Longtime Gold Rush coach Denny Alexander dies at 70

NEW ORLEANS — Eugene Dennis "Denny" Alexander, whose Xavier University of Louisiana men's basketball teams won more than 200 games and multiple Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championships, died Tuesday (Sept. 6, 2016) in Michigan. He was 70.

Alexander coached the Gold Rush from 1978-90 and set a school record for career victories with 212. That record has been broken twice since then. Alexander's teams won three GCAC regular-season championships, including the league's first two, and a pair of NAIA District 30/GCAC Tournament championships. They made two NAIA national tournament appearances and produced five 20-win seasons.

He was a three-time GCAC Coach of the Year.

The best season under Alexander was 1981-82, when the Gold Rush won 29 in a row after an opening loss, won conference and district regular-season and tournament titles and qualified for nationals. That team finished 29-2 after a first-round loss.

Alexander also served as Xavier's director of athletics, as chairman of the NAIA District 30 men's basketball committee and as a rater/voter on the NAIA national poll.

"I will always cherish the memories and times I spent with coach Alexander," said Kenny Loyd, who played for XULA from 1982-86. "Coach enforced the importance of education and graduation, and he kept track of his players after college and offered support and advice to help us financially, spiritually and socially.
I am so glad the bond that we had at Xavier continued after college. Coach was very important in helping me develop into the man and the father that I am today."

The top five Gold Rush career scorers — Merlin Peters (1,960 points), Juan Mercier (1,735). Evan Robinson (1,662), Byron Williams (1,509) and Eugene Johnson (1,494) — played for Alexander. Mercier and Johnson played their entire XULA careers under Alexander.

Cause of death was not announced. Services will be next week in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Mich., with the viewing of the body Sept. 15 and the funeral Sept. 16.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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ASU Jenkins Meets with Local Media before Alcorn State

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Alabama State University Head Football Coach Brian Jenkins held his weekly press conference Wednesday afternoon in the Media Room at ASU Stadium. He took some time to look back on last week's performance and talked about the upcoming opponent, Alcorn State.

"We gave a valiant effort last week, but it wasn't good enough," Jenkins said. "It was good to see the guys play hard and accept the challenge, but that's not what its' all about, it's about playing well enough to win and that is something we didn't do. We have a lot of learning experiences, coaching experience off that game and we have put that away and our focus is totally on our next opponent."

Jenkins took some time out to discuss a few things the team would be working on to prepare for the SWAC's two-time reigning champions.

"The main thing is to get better as a football team overall," Jenkins said. "We need to continue to improve on our fundamentals and our basics, become a more detailed football team in every phase of the game and those things we did not do in our first contest. Those are a must in this football game if we want to come through with a victory."

Alcorn State will enter this game without a record even though they played part of a game Sunday in the MEAC-SWAC Showdown. The game was called without a winner after an almost three hour weather delay. The Braves had opened up a 13-7 lead over Bethune-Cookman when the game was called midway through the second quarter.

The Braves have won the last two games in the series and five times over the past six seasons the winner of this game has either won the East Division outright or been tied for the lead in the division, so this game has turned out to be a very important game as far as the race for the SWAC Championship game is concerned.

"Every game is a big game and a lot of people are saying this is a huge game," Jenkins said. "Alcorn is the king of the conference right now and they rightfully deserve that crown they have earned it. But it is a big game as well as every other game is a big game because you have other teams in this conference that I think have the capability of being right there at the top."

"It's a big game for us because we get a chance to go against one of the top teams in Alcorn and we're really looking forward to it. I'm telling you we are excited about this game, can't wait till Saturday, but we know there is a phase of things you have to go through before you get to Saturday, but like I said we're excited about this game. It is a big game because you're going against the champs and hopefully you'll be the team that dethrones them, but it's all going to come down to between those lines with the Jimmies and Joes and exes and ohs and I wouldn't want it any other way."

Game time in Lorman is 6 p.m. and can be heard live over the Hornet Radio Network on 102.7 FM, 96.7 FM and HSRN Sirius Radio. The game can be watched live on ESPN3.

ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

HU's schedule has been tough, but the Pirates can use it to improve

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

HAMPTON, Virginia — Last week, Hampton University opened its season against Old Dominion, a Football Bowl Subdivision team, on the road. This week, the Pirates will go against William and Mary, which is ranked 13th in two FCS polls.

Sure, there are easier routes to take in the first two weeks of September. Although this one practically guarantees an 0-2 start, HU coach Connell Maynor, who inherited both games, sees some benefits.

"If you play two cupcakes, you get easy victories, (but) you don't learn a lot about yourself because you weren't tested," Maynor said. "We want to be tested. We want to see what we're good at, what we need to improve on, and go from there.

"If not, it's just like a regular scrimmage, ones against twos. You don't really get a lot from ones against twos. We like playing good competition, playoff teams, so we can see where we stack up."

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FVSU Wildcats hope to learn from season opener

FORT VALLEY, Georgia -- Fort Valley State football head coach Kevin Porter said there was a clear difference in his team’s first half Sunday at Miles and what took place in the second half — experience.

The Wildcats jumped out to an 18-point lead at halftime before Miles showed its championship resolve in the second half to pull out a 34-21 win. Fort Valley State didn’t score in the second half after jumping on top of the defending SIAC champion Golden Bears in the first half, while Miles scored 31 second-half points.

“I think our kids, they came out and played at a high level in the first half and probably played at the same level in the second half,” Porter said of his first game as the Wildcats’ head coach. “But Miles is, obviously, the conference champ and has a championship pedigree. And it showed, and their experience showed in the second half of the ballgame.”

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BVI’s Thomas makes British baseball team for European Championships

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands —While most of his colleagues have eyed an opportunity to play Major League Baseball, Natheson Thomas of the British Virgin Islands has taken a different route that has landed him a spot on the Great Britain team for the 2016 European Championships, which begin Friday in Hoofddorp in the Netherlands.

Thomas, known as “Shadow” — who got his start in the game under the tutelage of former St. John resident Terry Chinnery and played for Altus Junior College in Western Oklahoma from 2007-2009 and Bluefield State College in Bluefield West Va., in 2011 — is the first BVI player to land a spot on a Great Britain baseball roster for any competition.

Thomas, who began training camp on Monday, has been playing with the Hamburg Hornets in Germany, a team that has languished at the bottom of the pile with a 3-29 and 2-30 record the last two seasons.

While playing last year, Carl Wordell of the Tuberlin Hawks approached Thomas after hearing he was British.

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Livingstone football looks to bounce back this week

SALISBURY, North Carolina -- To a man, players and coaches, no one expected to come out of the season opener last Saturday with a loss.

But that’s what happened to Livingstone in Columbia, S.C., when the Blue Bears fell to Benedict, 5-3, in the Palmetto Capital City Classic.

Last season, Livingstone pounded Benedict, 49-6, in the opener, kick-starting its first winning season in 17 years.

“It’s such a different feeling in the office because we’re used to winning our first three or four games,” Livingstone head coach Daryl Williams said on Tuesday. “We didn’t win our first game and it was a culture shock … it has a way of grounding you. I have to keep reminding myself that we have young football team, but that’s still not an excuse for us making the mistakes we made last Saturday.”

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WSSU turns attention toward Catawba

SALISBURY, North Carolina -- It’s a usual occurrence that college football teams see the most improvement heading into their second game.

Coach Kienus Boulware of Winston-Salem State hopes that’s true. The Rams suffered a 20-17 loss on Saturday in their opener to UNC Pembroke and are trying to shake off that loss to focus on Catawba this weekend.

“There’s no time to ever push the panic button because that will trickle down to the players,” Boulware said. “We’ve got a lot of good that happened to us this past weekend, so we’ll try to add to that as we head down to play Catawba.”

While there was some good for the Rams, like jumping out to a 17-0 lead, there was plenty that went wrong in the second half as UNC Pembroke mounted its charge.

Despite losing their fourth straight regular-season nonconference game going back to last season, defensive end Kyrell Williamson said that the Rams are determined to redeem themselves. They will take on the Indians, which opened their season with a 23-3 loss on the road to West Georgia.



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UNC Pembroke has dominated Fayetteville State in Two Rivers Classic

PEMBROKE, North Carolina -- In some of his first meetings with Fayetteville State alumni after being introduced as the Broncos head football coach, Richard Hayes kept hearing the same message.

Please, beat UNC Pembroke.
412
"Everybody wants this one," Hayes said.



When UNCP started its football program nearly a decade ago, it made sense to start a series with the region's other Division II program. So in 2009, UNCP and Fayetteville State met for the first Two Rivers Classic.

Since then, the game has been positioned as a rivalry. But the results haven't quite lived up to it.

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Small college notebook: VUU's Johnson, VSU's Frazier, Barlow honored by CIAA

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Eddie Johnson, a Virginia Union redshirt junior linebacker, was named the CIAA linebacker of the week for making 16 tackles, three tackles for losses and forcing and recovering a fumble in the Panthers’ season-opening loss to LIU Post. The 16 tackles are the sixth most in a single game in Union football history.

Bryant Frazier (Meadowbrook), a Virginia State senior defensive lineman, was named the CIAA’s defensive lineman of the week after the Trojans’ season-opening win at Lenior-Rhyne. Frazier finished the win with seven tackles, 2½ sacks and three tackles for losses.

Virginia State coach Reggie Barlow was named coach of the week after winning his debut as the Trojans’ head coach.

R-MC’s Frederick named ODAC offensive player of the week

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Pough sees SCSU as work in progress early in season

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- South Carolina State head football coach Buddy Pough knew the early going this season would be tough and it would only get tougher.

But at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Pough talked about the significant challenges of moving forward after a season-opening 38-0 loss at Central Florida on Saturday.



The Bulldogs will travel this Saturday to play at 7 p.m. against another FBS team in Louisiana Tech, a group of Bulldogs who nearly beat Arkansas in a 21-20 game this past Saturday.

Pough and first-year offensive coordinator Nygel Pearson are working with the rest of the offensive staff to establish an identity when S.C. State has the ball.

CONTINUE READING

Latrell Scott returning to Richmond as Norfolk State football coach

RICHMOND, Virginia -- Norfolk State’s Saturday date at the University of Richmond was arranged, in part, by a former Spiders coach who is now the Spartans coach.

Latrell Scott, a Richmond native and Lee-Davis High graduate, leads NSU (1-0) at UR (1-0), where he was an assistant during 2005-07 and the head coach for the 2010 season. Scott and David Walsh, Richmond’s deputy athletics director, scheduled this Norfolk State visit while Scott was the Spiders’ coach.

The way things developed, it’s homecoming for Scott.

“I’m excited about it. I get the opportunity to see my family, see a bunch of my friends,” said Scott, 41. “The University of Richmond is a special place for me. I spent a lot of years there. But more important than me returning to Richmond is getting the opportunity to compete against one of the best (FCS) teams in the country.”

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Southern Football: Practice heats up for Tulane with home football opener looming

NEW ORLEANS -- Preparation for the 2016 home opener heated up, literally, as the Tulane football team practiced for just over two hours at Yulman Stadium on Tuesday morning.

The Green Wave (0-1, 0-0 American West) braved the hot Louisiana sun with a morning workout in light pads and shorts. First-year head coach Willie Fritz’ squad got down to business with the team’s home opener against Southern (0-1, 0-0 SWAC West) just four days away. Kickoff for Saturday’s matchup is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

“It was a little warm out there today,” said Fritz. “We just have to fight through it. It’s just the way of the world. There’s nothing we can do about. We just have to go out there and practice. Some of the guys had a great practice and some had a little difficult practice.”

Fritz and the rest of the coaching staff hopes practice makes perfect as the Olive and Blue are working hard to notch that first win of the season in front of what is projected to be a capacity crowd under the lights at Yulman on Saturday night.

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Jenkins: Young-Battle ‘decent’ in first ASU start

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- It’s time to hit the reset button for the Alabama State quarterback rotation.

Both junior college transfer JuJuan Young-Battle and senior Quinterris Toppings both saw action for the Hornets during Saturday’s 26-13 loss at UTSA.

Overall, the Alabama State offense was stymied after the first quarter against UTSA. As a team, the Hornets gained just 289 total yards and went 2-for 14 on third downs in the game.

Young-Battle earned the start, played three quarters and completed 11 of 18 passes for 102 yards while being sacked six times. Toppings led a fourth-quarter scoring drive.

“(Young-Battle)’s the guy we went with on Saturday, and he did a very decent job,” ASU head coach Brian Jenkins said. “We didn’t play well enough to win, but we showed a lot of promising things. We’ll evaluate both guys throughout this week.”

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NCCU Men’s Basketball Announces 2016-17 Recruiting Class

DURHAM, North Carolina -- The North Carolina Central University men's basketball program has restocked for the upcoming season as head coach LeVelle Moton has announced a signing class of six newcomers.

Alex Mills (McLennan College), Pablo Rivas (Sheridan College), Ron Trapps (Coastal Carolina University), Michael Wolfe (South Plains College), Raasean Davis (Kent State University), and Rashann London (Drexel University) all join the program as transfers.

"We're excited about our incoming class," said Moton said of the newcomers. "We felt that we needed older and mature players in the program to compete with the new landscape in the MEAC."

Alex Mills (6-1, Laurens, S.C.) competed in 11 games during an injury-shortened 2015-16 season at McLennan College, averaging 12.7 points per game as a shooting guard in his sophomore year. Mills hit the floor 30 times in his freshman campaign and put up 12.9 and 1.4 boards per outing.

"Alex will add much needed perimeter shooting to our team," said Moton. "He suffered an unfortunate Achilles injury last year, so once he is cleared, we look forward to him being a key contributor."

Pablo Rivas (6-5, Phoenix, Ariz.) logged 28 games with 22 starts at Sheridan College as a forward during the 2015-16 season. He contributed 19.5 and 8.5 caroms per game during his sophomore year. Rivas knocked down 44 treys during the season and shot 36.4 percent from downtown and 51.1 percent from the floor.

"Pablo is a do-it-all athlete that can play on the perimeter and inside," Moton said. "We hope he adds much needed depth and athleticism to our team."

Ron Trapps (6-4, 200, Lancaster, S.C.) transfers to NCCU after a three-year career at Coastal Carolina University, where he made 49 appearances for the Chanticleers. As a guard, he averaged 5.2 points per game during the 2015-16 season and knocked down 33 three-pointers, while contributing 1.7 rebounds per contest.

"Ron is a mature wing that comes from a winning program at Coastal Carolina," Moton said. "He will bring an element of leadership, toughness, and perimeter scoring to our team."

Michael Wolfe (6-9, Germantown, Md.) played 28 games with 13 starts during the 2015-16 campaign at South Plains College. He averaged 4.1 points per game in his sophomore year and knocked down shots from the field at a rate of 49.5 percent.

"Michael will provide much needed length and athleticism to our program," Moton said. "He has the ability to knock down perimeter shots and change shots at the rim."

Raasean Davis (6-8, 260, Chicago, Ill.) joins NCCU from Kent State University, where he appeared in 25 games during his sophomore season. The 6-8 forward batted away 10 shots and during the 2015-16 campaign, and played a total of 46 games over two years.

"Raasean is a big, polished, and very skilled big man that transferred from Kent State and will sit out this season," Moton said. "His skill level at the center position is something that's a novelty in the MEAC."

Rashann London (6-2, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.) appeared in all 31 games at Drexel during the 2015-16 season and started 24 contests, averaging 30.1 minutes per game. London averaged 7.5 points with 2.3 assists per game in his sophomore year, and also started every game during his freshman season in 2014-15.

"Rashann is a talented wing guard from Drexel that will also sit out this year," said Moton. "He has proven to be an elite guard at the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) level."

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELAITONS

Five things UNT fans should know about Bethune-Cookman

DENTON, Texas -- North Texas will try to bounce back from a season-opening loss to rival SMU this week at home against Bethune-Cookman.

The Mean Green will kick off their game against the Wildcats at 6 p.m. Here are five things UNT fans should know about UNT’s Week 2 opponent.

1. Bethune-Cookman has some athletes

UNT coach Seth Littrell is familiar with teams from the MEAC conference from his time at North Carolina. He left little doubt as to the talent level of teams in the league.

“When you turn on the tape, their athleticism shows,” Litrrell said.

Bethune-Cookman finished 9-2 a year ago and had seven players named to the preseason all-conference first team.

The Wildcats will have players who will present a challenge.

CONTINUE READING

S.C. State Bulldogs earn NFL roster spots

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- Four players from South Carolina State’s 2015 football squad have earned roster spots on National Football League teams.

Bulldog standouts Javon Hargrave (Pittsburgh), Temmarick Hemingway (Los Angeles Rams) and Antonio Hamilton (Oakland Raiders) secured positions on the 53-man roster, while Jalen "Scoot" Simmons (Carolina Panthers) was signed to the practice squad.

• Hargrave (6-2, 305), a third-round pick by the Steelers, was the most notable rookie to make an NFL roster. The Bulldog defensive lineman, who earned All-America honors and several other accolades at S.C. State, had an outstanding preseason for the Steelers and is listed as No. 2 on the depth chart at nose guard.

• Hemingway (6-5, 245), an All-America tight end for the Bulldogs and a sixth-round pick by the Rams, was one of the first tight ends taken in this year’s draft. In preseason action, Hemingway had five catches for 70 yards (14 yards per catch).

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Morgan State Takes on Marshall in Week 2

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GAME TIME
Morgan State (0-1) will travel to face Conference USA foe Marshall (0-0) for the Thundering Herd's home-opener at Joan C. Edwards Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be televised by the BeIN Sports Network. The Bears are coming off a 51-24 home loss to Holy Cross last week. Marshall finished the 2015 season with a 10-3 overall mark and was 6-2 in C-USA play, including a 6-0 home record.

RADIO: WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears. Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with former Bear coach Kelvin Bridgers in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org.

THE SERIES
• Saturday marks the first meeting in the series between the two schools.

QUICK HITS
• Graduate student transfer QB Chris Andrews made 10 starts in three seasons at Wagner College, and completed 21-of-34 passes for 240 yards, including a TD and INT in his debut as the Bears' starting QB against Holy Cross.

• MSU senior RB Orlando Johnson led the Bears in rushing last season with 583 yards (4.1 avg) and six TDs in 10 games. He led the Bears with 71 yards on 10 carries and scored a pair of TDs against Holy Cross.

• In both their returns to the gridrion last week against Holy Cross,Herb Walker Jr. ran for 22 yards on 9 carries and Lamont Brown III had 12 carries for 46 yards.

• With 29 yards rushing, redshirt junior RB Herb Walker Jr. can tie Bradshaw Littlejohn (2002-04) for 9th place on the Morgan State career rushing list with 1,849 yards; and with 38 yards rushing, he can tie Jason Jackson (2004-05) for 8th place with 1,858 yards.

• NT Jai Franklin finished the 2015 season with 38 stops, 8.5 TFL and three sacks. He posted five stops against Holy Cross.

• LB Damare' Whitaker led the Bears in 2015 with 66 stops, 6 TFL and 2.5 sacks. He recorded a team-high nine tackles last week versus Holy Cross.

• The Bears were their own worst enemy Saturday against Holy Cross committing 14 penalties for 115 yards in a 51-24 loss to the Crusaders.

• The Bears defense recorded a pair of interceptions against Holy Cross (Darius Johnson, Eric Alvis Jr.).

• Last Saturday, Fred T. Farrier played against his alma mater (Holy Cross) for his first game back as a head football coach.

A GLANCE AT THE THUNDERING HERD
• Marshall finished the 2015 season with a 10-3 overall mark and was 6-2 in C-USA play, including a 6-0 home record.They capped the season with a 49-28 loss at Western Kentucky.

• The Thundering Herd has won at least 10 games in three straight years, including one Conference USA crown.

• The Thundering Herd return quarterback Chase Litton who passed for 2,605 yards, 23 touchdowns and 8 INTs as a rookie a season ago. Also back are TEs Ryan Yurachek and Emanuel Byrd and an O-line that returns four starters and is led by two-time all-star OT Clint Van Horn. who caught eight passes for 85 yards and a pair of TDs. Tailback Hyleck Foster returns from a season in which he finished with 450 yards on 99 carries and scored three TDs. Litton will also look to target big WRs Deon-Tay McManus (35 rec., 334 yds,TD), Justin Hunt (20 rec., 295 yds, 4 TDs) and former basketball player Michael Clark.

• Defensively, the Herd return a pair of tough defensive ends in Gary Thompson and Ryan Bee. The linebackers are expected to be led by a pair of former transfers with Davon Durant (Arizona State) and Shawn Petty (Maryland). The secondary led by Rodney Allen (30 tackles, 3 INTs, FR) will also include some talented transfers with C.J. Reavis (Virginia Tech) at safety and Terry Richardson (Michigan) manning one of the cornerback positions.

• The Herd has yielded fewer than 23 points per game in each of the last three seasons. Last year's team, for instance, led Conference USA in scoring D, allowing just 17.8 points per game.

• Doc Holliday (West Virginia, '79) enters his 7th season at the helm of the Thundering Herd.

PRESEASON PICKED LAST
Morgan State, who finished T-4th place a season ago, was picked to finish seventh (7th) to co-defending MEAC champions and Preseason #1 North Carolina A&T, #2 Bethune-Cookman and #3 N.C. Central.

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
Five (5) Morgan State football players were named to the 2016 MEAC preseason team, which was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Redshirt senior cornerback Delonta Hall was named first-team All-MEAC, while senior running back Orlando Johnson was a second-team selection. Redshirt senior tight end Willie Gillus, junior offensive lineman Joshua Miles and junior defensive lineman Jai Franklin were third-team picks.

BEARS OPEN 118th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 118th season of football, and the first under interim head coach Fred T. Farrier.

RETURN MEN
The 2016 Morgan State Bears return 66 letterwinners, including 15 starters - 9 on offense, 8 on defense and 1 on special teams.

CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS
The Bears enter the 2016 season looking to post their first winning season since going 7-6 in 2014.

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2016 campaign against two of its first three non-conference matchups. MSU opens the season at home against Holy Cross (Sept. 3), followed by a road game at Marshall (Sept. 10). The Bears round out non-conference in a season-finale matchup at Army (Nov.19).

BEARS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
The MSU Bears wrapped up the preseason by naming the team captains for the 2016 season. The leadership group is comprised of four seniors and a junior ... offense - Thomas Martin (Naples, Fla.), Dominique Woods (Skyline, Texas) - defense - Greg Gibson (Houston, Texas), Ayodeji Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) and special teams - Willie Gillus III (Suffolk, Va.).

BEARS OPEN 40th SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open its 40th season in the MEAC when they host the Howard Bison on Sept. 24.

• The Bears opened the 2015 MEAC schedule with a 21-13 victory against Howard at the 18th Annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field.

• The Bears kicked off its first season in the MEAC in 1971. Morgan State withdrew from the conference at the end of the 1979-80 fiscal year, before returning to the MEAC in 1984.

MSU IN THE CIAA
Morgan State was a power as a former member of the CIAA. The Bears posted 173 wins between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 CIAA championships. Earl Banks added to the championship collection by winning four titles during the 1960s.

HOME AT THE CAVE
Morgan State opened its 2016 season with a home-opener against Holy Cross on Sept. 3. The Bears 2016 schedule features five home games in Hughes Stadium, including a meeting with MEAC co-champion Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 5 in Baltimore.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
Morgan State will not only have its first home night game since 2010, but it will also mark the Bears' first home matchup against the Howard Bison in seven years. The Bears will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play when they host their Beltway rival on Sept. 24 at Hughes Stadium. The actual kickoff time is set for 7 p.m.

"DJ" RISING IN THE SECONDARY
Sophomore safety Darius Johnson is off to a great start in 2016. In Saturday's loss against Holy Cross, the Baltimore native made his first career start and finished with a career-high seven tackles and had a 14-yard interception return (3rd career pick). "DJ" will continue to be one to watch as the season continues.

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Week 1 of HBCU football: Canceled game, top performances

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Southern University running back Lenard Tillery continues to show everybody why he’s one of the top rushers in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Tillery, the SWAC preseason offensive player of the year, had a terrific performance Saturday, picking up 161 yards on 26 carries and scoring one touchdown as Southern lost to Louisiana Monroe 38-21 to open the season. He averaged 6.2 yards a carry in a losing effort for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars’ 5-10, 186-pound redshirt senior is already the fifth-leading rusher in the FCS. His ability to run between the tackles and get to the edge with his speed make him a big threat in the open field.

A year ago, Tillery gained 1,211 yards on 197 carries to lead the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in rushing. He seems to be on pace for another big season leading the team’s ground attack.

CONTINUE READING

2016 Golden Delight Highlights: Game 1- NC A&T vs St. Augustine

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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