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MOBILE, Alabama -- When Athletic Director Milton Overton Jr. arrived at Florida A&M, he said he wanted to establish classics for the university’s football team to play.
Classic games played at neutral sites have the potential to bring in massive amounts of cash for Florida A&M’s athletic program. The always-popular Florida Classic, which drew 45,728 fans in 2015, brought in more than $800,000 for the athletic department.
The Tuskegee game, dubbed the 5th Quarter Classic, will earn FAMU about $350,000, Overton said in March. The game will be played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., which has a 33,471 capacity.
Overton said classics are the way to avoid “money games” against teams like Miami and Arkansas (FAMU plays the Razorbacks in 2017).
“The surveys, the data and the money all make sense,” Overton said in a previous interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.
CLEMSON, South Carolina -- Believe it or not, Buddy Pough is looking forward to playing Clemson for the third time in four years.
It’s just that the timing leaves something to be desired.
“It’s a bigger task now that it would have been because Clemson really hasn’t played all that well,” Pough said. “I’m sure the fact that they’re searching themselves for that vibe that they had last year at the end of the year is going to mean they’re going to be more attentive to detail than ever in their process. So we’ll have our work cut out for us.”
Pough is right. Despite being 2-0, the Tigers haven’t looked like their former selves in any regard this season, and S.C. State hopes that early season funk extends for another week.
“We’ve got to have some success early to be able to play with these guys,” said Pough, whose team has been outscored 125-20 in its last two games at Memorial Stadium. “That in itself would be something we could take some pleasure in.
WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia -- Norfolk State’s final non-conference test will be more than a run-of-the-mill football game.
When the Spartans visit FCS No. 13 William & Mary at 6 p.m. today, they hope to prove their reslience. And they’ll have to do it in front of what is likely to be an enthusiastic road fan base in a newly refurbished stadium.
NSU (1-1) is coming off a 34-0 loss at No. 2 Richmond, a game in which the Spiders turned a 14-0 halftime lead into a runaway.
Spartans senior quarterback Greg Hankerson completed just 6 of 18 pass attempts for 37 yards – by far his lowest output since transferring from Florida Atlantic before last season.
As Tribe fans attending the home opener get their first look at an overhauled Zable Stadium – with a new upper deck, press box and additional restrooms and concession locations at a cost of $27 million – NSU will try to right its teetering ship before opening the MEAC schedule against North Carolina Central next week.
COLLEGE PARK, Georgia — Four men and two women from Xavier University of Louisiana advanced Thursday to main-draw singles quarterfinals of the 16th annual HBCU National Tennis Championships. XULA's four men were a combined 6-0 in singles. Advancing were:
• Top-seeded and defending champion Karan Salwan, a 4-6, 7-6 (11-9), 1-0 (9-4, retired) winner against Howard's Ismael Kaovache in the A-bracket. • Thomas Setodji, who won 6-3, 6-2 against Jackson State's Andrey Alawi and 6-2, 6-3 against Tennessee State's Daniel Bernal in the A-bracket. • B-bracket top seed Tushar Mandlekar, who beat Alabama A&M's Masteo Monroy 6-1, 6-3. • C-bracket top seed Adam Albrecht, who defeated Benedict's Malek Selmen 6-0, 6-0 and Howard's Dylan Paul 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9). The Gold Nuggets still in the main draw are: • Charlene Goreau, who won 3-0, retired against Alabama State's Marine Cartier in the A-bracket. • Freshman Lacee Ancar, who began her collegiate career by defeating Florida A&M's Kiara Shaw 6-1, 6-2 and Jackson State's Oni Jones 7-6, 6-2 in the C-bracket. The Gold Nuggets' Emma Kranendonk and Dasia Harris also won singles matches before being eliminated. Kranendonk, a transfer from South Dakota of NCAA Division I, won her first XULA match 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8) against Alabama State's Gabriela Lackova in the B-bracket. More singles matches and the opening rounds of doubles are scheduled for Friday. This is the first of three fall tournaments for the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets. Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- Charlie Goens is the new head coach for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s baseball team.
Which seems odd, because the Hawks already had John O’Neil, who had been the interim head coach for the past two seasons. O’Neil will remain on the staff as an associate head coach, but Goens will be the head skipper.
Eastern Shore announced the hiring of Goens on Wednesday, Sept. 14, but he announced that he would be the new head coach in Princess Anne on his Twitter account on Aug. 30. Goens comes to Princess Anne after taking a season off from coaching college baseball.
“Charlie emerged as the top candidate from a lengthy list of qualified candidates,” said Keith Davidson, Eastern Shore’s athletic director. “His experience at many levels and a proven record of finding top talent to play for his teams will help us continue moving this program in the right direction.” CONTINUE READING
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Christopher August and Taylor Price are the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Runners of the Week in cross country for Sept. 5-11. Both are from the Houston suburbs. August, a senior from Spring, Texas, and a graduate of Klein Collins High School, finished 20th this past weekend in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival at Metairie, La. His career-best time of 15 minutes, 41.6 seconds is the second-fastest at 5,000 meters for the Gold Rush in the last 14 seasons. August finished ahead of 13 runners from NCAA Division I schools. At that same meet, Price — a freshman from Missouri City, Texas, and a graduate of Ridge Point High School — set a XULA 5K women's record of 18:07.5 in her collegiate debut. She placed ninth overall and was faster than 23 NCAA Division I runners. The conference award is August's second this season and the seventh of his career. Price is the fourth Gold Nuggets freshman in seven years to be honored. Both XULA teams will run a 5K Saturday morning in the LSU Invitational at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge, La. The women's race will start at 7:30, and the men will run at 8:10. Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana's men's and women's tennis teams will open their fall schedule Thursday in the HBCU National Championships at South Fulton Tennis Center in College Park, Ga.
The Gold Rush won the team title at last year's HBCU tourney en route to an NAIA national runner-up finish and No. 2 postseason ranking in May.
Alan Green, back for his 14th season as coach of the XULA men and women, announced Wednesday three more signees for the Gold Nuggets. All three will compete this week. They are:
• Lyndsey Clark, a freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., and Stanton College Preparatory School. She is a chemistry/pre-medical major.
• Emma Kranendonk, a senior from Heemskerk, The Netherlands, and a transfer from an NCAA Division I member, the University of South Dakota. She is majoring in psychology.
• Whitney Vilmaure, a sophomore from Paris and a transfer from NAIA member Reinhardt University. She is a biology major.
Clark won approximately 50 championships in junior tennis and was a 2014 ITA Georgia-Alabama section finalist in singles and doubles in 16s. At Stanton she was all-conference four years and helped her team finish third at the state tournament three times, including 2016. Clark is a third-generation HBCU athlete; her mother and grandmother played tennis for Florida A&M.
Kranendonk last season won a doubles championship at the Drake Invitational, produced a victory at No. 3 singles against the Big Ten's Minnesota and was second on the Coyotes in doubles victories with 15. She played for another NCAA DI school, Nicholls State, as a freshman and sophomore.
Vilmaure returns to college after helping Reinhardt finish second in the 2014 Appalachian Athletic Conference regular season and tournament and receive votes (29th place) in the NAIA coaches postseason poll. It was the first time the Lady Eagles reached a conference tournament final as an NAIA member.
In Green's first 13 seasons as coach, he had one Gold Nugget who was 5 feet 9 inches or taller. This season he has three — Clark is 5-11, Kranendonk is 5-10, and Vilmaure is 5-9.
The Gold Nuggets have four newcomers in all. XULA announced in February the signing of Lacee Ancar of Harvey, La., and John Curtis Christian School.
Xavier's other fall events will be the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional Championships Sept. 23-25 at Lawrenceville, Ga., and the Big Easy Invitational Oct. 21-22 at the University of New Orleans.
1. Heavyweight battle: Alabama State took a tough 21-18 defeat at the hands of two-time defending SWAC champion Alcorn State last Saturday. Jenkins compared Saturday’s game to a heavyweight title fight from yesteryear. “It was an Ali-Frazier type event,” Jenkins said. “We went back-and-forth, and Alcorn deserves to be called the champions. They found a way to make a play when it was needed.” Alabama State is off to a 0-2 start for the second straight season and for the third time in four years.
2. Business as usual: Alabama State linebacker and reigning SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Kourtney Berry made his season debut last Saturday and picked up where he left off. Berry finished with 10 tackles and two forced fumbles against the Braves. Jenkins said Berry’s performance came as no surprise to him. “He did as he always does,” Jenkins said. “Kourtney has a certain level of play that he expects from himself and he did exactly what we needed him to do.”
3. Going deep: One area that Alabama State has struggled with early this season has been getting big plays in the passing game. So far, both ASU quarterbacks have a combined 211 passing yards. “It’s definitely an area where we need to upgrade our performance,” Jenkins said. “We’ll continue to work on things to get better. We feel that we can throw the ball pretty well.” Last week against Alcorn State, the Hornets only gained 69 yards through the air.
MOBILE, Alabama -- Among all of the celebrated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) football teams in the United States, two that stand out are Tuskegee and Florida A&M. Going into this season, the Golden Tigers claim the most all-time wins among HBCU teams with 668, while the Rattlers are next at 574.
Now, for the first time since 1996, these two rivals will face each other during the 5th Quarter Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17. The game, sponsored by the Mobile Sports Authority, will kick off at 6 p.m.
“One of the events which we at the Mobile Sports Authority thought was missing on our annual Mobile sports calendar was a ‘Classic-style’ college football game,” said Danny Corte, executive director of the MSA. “It’s been seven years since the last Classic was played here [in 2009]. So several years ago we started working to create another Classic game for Mobile.
“We’re very proud to have two traditional teams and former rivals, that being Florida A&M and Tuskegee, playing in Mobile on Sept. 17 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. We’re looking forward to welcoming the teams, officials and fans for both teams to Mobile.”
The most recent meeting between the two was a 56-0 shutout by FAMU in 1996. The Rattlers lead the overall series, which began in 1906, by a 27-15-2 margin.
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The chartered flights have been replaced by long bus rides. Instead of having access to the latest technology, finding a computer can often become a chore. In spite of the challenges, G.A. Mangus and Kirk Botkin are thankful to be doing what they love, coaching football.
The two former South Carolina assistants, under Steve Spurrier, found a new home at South Carolina State after not being retained by new Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp.
Botkin and Mangus said they had interest from other programs, but both have kids and decided to stay in the Columbia area and coach at the FCS level rather than move and force their children to attend a new school.
Botkin played in the NFL and had previous coaching stints at the high school level, at FCS programs and in the SEC. Mangus spent several years coaching Division III football before stops at Middle Tennessee State and South Carolina.
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem native Hubbard Alexander died two weeks ago, and those in the football community knew what kind of impact he made.
Alexander played at old Atkins High School in the late 1950s before playing at Tennessee State in Nashville and graduating in 1962. But it was impact as a college and pro coach that touched the lives of so many people and players.
He died at the age of 77 of pancreatic cancer in Baltimore, but he was going back and forth from his home in Memphis to Baltimore to receive treatments at Johns Hopkins. His son, Chad Alexander, said there will be a memorial Sept. 17 in Memphis. Hubbard Alexander leaves behind a widow, Gloria, and two other sons — Todd and Bard.
Chad Alexander played for Jim Caldwell at Wake Forest and is now the assistant director of player personnel for the Baltimore Ravens. He has held that position since 2009 and has been working with the Ravens since 1999. CONTINUE READING
MOBILE, Alabama -- This is not how Alex Wood wanted to begin his second season at Florida A&M.
In their 0-2 start, the Rattlers have been outscored 119-13 in losses at Miami (Fla.) and Coastal Carolina.
“We were disappointed with the losses for sure, but just like wins, losses, you’ve got to shake it off and move forward,” said Wood, who was an interim head coach at FBS school Buffalo in 2014. “We all understand that there’s a lot of football to be played. We’ll get a chance to demonstrate what kind of team that we are.”
Florida A&M isn’t facing an FBS or FCS school this week, but Wood is making sure the Rattlers don’t sleep on Tuskegee for Saturday’s Fifth Quarter Classic in Mobile. Ranked 13th in the latest AFCA NCAA Division II poll, the Golden Tigers (2-0) are coming off a 28-18 win over Albany State.
“That’s an easy answer,” said Wood when asked how he will prevent his team from overlooking Tuskegee because it’s D-II. “One, we’re 0-2. Just show them the film on the two games we just lost. And then throw Tuskegee on and that should just set the tone. Just throw the tape on and watch them and you’ll understand that they’re not any different than we are to be honest.”
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- There’s some unhappiness at Clemson with the way the Tigers’ offense has performed this season. You can add South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough to the list of people not thrilled with the way Clemson enters Saturday’s game.
S.C. State’s no stranger to playing at Clemson. This will be the third meeting between the two schools since 2013.
Clemson won the previous two meetings by scores of 52-13 and 73-7, and Pough knows playing a Tigers squad coming off a lackluster performance against Troy might not be good for his Bulldogs.
“We know enough about Clemson to understand that they’ve probably not played as well as they can play. It’ll be interesting to see how they react to us,” he said. “I think this may give them a little different sense of urgency. I really do get the feel that they’ll try to really get after us. We’re going to try to do the same to them, but at the same time their get-after-it might be a little bit different than our get-after-it.” CONTINUE READING
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State started the season with two potentially disheartening games, a 63-13 loss at UNLV and a 40-26 neutral-site loss to longtime rival Tennessee State.
But the Tigers said they have flushed those defeats from their minds.
“I feel like the losses leave like a sting of vengeance,” linebacker Kwame Bowens said. “As soon as the clock hits zero in those last two games, it just hit the whole team like, ‘OK, we’re not going for it anymore. We have to be ready to play our game, and it’s go-time.’
“We just feel like it’s ready to be that time right now.”
The Tigers (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) begin their conference and home schedule at 6 p.m. Saturday against Grambling State (0-1, 0-0), which is coming off a 31-21 loss to Arizona. Grambling State nearly pulled off the upset, leading 21-3 at halftime before allowing 28 unanswered points.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State’s defense is almost ready.
Linebacker Kwame Bowens described the group as “a good 90 percent” adjusted to its duties within new defensive coordinator John Hendrick’s system. The senior said something holding back the unit is players not knowing their reads and responsibilities.
Bowens used the Tigers’ nickel package as an example, saying a nickel cornerback would line up as a strongside linebacker but be unsure of what to do on the play because he’s at a new spot.
“A lot of personnel changes have occurred,” Bowens said. “It’s a lot of movement as far as who’s playing when, and we’re struggling all coming together as one and just know exactly what kind of defense we want to be. In the second game, I feel we started jelling as we thought about stopping the run and see how that’s just going to affect us in our focus towards the passing game.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The Southern University football team’s two-week nightmare is finally over, and for better or worse, the Jaguars survived.
After two weeks of playing FBS opponents in nonconference games, the Jaguars are ready to face off with a Southwestern Athletic Conference team this week when they host Alabama State in their home opener.
It wasn’t easy in any sense, Southern went 0-2, including a 66-21 defeat at Tulane last weekend, but the silver lining is that it’s over.
“We survived the injury bug. That’s always big,” Southern coach Dawson Odums said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “The wrong player goes down, that can really set you back.
“We did dodge the injury bug, but now we have to get ready for conference. We have to make sure we’re healthy and smart as coaches so that our healthy guys can go out and make plays.”
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas -- The Arkansas Razorbacks will host the Florida A&M Rattlers in 2017 and the Missouri State Bears in 2021, according to a report by WholeHogSports.
Arkansas and Florida A&M will meet for the first time ever on the gridiron to open the 2017 season on Sept. 2. The game will be played at D.W.R. Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville or at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Florida A&M, often referred to as FAMU, is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Last season, the Rattlers finished 1-10 overall and 1-7 in MEAC play.
The addition of FAMU completes the non-conference schedule for Arkansas in 2017. The Razorbacks are also set to host TCU in Fayetteville on Sept. 9 and will later host New Mexico State on Sept. 30 and Coastal Carolina on Nov. 4.
HARTLY, Delaware – North Carolina A&T and Tuskegee remained on top of the HSRN Football Polls following the second week of HBCU action.
In the Division I FCS poll, the Aggies of North Carolina A&T were a unanimous pick following their four-overtime road upset of FBS and Mid-America Conference member Kent State, 39-36. The 2015 Celebration Bowl Champions remained in the top spot ahead of Alcorn State who picked up a SWAC Eastern Division win over Alabama State. Grambling State, Tennessee State and Bethune-Cookman rounded out the top five.
In Division II, Tuskegee continued its winning ways defeating Albany State in the Third AnnualWhitewater Classic in Phenix City, Alabama, 28-18. The Golden Tigers held on to the top spot ahead of three CIAA teams; Virginia State, Bowie State and Winston-Salem State. SIAC upstart Lane College completed the top five after week two.
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NEW ORLEANS — Monet Fontaine had 10 kills Monday to lead hot-hitting Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-5, 25-22, 25-13 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball victory against Philander Smith. The Gold Nuggets (6-10, 3-0) extended their win streak to a season-high four matches. XULA hit a season-high .389 and scored the final 14 points of the first set and the first six points of the second set. The run included a kill and three aces from Juliana Tomasoni, three kills from Fontaine and two blocks from Terri Drake. Fontaine, who reached double figures in kills for the third time this season, hit .476 with no errors in 21 attacks. Tomasoni and Hasani Salaam had six kills apiece, and Bria Moore had a career-best five. Kayla Jones served two aces. Amanda Perry produced 14 digs and extended to 15 her XULA-record streak of consecutive matches in double figures. Tomasoni, Salaam and Moore combined to hit .682 in 22 attacks. \Autumn Trimble had 10 kills and Alona Ward seven for the Lady Panthers (2-5, 0-2), and Kendal Savarino had 12 digs. \ The Gold Nuggets never trailed until the final set and closed the match on a 22-5 run after trailing 8-3. XULA limited Philander Smith to .011 hitting and had advantages of 36-22 in kills, 6-3 in aces, 43-27 in digs and 6-1 in blocks. The Gold Nuggets lead the series 10-0. XULA will play host to Spring Hill of NCAA Division II at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Convocation Center. BOX SCORE Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold
CHICAGO, Illinois --- Playing from the home of the Chicago Bears, Clark Atlanta University took the field versus Central State in the Chicago Football Classic and picked up the 20-13 victory. The win is the first in the three-game series for the Panthers versus the Marauders.
THE GAME
Score: Clark Atlanta 20; Central State 13
Records: Clark Atlanta (1-1; 1-1 SIAC); Central State (0-2; 0-1 SIAC)
Date: Sept. 10, 2016 | 3:30 pm Kickoff
Location: Soldier Field | Chicago, Ill.
Series: 3rd Meeting | CAU trails 1-2 | FIRST WIN IN SERIES
HOW IT HAPPENED
After forcing Central State to turn the ball over on 4th down, Clark Atlanta covered 43 yards on six plays ending with a Jaha McCray seven yard scoring run with 11:11 left in the opening quarter.
Early in the second quarter CSU took the 7-6 lead.
CAU responded with a 40 yard drive over four plays with Johnathon McCrary scrambling for the six yard touchdown run. The kick from Carlos Saldana was good to give Clark Atlanta the 13-7 advantage.
A late touchdown from Central State tied the game, 13-13, after the opening half of play.
Mathew Daniels found the end zone to start the scoring in the second half with 1:56 left to play in the third quarter from four yards out. The play was set up with a long pass from McCrary to Trenton Earl down the right sideline for 42 yards. Saldana added another PAT to give the Panthers the 20-13 advantage.
The game concluded with Central State driving before Jacob Mitchell stepped in front of the pass and recorded the interception inside the CAU 10 as time expired.
OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
McCrary went 7-for-21 passing for 119 yards while Dashawn Blow went 2-for-6 passing.
Earl paced a trio of receivers with two grabs covering 76 yards; Dre Martin (23) and Deandre Jackson (17) also had multiple receptions.
McCray covered 81 yards on 11 carries while Daniels rushed 14 times for 57 yards.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
Jaquatin Victrum posted 15 tackles to lead the Panthers while Marquise Parker recorded 13 stops.
Kenneth Morgan had an interception and forced fumble to go along with eight tackles.
Mitchell tallied six tackles to go with the game-ending interception.
TEAM NUMBERS
Clark Atlanta had 60 plays on offense covering 348 yards.
The Panthers were flagged for 15 penalties for 186 yards, compared to five Marauder flags covering 45 yards.
CAU trailed the time of possession battle; 31:36 - 28:16.
Clark Atlanta held Central State to 4-for-15 on 3rd Down conversions and 0-for-4 on 4th Down attempts.
UP NEXT
Clark Atlanta travels to Fort Valley State on Sept. 17 with a 6:00 pm kick from Wildcat Stadium. The Panthers trail the all-time series versus the Wildcats 17-46-5.
