Bethune-Cookman seeking return to former glory

The team's progress last season and new players are generating excitement

DAYTONA BEACH -- Bethune-Cookman finished 5-6 for the second year in a row last season and lost two All-Americans, yet the feeling of urgency is not the same as a year ago. In fact, coach Alvin Wyatt seems pretty relaxed these days. Part of the reason was the way 2007 ended. The Wildcats won three of their last four games and put an exclamation point on the turnaround with a 34-7 trouncing of archrival Florida A&M in the Florida Classic. A win over FAMU has a way of soothing the alumni, even after two losing seasons.

Coach Alvin Wyatt will have an uphill battle to improve the Wildcats standings with improving programs at DSU, SCSU, NSU, Hampton, Morgan and FAMU.

''One of our problems last year was we were weak in the third and fourth quarter,'' Wyatt said. ``Once we got a full-time strength coach [Britt Patton] we began playing better football. We nearly won our last five games. We just had a mistake here and a mistake there. ''Against Winston-Salem, we were driving to win the game, but we [threw] an interception. Hampton, we had them on the ropes.''

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Season Opener: BCU (0-0) vs. Alabama State University (0-1), Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET, September 6, 2008 @ Daytona Beach, FL Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 10,000) Radio Coverage: WELE 1380am and Game Tracker.

Transfer receiver sparkles in TSU win over AAMU

Spillman scores twice against Alabama A&M

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — JaJuan Spillman isn't asked to do too much for Tennessee State. Since he's still new to the program, all that's expected of the Louisville transfer is that he score touchdowns. He does that well. The lightning-fast receiver touched the football three times through the first three quarters of Saturday night's game at Alabama A&M and scored twice. Spillman's big plays set the stage for a 34-13 win before a crowd of 10,072. The victory helped TSU snap a three-game losing streak to the Southwestern Athletic Conference power.

The last time TSU won its opener was in 2004, when the Tigers beat A&M 42-7. Finally beating the Bulldogs would have been more difficult without Spillman's heroics. After returning the opening kickoff for a short gain, Spillman got wide open early in the second quarter deep down field and caught a 65-yard pass from Antonio Heffner for a touchdown. The next time he touched the ball, 6½ minutes later, Spillman broke loose for a 94-yard kickoff return and another score.

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Attendance: 10,072, Lewis Crew Stadium, Huntsville, AL (Capacity: 21,000)

MEAC/SWAC Battle of the Bands 8/30-31/2008

FAMU Marching 100 Drill

FAMU Marching 100 Dance Routine

Hampton University Marching Force Band
Jackson State University Sonic Boom of the South Marching Band
Texas Southern University Ocean of Soul Marching Band
Alabama A&M University Maroon and White Marching Band

Weevils surprise UAPB Golden Lions

PINE BLUFF, AK — Is it too early to assume there’s more to the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils than previously thought? UAM’s 21-7 season opening victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday at Golden Lion Stadium in Pine Bluff suggests as much. The NCAA Division II Boll Weevils entered Saturday having won six games in the past three seasons, and were picked to finish last in the 11-team Gulf South Conference in a preseason poll. But that didn’t keep UAM from manhandling the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA ) Golden Lions offensively and defensively.

Sophomore quarterback Scott Buisson ran for 95 yards and a touchdown and added 193 passing yards and two touchdown passes for the Boll Weevils. “This ain’t a last-place team,” UAM Coach Gwaine Mathews said. “Defensively, I thought we had something to prove. I thought tonight, we did.” A defensive unit that surrendered more than 40 points per game in 2007 limited UAPB to 183 yards passing and intercepted Golden Lions quarterback Jonathan Moore three times.

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Attendance: 8,126 @ Golden Lion Stadium, Pine Bluff, AK (Capacity: 12,500)

SE Louisiana Lions stave off Alcorn Braves to spoil Jones' debut

LORMAN, MS - Ernest Jones saw his share of amazing comebacks in his playing days at Alcorn State during the Steve McNair era. In his head coaching debut at his alma mater, Jones came oh-so-close to seeing another one. Tim Buckley's fourth-down pass with six seconds left was just out of the grasp of Channin Pugh and Alcorn dropped a 34-28 heart breaker to Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night in the season opener at Jack Spinks Stadium.

"I marched up and down the field during that drive and told my guys that we have a chance," said Jones, who replaced Johnny Thomas. "I played with a miracle-maker. Steve McNair made miracles happen and games like that we were in all the time. The expectations were that we were going to drive down the field and win the football game." And the Braves almost did that.

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Attendance: 3,000, Jack Spinks Stadium, Lorman, MS (Capacity: 22,500)

NSU Spartans turn it on, rout Virginia State

NORFOLK, VA - Slow start, fast finish. How fast? Usain Bolt kind of fast. The Spartans didn't just win, they overpowered their rivals from Division II Virginia State in the Labor Day Classic on Saturday 47-7 before a festive crowd announced at 17,132 at Price Stadium that appeared far larger. Speaking of big, the 40-point margin of victory was the greatest in the annual series that dates to 1963.

The Spartans (1-0) rang up the first 47, with 28 of those points earned in the second half. Virginia State's lone score came with 1:34 left in the game when NSU had a collection of backups on defense. After missing all of the 2007 season due to eligibility issues, running back DeAngelo Branche showed as much rust as a shiny new vehicle. A white towel hanging from his gold pants exclaimed "I'm back!" in colored marker, and the Trojans couldn't argue. Scoring three touchdowns, which matched his previous high from the entire 2006 season, the sophomore showed off elusive moves that should make him the MEAC's best.

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Attendance 17,132 @ Dick Price Stadium, Norfolk, VA (Capacity: 30,000)

Nevada Wolf Pack off to fast start with 49-13 win over Grambling State

The Grambling State marching band opened its halftime show with Earth, Wind and Fire's "Let's Groove Tonight." The Nevada football team took it literally. The Wolf Pack made the expected first-game miscues -- and a few unexpected bumbles -- but otherwise had a fairly crisp and ground-dominating start to the 2008 season with a 49-13 victory over Grambling State before 20,078 fans at Mackay Stadium on Saturday night. It marked the first time since 2003 that the Wolf Pack opened the season with a victory.

"It's great to get that first win under our belt," said sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who rushed for three touchdowns. "We haven't had that in the past few years. "(We) still had a lot of mistakes, though, and we need to improve those for next week." Nevada dominated the running game on both sides of the ball, totaling 426 yards and seven rushing touchdowns, averaging a whopping eight yards per carry. Four hundred yards rushing is amazing," Kaepernick said. "That tells you right there the kind of work our offensive line has put in the offseason and the kind of work they put in tonight.

Grambling State University Tigers Marching Band


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Attendance: 20,078 @ MacKay Stadium, Reno, NV (Capacity: 31,545)

Jacksonville Third quarter does in Savannah State

SSU Coach Robby Wells starts Tiger career at 0-1, as he learned Saturday morning that 11 players were ineligible to play against Jacksonville because of NCAA Clearinghouse issues. The Dolphins are a non-scholarship program in the Pioneer League.

Jacksonville (Fla.) University cornerback Robson Noel guaranteed a victory against Savannah State University and his teammates delivered Saturday night. After a scoreless first half, Jacksonville scored 17 points in the third quarter and held on for a 20-7 victory. A Memorial Stadium crowd of 4,441 watched as the Dolphins spoiled the head coaching debut of SSU's Robby Wells, and gave JU second-year head coach Kerwin Bell his first road win.

"I just knew our team was ready to play," said Noel, who made four tackles. "I'm very relieved. I owe it all to my teammates." Jacksonville, which does not offer athletic scholarships, is a member of both the Football Championship Subdivision and the Pioneer Conference. The Dolphins won their season opener for the first time since 2002, when they beat Lenoir-Rhyne, 37-27. SSU has not won its season opener since 2004, a 41-34 double-overtime victory at Norfolk (Va.) State.

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Attendance: 4,441@ Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 15,000).

North Carolina A&T Aggies rediscover that winning feeling

Photo Gallery of N.C. A&T record breaking win

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- After searching for almost three years, N.C. A&T finally found somebody it could beat. After losing 27 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in NCAA Division I-AA history, the Aggies and coach Lee Fobbs defeated Johnson C. Smith 44-12 Saturday in the first game of Fobbs' third season at A&T.

And there was great rejoicing. Maybe too much. A&T's band was admonished by officials in the first quarter, presumably because the Marching Machine was bothering its own team. The fans had no idea how much time was left on the malfunctioning scoreboard clock, so they just enjoyed the long evening as if it would last forever. By the end, it was the Smith band being chided by officials for making too much noise, and the Aggies taunting the opponents the way winning programs can taunt opponents.

It had been a long time.

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Attendance: 11,552 @ Aggie Stadium (Capacity: 22,500)

Joe Taylor Era at FAMU starts with a dominating victory

Make no mistake about it: Rattler Nation is buzzing.

The curtain rose on the Joe Taylor Era on Saturday, and the opening night revues are calling it a smash-mouth hit. Playing before an enthusiastic crowd of 18,088, Florida A&M turned back Alabama State 30-20 in its season-opener. "Everybody is excited for this football team," FAMU linebacker and team captain Vernon Wilder said. "We have a chance to be great.

"It was real electric here tonight." The Rattlers played opportunistic football. Alabama State won the statistical battle, putting up 378 yards of total offense to FAMU's 201. But the only numbers that count after the final horn are the ones on the scoreboard, and that's where the Rattlers were the undisputed champions.

FAMU vs. ASU Hornets Photo Gallery

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Attendance: 18,088 Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, FL (Capacity: 25,500)

Prairie View pummels TSU 34-14 in Labor Day Classic

Prairie View A&M jumped out to a 28-point lead before allowing its defense to carry the Panthers home to a 34-14 victory over Texas Southern at the State Farm Labor Day Classic at Reliant Stadium on Saturday night in front of 20,444. Panthers, who have won four of the last five against the rival Tigers, spoiled the coaching debut of TSU coach Johnnie Cole by smothering his ballyhooed HOBO (high octane, big play offense) attack, as Prairie View A&M allowed just 113 yards and nine first downs while also recording six sacks of TSU quarterback Bobbie Reid.

“We were prepared for whatever they did,” said Prairie View coach Henry Frazier III. “We have a sound defensive foundation, and once we got settled in, we were able to stop just about anything they threw at us.”

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Attendance: 20,444 @ Houston, TX Reliant Stadium (Capacity: 69,500)

Commentary: Knights don't wow in opener against South Carolina State

You don't want to show too much in the first game. If that was UCF's goal, you can call Saturday night a Category 5 success. The Knights didn't show a lot. In fact, they did such a good job of hiding their offense that you have to wonder if they have one. Either that or the MEAC is the sleeper power conference this year.

All hail South Carolina State.

"We had an opportunity to possibly take a football game here," Coach Buddy Pough said. Not Really. UCF was never in danger of losing, mainly because South Carolina State was never in danger of scoring. But the Knights led only 7-0 entering the fourth quarter, which was about 21 points short of where they should have been.

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Central Florida blanks South Carolina State, 17-0

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The phrase “moral victory” is not in South Carolina State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough’s vocabulary. Not surprisingly, he refused to view Saturday’s 17-0 season-opening loss to Central Florida in such a manner. “We’re not in the moral victory business,” Pough said. “We’re a good enough team now where we’ve got to make some type of statement and we haven’t made it yet. The one thing we do know is that we can go in and play defense I think with pretty much anybody. We’ve just got to find a way to make our overall team come together.”

The Bulldogs stopped the Knights on three of five trips to the red zone as Markee Hamlin (#11) had eight tackles and one fumble recovery to lead the S.C. State defense.

Even though the Bulldogs’ third contest against a Football Championship Subdivision foe was less lopsided than last year’s two contests against Air Force Academy and the University of South Carolina, to a man, the outcome was seen as a missed opportunity. “Tough season opener,” Pough said. “When you come into stadiums like this you feel like you might have a chance to at least hang around. “When you do for a while, you feel really bad about not getting it done.”

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Attendance: Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, FL: 42,126 (Capacity: 45,301)

UH opens Sumlin era with 55-3 win over Southern

Game statistics

Quarterback Case Keenum torched the Jags for 359 passing yards and five touchdowns — both career-highs — while completing 33 of 43 passes in only three quarters of play.

With all the buildup heading into Kevin Sumlin’s first game as coach of the Houston Cougars, you almost expected a letdown when they finally took the field Saturday to play the Southern Jaguars. Too much was expected of the Cougars, who were installing new schemes on both sides of the ball and were trying to find new playmakers at key skill positions. But despite the pregame hype, the Cougars still managed to impress, rolling to a 55-3 victory before a rowdy crowd of 26,555 at Robertson Stadium.

Everything seemed to click for the Cougars, who enjoyed the highest-scoring coaching debut in school history, eclipsing the 54 points Bill Meek put up against Montana in 1955, despite emptying the bench late in the third quarter.

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Attendance: 26,555 at Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX (Capacity 32,000).

Colts cut QBs Lorenzen, (FAMU) Gray

Former FAMU Rattlers Quinn Gray is out of an NFL quarterback job tonight, with his cut from the Colts Roster.

The Indianapolis Colts reached the NFL’s regular-season limit of 53 today by waiving 20 players, including quarterbacks Jared Lorenzen and Quinn Gray (Florida A&M University), and placing two projected starters on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

The waiving of Lorenzen and Gray indicates the team is confident its top two quarterbacks – Peyton Manning and Jim Sorgi – will be healthy for the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears. Manning did not play in the preseason after undergoing surgery on his left knee July 14. Sorgi was held out of the last two preseason games after injuring his right knee.

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MEAC/SWAC Internet Live Game Links for 8/30/08

1. FAMU vs Alabama State webcast: http://www.famu.edu/famcast/famusports

2. NCA&T vs. Johnson C. Smith University webcast: http://www.ncataggies.com/A&T%20Athletics/1aGGIE%20WEBCAST.htm

3. NSU vs. Virginia State live audio: http://www.nsuspartans.com/sports/2007/10/25/GEN_1025070834.aspx?tab=liveaudio

4. SCSU vs. UCF: http://all-access.cstv.com/cstv/player/player.html?code=ucf&sport=m-footbl&category=live&media=72700

5. Arkansas-Monticello @ Arkansas-Pine Bluff: http://www.uamsports.com/ATHLETICS/LISTEN_LIVE.htm

Prairie View A&M, TSU motivated for opener

Someone will move, and someone will get hit, so the plan goes.

Hence the theme for tonight’s State Farm Labor Day Classic, as Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M open the regular season (7 p.m.) in a contest that will feature an explosive quarterback (TSU’s Bobbie Reid) attempting to avoid being frequently hit by an equally volatile Prairie View defense that looks to pick up where it left off last season, when the Panthers allowed the fewest points in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

“Anything moving on the field (tonight) will get hit,” said Prairie View coach Henry Frazier III. “We plan on playing aggressive, confident football for 60 minutes.” Confidence is one trait the Panthers don’t lack. With 18 returning starters and the momentum from last season’s 7-3 campaign flowing throughout campus, Prairie View embarks on a season in which expectations are higher than they have been in decades. A winning season isn’t enough for the program, which has its eyes locked in on a SWAC championship.

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Florida State Volleyball Sweeps Florida A&M On Opening Day

The Seminoles are now 20-0 all-time against the Rattlers.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Seminoles opened the 2008 season with a win over the Florida A&M Rattlers on day one of the Florida State Invitational Friday, August 29. FSU swept its cross-town rival in three sets (25-13, 25-15, 25-16) to lengthen the all-time winning streak to 20-0.

"It is always good to get an early match like that out of the way like that," FSU head coach Chris Poole said. "I felt like the girls for the most part played really well. The biggest thing I want them to focus on is not making as many mistakes on our side of the net and I think we did a pretty good job eliminating that for the most part." Leading the way for the Seminoles was junior Jordana Price (Mountain Home, Idaho) who had an impressive nine kills for a .818 attack percentage. Price also led the team with four assisted blocks and 12 points.

Final Stats

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The Tulane University volleyball home opener against Florida A&M on Monday, Sept. 1., has been cancelled due to evacuation of its student-athletes, coaches and staff out of New Orleans with the impending weather threat from Tropical Storm Gustav. The Tulane volleyball team flew out of New Orleans on Thursday for their season opener at the BYU Molten Classic in Provo, Utah, and will remain on a West Coast road trip and travel directly to their next tournament, the Paso Robles Marriott Invitational, Sept. 5-6, at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Moon goes off on Alabama State and SWAC

No Shame:

I wrote last week about Alabama State offensive lineman Lionell Mapp breaking through the floor at ASU's mobile football facility. That's right, Mapp fell through the floor and one leg nearly hit the ground below. Anyway, I've been thinking about this for a while and I think now is the time to say it: ASU has no business on the Division I level.

If you're operating a program that can't manage to obtain the necessities, you need to take a serious look at where you are and what your options might be. ASU is in that position now. And I'm not saying that simply because of the incident with Mapp and the dilapidated state of the "football offices." It's also the practice field, which is so riddled with holes that the team is avoiding it, and the compliance office, which still employs just two people.

This program, like the rest of the SWAC's programs, should be in Division II. And I'm failing to see the shame in admitting it. If ASU were to drop to Division II, it wouldn't look so bad when Tuskegee handed out its annual Turkey Day whipping.

Josh Moon can be reached at jmoon@gannett.com.

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UAPB Coach knows Turner’s path to excellence

UAPB Coach Monte Cole-man: "Senior linebacker Tim Turner is the unquestioned leader of the Golden Lions defense with 122 tackles a year ago."

PINE BLUFF, AK — Arkansas-Pine Bluff Coach Monte Coleman probably thought he had a pretty interesting sports history. It’s not every day a young man grows up with his eye on other sports, hardly plays high school football, never receives a recruiting letter and yet goes on to become a standout linebacker in college and, later, the NFL. Yet for all the odd little bumps and curves that led Coleman to stardom, he’s not the only member of the UAPB football program who has followed that path... at least up through college.

A preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection who led UAPB with 122 tackles a year ago, senior linebacker Tim Turner is the unquestioned leader of the Golden Lions defense. His speed — Coleman said he can run a 4. 5-second 40-yard dash — and 6-1, 220-pound size fit the ideal college linebacker mold, enough so that the New York Giants had a scout in Pine Bluff last Friday to do some firsthand observation.

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NSU hopes game with Virginia State starts something big

NORFOLK. VA - James Riddick lists the priorities for any Norfolk State football fan. No. 1 is beat Virginia State in the opener. No. 2: beat Hampton. No. 3 is beat everyone else in the MEAC. It's a sentiment shared by many Spartan diehards, most of who will fill Dick Price Stadium tonight for the annual Labor Day Classic against the Trojans.

The Norfolk State schedule, toughened with a match-up at SEC foe Kentucky next week and CAA stalwart William and Mary later this month, doesn't have a more attractive date to its fans than today's game. Even talk of a future contest with down-the-road rival Old Dominion doesn't hold the same mystique for Spartans fans, who have made this annual showdown with the Division II Trojans a circle on their calendar since 1963.

Six of Price's top 10 crowds have come with Virginia State in the stadium, including the top attendance of 33,872 exactly 11 years ago in the stadium's inaugural game there. As for today? "I'm projecting a sellout," said NSU athletic director Marty Miller, whose only reservation about making such a bold statement is the chance of rain dampening the evening.

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FLORIDA A&M vs. ALABAMA STATE

Time: 6 p.m., Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, FL

FAMU offense vs. ASU defense

For the first time in his career, FAMU quarterback Eddie Battle is the undisputed starter heading into the season opener with the Hornets. Battle was named the starter after impressing new head coach Joe Taylor in the spring. He's shown over the summer why Taylor tapped him to be the starter: He is a leader capable of guiding an offense down the field. It's highly unlikely new Kentucky transfer Curtis Pulley will see any time today. There's little doubt who the star of the offense will be, however, and that will be sophomore running back Philip Sylvester.

The 2007 MEAC Rookie of the Year, Sylvester joins Demitric Henry and fullbacks Mykel Benson and Kalum Harris as veterans of the backfield to give FAMU a potentially scary running attack. With Willie Hayward gone, Jarvis Funderburk, Adrian Smith, Javares Knight and tight end Taj Jenkines need to provide FAMU with a formidable receiving corps for the Rattlers to succeed through the air this season.

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Jacksonville cornerback guarantees a victory over SSU

Teams meet at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium

It's Savannah State's football season opener. It's Robby Wells' first game as the Tigers' head coach. And if that's not enough intrigue then try this: Jacksonville (Fla.) University cornerback Robson Noel has guaranteed a JU victory against SSU at 7 p.m. today at Memorial Stadium.

Noel, a senior from Pompano Beach, Fla., last week told the Florida Times-Union, "We want to get off to a fast start this year. We've got a couple of big games ahead of us. We're focused in on Savannah State right now, and we're looking forward to Appalachian State (Sept. 6), but we're keeping that in the background. "We're thinking about this first game, and we're going to come out with a win ... and I guarantee it." Thanks to the Internet, word of Noel's guarantee spread quickly at SSU.

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Coleman era begins with UAM’s stout offense

Arkansas-Monticello at Arkansas-Pine Bluff
WHEN 6 p.m. Central today WHERE Golden Lion Stadium, Pine Bluff 2007 RECORDS Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4-7, 4-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference; Arkansas-Monticello 4-7, 3-5 Gulf South Conference COACHES Arkansas-Pine Bluff: Monte Coleman (first season ); Arkansas-Monticello: Gwaine Mathews (fourth season, 6-27 ) SERIES Arkansas-Monticello leads 12-4 RADIO KUAP-FM, 89. 7, in Pine Bluff; KHBMFM, 93. 7, in Monticello INTERNET http://www.uamsports.com/

Let the Monte Coleman era begin. After struggling to a 4-7 finish last season the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions fired coach Mo Forte, and hired defensive coordinator Monte Coleman to right the ship of what has been one of the more prestigious programs in Arkansas state history. Coleman’s tenure officially starts tonight when the Golden Lions open the 2008 season against the University of Arkansas at Monticello at 6 p.m.

“Feels like Christmas,” Coleman said of his head coaching debut. “Can’t wait for the next morning.” Coleman hopes to give a present to all Golden Lion fans by beating the Boll Weevils. And while UAM is a Division-II opponent, Coleman acknowledged that a victory won’t come easy for his squad.

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SU Holloway, others have chance to star

Southern University junior defensive end Don Holloway is so much like the rest of his teammates. He looks the part. He’s spent his time as the understudy. And his number is being called. This season, how so many guys like Holloway, defensive tackle Frank Harry, wide receiver Corderious Gregory and safety Anthony Wells fare, will determine if Southern is to make a run for its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2003.

There are enough established players, like quarterback Bryant Lee and defensive end Vince Lands, who helped SU emerge from two consecutive losing seasons to an 8-3 mark last season. But as SU opens its season at the University of Houston at 6 p.m. today at Robertson Stadium, there is the next line of players who will need to elevate their games to make their mark.

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