Albany State releases 2016 football schedule

ALBANY, Georgia  --  The Albany State University Golden Rams have unveiled their football schedule for the 2016 season, ASU Athletics Director Dr. Richard H. Williams and interim head coach Dan Land announced Friday afternoon. Highlighting the nine-game slate is a game with a familiar non-conference opponent, six SIAC conference games, two classics, and matchups with three teams that made appearances in the 2015 NCAA Division II football playoffs.
 
"Albany State has generated a challenging schedule that will provide a lot of excitement during the 2016 season," said Williams. "Our Golden Rams are making great preparations, and they are ready to deliver some solid football action this season."
 
Land believes the competition is stiff, but he believes Albany State will benefit from the tough tasks on his team's schedule.
 
"To get better as a team during the course of the season, it's important to play against good programs," Land said. "All the teams on our schedule have good coaches, good players and winning attitudes. "We have a tough schedule, but we'll definitely put in the hard work this offseason and prepare for each of them."
 
The Golden Rams, who finished their 2015 season at 6-4, will kick off the season on Sept. 3 in Albany, Ga in a road game with the Valdosta State University Blazers. Valdosta State, a member of the Gulf South Conference, went 9-3 and made the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs last season. Last year, ASU lost to the VSU 21-13 in Albany.
 
Albany State will open SIAC play and continue a rivalry when it faces the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers on Sept. 10 in the 3^rd Annual White Water Classic in Phenix City, Alabama. Tuskegee, who made an appearance in the 2015 NCAA Division II quarterfinals, finished last year with a 10-3 overall record and defeated the Golden Rams 27-14 in last season's classic. The Tuskegee game is the first of two SIAC West Division crossover games.
 
Albany State returns to actions on Sept. 17 against the Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. The Fire program is a member of the Sun Conference that competes at the NAIA level. SEU finished with a 6-2 overall record last season.
 
ASU will play its first home game on Sept. 24. Golden Rams will host the University of West Georgia, who made a trip to the NCAA Division II semifinals in 2015. The Gulf South member recorded a 12-2 record last year.
 
Before an open date on Oct. 8, the Golden Rams will host the Miles College Golden Bears on Oct. 1. Albany State defeated the SIAC West Division opponent 29-16 in last year regular season meeting in Fairfield before losing to the Golden Bears 20-7 in the SIAC title game. MC finished the 2015 season with a 7-5 record.
 
The Golden Rams will take on four SIAC East Division opponents beginning Oct. 15. They will battle with the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College in Atlanta. Albany State defeated Morehouse 38-0 in the 2015 contest. The Maroon Tigers were 5-5 last season.
 
Albany State will then journey back home to take on the Clark Atlanta University Panthers on October 22. The contest will serve as the university's annual homecoming celebration. ASU beat CAU 26-14 in route to the Panthers' 1-8 overall record.
 
Albany State will back on the road on October 29. ASU will visit the  Benedict College Tigers in Columbia, S.C. The Golden Rams defeated Benedict 35-9 in last year's meeting, and the Tigers finished with a 0-10 overall record.
 
The two biggest rivals in the SIAC, Albany State and Fort Valley State University, will close its regular seasons in the 27th Annual Fountain City Classic on November 5 at the A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Georgia. The Golden Rams defeated the Wildcats (5-4 overall last season) 21-17 in the 2015 classic game. The FCC is touted as one of the biggest and best HBCU football classics in the nation.
 
The winners of the SIAC East and West divisions will play for the 2016 SIAC Championship game in Montgomery, Ala. on November 12.
 
For more information about the Golden Rams 2016 football schedule, contact Stan McCormick at (229) 420-7013 or stanley.mccormick@asurams.edu.

Albany State 2016 Football Schedule

COURTESY ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Albany State concludes spring football practice with Blue & Gold Scrimmage

ALBANY, Georgia -- Spring practice will officially conclude Thursday at Albany State with the team’s annual Blue & Gold Scrimmage at 6 p.m. at the Albany State University Coliseum.

After a successful 2015 regular season that ended with a disappointing loss in the SIAC Championship game, ASU head coach Dan Land said they’re looking to take it to the next level. In order to do that, Land said they have to better learn their personnel.

“When you’re talking about spring ball, you’re talking about evaluation,” he said. “You get a chance to evaluate some of the guys who didn’t play enough last year and upcoming guys may get to play, so we need to know what they can and cannot do and as coaches, we need to know what we can run offensively and what we can’t run, what we can run defensively and what we can’t run.”

Land added that spring workouts give them the freedom to experiment just a bit.

“Right now, what we’re doing is a lot of technique,” he said. “We’re trying some stuff to see if they’re gonna work for us offensively, defensively, special teams, if it don’t, we’re gonna kick it out.”

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Blount brings order to Johnson C. Smith spring football practice

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Familiarity is a good thing for Johnson C. Smith football.

There are more Golden Bulls participating in spring drills under coach Kermit Blount for a complete practice period, something he didn’t have an opportunity to do last year.

“The biggest change is the amount of bodies we have,” sophomore cornerback Daryl Napper said. “I think we were down to 35 last year for spring ball and now we’re up to about 50, so that’s definitely a good thing for competition.”

The competition is most keen on offense, where freshmen Jordan Lane and Harold Herbin try to earn the starting quarterback job. Because Blount was hired with a week left in 2015’s spring practice, the Golden Bulls were late implementing the pro-style scheme.

“It gives us a chance to go back,” Blount said. “Last year in spring ball we did not have a chance to actually go through our offensive regimen. The defensive regimen was already in place, so they were able to go through it, so we get a chance to go through the offensive regimen with the quarterbacks, backs, receivers and the O-line.”

The results have already been realized.

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Virginia Union Advances to NCAA Elite Eight with 91-77 Victory Over West Liberty

JOHNSON NAMED TOP FEMALE COLLEGE PLAYER IN VIRGINIA

Kiana Johnson leads NCAA Division II in scoring (29.3 ppg) and is ranked No. 2
nationally in assists (8.7 apg). Not coincidentally, she and her VUU teammates
 are preparing to play in next week's NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

RICHMOND, Virginia -- In her final game on the Virginia Union campus, Kiana Johnson accomplished exactly what she wanted: She led the Panthers to victory and put on a show.

Johnson scored 49 points and had eight assists and six steals, Lady Walker and Taylor White each posted double-doubles and Virginia Union rolled to a 91-77 win over West Liberty in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region final Monday night at Barco-Stevens Hall.

The Panthers advanced to the Elite Eight, where they'll face East Region champion Bentley (Massachusetts) on March 22 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Falcons won the national title in 2014.

Under the 1983 women's national championship banner that hangs in Barco-Stevens, VUU didn't lose a game this season (15-0). The Panthers haven't lost since Jan. 25.

Virginia Union has been playing basketball in Barco-Stevens Hall for 69 years. Monday was the first time the nets were cut down.

"It just feels good to be a part of history," Johnson said. "I'm just embracing the moment."

It was never lost on her that Monday's game would be her last on campus.

"I just wanted to give the fans a show, make sure they enjoy watching me play for my last time in Barco," Johnson said.

Walker scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. White added 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Johnson and Walker were named to the all-tournament team. Johnson was named the most outstanding player.

Liz Flowers led West Liberty with 33 points. Kierra Simpson added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The Panthers dominated on both ends of the floor in the first half to build a substantial lead, which they held throughout. They forced West Liberty into 11 turnovers and held the Hilltoppers to 37.5 percent shooting. Johnson had four of Union's eight steals.

West Liberty finished with 17 turnovers and shot 36.6 percent. It hit 12 of 42 attempts outside the arc.

The Panthers' offense started hot, posting 30 points on 64.7 percent shooting for a 14-point first-quarter lead. With 19 points, Johnson outscored West Liberty (16).

Johnson scored 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field (3 of 4 from 3-point range, 5 of 5 from the free throw line) to lead Union to a 49-34 lead at halftime.

The only trouble for the hosts came late in the third quarter, when Johnson picked up her fourth foul and was forced to sit with just under 3 minutes to play. Flowers hit back-to-back 3s to pull West Liberty to 68-53 entering the fourth quarter.

Johnson returned to start the fourth, and the Panthers scored the first 9 points of the quarter to open a 77-53 lead before cruising to the win.

Union finished shooting 50.8 percent from the field. The Panthers registered 12 steals and outscored the Hilltoppers 48-26 in the paint. They scored 31 fast-break points.

"It's a great accomplishment," first-year Panthers coach AnnMarie Gilbert said.

"It's been a special journey with a special group of people.

"Everything that you dream about as a coach, you know, we've got the player of the year, the defensive player of the year, the most outstanding player of the tournament, the most outstanding player of the Atlantic Region. Those are all things that you tell kids, you're student-athletes, that if they work hard, they can achieve those things, and for us to do it all in one year, we just give all the praise and honor to God.

"In one year, what this team has done, they don't have any idea."

Box Score

COURTESY VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Jackson State tops Sam Houston in CIT

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Chance Franklin hit a three-pointer with 47 seconds left and three free throws in the final 15 seconds to lead Jackson State to an 81-77 overtime victory over Sam Houston in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament Monday night in Huntsville. The victory marked their first postseason win since JSU’s 1993 upset win over UCONN in the NIT.

Paris Collins and Franklin led the Tigers with 25 and 24 points respectively. The runner-up in last Saturday’s SWAC Tournament championship game, Jackson State ups its record to 20-15 with the win.

Sam Houston trailed by 17 points, 48-31 at half, but outscored the Tigers 40-23 in the second period. A lay-up by Jamal Williams with 27 seconds remaining forced overtime.

Williams led the Bearkats in scoring with 20 points. Aurimas Majauskas added 18 for Sam Houston. The Kats end the season 18-16.

Yettra Specks and Raeford Middleton each added 11 points for the Tigers. Jalin Barnes and Josh Delaney scored 10 apiece for Sam Houston.

Sam Houston held early four-point leads in the opening period and the game was tied 24-24 with 8:24 left in the half. The Tigers hit a string of three-pointers to pull ahead, building a 17-point lead at intermission after finishing the period on a 24-7 run.

The Tigers are the first team from the SWAC to notch a victory in the CIT. Alabama State is the only other team to ever receive an invite in 2014.

The Bearkats fought back, cutting the margin to nine points, 69-60, with 4:36 remaining in regulation. Sam Houston outscored JSU 11-2 in the final three-and-a-half minutes.

Josh Delaney hit a three-pointer with 1:13 remaining in overtime to give the Kats a 77-75 lead. The Tigers finished the contest with a 6-0 run to earn the right to advance in the CIT.

Collins ended the night with five three-pointers. JSU hit 14-of-31 from beyond the arc for 43.5 percent shooting.

Prior to Monday night, the two schools had never met. The win gave JSU 20 wins for the first time since 2007.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff's 2007 vctory over Winthrop was the last time postseason win for the SWAC.

 Box Score

COURTESY SWAC MEDIA RELATIONS

SWAC spring football primer

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama --  Road field advantage?

There's always something unpredictable going in Southwestern Athletic Conference football - often a title race that nobody sees coming. In fact, in five seasons from 2009-13, each of the five West Division teams won the conference championship game (although Texas Southern later vacated the 2010 title).

In 2015, home (and Homecoming) might have been where the heart was, but the victories weren't for that side of the field. Incredibly, road teams went 26-16, with East Division and conference champion Alcorn State, Alabama State, West Division champ Grambling State, Prairie View A&M and Southern going unbeaten in conference road games.

Those teams are expected to remain among the division elite in 2016, but the usual wild races say to expect the unexpected.
All of the SWAC teams will play each other in a nine-game conference schedule again this season, but in 2017, they will revert to a seven-game conference schedule - which was last in effect in 2008.

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Dwight Floyd Commentary: Rattlers Supporters Show Up BIG

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- You can always count on family and friends of the Ratter baseball team and Rattler diehard fans like me to show up for a Rattler game. What you don’t expect is to hear the MEAC Champion Rattler cheerleaders rooting the team on from the stands or see an organized Rattler baseball alumni squad presenting a check to the FAMU Foundation in between games. From the hill overseeing the rear of the stadium it was a festive occasion as Rattler fans tailgating shared good food and music.

The baseball team responded in resounding fashion out slugging the Bethune Cookman University Wildcats in route to a 15-3 win. FAMU would score in every inning. The aggressive play of the Rattler offense and the steady pitching, double plays (2), and home runs (2) in the first game silenced the bats and the voices of the Bethune Wildcats as they stared at the Rattlers almost in awe at how fast that first game got away. The Wildcats and their fans grew uncharacteristically quiet.

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