that raised his salary from $90,000 to $160,000 a year, Chancellor Donald Reaves told the Journal. Former A&T coach Alonzo Lee's contract was worth $145,000 annually.
"It just wasn't worth the gamble," Maynor told the Journal...
Andrew Jackson saved the day, and helped re-fuel a rivalry with Johnson C. Smith as he hit a buzzer-beating 35-foot jumper in a 78-77 victory for Winston-Salem State. In front of a packed house of 3,200 at the Gaines Center on Monday night the Rams kept a hold of their first-place grip in the CIAA’s Southern Division. But it was far from easy.
“I know I beat the clock,” said Jackson, a senior guard who took Marcus Wells pass from midcourt and then hit the long jumper. The Rams coughed up the lead with sloppy play near the end and the Bulls had a 77-75 lead with three seconds left. With 1:18 left the Rams were up by five but the Bulls never gave up and came charging back.
Winston Salem, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team remains unbeaten on the road after a 64-60 win over Winston-Salem State University on Monday evening inside the C.E. Gaines Center on the campus of WSSU. JCSU improves to 17-1 overall, 10-1 in the CIAA, and 3-0 in the division; while the Lady Rams move to 12-7 overall, 7-3 in the conference, and 2-1 in the Southern.
Coming into this game, there were a few interesting storylines. First, this was the first contest between JCSU and Winston-Salem State since January 2007; after WSSU ventured out of the CIAA to Division I-AA competition. WSSU head women's coach Stephen Joyner, Jr. has several ties to Johnson C. Smith University.
Joyner, Jr. is an alum of JCSU and former student-athlete, he served two seasons as the assistant women's basketball coach (under current JCSU head women's coach Vanessa Taylor), and he is the son of JCSU Director of Athletics and head men's basketball coach Stephen Joyner, Sr. Despite all those facts, JCSU and WSSU were battling for the top spot in the CIAA Southern Division.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Va.- Winston-Salem State's unbeaten season came to a halt Tuesday night with a 93-84 loss at St. Paul's. Even though both teams play in the CIAA, the game was designated as a nonconference game, giving Coach Bobby Collins of the Rams some solace.
"It didn't count in the conference standings, but we still didn't come ready to play, and that's disappointing," Collins said by telephone after the game. "St. Paul's just stepped it up when they had to, and we didn't make the plays. We missed a lot of easy layups, and they hit their free throws." WSSU fell to 6-1. St. Paul's improved to 3-4.
