Gold Nuggets, on road, win GCAC volleyball opener

TOUGALOO, Mississippi -- Juliana Tomasoni and Adili Rikondja combined for 28 kills and a .393 hitting percentage Tuesday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball victory against Tougaloo.

The Gold Nuggets (4-10, 1-0) have won 73 of their last 74 matches against GCAC opponents. In regular-season GCAC matches, XULA has won 60 of its last 61.

Tomasoni produced 15 kills and 13 digs -- her seventh double-double of the season -- and hit .353. Rikondja hit .455 with a career-high 13 kills. Hasani Salaam had eight kills, and Monet Fontaine had seven.

Amanda Perry had 22 digs and extended to 13 her XULA record for consecutive double-figure matches. Taylor Ducros had 14 digs, and Ralitsa Slanchev produced a career-high 10. Ducros, Slanchev and Cara Ford served two aces apiece.

After dropping an opening set against Tougaloo for the first time, XULA trailed just twice more thereafter -- at 1-0 in the second set and 2-1 in the third. The Gold Nuggets had 7-0 runs in the second and third sets and an 8-0 burst in the final set to grab a 12-1 lead.

XULA outhit Tougaloo .205 to .070 -- the Gold Nuggets hit .252 the final three sets -- and had advantages of 59-27 in kills and 84-58 in digs. The Gold Nuggets' kill total was a season high.

Jessica Porter had eight kills, nine digs and two aces for the Lady Bulldogs (6-3, 2-1), who dropped their home opener.

The Gold Nuggets are 13-0 all-time against Tougaloo. The teams will meet again Halloween evening at XULA.

XULA will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to play GCAC opponent Edward Waters at noon EDT Saturday. The Gold Nuggets' next home match will start at 5 p.m. Monday against the GCAC's Philander Smith.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee Open 2016 Season Atop HSRN Polls

HARTLEY, Delaware – Following a full schedule of games spanning September 1-4, the 2015 Conaway Cup winners have retained the top spots in the first week of the Division I FCS and Division II/NAIA HSRN Football Polls.

In the Division I FCS poll, the Aggies of North Carolina A&T begin the season ranked #1 following a season opening 62-0 shutout of former CIAA rival Saint Augustine’s University.

The 2015 Celebration Bowl Champions took the top spot over MEAC rival Bethune-Cookman, whose MEAC-SWAC Challenge appearance was cancelled due to weather conditions. 2015 SWAC runner-up Grambling State, 2015 SWAC Champion Alcorn State and Prairie View A&M round out the FCS top five.

In Division II, Tuskegee served notice that they have reloaded for the season heading a group that included a few surprise entrants. The Golden Tigers began their season with a regionally televised road victory over Clark Atlanta, 36-13. Bowie State, Miles and Virginia State were only separated by five points with Virginia Union completing the top five.

Division I FCS
	School (First Place Votes)	Record	Pts
1	North Carolina A&T (9)	1-0	98
2	Bethune-Cookman	0-0	73
3	Grambling State (1)	0-0	72
4	Alcorn State	0-0	69
5	Prairie View A&M	1-0	66
6	Tennessee State	1-0	52
7	Southern	0-1	28
8	Alabama State	0-1	24
9	North Carolina Central	0-1	20
10	South Carolina State	0-1	18
	Others receiving votes
	Norfolk St. (14) Morgan St. (8), Texas Southern (5)
	Hampton (2), Howard (2)

Division II/NAIA

	School (First Place Votes)	Record	Pts
1	Tuskegee (7)	1-0	93
2	Bowie State	0-1	67
3	Miles	1-0	64
4	Virginia State (1)	1-0	62
5	Virginia Union (1)	0-1	44
6	Lane	1-0	36
7	Albany State	0-1	35
8	Chowan	1-0	34
9	Winston-Salem State (1)	0-1	33
10	Morehouse	1-0	15
	Others receiving votes
	Benedict (13), Fayetteville St. (10), Cheyney (8), Ft. Valley St. (7)
	Johnson C. Smith (6), Elizabeth City St. (5), Central St. (3)
	Edward Waters (2), Langston (2)

About HSRN:
HSRN (Heritage Sports Radio Network) is the national leader in live radio broadcasts of mid-major athletics. HSRN combines innovative programming and production with a vast broadcast network. The SiriusXM platform avails partners of HSRN exposure on the world's largest radio broadcaster as measured by revenue and exposure to 28.3 million subscribers. In addition to SiriusXM, HSRN is available on terrestrial radio affiliates, smartphones and other connected devices as well as online at HSRN.com.

FAMU picks new 'Voice of Bragg'

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- After a selection process that began in June, Florida A&M has picked its new stadium announcer.

Kofi Hemmingway, 45, battled through a reality show produced by the athletic department to be named the school's new Voice of Bragg. Hemmingway, who attended Florida A&M and marched in the Marching 100 as a trombone player, steps in to fill the shoes left by longtime announcer Kenneth Jones.

"I do bleed orange and green and I love FAMU," Hemmingway said. "I’m really, really elated to be a part of the FAMU tradition."

Hemmingway said the reality show was a great way to find the school's next stadium announcer. He had the highest score of the three final competitors, and beat out Jacquell Lawson -- the show's only female competitor -- and Curtis Ford III for the job.

CONTINUE READING

WSSU Rams hope to regroup after opening season with a loss

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State is already hoping to regroup after Saturday's loss.

After WSSU bumbled away its opener against UNC Pembroke Saturday night, 20-17, after taking a 17-3 halftime lead, the Rams must adjust.

Kailan Chavis, who led the Rams with eight tackles Saturday, said they are too talented to panic at this point.



“We have to have thick skin, work hard and get back to the drawing board,” Chavis said. “We have to get more focused because we can’t dwell on this. We actually came out strong, but we have to close better, obviously.”

It was the Rams’ fourth straight non-conference, regular-season loss going back to a 0-3 mark in 2015.

Player after player for the Rams couldn’t pinpoint when the Braves grabbed the momentum, but it was pretty obvious.

CONTINUE READING

Norfolk State University v Elizabeth City State Highlights

NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Culver Column: Are the ‘money games’ worth it?

COURTESY FAMU ATHLETICS

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- I don’t care how much money is involved — no one likes losing.

Florida A&M’s latest “money game” — a contest against an FBS opponent with more money and resources — was another sad showing. The Rattlers were clobbered 70-3 by Miami in front of 60,703 and the players were noticeably and visibly dejected after the game.

Why shouldn’t they be? They were used as a punching bag by a team with more scholarships, playing in a stadium that seats tens of thousands of people.

“One game doesn’t make the season,” head coach Alex Wood said after the game.

He added, “We all know the deal. We know what the deal is with these games.”

Yes. We do. And, honestly, I wish there were a better way.

CONTINUE READING 

Jackson State's Hughes finding positives heading into TSU

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State couldn’t give coach Tony Hughes his first career win last Thursday when the Tigers opened their season on the road with a 63-13 loss to UNLV.

But the first-year coach saw enough positives in the lopsided defeat that he’s confident heading into Saturday’s Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis against Tennessee State.

“If you watch the game, you know it’s one-sided and UNLV made all the plays,” Hughes told reporters after the game. “Our whole goal coming in the second half was to win the second half. Let’s score more points than they do in the second half, hold our head high with dignity and let’s get on the bus and go home and get ready for Tennessee State.

“I liked the way our kids competed. They never quit, they never started complaining or pointing the finger at one another, and we really grew as a team through the adversity. We have something to build on for the future, not just for Tennessee State, but for the rest of the year.”

CONTINUE READING 

'It's all on me:' Southern quarterback Austin Howard shoulders blame for inconsistent night against ULM

MONROE, Louisiana — Southern junior quarterback Austin Howard was his own worst critic after Saturday’s 38-21 road loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

“I feel like everything was on me,” Howard said. “I made some bad throws early. I kind of killed our momentum. We just have to get back in practice and work even harder than we did last week.”



Howard completed 17 of 31 attempts for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a fourth-quarter interception in the end zone, killing a drive that started at the ULM 36-yard line.

His overall numbers were mostly skewed by a poor start. He completed just four of his first 13 passes, and he was pressured on four of those attempts.

Those early attempts were also where his bad misses were — the worst coming when he overthrew tight end Dillon Beard, who was running free behind the ULM secondary.

CONTINUE READING 

One last look back at Southern's season-opening loss at Louisiana-Monroe

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern hits the road one more time against an FBS team, making the trip to New Orleans for a nonconference game against Tulane.

First-year Green Wave coach Willie Fritz is still looking for his first win after his team was held to a field goal in a 7-3 loss Thursday at Wake Forest. Tulane had just 280 yards of offense.

Fritz has had success everywhere he has been, but he has a difficult rebuild ahead of him with a Tulane team that has just one winning record in its past 13 seasons.



The Jaguars lost 38-21 on opening weekend, but they hung tough with Louisiana-Monroe. They trailed by two points at halftime, and it was a 10-point game midway through the fourth quarter.

They were maybe two or three big plays away from contending for a win — both in plays they missed out on and plays they gave up. They did a fairly good job bottling up the ULM passing game but were gashed for too many big plays on the ground. When Southern had the ball, it wasn’t able to connect on any momentum-swinging plays, though it had opportunities.

CONTINUE READING

Grambling State vs. Arizona: First look at the Tigers

TUCSON, Arizona -- Week two features the second opponent of the Arizona Wildcats’ non-conference schedule: the Grambling State Tigers.

The Tigers are coming off a  blowout win against the Virginia University of Lynchburg Hornets, which gives them a 1-0 record on the season.

2015 Record: 9-3, SWAC Runner-up

Key Offensive Players: Martez Carter (RB), Jestin Kelly (RB), Chad Williams (WR), Justin Miller (OL)

Key Defensive Players: Guy Stallworth (DB), Arkez Cooper (LB), Jameel Jackson (DB), Malcolm Williams (LB)

The Tigers are a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the FCS level. This is a team that started their 2015 season with an 0-2 mark before ripping off nine straight victories. Their final loss came to Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship.

The 2016 squad returns five players who earned all-SWAC honors. Justin Miller, Chad Williams and Guy Stallworth made first team, while Martez Carter and Arkez Cooper made second team.

CONTINUE READING

Prairie View A&M Football Wins Thriller In Opening Game Of Panther Stadium In Labor Day Classic

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- It wasn't easy, but rivalry games seldom are.

Throw in a pair of weather delays on the occasion of the grand opening of the new Panther Stadium, and with an inspired opponent looking to play spoiler, the plot thickened.

The resilient Prairie View A&M University football team rallied twice from deficits to win 29-25 in the 32nd Labor Day Classic over Texas Southern before a live national television audience on ESPNU.

Trailing 25-22 with just under nine minutes remaining, the Panthers marched 78 yards in only six plays to take the lead for good. Trey Green threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Khadarel Hodge to put the Panthers ahead to stay with just over seven minutes to play in the season and Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

It was the second of two Green-to-Hodge scoring passes in the second half in which Prairie View (1-0 overall, 1-0 SWAC) outscored Texas Southern 23-8.



The defense swung momentum for the Panthers in the third quarter with a pair of takeaways and a safety. A fumble recovery by Jalan Coleman at the Tigers' 9-yard line let to the first of the two touchdown passes.

On the next possession, a bad snap led to Damond Jackson safety to cut the deficit to 17-15.

A forced fumble by Will Skinner was recovered by Jamespaul Bryant at the 32. Eight plays later, Green scampered in from a yard out to put the Panthers back in front, 22-17.

Weather delayed the start of the game by nearly an hour, with the second delay of more than an hour occurring with less than a minute to play in the first quarter.

The Panthers return to action Saturday at 11 a.m. at Texas A&M in a game that will be televised on SEC Network Alternate Channel.

Attendance: 14,982

BOX SCORE



PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Hankerson, Chung Lift NSU over ECSU in Labor Day Classic, 20-12

NORFOLK, Virginia – Greg Hankerson threw two touchdown passes and Quintreil Chung tallied 81 yards and a TD on the ground to lift Norfolk State to a 20-12 win over Elizabeth City State on Sunday night in the ABNB Labor Day Classic at Dick Price Stadium.

Seniors James Church and redshirt freshman George Wahee both caught their first career scoring passes for the Spartans (1-0), who won their season-opener for the first time since defeating Virginia State in 2012. Sunday's game – the first meeting between the schools since 1996 – was delayed a day due to the effects of Hurricane Hermine.

NSU scored first when Chung capped an eight-play, 48-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run with 7:14 left in the first quarter. But the Vikings (0-1) responded late in the period with quarterback Daquan Neal's 3-yard TD run with 24 seconds left in the stanza. The PAT was blocked, however, keeping the Spartans in the lead at 7-6.

Hankerson hit Church on a 7-yard TD pass at the 11:06 mark of the second quarter to culminate a 12-play, 64-yard drive. But ECSU kept it close heading into the half as Neal hit Victor Tabbs on a 29-yard pass play on the final play of the second quarter. The Vikings went for a two-point conversion to attempt to tie the score, but Neal's pass fell incomplete.

The Spartans capped the scoring with 2:50 left in the third quarter as Hankerson hit Wahee on a 12-yard TD pass, extending the NSU lead to 20-12.



The NSU defense made the lead stand up, forcing a turnover on downs, a fumble and a punt by ECSU in the final quarter. The Vikings' first drive of the quarter reached the NSU 32-yard line. But NSU linebacker Kyle Archie sacked Neal for an 8-yard loss on fourth down.

On ECSU's ensuing possession, backup quarterback Jamond Oatman was sacked and stripped of the ball near midfield by NSU defensive linemen Walter Brantley and Terrell Reid. Brantley fell on the fumble to give NSU possession.

The Vikings' had one more chance, taking over at their 30-yard line with 5:53 left. But ECSU lost two yards over the course of its next three plays and opted to punt. The Spartans ran out the clock, with Hankerson threading a needle to Taylor for a 37-yard gain on 3rd-and-17 to seal the win.

Hankerson passed for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 54 yards on 13 carries, finishing with 205 total yards. Chung posted career highs of 18 rushed for 81 yards as NSU racked up 170 yards on the ground.

Taylor led NSU's receivers with 70 yards on three catches. Church also caught three passes.

Neal threw for 238 yards and a score for the Vikings. James Roe, son of the former Spartan great by the same name, had eight catches for 112 yards.

Defensively, freshman Bobby Price led NSU with eight tackles in his first college game. Transfer cornerback Hakiem Swann made seven stops in his first game as a Spartan, while linebacker T.C. Livingston made a career-high seven in his first start.

The Spartans have a short week before meeting Richmond in the state's capital city next Saturday at 6 p.m. It will be the first meeting between NSU and the Spiders, who advanced to the FCS playoff semifinals last year.

Attendance: 11,780

BOX SCORE

Matt Michalec, Asst. AD/Communications
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Miles College takes Labor Day Golden Classic

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Miles head coach Reginald Ruffin had not won a Labor Day Golden Classic in three previous tries. Through most of the first half on Sunday, it did not look as if he was going to be successful on try No. 4 either.

The Golden Bears spotted Fort Valley State 21 points due to a combination of offensive miscues and defensive mishaps. But Miles (1-0) dominated the entire second half on defense while riding an offense led by Jamarcus Nance and David Whipple to post a 34-21 win over the Wildcats in front of 12,438 at Legion Field. The victory was the first over Fort Valley State (0-1) since 2004 and the first Labor Day Golden Classic win since an overtime win over Stillman in the 2010 Classic.

Trailing 21-3 at halftime, turned to its defense to accelerate the comeback. On the third play of the second half, Jarmari Ford stripped the ball from Travis Richmond and Emmanuel Ray recovered the loose ball for Miles. Miles then drove 58 yards in nine plays, the biggest one coming on a 43-yard completion from Whipple to Earnest Bell for 43 yards. Four plays later, Whipple punched it in from four yards out to cut the deficit to 21-10.

After the defense went three-and-out on the next series, the Golden Bears again went to work. This time, Whipple found a streaking Trey Smith for a 49-yard scoring bomb that brought the Golden Bears even closer.Fort valley was forced to punt again after three offensive plays and Whipple and the offense went right to work.

Sparked by a roughing the passer penalty that erased a thrid down interception, Miles would go 88 yards in just eight plays. Ger'Kerry Jackson did big work on the ground, rushing for 35 of his 41 yards on this drive. Whipple then used a 28-yard completion to Devin Brown and his own 16-yard touchdown scamper to complete the drive and give the Golden Bears their first lead, 24-21, with just less than three minutes left in the third quarter.

Miles then used its defense to seal the victory. Ray scooped up a FVSU fumble on the second play of the fourth quarter and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead. Nick Christiansen nailed a 33-yard field goal, his second of the game, on the next possession, which gave the Golden Bears points on six straight possessions to close out the scoring.

Miles looked strong on its opening drive, moving with ease into the red zone to start the game. But Whipple would float a ball into the flat and Brian Walker picked it off, returning it 91 yards for a score at the 9:51 mark of the first quarter to give FVSU an early 7-0 lead. That started a mountain of mistakes on both sides of the ball for the Golden Bears, who would switch quarterbacks on offense and tried to mix it up on defense but to no avail. When Otis Brown caught his second touchdown of the game with 8:04 left in the first half, the Wildcats led 21-0 and Miles' fans grew restless immediately. Christiansen, though, would get the Golden Bears on the board with a 27-yard field goal late in the first half to start the comeback.

Whipple threw for 231 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 31 yards and two scores. Jamarcus Nance ran 20 times for 148 yards. Anthony Hardy (seven tackles) and Ray (six tackles, two fumble recoveries, two pass break ups, and a touchdown) paced the effort on defense.



Attendance: 12,438

BOX SCORE

MILES COLLEGE GOLDEN BEARS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Alcorn State misses opportunity Sunday vs. Bethune-Cookman

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Alcorn State first-year coach Fred McNair will have to wait one more week for his debut.

The Braves had their game against Bethune-Cookman on Sunday cancelled in the second quarter follow a nearly three-hour delay because of inclement weather. They led 13-7 with 7:14 remaining in the first half in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“Well, you know, it’s kind of frustrating,” McNair said, according to comments posted on Alcorn State’s athletics website. “You want to see what kind of players you’re putting on the field. I think the first quarter and a half was trying to see what you’ve been working toward in camp. It’s just frustrating because it’s the first game and the kids wanted to play.

“We just have to go back and evaluate what we have, see what kind of mistakes we made and learn from those. I saw a lot of good things. This team is going to be very good once we get a hold of a few things and correct everything we need to correct.”

CONTINUE READING

Top HBCU Marching Band Half-Time Shows for Football Week 1

MORE TO COME ....

HBCU Football Judgment Day Schedule/Scoreboard Week 1

ALWAYS WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN

SUNDAY, Sept. 4
Prairie View 29, Texas Southern 25  ESPNU  32nd Labor Day Classic  
Old Dominion 54, Hampton 21
Miles College 34 Fort Valley State 21  Labor Day Golden Classic
Norfolk State 20, Elizabeth City State 12 ABNB Labor Day Classic
Alcorn State at Bethune-Cookman, 12th MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE CANCELED

SATURDAY, Sept 3
Middle Tennessee 55, Alabama A&M 0 
Texas San Antonio 26, Alabama State 13
Tennessee State 44 Arkansas Pine Bluff 0  John Merritt Classic
Louisiana-Monroe 38, Southern 21  ESPN3
Grambling State 72, Virginia-Lynchburg 12
Maryland 52, Howard 13   TV: Big Ten Network
Holy Cross 51, Morgan State 24
Miami (Fla.) 70, Florida A&M 3                ESPN3
Georgia Southern 54, Savannah State 0      ESPN3
Duke 49, North Carolina Central 6             ESPN3  Bull City Gridiron Classic
North Carolina A&T 62, Saint Augustine's 0
Central Florida 38, South Carolina State 0              ESPN3
Charleston Southern 57, Kentucky State 7  Big South Network
Fairmont State 30, West Virginia State 20
Limestone 35, Shaw 6
Long Island U.-Post 14, Virginia Union 12
Seton Hill 50, Bowie State 48
Wingate 38, Johnson C. Smith 28            ESPN3
Virginia State 34, Lenoir Rhyne 9   Watch The Game
Langston 23, Lincoln (Mo.) 13
Lane 44, Texas College 6
Benedict 5, Livingstone 3 15th Palmetto Capital City Classic  Video boxcast.tv
Chowan 14, Fayetteville State 13
UNC Pembroke 20, Winston-Salem State 17
Dayton 31, Central State (OH) 19   Dayton Live Stream (Click Here)
Morehouse 19,  Edward Waters 13  
Valdosta State 16, Albany State (Ga.) 7
Tuskegee 36,  Clark Atlanta 13            TV: American Sports Network

ALWAYS WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN

FRIDAY, Sept. 2
Eastern Michigan 61, Mississippi Valley 14  ESPN3

THURSDAY, Sept. 1
Cheyney 21,  Lincoln (Pa.)  20,  Battle of the First, ESPN3
Delaware 56, Delaware State 14 
Nevada - Las Vegas 63, Jackson State 13  TV: Mountain West Network


ALWAYS WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN