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Alcorn State gets its second opportunity to play on television this season.
The Braves (3-3, 2-2) plays Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday night in a crucial SWAC contest that will be televised by ESPNU at 6:30. Mississippi State defeated the Braves 49-16 last month in a contest televised by Fox Sports South.
The Braves still control their destiny of reaching the SWAC title game on Dec. 11 in Birmingham. If Alcorn win its remaining games, it will capture the East Division championship.
Jackson State at Texas Southern, noon: The Tigers (5-1, 3-1) must improve their special teams play to stay ahead of Alcorn in the East. Jackson State ranks next to last in the SWAC in extra-point attempts. The Tigers also have given up big yards on punt and kickoff returns.
Last season, when Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alcorn State played on national television, viewers never got to see the end of the game. Nobody did. A three-hour-long lightning storm near Pine Bluff, Ark., forced officials to delay and ultimately cancel the game.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Lorman, Miss., the teams meet again on ESPNU. And this time, if Raymond Webber does what he’s done for much of this season, something else — the scoreboard — might be lighting up instead.
The Golden Lions’ 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior wide receiver has taken over as the league’s best receiver, now that Juamorris Stewart’s stellar career at Southern has ended. Webber leads the SWAC in...
First meeting with FAMU in 2005 attracted 43,122 fans to Raymond James Stadium, the second largest home crowd in USF Bulls history.
TAMPA, FL - Florida A&M will travel to Tampa to play the University South Florida in football in 2011 and 2015. USF announced today it has finalized its 2011 schedule, which also includes a visit by Texas-El Paso.
The Rattlers and Bulls will meet Sept. 17 at Raymond James Stadium, while the Miners will visit Sept. 24. USF will pay $400,000 to Florida A&M for the meeting, while UTEP will receive $650,000, according to contract figures provided by USF. FAMU, an NCAA Division I-AA team (FCS), will get $450,000 for 2015 game.
New London, Conn – The Coast Guard Academy men's lacrosse team has partnered with the Morgan State University men's lacrosse team to put together a fall ball scrimmage event. "Bears Lacrosse Showcase and Diversity Open House" will take place Sunday, October 24th at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School in Baltimore. The clinic will begin at 12:00 p.m. with game faceoff at 2:00 p.m.
The goals of the event are to showcase the two lacrosse programs and to celebrate diversity in the sport of lacrosse. Highlights will include a clinic for local U.S. Lacrosse BRIDGE (Building Relationships to Initiate Diversity Growth and Enrichment) affiliates, a Coast Guard recruiting and information booth and, weather permitting, a fly-in and static display by a Coast Guard helicopter.
Morgan State has a rich lacrosse history and tradition that has been vital to the growth and diversity of the game. It was the first and, for a long time, the only historically black college or university to field a lacrosse team. The success of their dominant Division 2 teams of the 1970s was chronicled in the book Ten Bears.
During that era, Morgan State made the NCAA tournament twice and, in 1975, pulled off one of the great upsets in lacrosse history when they beat then-No. 1 ranked Washington & Lee. Today, Morgan State competes in the Chesapeake Division of the National Collegiate Lacrosse League (NCLL) against club teams from Navy, Towson, Washington College, Salisbury, Loyola, Johns Hopkins, and Delaware.
One of Tuesday's editorials will react to the firing of N.C. A&T Athletics Director Wheeler Brown in the wake of a student's death during an "unofficial" track tryout in August.
A&T didn't require a mandatory physical and sickle cell screening that could have averted the tragedy that claimed the life of sophomore Jospin "Andre" Milandu. Wins and losses are definitely not life-and-death matters.
But there is a lot of grumbling in Aggieland about problems on the field as well. Brown may have been in hot water anyway.
This did not have to happen. The N.C. A&T student who died during an “unofficial” tryout for the track team had a potentially life-threatening condition that should have been detected in advance.
Twenty-year-old Jospin “Andre” Milandu collapsed on Aug. 19 during the workout and later died at Moses Cone Hospital. An autopsy revealed that the Knightdale sophomore had suffered from physical exertion and complications from sickle cell trait, a genetic condition that has claimed the lives of other college athletes.
Of all people, A&T athletics officials should have known better. In 2008, an Aggie football player, Chad Wiley, collapsed following a practice and died of complications from heat stroke. He also had carried the sickle cell trait.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — After a two-month search, N.C. A&T football coach Alonzo Lee has found his quarterback. On the baseball team. George Hines, a redshirt senior and three-year starter in center field for the Aggies, will be A&T's quarterback for the final four games, Lee said Monday.
"He's more than just an athlete who wants it," Lee said. "He's a guy who wants to be a student of the game. The other guys see that, and that leadership made the difference. He's our guy going down the stretch. ... We'll do a little rotation with the wildcat (offense), but he's going to be our main guy."
Prairie View head football coach Henry Frazier sees his team's "home" game with Southern at Independence Stadium on Saturday as a good thing.
"That (playing at a neutral site) is pretty much how it is with us," Frazier said. "We only play three games at our stadium. We'll play at Reliant Stadium, at the Cotton Bowl, at the Independence Bowl, and all of those are our home games.
"It's a good thing and a good problem to have. We have definitely outgrown our little high school stadium that we have. So that's a good thing. We're kind of used to it."
JACKSON, Miss. — It happened just after 9:20 p.m. Saturday night in Veterans Memorial Stadium, very late in the fourth quarter, while Southern’s sloppy, mistake-filled game against Jackson State turned into a bona fide thriller — easily one of the most exciting finishes in the long, proud history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
It happened just after the Jaguars scored with 15 seconds left, presumably clinching their first signature win of the Stump Mitchell era. It happened while thousands of SU fans overflowed with joy and exhilaration, thinking— no, knowing — their team had pulled off the ultimate Houdini, in a hostile setting no less.
Just minutes after his team lost 49-45 to Jackson State on Saturday in the last minute — quite literally the last minute, which included three touchdowns and three lead changes in a back-and-forth explosion of big plays — Southern coach Stump Mitchell, who calls the offensive plays, said this one was on him.
Even though the Jaguars had season highs in points (45), passing yards (293) touchdown passes (three), and committed no turnovers for the first time all year, Mitchell said his offense should have done even more.
Southern University head football coach Stump Mitchell doesn't need a stat sheet to tell him one area his team needs to improve. Still, the numbers jump off the page. Southern was penalized 16 times for 195 yards during the Jaguars' 49-45 loss at Jackson State on Saturday. Southern's 63 penalties are the most in the SWAC. The Jaguars' 119.8 yards in penalties per game also top the SWAC.
North Carolina Central University Office of Sports Information Press Release - October 18, 2010 Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree, Director of Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. — Following back-to-back 4-7 seasons and a disappointing 2-4 start to the 2010 campaign, Mose Rison has been replaced as head football coach at North Carolina Central University. Assistant head coach Darryl Bullock will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
“While we appreciate the passion and commitment that Coach Rison has shown, we feel at this time that a change in the leadership and command of our football program is needed,” said NCCU Director of Athletics Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree.
“As we have moved through the Division I transition process, we have established high expectations for our football program to become one of the best in the MEAC,” Wicker-McCree said. “However, we must continue to improve in all aspects of the football program in order to reach those aspirations. We will begin the process to hire our next head football coach immediately, with a goal of having someone in place by the beginning of next year (January 2011).”
Rison will be reassigned to another position within the athletics department. He has one year remaining on his current contract.
Bullock is in his fourth season as assistant head coach and offensive line coach at NCCU.
The Eagles host undefeated MEAC foe Bethune-Cookman University on Saturday (Oct. 23) at 2 p.m. --------------------------------------
Fans,
Sorry to see Coach Rison get the ax but it was overdue. It's about time the Eagles get serious about Division I football. First and foremost, it is unacceptable to get beat by a Division II state rival,Winston Salem State, in your home stadium and by a first year football program -- Georgia State. After BCU, the Eagles should run the table with foes Edward Waters, Delaware State, Savannah State and second year program, Old Dominion.
There is never a right time in this economy to lose your employment, but expect to see athletic directors make difficult decisions on head football coaching changes soon at the following schools:
1. Johnson C. Smith University 1-6 (finished 2009 at 3-7) 2. Livingstone College 0-8 (18 straight losses) 3. Lane College 0-7 (18 straight losses)
4. Savannah State University 0-7 5. Stillman College 0-7 6. Saint Paul's College 1-6 (finished '09 at 4-5) 7. Howard University 1-4 (finished '09 at 2-9) 8. Benedict College 0-7
9. North Carolina A&T State University 0-7; has loss 10 straight games- (finished '09 at 4-6)
No doubt, when the shoe drops it will be because expectant revenue from the football program is falling far short of planned budgetary goals. Simply, wins translate into more revenue and gift giving by alumni. Winning is the foundation to any one's successful coaching career.
Thanks for the memories Coach Rison...but it's time to move forward.
-beepbeep ---------------------------------------- Now, the rest of the Story...
DURHAM, N.C. — Mose Rison, who has served as N.C. Central’s head football coach since 2007, has been reassigned to other duties in the school’s athletic department, according to an announcement on Monday. Assistant head coach Darryl Bullock was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2010 season.
Rison has one year remaining on his current contract that pays him $135,630 annually. Reached by telephone late Monday night, Rison said he was completely caught off guard by the dismissal.
N.C. Central interim coach Darryl Bullock spoke with the football team on Tuesday morning, a day after the university removed head coach Mose Rison from the program’s top leadership position.
Bullock, an offensive line coach and assistant head coach with the team for four seasons, will serve as interim coach until the university selects a new coach, N.C. Central athletic director Ingrid Wicker-McCree said in a statement on Monday.
Despite a plethora of offensive errors, Bulldogs find way to finish.
The Bowie State University Bulldogs (4-4 overall, 4-1 CIAA) had to grind out a valuable homecoming victory against conference opponent Lincoln University of Pennsylvania (1-6 overall, 0-4 CIAA), 24-18. The victory came despite several turnovers on offense and not having a lead until early in the fourth quarter.
This game was not for the feint of heart. For all the ambiance of a homecoming game, it was a very scrappy affair marred with turnovers galore for both teams, but in the end Bowie State was able to make more big plays.
Marcus Wells’ on-the-job training last season should pay dividends this season at Winston-Salem State. While the Rams’ basketball team has five seniors and two juniors who will make an impact, it’s Wells — a sophomore point guard from Durham — who will be counted on guide them in the CIAA. And Wells, who is sporting a full-length beard these days, says he is up to the task.
The Rams, who began practice Friday night at Ram Madness in a sold-out Gaines Center, expect to compete for the conference title. “The seniors are the leaders of the team, but I’m the leader on the court,” said Wells, who last season started 23 of 29 games and was third on the Rams in assists with 55.
Late in Saturday's game, trailing 14-0, S.C. State quarterback Malcolm Long let fly with a pass across the middle of the field that slammed square into the chest of Bethune-Cookman linebacker Ryan Lewis. Lewis promptly secured the ball and plopped down in the middle of the field.
And, that was the end of the Bulldogs' 21-game Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference winning streak. Then again, it wasn't so easy to decipher that the Bulldogs had experienced so much success from the sidelines at Oliver C. Dawson because of what was taking place in the stands.
HAMPTON, VA -- Achilles only had one deficiency. Norfolk State has two.
The poor passing and shaky special teams that have marked each of the Spartans' MEAC contests emerged again Saturday in a 7-6 Battle of the Bay loss to Hampton (5-1, 4-0), the most frustrating defeat yet for a Norfolk State team (2-4, 1-3) growing well accustomed to them.
Kicker Ryan Estep missed a game-tying extra point and quarterback Chris Walley had just four completions and 12 yards passing until the final two minutes, another exposition of Norfolk State's most glaring flaws.
HAMPTON, VA — For long stretches on Saturday, Brandon Peguese and his Hampton teammates didn't give his grandmother, watching her grandson play football for the first time ever, many reasons to cheer.
That changed on the final drive of the game, when Peguese, the Pirates' senior defensive end, combined with sophomore linebacker Matt Davis to sack Norfolk State quarterback Chris Walley on fourth down and preserve Hampton's 7-6 victory in the 48th edition of the Battle of the Bay.
HAMPTON, VA — It seemed fitting that Saturday's offensively-challenged Battle of the Bay was decided by a missed extra point, and that one of the game's crucial plays began with a botched snap. Here's the kind of offensive display Hampton and Norfolk State provided: The Pirates scored one more point than they did a year ago when they got housed by 40. Except that this time, they won.
"It's a win," Pirates head coach Donovan Rose exhaled after the 7-6 affair. "We could win by point-five. I'll take it. That's 4-0 in the conference. I don't know what everybody else does, but I know we're steadily going forward."
The Kentucky State football team entered Saturday’s game against Clark Atlanta with the hope that it could score a win for its fans on Homecoming. Four quarters later, KSU coach Wayne Dickens walked off the field thinking things couldn’t have gone much worse for his team. The Thorobreds lost to the Panthers 19-7 under a mountain of fumbles, missed tackles, penalties and blown assignments.
“We took turns today making every conceivable mistake you can make in a football game,” Dickens said. “And it cost us.” Mistakes plagued KSU from its first drive, which ended when junior quarterback Jerrel Noland lost 17 yards on a mishandled snap and the Thorobreds couldn’t recover the yardage.
Dezmond Beverly didn’t have a single reception before Saturday night.
And with less than five minutes remaining, Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s freshman receiver had just one catch for 12 yards, which set up UAPB’s touchdown on the opening drive. His second catch proved to be even bigger.
Beverly ran along the Alabama A&M sideline, broke a tackle and sprinted 40 yards to the end zone with 4:09 left to wrap up the Golden Lions’ 21-14 come-from-behind victory over the Bulldogs.
“Had to make a play,” said Beverly, who was forced out of a redshirt year because of injuries to other receivers earlier in the season. “That’s what was going through my head. ... I broke the tackle ... Golden Lions Outlast Alabama A&M Bulldogs 21-14
PINE BLUFF, Ark.- The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions football team was able to grind out a critical 21-14 win over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Saturday night at Golden Lions Stadium.
Offensively Arkansas-Pine Bluff tallied 357 yards (103 R, 254 P) while AAMU amassed 338 total yards (235 R, 103 P). T.J. Shelton’s 19 yard reception put UAPB on the board first giving the Golden Lions a 7-0 edge early in the first quarter.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff went on to score a touchdown in the third quarter on a 8 yard Stephen Jones run tying the game at 14 all. A 40 yard Desmond Beverly touchdown reception with 4:09 left to play sealed the victory in UAPB’s favor.
Quarterback Joshua Boudreaux went 18-33 for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Raymond Webber continued to set the mold for Division I FCS receivers as he tallied 8 catches for 110 yards.
Lane College head coach Derrick Burroughs didn't mince words after the Dragons lost their homecoming game, 20-6, to Miles College at Lane Field on Saturday.
The bottom line ... we are not very good, but it won't always be like that," Burroughs said. "Today, I saw what I had heard before I took the job, that (Lane football) was very undisciplined, and I would rather go 0-10 with guys who want to be here."
Leading 7-0 at intermission, Miles put together back-to-back scoring drives to open the second half giving the Golden Bears a 20-0 lead, using 10 plays total to drive 47 and 36 yards, respectively.
GRAMBLING, LA — Running back Frank Warren continued his stellar senior season with a career-high five touchdowns Saturday against Alcorn State. Grambling needed every one of them, despite building a 35-14 lead in the third quarter, as the Braves (3-3, 2-2) fought back with two fourth-quarter touchdowns before falling 38-28 to the Tigers (5-1, 5-0).
"They're never easy, never easy," Grambling coach Rod Broadway said. "We had an opportunity to put 'em away, but we just weren't good enough to do it, and we let 'em hang in there." Four of Warren's touchdowns came by the rush, another on a 9-yard reception at a critical moment in the second quarter.
Frank Warren scored five touchdowns to edge out Brandon Bridge's four scores as Grambling State outlasted Alcorn State, 38-28, in a SWAC conference game Saturday.
Warren, the no. 2 rusher in the Football Championship Subdivision, ran for 202 yards on 29 carries and four touchdowns. He scored the other TD on a 10-yard pass from GSU backup quarterback Danny Reyes just before the half.
Bridges threw for touchdowns of 44, 25, 19 and 30 yards for the Braves (3-3, 2-2). He completed 33 of 47 passes for 404 yards.
RALEIGH - Fayetteville State coach Kenny Phillips leaned against a wall outside his team's locker room late Saturday and broke into a chuckle. He didn't know what else to do. The explanation behind the Broncos' 34-27 road loss to Shaw was far too simple.
"Oh, what a feeling," Phillips said. "You've got to make plays. We talk about it all the time. When opportunities are there for you to make a big play, you have to make that play." Shaw won Saturday's CIAA tussle because its top wide receiver, Julius Gregory, made two highlight reel touchdown catches in the second half.
Raleigh, NC – Shaw built a lead in the first quarter, but could never distance itself from a determined Fayetteville State squad as they held on for a 34-27 win. The win moves Shaw to 5-2 on the season, 4-0 in the CIAA. Fayetteville State drops to 2-5, 1-3 in the CIAA.
“Any time these two teams play, you know it’s going to be a high tempo game,” said Shaw Head Coach Darrell Asberry. “Our team is playing good football, and while it took our offense a little time to click, we stuck to the game plan and it came out in our favor.”
Shaw’s Kevin Atkins threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Raymond Williams rushed for two touchdowns, but it was Julius Gregory (right) who proved to be the offensive star for the Bears. Gregory caught both of Atkins’ TD tosses, giving him seven on the season, and 18 in his Shaw career, new Shaw records in each instance.
A new powerhouse has emerged in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. This is a good thing!
Bethune-Cookman has beaten South Carolina State, breaking the Bulldogs string of 21 consecutive conference wins. The Wildcats in their 14-0 shutout Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg also broke the Bulldogs 13 game home winning streak.
With the win, the Wildcats are tied with the Hampton Pirates for the conference lead with a 4-0 record. B-CU is scheduled to play the Pirates on November 6 in Hampton. The Bulldogs drop into a second place tie with Florida A&M with a 2-1 conference mark.
The Bulldogs have little time to recover as Hampton is scheduled for Saturday at Dawson Stadium in an ESPNU nationally televised cable game. Both the Bulldogs and Rattlers will need some help from the other MEAC teams, if they expect to overtake the Wildcats for the championship.
The Wildcats (6-0/4-0 MEAC) will play at North Carolina Central in Durham next Saturday in a non-conference game. The Eagles (2-4) fell to the upstart Georgia State Panthers 20-17 in overtime at the Georgia Dome.
Who ARE Those Guys on the B-CU Coaching Staff?
For starters, 39 year old first year head coach Brian Jenkins has never served as a head football coach at any level -- not even Pop Warner, junior high or high school. Jenkins was a career Division I position coach, serving 15 years at a number of schools as either wide receivers, running back or special teams coach at: Rutgers (2009), Louisiana-Lafayette (2002-08), NFL Europe - Frankfort Galaxy (2001), Bowling Green (2000), Eastern Illinois (1995-1999) and Western Kentucky (1994).
Coach Jenkins played wide receiver and running back at the University of Cincinnati and earned an associate’s degree in Education and bachelor’s degree in social work in 1993.
Jenkins is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and played football at Dillard High School under a renowned high school football coach, the late Otis Gray. Jenkins played on the 1986 and 1989 Dillard High School State Championship teams with NFL running back Lorenzo White. For you football historians, Gray is the father of former Florida A&M University and Jacksonville Jaguars star quarterback Quinn Gray Sr., who also played for his father at Dillard High School.
Nothing in Jenkins vitae shed any light to his instant success with B-CU other than the assembly of a great coach staff with great teaching skills, and superb chemistry with the players.
Offensive Coordinator Mark Orlando's Speedway O scheme has the Wildcats ready to play every game while their opponents look totally confused and unprepared for the no-huddle offense. His scheme is very similar to the legendary "Gulf Coast Offense" ran by former FAMU Coach Billy Joe during the 1990's on his way to several FCS playoffs berths.
Orlando won the 1981 Division I-AA National Championship as FAMU's offensive coordinator during six seasons with the Rattlers; five SWAC Championships and three HBCU National Championships during his tenure at Southern University under former Jaguars head coach Pete Richardson.
The jury is still out on Coach Jenkins, but we can confirm he is a great recruiter of Florida talent, a tremendous leader and exceptional facilitator of proven coaching talent. That in itself is a major plus up for MEAC Football -- that now has a four- headed monster in the Wildcats, Pirates, Bulldogs and Rattlers, battling for the MEAC Football Championship and FCS playoff berth.
Surprise of the Week:Jackson State quarterback Casey Therriault throwing a 28 yard TD with two seconds left in the game for a 49-45 Tiger victory over Southern. Therriault has passed for 2,087 yards and 20 touchdowns in six games. He has only 3 interceptions on the year and has rushed for 3 TDs.
Grambling State has hitched its wagon to senior running back Frank Warren who recorded his second 200 yard rushing game of the season. The Tigers' (5-1, 5-0 SWAC) earned a 38-28 win, as Warren rushed for 202 yards and 4 touchdowns on 29 carries, and caught a 9 yard pass for a 5th touchdown.
ASU true-freshman quarterback Brandon Bridge accounted for 445 yards of offense for the Alcorn State Braves. Bridge passed for 4 touchdowns and 404 yards but had 2 INT.
GSU's Warren is the second leading rusher in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Now, the rest of the story...
MEAC #23 Bethune Cookman 14, #9 South Carolina State 0 Florida A&M 31, Savannah State 0 Hampton 7, Norfolk State 6 Delaware State 31, North Carolina A&T 26 Georgia State 20, North Carolina Central 17 (O.T.)
SWAC Grambling State 38, Alcorn State 28 Prairie View A&M 45, Lincoln (Mo.) 12 Arkansas Pine Bluff 21, Alabama A&M 14 Jackson State 49, Southern 45
OVC Jacksonville State 24, Tennessee State 0
SIAC Fort Valley State 26, Tuskegee 0 Morehouse 38, Stillman 34 Miles 20, Lane 6 Albany State 27, Benedict 10 Clark Atlanta 19, Kentucky State 7
CIAA Bowie State 24, Lincoln (Pa.) 18 Chowan 31, Saint Paul's 20 Virginia Union 44, Johnson C. Smith 21 Shaw 34, Fayetteville State 27 Winston Salem State 58, Livingstone 0 Virginia State 15, Elizabeth City State 10 (Thursday)
Others Panhandle State 23, Texas College 14 West Chester 48, Cheyney 34 West Liberty State 48, West Virginia State 26
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Bethune-Cookman football coach Brian Jenkins said he compared Saturday's game against two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion South Carolina State to a heavyweight boxing match.
If so, it was Cassius Clay versus Sonny Liston in 1964. And just as Clay (before he was known as Muhammad Ali) claimed he "shook up" the world in '64, the Wildcats shook up the MEAC world Saturday by beating the seemingly unbeatable Bulldogs 14-0 on their home field.
"We tabbed this game a heavyweight fight, and we said we're going to take it 15 rounds," Jenkins said. "And if it came down to the last round and we had to go toe-to-toe, we were willing to do that. It just so happened we were able to win 14 of the 15 rounds."
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- How big was Bethune-Cookman's 14-0 upset of defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion South Carolina State on Saturday? Count the ways.
· No team has beaten the Bulldogs in conference play since 2007; B-CU's win snapped a 21-game conference win streak and a 13-game home wining streak for South Carolina State.
· It was B-CU's first road shutout in 10 years -- the last at Howard in 2000.
· It left B-CU as one of only two unbeaten teams in the MEAC. The Wildcats and Hampton are both 4-0, and the two teams will meet at Hampton on Nov. 6.
Shut down and out: Bethune-Cookman blanks Bulldogs, 14-0 The atmosphere at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Saturday in the closing seconds was like nothing seen at a South Carolina State football game in three seasons. Fans who were initially expressing their frustration with boos started quietly exiting the stands. On the sidelines, the Bulldog players were throwing their helmets down with confused looks on their faces.
Meanwhile, the opposing sidelines and visitors' section were a sight of uninhibited celebration as the Bethune-Cookman players showered head coach Brian Jenkins with Gatorade and carried him off the field like a conquering hero.
The 23rd-ranked Wildcats had defeated 9th-ranked South Carolina State 14-0 before a stunned 10,077 fans. The loss saw an end to the Bulldogs' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference record 21-game winning streak and 13-game home-winning streak, both dating back to a 17-16 defeat to Delaware State on Oct. 27, 2007.
The announcement of the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year is still weeks away. As far as head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough of 10th-ranked South Carolina State is concerned, it's a foregone conclusion who will win this year's honor - Bethune-Cookman's Brian Jenkins.
"He is definitely the Coach of the Year in our league," said Pough during Monday's press conference. "They're the most improved team I've seen in this league and it's a good thing. It's good for the fact that it will help the strength of our league in the fact that he'll go out and beat some people outside of our league. ... So he'll be a force in this league for years to come."
Coach Joe Taylor has been hinting for more than a week that he would put the rest of the season in the hands of his running backs. On Saturday, senior Philip Sylvester and LaVante Page proved that Taylor might be on to something as they led a ground attack that carried Florida A&M to a 31-0 victory over Savannah State.
The victory was a prelude to a five-game stretch that the Rattlers must win to keep a meaningful place in the conversation about playing in the postseason.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - For a time Saturday afternoon the Savannah State football team was living on the edge. The game against Florida A&M was in front of them if the Tigers could string together some first downs. But the Tigers (0-7) fell off the precipice following touchdowns on the Rattlers first two possessions of the third quarter. A manageable 10-point halftime deficit became insurmountable one as Savannah State fell 31-0.
Right beneath the press box, where there is usually a lot of ruckus, it was eerily quiet for the first quarter. The shakers were near silent. No whistles blew like they usually do. Folks were wondering about their Florida A&M football team as former West Gadsden star quarterback Antonio Bostick got a nifty drive going before the Savannah State Tigers had to punt.
"I will cheer for you; hold that line," a lonely voice bellowed from the crowd just below the press box. "Hold that line."
Two possessions were all it took to wipe away a dissatisfying first half. Despite dominating in every statistical category Florida A&M led Savannah State just 10-0 at the half due to eight penalties, clock management issues and offensive ineffectiveness on third down.
The miscues even permeated to the officiating as an inadvertent whistle from the officials prevented FAMU from scoring what would have been a 90-yard punt return by T.J. Lawrence with two minutes remaining in the first half.
As long as three months ago, coach Joe Taylor has been predicting that before the season is done, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference will turn out to be one of the most competitive among all Division I-AA.
Taylor was making his case again a few days before Saturday's matchup between Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State. Both teams went into the game with unbeaten records, but it's the Wildcats' 4-0 record that seems to validate Taylor's argument.
Virginia Union University's Cheston Hickman completed 10 of 18 passes for 175 yards and Tarian Donaldson and Jerell Washington rushed for two touchdowns apiece as VUU beat Johnson C. Smith 44-21 at Hovey Field. The win sent 7,650 fans home happy who took part in the 2003 Homecoming game.
Washington rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries and Donaldson had 69 yards on 15 carries. Joseph Jean-Pierre had seven receptions for 135 yards.
The Panthers (2-5) blocked two Golden Bull punts, and both resulted in touchdowns for VUU. In the first quarter, VUU's Damon Ramsey blocked a punt and Derek Parker recovered. Three plays later, VUU scored their first touchdown on a one-yard run by quarterback Ares McGlone-English.
TUSCALOOSA | Turnovers kept Stillman College in the game, but it was a costly turnover made by the Tigers’ offense that put the game out of reach and helped Morehouse College to a 38-24 win Saturday.
With just under four minutes left, Stillman got the ball back trailing by a touchdown. Quarterback Desmond Holloway fumbled the snap, and Olajawaun Gooch picked it up for Morehouse and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown.
“That’s the nature of our football team,” Morehouse head coach Rich Freeman said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are very capable of making big plays, explosive plays.”
With 9 seconds left in the game and Jackson State trailing Southern University by four points, the Tigers receiver raced straight down the field for what he hoped was a game-winning touchdown. Seven seconds later, Richardson fell head first across the goal line to cap one of the wildest finishes college football has ever seen and give JSU a history-making victory over its rival from Louisiana.
"This is destiny," linebacker Todd Wilcher said afterward. Said JSU coach Rick Comegy: "Unbelievable." Richardson's 28-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Casey Therriault with 2 seconds left lifted Jackson State over Southern 49-45, and capped a frantic fourth quarter that won't be forgotten around these parts for a long, long time.
Jackson State quarterback Casey Therriault nicely asked a reporter for a moment immediately following his team's wild win Saturday night. He was granted it. "You'll have to give me a few seconds," he said, "my heart is pounding." Rightly so.
Therriault didn't have his best game Saturday in Jackson State's 49-45 win over Southern University. He threw an interception - he only had two all season - and forced plenty of balls into blanketed coverage. But in the end, the transfer from a Michigan junior college helped the Tigers get a fourth win in five years over Southern.
JACKSON, Miss. — When all the madness finally ended, when there were no more wild plays, no more magic tricks left to pull, most of Southern’s football players stood on the visitors’ sideline at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Actually, most of them rested on one knee. The game clock flashed three zeroes, but they didn’t move. In complete and utter disbelief, they stared straight ahead, slackjawed, exhausted and emotionally spent. The final score — Jackson State 49, Southern 45 — was like the final frantic minutes of Saturday night’s game itself: Amazing, stunning and completely unbelievable. But absolutely true.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior Stanley Jennings knows such a comment will end up on a bulletin board somewhere in Atlanta or Fort Valley. But the confident quarterback said it anyway after leading Albany State to a 27-10 victory at Benedict College on Saturday.
“We’re not losing,” Jennings said of the first-place Rams’ upcoming games against Morehouse and Fort Valley, the two teams chasing them in the SIAC standings. “You can quote that: We aren’t losing.”
Jennings had cause for such optimism. Against Benedict, he watched the Albany State defense play most of the first quarter in its territory but give up no points. The offense produced another big play: a 90-yard scoring strike from Jennings to Ronnie Childs early in the second quarter for the game’s first score.
Alcorn State gets its second opportunity to play on television this season.
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