Lane falls in final minutes to Morehouse Maroon Tigers

Jackson, Tennessee - Lane College did the things necessary to win its football game against Morehouse, but the Maroon Tigers did just a little more to pull out a 25-21 win at Lane Field Saturday.

A 20-yard touchdown pass from Bryon Ingram to a leaping Derrick Hector in the back of the Lane end zone provided the game winning score with 1:25 to play in the fourth quarter.

Hector used his six-foot-five frame to his advantage throughout the day to pull in five passes for 81 yards, but Lane coach Derrick Burroughs was more concerned with the Dragons' output on offense — or lack of it.

"We matched up (with Hector)," Burroughs said. "But we've got to get better offensively. Our third down conversions were bad, and turnovers (two lost fumbles) have hurt us every game.

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North Carolina A&T Aggies Volleyball Lose to Rival NCCU

DURHAM, NC - The volleyball match between North Carolina A&T and N.C. Central on Friday night had all the ingredients of a rivalry crowd. The crowd at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium was charged up with the Aggies in town.

Both teams had some exciting exchanges, and as typical in Aggies versus Eagles contests, the match included an interesting twist. The Eagles got the best of the Aggies with a 3-0 (25-14,15, 17) win. Jeana Daniels led the Aggies with seven kills. Emanuelle Santos and Shantal Moore had 12 and 11 kills respectively.



It was the first win of the season for the Eagles (1-12, 1-0). The Aggies dropped to 0-16 as they lost their first MEAC match of the season. The Aggies played without sophomore Tatiana Cooper who was out with an illness.

"I thought we played very well considering we had to make some last minute adjustments," said N.C. A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We did much better even though we still made some unforced errors."

Although Clifton wants fewer errors, the Aggies put together a season-high .119 hitting percentage, while compiling 22 kills. It was the Aggies' highest total since recording 24 kills against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 26.

AggiesvNCCU

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CIAA Football: Livingstone 24, Virginia-Lynchburg 21

SALISBURY, NC — The CIAA gods don’t have Livingstone’s football team to kick around anymore.

With one swing of kicker Hillman Tabi’s right foot, the Blue Bears said good-bye and good-riddance to their 28-game losing streak Saturday night at Alumni Stadium.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful night,” winning coach Elvin James beamed after LC gained a 24-21 double-overtime victory over winless Virginia-Lynchburg, a school fielding its first team in 57 seasons. “Don’t wake me up. I feel like I’m in some dream, a dream come true.”

Not since an Oct. 4, 2008 win against J.C. Smith had the Blue Bears (1-3) outscored an opponent. In three previous games this season they’d been outpointed 133-28 and appeared to be on another treadmill to nowhere.

“Yeah, but in situations like this, you’ve just got to have faith in yourself and your team,” senior Michael Haygood said. “You’ve got to keep pushing. If we fell down seven times, we were getting back up eight.”



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New York Urban League Football Classic: Turnovers doom Howard Bison in loss to Morgan State Bears

East Rutherford, NJ -- Howard University dominated the statistics but in the end, turnovers proved to be too much to overcome as Howard University fell, 14-9 to Morgan State University in the New York Urban League Classic at MetLife Stadium before 24,996.

The Bison (1-3 overall, 0-2 in the MEAC) shot themselves in the foot by turning the ball over six times including a fumble that was returned for the game’s first score.

Howard was able to set the tone early by moving the ball smartly up and down the field. But as has been the case through the early part of the season, the Bison were not able to capitalize. So the opportunistic Bears took advantage when Michael Dallas returned of three Greg McGhee fumbles for the game’s first score at the beginning of the second quarter.

“We need to throw the stats out the window and find ways to win,’ said Howard first year coach Gary Harrell. “We outgained Morgan in that category, but they won the game. We have to find ways as coaches to correct some of these problems and find ways to win these games.”

BATTLE OF THE BANDS - HALF-TIME: 2011 NEW YORK URBAN LEAGUE FOOTBALL CLASSIC



Morgan State (2-2 overall, 1-0 in the MEAC) took advantage of another Bison turnover a little over two minutes later when Kristin Johnson grabbed a three-yard pass from Robert Council to take a 14-0 lead to the locker room.


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D'Alessandro: New York Urban League Football Classic is much more than a football game between Howard, Morgan State

East Rutherford, New Jersey - “So, what do you know about football?” we asked the new president of the New York Urban League, Arva Rice, in the third quarter.

“Truthfully?” she asked, gazing down from Suite 324 at the carnage of a two-touchdown rout, before dropping her voice to a hushed whisper. “Not really very much.” Same here. So let’s talk culture and history.

Nobody really wants to do that on a joyous Saturday afternoon, but the game at MetLife Stadium wasn’t much to write home about at the time of this conversation.

In fact, the priorities for the 40th annual New York Urban League Football Classic were exposed by the halftime choreography: No patron left his or her seat, the aisles were clear and the concessions guys tapped their feet as the two marching bands blew everyone away.

First Howard, then Morgan State. And the latter held the field until...



PHOTO GALLERY: MSU VS. HOWARD IN THE NEW YORK URBAN LEAGUE CLASSIC

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Stillman rallies for milestone win against Tuskegee

TUSKEGEE, Alabama - The Stillman College football team scored only one touchdown on Saturday, just enough to achieve a milestone victory. Quarterback Brandon Allen, who didn't start, scored on a 1-yard run, and cornerback Lakeevis Tabb came up with a fumble recovery to preserve Stillman's 13-9 victory over Tuskegee.

Stillman came into the game 0-6 against Tuskegee, the winningest program among historically black colleges and universities. As Allen knelt down to run out the final seconds, head coach Teddy Keaton and defensive coordinator Dedrick Dodge got the water-bucket treatment.

Tuskegee led 7-6 at halftime and 9-6 in the fourth quarter after recording a safety.

“We talked about overcoming adversity all week,” said Keaton, who saw his team get penalized 16 times for 130 yards. “When you go on the road, there's going to be some things you've got to play against. I thought my kids today fought back, and we played well and we ended up winning. We teach them to become relentless competitors.

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Kentucky State Thorobreds rolls past Kentucky Wesleyan

Owensboro, Kentucky - Kentucky State’s football team improved to 3-1 with a 23-7 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday night in Owensboro. KWC (0-4) scored the game’s first points on a 55-yard run by Thomas Gordon in the first quarter. Jacob Jackson kicked the extra point, and the Panthers led 7-0 at the end of the period. After that it was all Kentucky State.

A 28-yard field goal by Cade Berryman cut Wesleyan’s lead to four points early in the second quarter, and a 2-yard touchdown pass from Jerrel Noland to Raphael Amey just 11 seconds before halftime gave the Thorobreds a 10-7 lead at the break.

KSU added a touchdown in each of the last two quarters. Jacquis Lockett scored on a 9-yard run in the third, and JacQuan Persley returned a fumble recovery 65 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Berryman went 2-for-3 on extra point attempts with his last one getting blocked.

Noland completed 21 of--33 passes with no interceptions for 213 yards and one touchdown. Lockett led the Breds with 79 yards rushing on eight carries.


KSU Marching Thorobreds @ 2011 Dayton Classic vs. Central State(Ohio)

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Gateway Classic: Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9, Clark-Atlanta 7

ST. LOUIS, MO -- Adrian Moore ran for 155 yards and Arkansas-Pine Bluff edged Clark Atlanta 9-7 on Saturday in the Gateway Classic at the Edward Jones Dome.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-1) scored on its first possession, capped when Stephen Jones ran 14 yards for a touchdown. But the Golden Lions couldn't get in the end zone again, despite gaining 475 yards in the game. Moore had a 73-yard run to the Clark Atlanta 20-yard line in the second quarter, but Chris Ewald, who missed the extra point after Jones' TD, missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was also penalized 13 times for 115 yards.

Ewald did make a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter, making the score 9-0, and that was enough to hold on against the Division II school. Clark Atlanta (2-2) scored with 6:58 remaining on Davis Anderson's 3-yard run.








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Gateway Classic: Missouri Southern Lions set school record for total offense in win over Lincoln University (Mo.)

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Missouri Southern Lions looked right at home in the dome. The Lions set a school record for total offense and ran away with a 56-14 win over the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Saturday in the opening game of the Gateway Classic at the Edward Jones Dome.

“It feels good to come up here and play like we did,” MSSU receiver Landon Zerkel said. “We knew we had a chance to do something special and we got a great win.”

The Lions (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) finished with a balanced 647 offense — 329 passing and 318 rushing — one more yard than the previous record set in 2002 in a 52-28 home victory over Washburn.

Zerkel had a big hand in Southern’s quick start, catching two touchdown passes in the game’s first five minutes. His 23-yard scoring strike from Collin Howard made it 14-0 after he capped a four-play, 59-yard game-opening drive with a 19-yard touchdown catch from Kyle Webster one play after the Lions made their intentions clear on a play that was preempted by an offside penalty.



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Winston Salem Rams roll past FSU Broncos to stay unbeaten

Winston Salem, NC - In case nobody was paying attention, Winston-Salem State also has a pretty good running game. Led by fifth-year senior Nic Cooper, the Rams plowed through the Fayetteville State Broncos 56-20 on Saturday night in front of about 9,000 at Bowman Gray Stadium. Cooper had a career-high 257 yards on 16 carries and also scored a career-high four touchdowns.

"Some of those holes you could drive a tractor-trailer through," Cooper said of his offensive line that once again dominated an opponent. "It's a credit to the O-line and it's nothing I did."

The Rams had won their previous two games by relying mostly on quarterback Kameron Smith as they rolled up 122 points. But on Saturday night it was Cooper right, Cooper left or Cooper up the middle. "Nic Cooper busted out today and hit them with some big plays," said coach Connell Maynor of the Rams. "They were kind of overloading to one side and we were able to cut it back a few times."

Coach Kenny Phillips of the Broncos, whose team fell to 0-4, heaped praise on Cooper.

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SSU notches 1st MEAC win, beating N.C. Central, 33-30

Durham, NC - Savannah State could take a liking to its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football surroundings. Playing in their first official game in their new conference, the Tigers scored the first two touchdowns of the second half and held on to beat North Carolina Central, 33-30, as the newest members of the MEAC met in their conference debuts Saturday night at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium.

“They’ll be able to tell their families they won the first MEAC Savannah State game,” said first-year coach Steve Davenport, who collected his first head coaching victory. “We kind of focused on this game long ago.”



The Tigers (1-3) were potentially in trouble until Byron Leggett — who converted to cornerback during the week — returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown with 45 seconds left to establish a 33-22 advantage. That was followed by Geovonie Irvine’s 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to close the gap, and the Eagles tacked on a two-point conversion.

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Southern University offense starts hot, struggles

ATLANTA — Down to their last chance, trailing Florida A&M by five points after giving up a fourth-quarter lead, the Southern football team hit the field with 3:27 remaining in a 38-33 loss at the Atlanta Football Classic.

The Jaguars huddled up. What did they say? “We’ve got to get it,” tailback Sylvester Nzekwe said. “The quarterback said, ‘We’ve got to get it.’ That was it.”



The quarterback, at that time, was sophomore Dray Joseph, who’d thrown for 182 yards and an interception in the first half. He was pulled late in the second quarter by second-year coach Stump Mitchell, who inserted freshman J.P. Douglas into action.

Then, after Southern’s offense managed only 2 yards in the third quarter, Joseph re-entered the huddle at the beginning of the fourth quarter. His team fell behind to Florida A&M, which erased a 16-point deficit to take that five-point lead late in the game.

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TSU punter helps preserve 14-7 win over Alcorn State

Houston, Texas - Texas Southern punter Francois Ejifor caught the snap on a short hop and had to make a quick decision as Alcorn State's rush bore down on him. The Tigers needed 17 yards for a first down. Ejifor made like a running back and picked up 24.

The sophomore's breathtaking, fourth-down sprint from his own 44-yard line gave TSU a fresh set of snaps with just under 3:30 remaining and helped seal a 14-7 victory before a crowd of 2,735 Saturday afternoon at Delmar Stadium.



Running back Martin Gilbert ultimately clinched the game for TSU (2-1, 1-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) with a crucial 3-yard gain on fourth-and-1 at the Alcorn State 23 that allowed the Tigers to run out the clock with under two minutes left.

Box score

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Lavante Page sets FAMU record at Atlanta Classic

Atlanta, Georgia - Lavante Page helped make sure Florida A&M wouldn’t start its first losing streak in the Atlanta Football Classic.

The Douglas County High graduate scored a school-record five rushing touchdowns Saturday in FAMU’s 38-33 victory over Southern at the Georgia Dome. Page scored the final three touchdowns for the Rattlers, who came back from a 33-17 deficit in the second half.

Page, who grew up in Oakland City, said he had countless family and friends among the announced crowd of 59,373. They watched him surpass the four rushing touchdowns scored by FAMU quarterback Oteman Sampson vs. Tuskegee in 1996.



“It feels real good,” said Page, who finished with 78 yards on 16 carries. “But I’m more happy with just getting the win. We were down, and on the sidelines people’s heads were down. I told the offense, ‘It’s going to be a shootout.”

The Rattlers (2-2) rallied behind Page, freshman quarterback Damien Fleming and their defense.

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Xavier University newcomer Didavi wins HBCU men's singles title

 Loic Didavi

JONESBORO, Ga. -- Loic Didavi, a junior playing his first tennis tournament for Xavier University of Louisiana, defeated Florida A&M's Levan Clark 6-4, 6-4 Saturday to win the men's singles A-flight of the HBCU National Championships.

Didavi, a transfer from Auburn Montgomery, a two-time NAIA second-team All-American and the No. 3 seed in this event, survived some second-set drama to beat Clark, who was seeded second.
"Clark broke Loic's serve to start the second set, but Loic broke right back to gain control of match," Xavier coach Alan Green said. "Loic got to triple match point at 5-2. He had a little lapse and lost that game and the next one. But he regrouped and closed out the match on his serve."

Didavi defeated the top two seeds. On Friday he beat FAMU's Salif Kante 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals.

"All these years we've been coming here and we never had anyone win the highest flight -- until today," said Green, in his ninth season as Xavier's coach and a former standout player for XU.

Xavier had berths in five finals, but Didavi was the only winner. Sean Richardson lost 6-3, 6-4 to FAMU's Temuera Asafu-Adjaye in men's C-singles. Didavi and Zach Taylor, seeded second in men's A-doubles, lost 8-2 to FAMU's top-seeded Kante and Takura Happy. Richardson and Steffen Giles-Osborn, the No. 2 seed in men's B-doubles, lost 9-7 to FAMU's top-seeded Clark and Chidi Gabriel. And in women's A-doubles, second-seeded Nicole DeLoach and Kourtney Howell lost 8-5 to Southern's top-seeded Lois Alexis and Carlista Mohammed.

Clark and Gabriel beat XU in the semifinals too. They won 8-0 against Amir Rahbar and Viktor Svoboda.

"Everybody played well, including the women. I was pleasantly surprised by the way the Nuggets performed," Green said. "We have some great things to look forward to as long as we continue to grow and put in the work."

Xavier, the only NAIA member in the event, won 29 of 46 matches. The Gold Rush were 20-8, and the Gold Nuggets were 9-9. Both teams will be back in Georgia next Friday and Saturday for the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional in Atlanta.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

South Carolina State routs Delaware State, 69-0

Orangeburg, SC - Saturday started out as "Youth/ROTC Day" for the much of the 15,227 fans arriving at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

It turned into "Career Day" for South Carolina State quarterback Derrick Wiley and his teammates. With six career total touchdowns entering his first start at home, Wiley matched it in a record-setting performance in the 25th-ranked Bulldogs' 69-0 rout of Delaware State.

In leading the Bulldogs (2-2, 2-0) to their biggest margin of victory in the Buddy Pough era and largest since an 86-0 pounding of Fayetteville State in 1966, Wiley threw four touchdowns to tie the single-game school passing mark shared by Reese McCampbell and the man he succeeded, Malcolm Long. He also had two rushing scores to help match the single-game totals record of six set in 1980 by Henry Odom against Morgan State.



"Honestly, coming into the game, I didn't feel it was my day," Wiley said. "I just felt like if the offense can continue to come out and execute and that's what we did."

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Crier helps XU become lone unbeaten in GCAC matches

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Kerris Crier had a career-best nine kills and a career-high-tying five blocks Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-8, 25-20, 25-12 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Fisk.

Crier's three kills and two blocks helped the Gold Nuggets (9-2, 4-0 GCAC) turn a 2-0 deficit into a 9-4 first-set lead. Xavier scored the final nine points of that set and the first eight points of the third set.

Xavier, the lone unbeaten team in GCAC matches, extended its school-record win streak to eight and set another XU mark for GCAC victories in a season. The 2010 team held the previous mark of three. The Nuggets have six remaining conference matches.

Xavier hit .397 with a season-low eight attack errors. Chinedu Echebelem had eight kills and hit a season-best .421, and Moira Kirk had seven kills and hit a season-high .778.

Fisk (3-15, 1-3), despite just six available players, posed problems for the Nuggets in the second set. The Lady Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead and rallied for a tie at 18 after an 8-1 Xavier run. But Echebelem rescued the Nuggets with five kills in the final nine rallies, including attacks which scored XU's final two points.

Kirk also had five blocks, and Iva Bobkova had three, all in the third set. Taylor Reuther had eight digs and Celeste Poe six. Kirk and Jeanay Butler each served two aces; Butler has nine in the last thee matches after serving one in the first eight matches.

Xavier went 3-0 in two days against GCAC opponents. The Gold Nuggets will travel to Southern for a 7:30 p.m. Monday match, then visit city rival and defending GCAC Tournament champion Dillard in a 6 p.m. match next Saturday. The Lady Bleu Devils were not among the six GCAC teams involved in the 13 matches at Talladega.

The Nuggets, 5-17 in their first three seasons of GCAC matches, became the lone team unbeaten in conference when Talladega defeated Tougaloo 25-7, 25-12, 25-17 in the match which followed Xavier-Fisk.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Coastal Defeats North Carolina A&T, 31-14, to Improve to 3-1

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Aramis Hillary threw two touchdown passes to Matt Hazel and one to Marcus Whitener to lead Coastal Carolina to a 31-14 win over North Carolina A&T Saturday afternoon at Aggie Stadium.

With the win, the Chanticleers improve to 3-1 on the season, the team's best start since opening the 2005 season with the same mark. It is the third time in this the program's ninth year the tam has started 3-1, also accomplishing the feat in 2004.

Hillary finished with 255 passing yards, completing 18-of-24 passes with the three scores and no interceptions. Hazel was his top target, catching six passes for 92 yards. With 5:12 left in the first quarter, Coastal got on the scoreboard with a 40-yard Grant Clayton field goal. The score was set-up thanks to a 24-yard Hillary to Hazel completion.

Coastal's offense got on track midway through the second quarter and, facing third and goal, Hillary capped a seven-play, 56-yard drive by hitting Hazel on a 10-yard fade in the left corner. Grant Clayton tacked on the extra point for a 10-0 Chanticleer lead.

On the ensuing possession, Coastal's defense forced a three-and-out. On the Aggie punt, Dushawn Davis blocked the kick, giving the Chants the ball on the N.C. A&T 44. Back-to-back 18-yard and seven-yard completions from Hillary-to-Chris Presley and a nine Hillary run put the Chants in scoring position. Travis Small finished the drive with a three-yard run over left tackle for his first career TD. Clayton's point after led to a 17-0 CCU advantage.




Final Stats

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Air Force Breezes Past Tennessee State, 63-24

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colorado - Tim Jefferson threw for a career-high three touchdowns and Air Force piled up a school record 792 yards of offense in a 63-24 rout of Tennessee State on Saturday.

The Falcons (2-1) were coming off a bye week after losing at home to TCU and the rust showed with four first-half gaffes that might have proven costly were this not such a mismatch.

AFA rushed for six touchdowns, including the first two of junior Mike DeWitt's career and one by starter Asher Clark, who had 148 yards on 13 carries. The Falcons were on the sideline cheering when freshman Jonathan Lee scampered into the end zone from 49 yards out on his first collegiate carry, which made it 63-17.

The Tigers of the Ohio Valley Conference had never allowed so many points.

Jefferson (13 for 15 for 178 yards) threw a pair of 34-yard scoring strikes, Clark scored on a 7-yard run, DeWitt took it in from 4 yards out and Wes Cobb added a 2-yard TD run for the Falcons, who led 35-10 at halftime. It could have been much worse.

Air Force defensive back Anthony Wooding Jr. allowed Calvin McNairl to blow past him and haul in an 80-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, and Falcons running back Anthony LaCoste was stripped a foot before crossing the goal line on a 22-yard run in the second quarter.

Box Score | Photo Gallery | Postgame Notes  | Postgame Quotes 

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Charleston Southern Falls 33-3 to NSU Spartans in Home Opener

NSU Spartans
(Photo Credit: Mark Sutton Digital Photograpy)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – After three weeks on the road, the CSU football team had a tough homecoming as they fell to the Norfolk State Spartans 33-3 on Saturday in the home opener at Buccaneer Field in Charleston, S.C.

The Buccaneers finished the day with 141 yards of total offense to NSU’s 519. They were also outgained on the ground 234-55 by the Spartans, and picked up 86 yards of through the air to NSU’s 285 passing yards. The Bucs were able to pick up 11 first downs on the afternoon, while NSU came away with 24. Both teams were 100 percent on fourth down conversions, while each converted on five third downs as well.

Quarterback Malcolm Dixon led the Bucs, going 7-of-19 with one interception for a total of 86 passing yards – season high for the sophomore. Teddy Allen led the run with 17 carries for a total of 29 yards, but it was BJ Hackworth who had the longest run of the day at 10 yards. He ended up with 15 yards on eight carries, while Dixon carried the ball 17 times himself. Kirby Broome led the receivers with 28 yards on two catches, while Nathan Perera and Kevin Glears had 19 and 13 receiving yards, respectively.

Once again, Andy Brown was one of the highlights of the day as he punted eight times for 339 yards, averaging a solid 42.4 yards per punt with two inside the 20 and one touchback. He was 1-for-2 on field goals. Chris Kuzdale’s career-high 16 tackles led the CSU defense, while Daniel Dieudonne and Matt Hardy each had solid efforts with 12 and 11 stops, respectively. Isaac Lowrance recorded the Bucs’ lone sack of the day for a loss of five yards, and totaled two tackles for loss. Zac Johnston, who ended the day with eight tackles, also recorded to stops for a loss of six yards.

NSU’s Chris Walley was 20-of-23 for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Boyce was the most targeted receiver with nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, while Victor Hairston’s 122 receiving yards led all players. Takeem Hedgeman added another 105 yards on the ground for the Spartans, while Nico Flores picked up 48 yards on 13 carries.

Box Score

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Spartans Improve to 3-1 with 33-3 Rout of Charleston Southern

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Chris Walley completed 20 of 23 passes for 285 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and the Spartans outgained host Charleston Southern 519-141 en route to a 33-3 non-conference win on Saturday afternoon at Buccaneer Field.

The win helped the Spartans improve to 3-1 overall, their best start since 2007. They did it in dominating fashion, rolling up a season-high 519 yards in total offense while their defense allowed a season-low 141 in their third straight win over a Big South opponent.

Running back Takeem Hedgeman ran for a career-high 105 yards on 15 carries, and receivers Victor Hairston and Xavier Boyce both topped the 100-yard receiving mark and caught a touchdown pass for NSU.

The defense got 12 tackles from linebacker Corwin Hammond and a season-high four sacks from four different players. Marcus Center accounted for the only turnover of the game with a fourth-quarter interception, the first of his career.

The Spartans jumped on the Buccaneers (0-4) early, outscoring them 17-0 in the first quarter. NSU took the opening kickoff and drove 85 yards in 12 plays, with Walley finding Boyce on a 13-yard TD pass for a 7-0 lead. After a three-and-out by CSU, the Spartans needed just one play to score their next TD. Walley hit Hairston across the middle. Hairston broke one tackle, made another man miss and sprinted 67 yards for his team-leading third touchdown of the season, giving NSU a 14-0 lead.

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2011 Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic Press Conference

This game will be televised live at 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET nation-wide on the VERSUS Channel.

NSU: Charleston Southern scouting report

Charleston, SC - Charleston Southern went 3-8 last year and finished 1-5 in the Big South. It has two first-team preseason All-Big South Conference players in defensive back Charles James and offensive lineman Levi McFatter (what a name for a lineman by the way. Good thing he’s plenty strong).

The Bucs were predicted to finish tied for fourth in the seven-team league in the coaches preseason poll and returned seven defensive starters and four offensive ones. The last time Charleston Southern played a current MEAC team was 2009, when it beat Savannah State 47-10. The Bucs have been beaten badly by two FBS programs – Central Florida and Florida State – with a third loss against Jacksonville, which is 1-1 and beat Old Dominion last year. The Bucs are playing their home opener, but with an average crowd of under 3,300, NSU shouldn’t have to worry about the intensity of the venue.




Charleston Southern had the second-worst defense in the country last year, giving up 41.55 points per game,

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Xavier's Didavi, Richardson reach singles finals at HBCU event

JONESBORO, Ga. — Xavier University of Louisiana's Loic Didavi and Sean Richardson won men's singles semifinal matches Friday in the HBCU National Tennis Championships.

Didavi, the No. 3 seed in the A-flight, defeated Florida A&M's top-seeded Salif Kante 7-5, 7-5 and will play FAMU's second-seeded Levan Clark for the championship. Clark defeated Xavier's Zach Taylor 6-2, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Richardson, unseeded in the C-flight, beat Hampton's Kenneth Greene 6-1, 6-2 in a match suspended Thursday, then defeated North Carolina Central's Fabrice George 6-2, 6-3. Richardson will play FAMU's top-seeded Temuera Asafu-Adjaye for the title.

Asafu-Adjaye beat Xavier's Viktor Svoboda 6-1, 6-4 in the other semifinal. Svoboda got there with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Alcorn State's Maxim Tkanchenko in a match suspended Thursday.

Didavi and Taylor, seeded second in men's A-doubles, reached the semifinals with an 8-1 victory against Hampton's Advait Kitane and Lakshmana Satchithananthan. They'll play Alcorn's fourth-seeded Enresti Santillian and Winfried Weinbeer.

Richardson and Steffen Giles-Osborn, seeded second in men's B-doubles, beat James Pressley and Nate Sinckler of Morehouse 8-1 to reach the semifinals, where they'll face FAMU's fourth-seeded Asafu-Adjaye and Fabrice Myrtil.

XU's Kourtney Howell, seeded fourth in women's A-singles, defeated FAMU's Britney Dean 6-1, 6-3 and will play Southern's second-seeded Carlista Mohammed in the semifinals. XU women eliminated in the quarterfinals were Amanda Materre and Amber Brown in the B-flight and Jordyn Goody in C.

Brown, a No. 1 seed, lost 7-5, 6-2 to Prairie View A&M's Christine Gwodog in the round of 16.

Howell and Nicole DeLoach, seeded second in women's A-doubles, beat Prairie View's Alejandra Barrera and Brittany Harrell 8-6 to reach the semifinals. Goody and Brown upset FAMU's second-seeded Kathline Durden and Stephanie Miller 8-6 but lost to Bethune-Cookman's Shereen Peterson-Paul and Stacey Speller 8-4 in the B-doubles quarterfinals.

XU's Amir Rahbar lost 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of men's B-singles to FAMU's second-seeded Takura Happy.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCAC

Saturday Football Around the SWAC

All 10 SWAC teams are in action Saturday, including four conference matchups and two Classics as the season heats up on the final Saturday of September.

Alabama A&M at Grambling (SWAC TV) - 6 pm

The return of coach Doug Williams comes full circle in the home opener for the Tigers, losers of two straight games and needing a win to keep from falling two games back of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Western Division race.

The Bulldogs have never won at Grambling, and head coach Anthony Jones is just 2-9 against the Tigers. However, his team righted the ship last week in an important win over out of conference rival Tuskegee.

Alabama State at Jackson State - 4 pm

This game should go a long way in determining the top of the Eastern Division. Last year, the 32-30 win by the Hornets was the difference maker in sending Bama State to the SWAC Championship Game.

JSU's offense has been more balanced early in the season, and the Tigers are the SWAC's only unbeaten team remaining. JSU won a thriller last week in Baton Rouge before a packed house at Southern. Expect a lot of fans at this one this evening.

The Hornets pulled away from Grambling last week, led by the defensive efforts of Kejuan Riley with two interceptions. Will Riley and the defensive backfield be able to stop the JSU Air Raid? We shall see.

Alcorn State at Texas Southern - 1 pm

This suddenly becomes an extremely important game for each team. The Braves cannot afford a third conference loss this early in the season, and the Tigers would be facing an uphill climb back to the championship game if they start 0-2 in SWAC play.

TSU stepped out of conference last week for an easy victory over Texas College. The road will be much tougher today for quarterback Riko Smalls, who put up impressive numbers last week in the victory. The 212 defense is statistically the best in the nation after two games for TSU.

For the Braves, a tough schedule early on in the season has them at 1-2, but a win at Texas Southern would go a long way in getting back in the Eastern Divsion race. The offense found itself with an important win last week over Mississippi Valley State, and quarterback Brandon Bridge is starting to look like the freshman phenom we saw last year.

Mississippi Valley State at Prairie View A&M - 6 pm

Is this the week for Valley head coach Karl Morgan? At some point, the answer to that question is "yes" as the coach tries to break a 14-game skid for the Delta Devils and get his first win as head coach in Itta Bena.

MVSU has shown signs early in the season that it is a much-improved team despite not yet capturing that elusive first victory. Last week the fourth quarter was not kind to the Delta Devils, but the team was toe-to-toe on the road at Alcorn prior to it. If the team can stay healthy, especially at quarterback, this is a dangerous team to play.

PV is looking to recover from a bad fourth quarter of its own. The Panthers allowed UAPB to score 22 unanswered points at home in the final quarter last week and now need a win to remain just a game back of the Golden Lions in the Western Division race.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Clark-Atlanta (Gateway Classic) - 3 pm

The Golden Lions have never lost to the Panthers in two previous games. UAPB is 2-0 in league games this year, but lost a disappointing game to Langston in the Delta Classic 4 Literacy to open the season. With that bad taste still lingering, look for the Lions to be ready to play today as they represent the SWAC at the Gateway Classic in St. Louis.

Southern vs. Florida A&M (Atlanta Football Classic - Television: Versus Channel) - 2:30 pm (CT)

One of the oldest non-conference rivalries in black college football gets renewed today in the Atlanta Football Classic. These two teams haven't met since the MEAC/SWAC Challenge was still played in Birmingham, and both teams are hungry for a win after early season losses.

The game will be carried live on the Versus Network, and you can expect a lot of fans to fill the Georgia Dome for this one. The MEAC has had the SWAC's number so far this year with head-to-head wins by Hampton and Bethune-Cookman. Let's see if the Jags can come up big representing the league today.

Courtesy: SWAC.org

Lions play Lincoln (Mo.) in St. Louis Gateway Classic Doubleheader

St. Louis, MO - Missouri Southern isn’t quite sure what kind of defense it will face today against Lincoln.

“Lincoln has been very multiple on defense,” Lions coach Bart Tatum said. “They’ve shown in exactly one and one-half of their games an eight-man front … very aggressive, a stop-the-run type look. And then they have been very base defense-oriented the other game and a half. We’re preparing for both, which is the only choice we have.”

Regardless of the defense, the Lions need to be more productive on offense. The Lions gained 264 yards in last week’s 30-14 loss to Washburn, and more than one-third of them came in a 99-yard scoring drive in the second quarter.

Kickoff is at 11 a.m. for the first game of the St. Louis Gateway Classic doubleheader at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, home of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams.

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