Alabama State defensive lineman Derrick Billups ruled ineligible for this season

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Derrick Billups, the projected starter for Alabama State at defensive tackle this season, has been ruled academically ineligible for the season, Hornet head coach Reggie Barlow announced.

The Hornets were counting on the 6-foot-2, 310-pound junior to take the place of graduated senior Kynjee Cotton and shore up a Hornet rushing defense that ranked eighth in the 10-team Southwestern Athletic Conference last season.

Those problems were evident on Sunday when Bethune-Cookman rushed for 367 yards in a 38-28 win over the Hornets in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge in Orlando.

“Losing Billups is a tough, tough thing on us,” Barlow said. “We just have to keep going.”

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Early-season showdown in the MEAC

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - It’s only the second week of the season, but there’s a big conference game in the MEAC on Saturday between South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman.

Both teams posted impressive season-opening victories. The Bulldogs thrashed Georgia State 33-6 in its season opener in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, while the Wildcats posted a huge come-from-behind 38-28 win over Alabama State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. SC State and B-CU, along with defending champ Norfolk State, are the top teams in the MEAC. This early-season conference matchup should be a good one.

It looks like Bulldogs coach Buddy Pough has a good field general in Richard Cue, the redshirt junior quarterback. Cue had a career-high 300 yards passing in the victory over Georgia State, completing 19 of 29 passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Cue has a tremendous passing game with wide receivers Caleb Davis, Lennel Elmore and Tyler McDonald, who can really stretch the field. Davis led the team in receptions with 10 catches for 110 yards. Elmore had three receptions for 117 yards, including a 72-yard TD pass, while McDonald scored two touchdowns on three catches for 52 yards.

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Conditioning was key factor in Bethune-Cookman's opening win

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Bethune-Cookman's Harold Love saw the telltale sign early in the second quarter Sunday.

Alabama State was leading 21-0, but the Hornets were already dragging, wilting in the heat and humidity that is commonplace in the state of Florida midday in September.



“One thing our coach teaches us is not to have our hands on our hips,'' said Love, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle. “Once we see the other team with their hands on their hips, that means go attack. I saw a lot of hands on hips and that's a sign of weakness. Once we saw that we just mashed the gas.''

The Wildcats (1-0) rallied to a 38-28 victory over the Hornets in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando, but now B-CU has a short-week to prepare for Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener against South Carolina State (1-0).

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NCCU Eagles gain confidence with home win

DURHAM, North Carolina — Literally speaking, N.C. Central is having a winning season. Of course, the Eagles are 1-0, and their goal is to talk in terms of being on the plus side of .500 ball 10 games from now when the regular season wraps up.

NCCU struggled a year, finishing 2-9 for the team’s fourth straight losing season. It was NCCU coach Henry Frazier III’s first season with the team, and his squad didn’t win a game at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium.



On Saturday, Frazier finally delivered a home victory to NCCU fans, a 54-31 win over Fayetteville State. It was a long time coming, Frazier said.

“It was,” Frazier said. “I kind of went to the guys and talked to them about, ‘Hey, I’d like to get this one, guys.’ Normally, I treat all of the games the same. But after that was over with, I looked at the coaches and said we can check that one off our list. It’s important to me to put out a product our fans can be proud of.”

NCCU fans were treated to ...

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Xavier adjusts competition schedules after Hurricane Isaac

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2012 women's cross country team
Roster
Head Coach:  Joseph Moses (Bio)
 

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's cross country and women's volleyball teams are adjusting their schedules after Hurricane Isaac.

XU's distance runners withdrew from this past week's Mississippi College Opener because of the storm, and the host school subsequently canceled the meet. Coach Joseph Moses replaced that meet with the Azalea City Classic at Mobile, Ala., on Sept. 15.

The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will open their seasons Saturday in the Loyola Wolfpack Invitational at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, La. It will be XU's only local competition of 2012. The men's race will begin at 7:50 a.m., and the women will run at 8:25.

Xavier did not lose any volleyball matches while the university was closed but postponed its home opener against Loyola, which had been scheduled for today (Tuesday, Sept. 4). Coach Christabell Hamilton said no makeup date has been determined.

The Gold Nuggets (1-2) will travel to Jackson, Miss., for the Belhaven Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Xavier will play Pensacola Christian, Mississippi College, Rust and Belhaven in that event, then return home to play Spring Hill — which was 40-3 a year ago — on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in The Barn.

The university received no major damages from the hurricane, which made landfall on the Louisiana coast on Aug. 28. Classes resumed today.

"Our Xavier staff members are doing an incredible job in making the campus available for classes and the other required services," XU president Dr. Norman C. Francis said. "We will continue to pray for all of those who have experienced the effects of this hurricane and ask that we be spared further hardships during the remainder of the hurricane season."


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

Chris Carson: Around the MEAC Week 1

NORFOLK, Virginia - And we're off. And little has changed. Little has changed from my preseason predictions, although South Carolina State answered its quarterback questions, and the MEAC's lower-ranked teams did a nice job beating some FCS-level out-of-conference opponents. Here are your weekly awards, power polls and links.

Offensive Player of the Week – Richard Cue, QB, South Carolina State. In a nice win for the MEAC over Georgia State, a CAA team, Cue passed for 300 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 47 yards. Most importantly for the Bulldogs, he ended any hint of a quarterback controversy before it started. Runner-ups– Broderick Waters (Bethune-Cookman QB) and Eddie Poole (Bethune-Cookman WR).

Defensive Player of the Week – Joe Rankin, DB, Morgan State – His interception return for a touchdown helped Morgan State get to overtime, and the cornerback also made six tackles. Runner-ups – D’Vonte Grant (North Carolina A&T LB); Jamal Giddens (Norfolk State LB).

Special Teams Player of the Week –



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Tennessee State Tigers' Price continues Paralympic run

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – On Sunday, Sept. 2, Markeith Price took part in the 400-meter dash final- a day after competing in the men’s long jump competition.

Price finished in eighth and sixth in the 400-meter dash and long jump, respectively.

On Aug. 31, Price ran a time of 51.11 seconds in the 400-meter dash which was good enough for fourth place in his heat. Price’s finish also earned him a spot in Sunday’s final race.

Before running the final however, Price competed in the high jump competition. His best jump was 6.17 meters, making him the top American jumper.

 

(Left) MARKEITH PRICE
6'- 0" Senior, Sprinter, Jumper
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
High School: Mount Saint Joseph
(Photo Courtesy: TSU Athletics)
 

Price was also the top American in the 400-meter dash final. At 51.98 seconds, his time in the finals was .87 seconds slower than the time he ran in qualifiers.

Price’s next events will be the 200-meter dash and the 4 x 100-meter relay. The first heat of the 4x1 will take place tomorrow morning with the finals to follow in the evening.

P
rice was born with his vision impaired and has been involved in track and field since the age of 11, competing on different levels.
 

Back in 2005, he won gold medals for the long jump and the 600-meter dash in the IBSA World Youth Championships. He added a silver medal in 2007 in the triple jump at the IBSA World Games, and in 2009 at the IBSA Pan American Games, he won the event and added a gold medal in the 400-meter dash.
 

According to the U.S Association of Blind Athletes Indoor Track & Field, Price currently holds the records for the 200m, 400m, 800m, and long jump.
 

Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers and Twitter @TSU_Tigers.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Catawba wants to keep Mayor's Cup from Livingstone

SALISBURY, North Carolina — It wasn’t the standard early September football press conference.

Not with Salisbury mayor Paul Woods on hand to sample the buffet at Ryan’s. Not with the towering, gleaming, freshly polished Mayor’s Cup trophy conspicuously standing on the floor.

And and not with athletic directors and sports information directors from two Salisbury colleges packed into a banquet room along with a pair of head coaches and five athletes — three Blue Bears and two Indians.

After a one-year-hiatus in their annual get-togethers, Catawba and Livingstone will clash for the 13th time on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Shuford Stadium. The Mayor’s Cup will again be at stake.

“We’re very anxious to play Catawba,” Livingstone’s All-CIAA linebacker Tyheim Pitt said. “There’s always that feud for bragging rights. It’s a good rivalry and may the best team win.”

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J. Nichols' 360SPORTSMAG.COM - THE CIAA, SWAC, MEAC Preview

Check out J. Nichols perspective on HBCU Sports at: 360Sportsmag.com

Trippin': Norfolk State has to replace much more than Kyle O'Quinn

NORFOLK, Virginia - Take any of the 345 D-I teams and I don't think you pluck a group whose expectations need to be curbed from the outside looking in more than Norfolk State.

Sounds odd, sure, but consider: The Spartans defeated Missouri in that memorable 15-over-2 game last March. It provided one of the seminal moments of the 2012 tournament; we'll talk about Lehigh and Norfolk State sharing a day, two 15 seeds beating the beasts, years from now.

In reality, NSU was a good-not-great team. It plays 20 times against that Missouri team, it probably only wins once. And now, the team loses four starters. The most notable was the most loveable, Kyle O'Quinn, who was drafted by the Orlando Magic in June.

So now the team's got a boatload of new players and guys who have to adapt and somehow try to improve on what became the greatest year in Norfolk State history. It will be tough. But at least the guys had a head start, as the team traveled to the Bahamas last month and went undefeated playing against competition that, to be honest, would barely qualify as MEAC-worthy (and that's coming from the NSU coaching staff, not me).

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SWAC: Vann Pettaway’s Battle Off The Court

MADISON COUNTY, Alabama (WHNT) – Vann Pettaway was the men’s basketball coach at Alabama A&M for 25 years. He led the Bulldogs to eight NCAA tournament appearances and eight conference championships.

The year 2005 was one of the highlight years of his career, as he led A&M to a SWAC regular season title and tournament title. But what many didn’t know was that he was facing a battle off the court as well. Pettaway had prostate cancer.



He had no symptoms. It was a routine PSA blood test that was higher than usual. A biopsy confirmed his worst fears. “The cancer was so aggressive,” Pettaway said. “It was the middle of August when I got results, and we scheduled surgery three weeks later in September.” But he attacked the cancer the same way he would any opponent on the court.

“They laid out the different treatments, told me what was best for me,” said Pettaway. “Because it was so aggressive, I needed to get it out, and I was all for that because I wanted some more birthdays.”

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Oklahoma a steep challenge for Florida A&M Rattlers

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - The sting of opening the season with a loss at Tennessee State had barely dissipated Monday when FAMU football players found themselves talking about Oklahoma.

They weren’t discussing how the Sooners struggled early against Texas-El Paso before getting a win on the road, either. They were making comments about how they’re not accepting the underdog role although the matchup Saturday at Owens Field overwhelmingly favors Oklahoma.

“At the end of the day, they put their (uniforms) the same way that we do,” said lineman Robert Hartley. “The only thing that they have is depth (but) we are as strong at every position. It’s one against one and it can’t get better than that.”

Hartley isn’t predicting that an upset is certain or anything like that, but he brought up their performance in 2009 against Miami as a reminder of the effort that they could give. Ironically, the Hurricanes were coming off a one-point win over the Sooners when they faced FAMU the following week.



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'We don't ever want to embarrass anybody'

Up next for No. 7 FSU is Savannah State team coming off 84-0 loss in season-opener

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -  Everyone knew the Florida State Seminoles weren’t going to be playing a good football team in the second week of the season.  Not many understood just how weak the Savannah State Tigers were going to be though. Because they aren’t just bad, they are historically bad.

The FCS program, which took the place of West Virginia on the FSU schedule after the Mountaineers canceled their home-and-home contract with the Seminoles, was beaten 84-0 by Oklahoma State on Saturday night.  That’s right. 84. To. Zero.

Now the Tigers get to play the seventh-ranked Seminoles, who many college football experts feel have the best defense in the country and perhaps the deepest wide receiver corps in the nation as well.

In a word: Yikes.

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B-CU's Brian Jenkins puts student before athlete

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Brian Jenkins makes no secret about how badly he's pining for a championship.

Just a few days before his Bethune Cookman University football team rebounded from a 21-0 deficit to beat Alabama State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Sunday, Jenkins told reporters during his first weekly press conference that he was less than impressed with his 18-5 record he'd built during his first two years as the head coach.

"I hate those five games we lost more than the 18 games we won," Jenkins quipped toward me when I asked him if he was content with his early tenure with the Wildcats football program. "Whenever I become satisfied with 8-3 seasons then I need to get out of coaching."

Normally, that type of response would make me nervous. In today's morally challenged environment of college sports, that answer reeks of a power hungry leader willing to sacrifice anything to win. Thankfully, that's not the case with Jenkins.

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Lincoln comes to Wofford as a willing opponent

WOFFORD, South Carolina - Wofford head coach Mike Ayers has been asked the question since the football schedule was released in February.  Who is Lincoln?

And while Ayers is perhaps tempted to sarcastically answer “16th president of the United States,” he has to explain that Lincoln University is an NCAA Division II school near Philadelphia. The Lions play in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and will be Wofford's opponent at 7 p.m. Saturday in the home opener at Gibbs Stadium.

“People said, ‘What do you know about them?' ” Ayers said. “I told them, ‘Nothing right now because we haven't played Gardner-Webb yet.' ”

Wofford, No. 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, took care of Gardner-Webb, 34-7, in last week's season opener. Lincoln, picked sixth in a preseason CIAA poll, lost to rival Cheyney (Pa.) 34-21, despite 363 passing yards and nearly doubling the opposition in total yards. Eight turnovers, including five lost fumbles, were the Lions' undoing.

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WSSU basketball adds two players

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - Winston-Salem State has added two late signees in men's basketball — Michel-Ofik Nzege, a 6-foot-8 wing from Switzerland, and Kevin Powell, a 6-7 post player and junior-college transfer from Fayetteville.

"We were able to get Michel-Ofik late, and he'll be a welcome addition," said coach Bobby Collins, who didn't lose any starters from the team that won the 2012 CIAA title. "We've got 15 players on our roster and a 16th (JuCo transfer Maurice Nash) will be eligible for second semester."

Nzege, who played last season at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, was being recruited by several Division I schools but didn't have the required grades, Collins said. Old Dominion and Xavier made hard pushes late in the recruiting process.

To become eligible in Division I, Nzege would have had to ...

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MEAC time: S.C. State begins Bethune-Cookman preparation

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - No rest on Labor Day is a common practice for the South Carolina State coaching staff under Buddy Pough.

The Rowe Hall offices were especially active Monday morning as the Bulldogs turned their complete attention to Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opening opponent — Bethune-Cookman. Much like last Thursday’s game won by S.C. State over Georgia State 33-6, Pough emphasized the “sense of urgency” with this matchup, particularly against a Wildcats’ team which has enjoyed success in recent years at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

“As I said earlier, it’s live or die,” said Pough during Monday’s press conference. “It’s pretty much like it was last week against Georgia State. We had to win that game and this situation is very, very similar. I’m pretty sure they’ll (Bethune-Cookman) say the same thing.”

The coaching staff received high praise from Pough for the game plan against Georgia State. S.C. State tallied 488 total yards on offense and collected six sacks and two turnovers on defense as Pough believed his team accomplished the rare feat of “outcoaching and outplaying” their opponent.



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THE SHOW: Labor Day Classic - PVAMU vs. Texas Southern

Florida A&M's Kevin Elliott earns spot on Jaguars roster

ORLANDO, Florida - There is really only one thing harder than sitting around waiting for a phone to ring. That has to be sitting around waiting for a phone to not ring. That was Kevin Elliott’s predicament Friday night as NFL teams began cutting their rosters down to the 53-man minimum by the 9 p.m. deadline.

Elliott, the former Orlando Colonial High and Florida A&M standout, has been working as a free-agent wide receiver in the Jacksonville Jaguars camp ever since being signed by the Jaguars one day after the NFL Draft in April.



He had an extremely strong preseason camp, during which he had two touchdown catches in preseason games, including a 77-yarder against Atlanta on Friday night. Then it was time to wait. The Jags told Elliott that if he didn’t hear his phone ring by 9 p.m., Saturday, he was safe. The problem was, his phone kept ringing. And ringing.

“Ah man it was crazy,” Elliott said of hearing his phone ring constantly Saturday night as the hours ticked away.

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Alabama A&M notebook: Lacey injuries ankle

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Alabama A&M running back Kaderius Lacey, a first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason pick, left Saturday's game with an ankle injury late in the second quarter and never returned.

Lacey suffered a sprain right ankle midway through the first half, but returned to the game with just over a minute left in the quarter. He finished the game with 47 yards on 12 carries.

"I tried to go back in and play, but I couldn't go 100 percent," Lacey said. "I believe I made the best decision for me and the team."

Lacey said he planned to be back next week when A&M opens SWAC play at Arkanas-Pine Bluff.

Redshirt sophomore Brendan Johnson, who fumbled on his first carry after Lacey left the game early in the first quarter, responded with ...

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WEEK 1: HBCU College Football Scorecard

MEAC
Oklahoma State 84, Savannah State 0
Tennessee Tech 41, Hampton 31
Coastal Carolina 29, North Carolina A&T 13
Tennessee State 17, Florida A&M 14
South Carolina State 33, Georgia State 6
Delaware State 17, Virginia Military 10
Morgan State 30, Sacred Heart 27 4OT
Bethune-Cookman 38, Alabama State 28
North Carolina Central 54, Fayetteville State 31
Howard 30, Morehouse 29
Norfolk State 24, Virginia State 0

SWAC
Bethune-Cookman 38, Alabama State 28
New Mexico 66, Southern 21
Mississippi State 56, Jackson State 9
Corcordia-Selma 20, Mississippi Valley 19
Alabama A&M 7, Tuskegee 6
Alcorn State 22, Grambling State 21
Texas Southern 44, Praire View A&M 41

SIAC
West Alabama 44, Clark-Atlanta 0
North Alabama 31, Miles 30
Stillman 28, Central State (Ohio) 27
Virginia Union 28, Benedict 7
Albany State 24, North Greenville 12
Fort Valley State 31, Delta State 23
Saint Augustine's 28, Wingate 10
Lane 45, Edward Waters 28

CIAA
West Virginia State 34, Johnson C. Smith 31
Charleston 44, Shaw 26
Newberry 46, Elizabeth City State 20
Cheyney 34, Lincoln (Pa.) 21
Chowan 70, Livingstone 35
Winston-Salem State 28, North Carolina-Pembroke 23
Bowie State 24, Assumption 20
Virginia Union 28, Benedict 7

Others
Incarnate Word 19, Texas College 12
Lindenwood 40, Lincoln (Mo.) 28
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 17, Langston 14
West Georgia 55, Point University 3
Ohio Dominican 57, Virginia University of Lynchburg 6

THE SHOW: 2012 MEAC-SWAC Challenge - Alabama State vs. Bethune-Cookman

Bethune-Cookman rallies for 38-28 win in MEAC/SWAC Challenge

ORLANDO, Florida - Bethune-Cookman started the college football season a little later than the rest of the country. After spotting Alabama State 21 points Sunday in the eighth installment of the annual MEAC-SWAC Challenge at the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Wildcats roared back to claim a convincing 38-28 win in front of an announced crowd of 17,410.

B-CU forced three turnovers in the second half and outgained Alabama State 551-351 in total offense to score the comeback victory.  "We told our guys not to flinch and to keep believing in what we do," Bethune-Cookman coach Brian Jenkins said of the deficit. "We had no doubt in our mind that this was going to be a 15-round fight. That's what we expected and that's what we got."

The Wildcats took the lead with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter behind the stellar play of reserve quarterback Brodrick Waters. Waters called his own number on an option and scored from 6 yards to put B-CU out front 24-21.

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Alabama State football loses its sting against Bethune-Cookman in MEAC-SWAC Challenge

ORLANDO, FLA. — A lot of things needed to go in Alabama State’s favor for the Hornets to win Sunday’s MEAC-SWAC Challenge battle with Bethune-Cookman at the Citrus Bowl.

For much of the first half, the Hornets were clicking, but a 21-point lead evaporated in a rash of mistakes and a strong Bethune-Cookman rushing attack as the Wildcats rallied to take a convincing 38-28 victory over the Hornets in front of 17,410 fans and an ESPN audience in the black college season opening showcase.

It was hard to tell what was more disappointing, a defense that surrendered 272 yards in a 34-minute stretch that included all of the second half and the final four minutes of the first half or an offense that managed just two first downs and 37 total yards from that same stretch late in the first half until midway through the fourth quarter, when the outcome was already decided.

“I was disappointed in both,” said Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow. “Defensively, the best player on their team was the quarterback at one point, and no one was accounting for him. That’s disappointing and certainly something we have to correct.

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North Alabama preserves 31-30 win over Miles with goal-line stand

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- UNA's Rod Woodson dropped Miles College running back Jordan Lewis one foot from the goal line on a two-point conversion with just 15 seconds remaining Sunday night to halt a dramatic Miles comeback and give his team a 31-30 win in the Labor Day Golden Classic at Legion Field.

It was a triumphant return to North Alabama for head coach Bobby Wallace, but it was a victory that in the second half may have had him pondering if he should have stayed retired. A game that had been a 24-7 yawner at halftime indeed turned into a classic.



Miles had battled back to tie the game 24-24 with 3:09 remaining when Patton Chambers kicked a 29-yard field goal, but the comeback finally awakened the visitors. UNA quarterback Chris Alexander led his team on a 14-play drive that ended when he tossed a 40-yard scoring strike to Brian Southerland with 1:05 left in the game.

Miles wasn't finished, however. Quarterback David Thomas hit passes of 22, 11, 13 and 13 yards to get his team in scoring range. Thomas hit Lonnie Outlaw on a 19-yard scoring strike with 15 seconds left to put Miles within a point.


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Stillman scores three TDs in fourth quarter to win

DAYTON, Ohio| The Stillman College football team opened the season with a come-from-behind 28-27 victory in the 8th Dayton Classic. Both teams struggled coming out of halftime, each putting together drives that failed to produce points.

The offensive output came in the fourth period as Central State scored on a 28-yard pass play to build a 20-7 lead. Stillman answered, ending a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard run by LaKevin Camp. CSU scored on a 95-yard pass play giving the Marauders a 27-14 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.



Stillman needed four minutes to cut the lead to six points at 27-21 with 4:54 left. Backup quarterback Josh Straughan put together a nine-play, 69-yard drive, capping the endeavour with an 11-yard pass play to Damian Ford.

Once Stillman regained possession, Straughan found Damian Ford, this time on a 2-yard pass play with just under two minutes remaining. Camp led the Tigers’ rushing attack with 17 carries for 56 yards and a score. Ford caught five passes for 79 yards and two scores while Reese Sturgis and Dondre Purnell each had two receptions for 46 and 36 yards, respectively.



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