SSU NOTEBOOK: Nothing is easy for Savannah State

SAVANNAH, Georgia - Savannah State coach Steve Davenport doesn’t want his team thinking it has a breather Saturday night against North Carolina Central. Of course, after playing Oklahoma State and Florida State during the first two weeks, any FCS school on the Tigers’ schedule would be a welcomed relief.

“I certainly hope our kids don’t think this game will be easy,” Davenport said. “We played a couple of good teams, but we didn’t play them well.”

SSU (0-2) lost to Oklahoma State and Florida State by a combined score of 139-0. And now the Tigers are meeting the only team they’ve beaten the last two seasons.

Months ago, Davenport targeted the North Carolina Central game as the real start of SSU’s season. But what if the Tigers lose?

“It’s huge for us as far as the confidence level,” Davenport said. “The realistic thought was we weren’t going to be very successful in those first two games, so there’s obviously a bulls-eye on game 3 for us. It would be really disappointing if you get beat in a game you’re putting a bulls-eye on.”



READ MORE

Florida A&M Rattlers Hit Road Again, 2nd Conference Game

Tallahassee, Florida - James Owens ran with all the attention this week after rushing for 157 yards and three touchdowns. But he expects more from their next opponent, Delaware State.

"Hopefully I can come out this week and I will have a great practice," Owens said. "I'm just gonna have great intensity and push my teammates."

FAMU needed that win against Hampton last Saturday. They were among their own fans for the first time this season. With the win, the Rattlers have initiated their hunt for a conference title.

"We feel like our hardest games are out of the way," said Devan Roberts, a sophomore defensive back. "So we're focusing on winning out right now."

That next win will have to come on the road, their third trip in four weeks.



READ MORE

Mobile defeats Xavier Gold Nuggets in 4 sets

NEW ORLEANS — Kiara Gay had 14 kills and 10 digs Tuesday, and Sara Van Wert had 12 kills in Mobile's 21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-18 women's volleyball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana at The Barn.

The Lady Rams (12-4) have a two-match win streak and six victories in their past seven matches.

Taylor Reuther had 10 kills and 13 digs for the Gold Nuggets (5-4), and Moira Kirk's 10 blocks were the most for Xavier in a match since the program resumed in 2010. Kirk and teammate Chinedu Echebelem had seven kills apiece.

Xavier came back from a 19-16 deficit to win the first set and was aided by eight Mobile errors in the final 10 rallies. The Gold Nuggets rallied again late in the second set — tying the score at 24 after trailing 22-13 — but the Lady Rams ended the set with consecutive kills by Gay and Van Wert. Mobile closed the third set with a 15-5 run, then ended the match on a 12-3 run. The Lady Rams clinched on Bailey Nations' kill.

"We made too many errors," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "We dug ourselves into too many holes we couldn't get out of."

Mobile had advantages of 48-32 in kills and 12-3 in aces. Xavier committed a season-high 52 errors.

It was the first time in 31 matches that Xavier won the first set but lost the match. And the Nuggets, 8-1 at home a year ago, are 0-2 at home for the first time since 2004.

Xavier will play Edward Waters at 7 p.m. EDT Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener for both. The Gold Nuggets are the defending GCAC regular-season and tournament champion.

NOTES: Kirk's previous high for blocks in match was seven, which she accomplished three times . . . Reuther's double-double was her fifth of the season and 18th of her career . . . Freshman libero Darian Harris had 10 digs and, like Reuther, reached double figures for the third consecutive match . . . Mobile, a former GCAC member, is 3-0 against GCAC opponents this season. The Lady Rams beat Tougaloo and SUNO in August . . . Xavier wore new gold jerseys with black numbers for the first time . . . In Hamilton's two seasons at Xavier, her teams are 3-7 against Southern States Athletic Conference opponents (1-0 Faulkner, 1-1 Belhaven, 1-2 Mobile, 0-1 Loyola, 0-3 Spring Hill) and 25-4 against everyone else . . . It was just the second time in 14 matches under Hamilton that the Nuggets lost in a match longer than three sets.

Box score

Read more about this match and other sporting events from Xavier at: xulaathletics.


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

Delaware State Hornets: Good fight not good enough

DOVER, Delaware - DOVER — There was no talk of a “moral victory” after Delaware State battled mightily before falling 23-7 to Cincinnati Saturday night.

Instead, DSU was left with thoughts of what could have been after the Hornets’ defense forced six turnovers against the heavily favored Bearcats, a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent, and stayed closer than any oddsmaker could have ever imagined.



“I feel like that we proved a lot of things in that game,” said linebacker Olusegun Ayanbiola, who had eight tackles and forced two fumbles against Cincinnati. “We accomplished a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish. I think we left with a sour taste in our mouths since we didn’t actually win the game, so it’s bittersweet.”

Delaware State running back Malcolm Williams also enjoyed a big night at the Bearcats’ Nippert Stadium. He scored on a 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, which was the longest rushing TD by a Hornet since a 63-yard scoring run by Kareem Jones in 2007.

READ MORE

CIAA Notebook: Conference play will begin this weekend in CIAA

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - With CIAA conference play beginning this week, one game worth keeping an eye on is Bowie State (3-0) playing St. Augustine's (2-1) at Durham County Stadium on Saturday.

Bowie State, which has emerged as the possible team to beat in the Northern Division, is coming off a hard-fought 24-17 win against Fairmont State.

"We're excited about the opportunity to play this week against a good St. Aug's team," coach Damon Wilson of the Bulldogs said.

The Bulldogs aren't ranked in any of the Division II major polls, but that doesn't matter to Wilson.

"We don't pay attention to the polls," Wilson said. "We are all about finishing our games off and that's something we didn't do very well last season."

The conference office is promoting this game as the game of the week, something coach Michael Costa of St. Aug's said he noticed.



READ MORE

West transfers from Centenary (La.) to Gold Nuggets

OLIVIA WEST

NEW ORLEANS — Olivia West of Humble, Texas, has signed a women's tennis scholarship with Xavier University of Louisiana. West is enrolled at XU for the current semester as a chemistry/pre-pharmacy major after transferring from Centenary (La.) College, and she will have three seasons of eligiblity with the Gold Nuggets.

West, a left-hander, was 8-3 in singles and 9-2 in doubles at Centenary this past season and shared the team lead in singles victories and doubles victories. She helped Centenary's Ladies win 7-of-11 dual matches during the spring, including a 6-1 record in the American Southwest Conference.

At Atascocita High School, West was a district champion in singles and doubles in 2009 and 2010. She qualified for the state tournament and was voted team MVP both seasons.

West was No. 1 in the USTA Texas Championship Division girls 16s rankings in 2009.

The Gold Nuggets' previously announced signees were Vashni Balleste of Rock Tavern, N.Y., Simone-Alyse Ewell of Detroit, Brion Flowers of Lafayette, La., and Alexandria Locure of New Orleans. Coach Alan Green also said that Carmen Nelson, a letterwinner in 2009-10 and 2010-11, has re-enrolled at Xavier and rejoined the team. The Nuggets' 11-player roster is the largest of Green's 10 seasons as coach, and there are no seniors.

The XU women have won eight conference or group championships in the past 10 seasons and qualified for the NAIA National Championships six of the past eight seasons. They were 19th in the 2012 NAIA coaches posteason poll, the seventh time in eight seasons that the Gold Nuggets were among the final top 25.

2012-13 Xavier University of Louisiana Women's Tennis Signees
Name	Ht.	Yr.*	Hometown	High School (College)
Vashni Balleste	5-4	Fr.	Rock Tavern, N.Y.	Washingtonville
Simone-Alyse Ewell	5-5	Fr.	Detroit, Mich.	The Roeper School
Brion Flowers	5-6	Fr.	Lafayette, La.	St. Thomas More
Alexandria Locure	5-4	Fr.	New Orleans, La.	John Curtis Christian
Olivia West	5-4½	So.	Humble, Texas	Atascocita (Centenary [La.])
* athletic classification at Xavier in fall of 2012 By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director VISIT: XULAATHLETICS VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Alabama A&M football: Matchup excites Dejarnett

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama  -  Mention Texas Southern to Alabama A&M wide receiver Reshaad DeJarnett and a smile quickly emerges.

"Texas Southern excites me," DeJarnett said. "I got my first touchdown against them."

DeJarnett, a sophomore from Elmore County High School in Eclectic, had a 70-yard catch and run for a touchdown to help the Bulldogs down the Tigers 24-21 last year at Louis Crews Stadium before a national audience on ESPNU.

I had to redeem myself," DeJarnett said afterward.

Before DeJarnett scored, he fumbled a punt that helped set up the Tigers' go-ahead touchdown with just under five minutes remaining. When he got back to the bench, A&M coach Anthony Jones was there to encourage him.

"Coach said keep your head in the game," said DeJarnett, who hadn't caught a pass that night before taking Mason's screen to the house. "You can get it back."

READ MORE

Howard Bison off to hot start

WASHINGTON, D.C. - It’s not easy to go on the road and win a game against the defending conference champion, but that’s what Howard did over the weekend.

The Bison pulled off a big upset when they blocked the PAT attempt, which gave Howard a 37-36 overtime win against the reigning MEAC champion Norfolk State (2-1) at Dick Price Stadium in Norfolk, Va.

This was a huge win for the Bison. It was certainly a big victory for coach Gary “The Flea” Harrell. In his second year, Harrell is trying to build the football program, which hasn’t had a winning season since 2002 it finished with a 6-5 record.

It looks like Harrell has the Bison heading in the right direction. Last season, Howard posted a 4-4 league record and was 5-6 overall. If there’s ever anyone who knows how to win football games at Howard, it’s this guy.

He was a four-year standout wide receiver and ...

READ MORE

Southern University interim coach Dawson Odums addresses media, names offensive coordinators

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Dawson Odums sounded as comfortable as seat cushions, addressing the media for the first time as Southern University's interim head football coach Monday during the SWAC's weekly coaches teleconference.

The position was bestowed upon the Jaguars defensive coordinator when athletic director William Broussard announced that Stump Mitchell had been reassigned to undisclosed administrative duties at a press conference in Baton Rouge, La. Friday afternoon.

Mitchell's firing came the day after Southern, which was coming off a bye, fell 6-0 at home to a Mississippi Valley State squad which had just four days rest before the Thursday night affair that was aired live on ESPNU.

The Jaguars (0-2) will travel to face conference foe Jackson State Saturday (1-2, 1-0) at 4 p.m. After dropping their first couple ball games, the Tigers defeated Texas Southern 45-35 in Houston to get into the win column.

READ MORE

Tri-City Classic returning to Cameron Field

PETERSBURG, Virginia - Historic Cameron Field has been the site of many college football games over the years and Virginia University of Lynchburg will return Nov. 3 to battle the Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) College Battlers in the second annual Tri-City Classic.

Virginia University of Lynchburg coach Willard Bailey, a veteran of 39 years in the college ranks, has always enjoyed playing at Cameron Field.

Bailey served as head coach at Virginia Union, Norfolk State, and St. Paul's before moving to Virginia University of Lynchburg as head football coach and athletic director.

Virginia University of Lynchburg is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

"I've always enjoyed playing at Cameron field," Bailey said. "When I was at St. Paul's, we played there three or four times. It's a beautiful place in the fall on a Saturday afternoon. Plus, Petersburg is a good recruiting area."

Last fall the Virginia Dragons lost a heartbreaker to Concordia (Ala.) College, 18-16 at Cameron Field.

The Lynchburg school returned to athletics last year after ...

READ MORE

No. 1 North Dakota State Set to Host Prairie View A&M on Saturday, Sept. 17

FARGO, North Dakota  --  No. 1-ranked North Dakota State (2-0, 0-0 Valley Football) is scheduled to host Prairie View A&M (0-3, 0-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) at 3:07 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (AstroTurf®’s GameDay Grass™ 3D60 infilled turf / 18,700) ... NDSU defeated Colorado State 22-7 on Sept. 8 ... Prairie View A&M lost 42-30 at Alabama A&M on Sept. 15 ... North Dakota State has won seven straight.

SERIES RECORD: This is the first meeting between North Dakota State and Prairie View A&M ... The Bison are 3-0 against members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (2-0 vs. Mississippi Valley State, 1-0 vs. Grambling).

AT HOME: North Dakota State has compiled a 239-36-3 record at home since 1964 ... The Bison are 94-22-0 in the Fargodome since moving from Dacotah Field in 1993 ... NDSU is 15-2 over the last three seasons at home and is 45-11 since head coach Craig Bohl took over in 2003.

AGAINST THE FBS: Since moving to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), North Dakota State has a 6-3 record against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams since 2006 ... The Bison are 2-1 against Minnesota, 1-0 against Ball State, 1-0 against Central Michigan, 1-0 against Kansas, 1-0 against Colorado State, 0-1 against Wyoming and 0-1 against Iowa State ... All games have been played on the road ... NDSU’s six wins over FBS schools since 2006 are the most by any FCS school in the nation ... New Hampshire is second on that list with four victories over FBS schools.

TELEVISION: The game will be televised on the North Dakota NBC Sports Network and ESPN3.com ... Former Valley News Live weekend sports anchor Brian Shawn will handle the play-by-play, and KFYR TV Sports Director Lee Timmerman and former NDSU quarterback Kevin Feeney are the color analysts ... Stations on the North Dakota NBC Sports Network include KVLY-TV (Channel 11, Fargo), KFYR-TV (Channel 5, Bismarck), KMOT-TV (Channel 10, Minot), KQCD-TV (Channel 7, Dickinson) and KUMV-TV (Channel 8, Williston) ... All 11 regular season games will be televised for the first time in school history ... The Bison are 102-56-1 (.645) in TV games.

	North Dakota State Football Release
	Missouri Valley Football Conference Notebook

SELL OUT: North Dakota State recorded its 11th sellout over the past seven seasons with the season-opening crowd of 18,769 in the Fargodome ... NDSU has attracted over 18,000 fans in eight of its last nine home games including three sellouts ... Tickets for all 2012 North Dakota State University football home football games are currently SOLD OUT ... Additional reserved and standing room tickets may become available on the Friday of game week ... Check GoBison.com/tickets for availability ... To create the best possible home field advantage, NDSU encourages fans to use their tickets for all games at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome ... Fans that have purchased season tickets and are unable to attend select games are encouraged to make sure their seats are filled for each game. Those looking to sell tickets can use online message boards, Craigslist or NDSU’s facebook page (facebook.com/NDBison) to broker tickets.



BISON QUICK-HITTERS: North Dakota State’s 81 offensive plays against Colorado State (9-8-12) were its most since running 83 against Northern Iowa on Oct. 10, 2009 ... NDSU’s 39:52 in time of possession at CSU was its most since holding the ball for 40:17 in a 51-14 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 11, 2006 ... NDSU has allowed just 34 points in its last six contests, dating back to the start of the 2011 Division I FCS Playoffs ... The Bison have allowed just 20 points in their last five contests, dating back to a 24-0 shutout victory over Lehigh in the 2011 Division I FCS Quarterfinals ... NDSU has limited its opponent to 10 points or less in 9 of its last 17 games ... Defensive end Cole Jirik had 4 tackles including a safety, two tackles for loss and a sack in North Dakota State’s 22-7 win over Colorado State on Sept. 8 ... His safety with 5:34 left in the first quarter broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Bison the lead for good ... The safety was the first for North Dakota State since Matthew Gratzek’s against Robert Morris in the 2010 FCS playoff game ... North Dakota State’s field goal block by nose guard Ryan Drevlow at Colorado State (9-8-12) was the first since Matt Veldman’s effort against Illinois State (10-1-11) ... North Dakota State’s 52-0 shutout of Robert Morris in the season opener on Sept. 1 at Gate City Bank Field was the first since 2006 when the Bison beat Mississippi Valley State 45-0 in Fargo ... It was NDSU’s first shutout in a home opener since defeating Valparaiso 52-0 in 2004 ... North Dakota State improved to 79-30-7 in season openers including 61-17-4 at home ... North Dakota State committed zero (0) turnovers in eight of 15 games played last season ... The Bison committed only 12 turnovers overall in 15 games in 2011 ... NDSU leads the nation in scoring defense (3.5 avg/g) and total defense (165.5 avg/g); 3rd in rushing defense (47.0 avg/g); tied for 4th in sacks (4.00 avg/g); 10th in sacks allowed (0.50 avg/g); 11th in pass defense (118.5 avg/g) and tackles for loss (8.50 avg/g); 13th in pass efficiency defense (91.76 rating); 14th in scoring offense (37.0 avg/g); 15th in turnover margin (+1.50 avg/g); 20th in rushing offense (211.5 avg/g), punt returns (13.90 avg/r) and passing efficiency (145.02 rating); 21st in kickoff returns (24.67 avg/r) and 22nd, Total offense (430.5 avg/g) ... With a 77-31 record, NDSU head coach Craig Bohl is No. 2 on the school’s all-time win list behind Rocky Hager (91-25-1, 1987-95) ... Bohl is one of three Bison coaches with 60 wins ... North Dakota State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor is in his second year of a four-year term on the Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Executive Committee.

RADIO BROADCASTS: KFGO-AM 790, Fargo ... Veteran sports announcer Scott Miller will handle the play-by-play ... Former NDSU quarterback Steve Walker will handle the color duties, while NDSU director of athletic broadcasting Jeremy Jorgenson is on the sidelines ... Air time is set for 2:30 p.m., kickoff at 3:07 p.m. on Sept. 22 ... Anchored by flagship, The Mighty 790, KFGO-AM, the Bison Radio Network has 20 stations including (Fargo, simulcast on KRWK 101.9 FM); ESPN 710 AM (Bismarck); KHRT 1320 AM (Minot); KSJB 600 AM (Jamestown); KEYZ 660 AM (Williston); KDVL 102.5 FM (Devils Lake); KHND 1470 AM (Harvey); KZZJ 1450 AM (Rugby); KPOK 1340 AM (Bowman); KAUJ – 100.9 FM (Grafton); KLTC 1460 AM (Dickinson); KRCQ 102.3 FM (Detroit Lakes); WLKX 95.9 FM (North) / KBGY 107.5 FM (South) (Minneapolis/St. Paul); KDDG 105.5 FM (Albany); KZCR 103.3 FM (Fergus Falls); KMGK 107.1 FM (Glenwood), and KKCQ 96.7 FM (Fosston) ... The Bison gameday format includes a 30-minute pregame show with comments from Craig Bohl, in-depth analysis and features ... A complete 30-minute postgame show is covered from the press box and locker room areas.

JENSEN ON TARGET: North Dakota State quarterback Brock Jensen moved to No. 3 all-time at NDSU in completions (311) and passing yards (3,869), passing Kevin Feeney in completions (304, 1995-98) and Ryan Johnson in passing yards (3,806, 1997-00) ... Jensen completed 18 of 29 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown in North Dakota State’s 22-7 win over Colorado State on Sept. 8 ... He also rushed 10 times for 42 yards ... Jensen directed an offense that ran 81 plays for 366 yards of total offense and held a 39:52-20:08 advantage in time of possession. That included scoring drives of 12 plays for 67 yards (5:21), 10 plays for 53 yards (1:44) and 16 plays for 71 yards (9:29). He completed passes to seven different receivers ... Jensen completed 16 of 23 passes for 217 yards and three TDs vs. Robert Morris (9-1-12) ... The three passing TDs matched his career best ... Jensen has six career 200-yard passing games ... He completed a career-high 22 of 25 passes for 204 yards and one TD vs. 2nd-ranked UNI (10-29-11) ... Jensen threw four interceptions last season ... Following an interception at Southern Illinois, Jensen attempted 142 passes without a pick – adding to his NDSU record ... The old record was 110 set by Steve Walker in 2005-06 ... Jensen had a career-high 30 attempts at Indiana State (11-5-11, 18 completions) ... Jensen completed his first 15 passes vs. Missouri State (10-15-11) to break the school record of 10 in a row set three times previously ... Including the Southern Illinois game, he had completed 19 passes in a row to top the school record of 16 set by Steve Walker in 2004.



Courtesy: North Dakota State University Athletic Media Relations

Nuggets reschedule Loyola match for Oct. 10 at Xavier

XU is 5-3 heading into a 7 p.m. Tuesday home match against Mobile.

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Monday a new date for its postponed women's volleyball match against Loyola, plus an additional road match.

The Gold Nuggets will play Loyola at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at The Barn or the Convocation Academic Center, which is nearing completion. The match originally was scheduled for Sept. 4 but was postponed in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac.

Xavier added a match against Trinity Baptist College at 2:30 p.m. EDT
Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. That contest will follow the Gold Nuggets' Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener at Edward Waters on Friday.

The next match for Xavier (5-3) will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Mobile (11-4) at The Barn.


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

Swann hopes to 'raise bar' at UMES

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — Only a few days into his first season as head baseball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Pedro Swann has set high aspirations for his team.

The goal the new coach is aiming for is to not only be competitive in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, a league in which they went 11-13 in last year, but to win the division.

“We’ve just started fall practices a week ago and I’m having my first looks at the players right now and see what we have,” he said. “We’re hoping to raise the bar this season. I want everything that has happened in the past to remain in the past.”

Swann — who played 17 years professionally in the minor and major leagues with the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays — replaces previous coach Will Gardner, whose contract was not renewed following six seasons at the helm.

Swann is no stranger to the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference as he played his college baseball at Delaware State University from 1989-91 and received all-conference honors while playing for the Hornets.

READ MORE

Chris Carlson: Five things we (NSU) learned vs. Howard

NORFOLK, Virginia - You can’t spot anyone 20 points – It was hard to watch the way Norfolk State did virtually whatever it wanted in the second half and think that the better team won at Dick Price Stadium. Norfolk State was the group we expect in the second half rallying from a 30-7 deficit. The Spartans outgained Howard by 100 yards, but played so poorly in the first half they could only force overtime. Once into the crap-shoot extra-period NSU was bitten by a special teams miscue. Howard was a MEAC bottom-feeder for some time and, even now, is probably just a little above the mid-point. Give any team a 20-point edge and you’re unlikely to make a comeback.

The Spartans need to win out against the MEAC – The season isn’t over for the Spartans, but the upset loss made defending their MEAC title much more difficult. Howard still has to play at South Carolina State and host Florida A&M, so the Bison could still lose a game. The last two MEAC champions have both had a conference loss, so one defeat doesn’t eliminate a team. But with road games still to come against South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman, a rivalry game vs. Hampton and a contest with tougher-than-expected Delaware State, NSU has no more margin for error. As Howard’s victory proved, the MEAC is a deeper league than it’s been in some time.



READ MORE

Ram Ramblings: WSSU remains at No. 5 in poll, but....

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - As I do every week I check the AFCA Division II football poll and I found something interesting today.

Winston-Salem State, which is 3-0 and coming off a 55-21 win over Morehouse, remained at No. 5 in the poll. Top-ranked Pittsburg State, which is in Kansas, had 29 of the 30 first-place votes in the poll.

The other first-place vote went to the Rams.

When I called the folks who run the poll I wanted to find out which coach voted WSSU No. 1 but they don’t divulge that top-secret information.

The AFCA poll is put out each week by the American Football Coaches Association and is voted on by Division II coaches.

READ MORE

Split Grambling State rushing attack meager

GRAMBLING — The running back battle between Dawrence Roberts and Jeremy Runner continued Saturday night against Alabama State, but only one thing seemed to be clear.

The Tigers' offensive line was no match for the Alabama State defense in a 19-18 loss.

Grambling gained 78 yards on 35 attempts, which is 2.2 yards per carry.

Roberts, a junior who was named the SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, looked like he wanted his job back with a 30-yard run on his first carry.

He made several tacklers miss, and he finished the run in a strong fashion.

But on the same drive, GSU couldn't punch in a score with a first down from the 1-yard line. That series of plays included three Roberts' carries, which included a toss play for minus-3.

Roberts finished with 33 yards on seven carries.

READ MORE

Fayetteville State gets first win of the season

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina - After losing its first two games on the road, some home cooking wound up doing Fayetteville State some good in getting on the winning track.

The Broncos defeated Virginia Union 28-17, picking up their first win of the season. Fayetteville State (1-2) trailed after three quarters, but outscored its opponent 14-0 in the final 15 minutes.

"We just knew we had to come out of this game with a win," Fayetteville State quarterback Chauncey Concepcion said. "As a team, we knew that we weren't leaving here without a victory."

Virginia Union (2-1) took an early lead midway through the first quarter. Denzel Duchenne returned a Fayetteville State punt 75 yards to the Broncos 16. Jerrell Washington scored on a run one play later.

The Broncos countered on their next drive with Concepcion finding Kasunn Williams on a screen for a 48-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7 late in the first.

READ MORE

Kentucky State gets first win over Lincoln

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – Kentucky State’s football team bounced back from its loss last week against Kentucky Wesleyan with a 35-23 win over Lincoln University, Saturday.

Trailing 3-0 after the first quarter the Thorobreds (1-1) rolled up 22 points in the second period to lead 22-16 at halftime. KSU had 342 yards on offense while its defense held the Lions to 199 yards.

Lincoln (0-3) led 3-0 on a 28-yard field goal by Kyle Jaski, but the Thorobreds took a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Justin Williams. The Lions retook the lead 10-6 about three minutes later when Charles Green ran in from one yard out and Jaski kicked the extra point.

Lincoln extended its lead to 16-6 when Green caught a 5-yard pass from Matt Coston, but the point-after kick was blocked and KSU’s Grandson Brown returned it for two points, making the score 16-8.

In the final 5½ minutes of the first half ...

READ MORE

Late turnovers, missed PATs costly in ASU’s 13-12 loss to Elizabeth City

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina — The lack of an adequate kicking game proved costly to Albany State Saturday night as the Golden Rams dropped a 13-12 decision to Elizabeth City State (N.C.).

Ultimately the game was decided by field goals and point-after conversion kicks. The Vikings (1-2) made them. Albany State (1-2) didn’t.

ECSU’s Brett Symonds, who missed a 32-yard field goal in the first half, drilled field goals of 44 and 29 yards in the second and third quarters as the Vikings rallied to a 6-6 tie, then banged home the all-important PAT to culminate a 95-yard drive that produced the winning touchdown on a 5-yard run by Daront’e McNeill with 8:39 left to play.

Meanwhile, Zachary Holley missed on both of his point-after attempts for the Rams, who dipped below .500 for the first time in five seasons.

ECSU Sound of Class Marching Band , 9/15/12

READ MORE

Florida A&M Rattlers believe 'sky's the limit'

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - Coach Joe Taylor was glad for the win but clearly wasn’t satisfied after Saturday’s home opener, which drew an impressive crowd of 17,851 to Bragg Stadium.

What they saw was just as surprising as their presence at a game in which the suspended Marching 100 didn’t make an appearance. The Rattlers had their biggest offensive output of the season with 489 yards of total offense in a 44-20 victory over Hampton University.

Taylor was happy for that. But little nagging mistakes, such as penalties and turnovers, bothered him.

“We can get better because we made a lot of mistakes,” Taylor said afterward. “We threw an interception down in the goal line.



READ MORE

Fleming bringing back memories

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - On the second play of the first series against Hampton University on Saturday, FAMU quarterback Damien Fleming was in trouble. His receivers were covered and the pocket was breaking down.

Fleming dashed to his left, then to his right. His lone opening was straight up the middle, and the elusive Fleming gained enough yards for a first down. Three plays later, Fleming found Travis Harvey on the receiving end of a 24-yard touchdown catch to give FAMU a 6-0 on its opening drive.

Fleming used the ground and air to do the damage, bringing back memories of former dual-threat quarterback Curtis Pulley. Pulley, the Rattlers’ starter three years ago, was most dangerous on his feet. And Fleming is proving to be just that in his sophomore season. He had 29 rushing yards in the first half against Hampton, second behind James Owens’ breakout performance of 93 yards.



READ MORE

S.C. State basketball schedule announced

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - “We worked our tails off to make sure that what happened last year never happens again.” — South Carolina State men’s basketball coach Tim Carter

Bulldog fans going through tough times right now with the struggles of the football team can only hope it’s not the case starting in November when their attention turns to basketball.

Needless to say, the rallying cry for this year’s team should be “Can only go up.” Last season represented a historic nadir not only for the S.C. State men’s basketball program but head coach Carter as well.

Here’s an unpleasant recap of what was the school’s worst men’s basketball season ever:

• 0-16 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play (first time in school history and fifth time a MEAC team has gone winless)
• Worst record in school history (5-26)
• Only three Division I victories (second-lowest number in nation)
• Second-lowest RPI rating among 344 NCAA Division I teams (.3397), just .0069 ahead of last-place Binghamton
• School-record 16-game losing streak and active eight-game losing streak.

READ MORE 

Mitchell reassigned, Odums named interim coach

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Less than 24 hours following a devastating and demoralizing 6-0 loss to Mississippi Valley on ESPNU, Southern head football coach Stump Mitchell has been reassigned to other administrative duties within the athletics department, Southern athletics director Dr. William Broussard announced late Friday afternoon.

Defensive coordinator Dawson Odums, who is in his second year of the Jaguars coaching staff, willl assume the post of interim head coach for the duration of the 2012 season.

"After making a recommendation to [Chancellor James Llorens] and upon his acceptance of that recommendation, I spoke with head football coach Stump Mitchell late this afternoon and notified him that he will be reassigned to other administrative duties within the athletic department," said Broussard.

"I would like to personally thank coach Mitchell for his service and his commitment to Southern University athletics and wish him well in all of his future endeavors. I also urge our fans to continue to stand united with the staff and the student-athletes on the Jaguars football team."

Mitchell, in his third season at Southern, finished with a 6-18 overall record during his tenure but his successful navigation of the football program through NCAA Academic Progress Rate penalties emerged as one of his most notable accomplishments as head coach.

The former NFL player and assistant coach made his Southern coaching debut defeating Delaware State in a 37-31 comeback win in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge but finished 2-9 in 2010.

Last season, despite losing four games by a combined margin of 13 points, Southern entered the annual Bayou Classic with a shot to force a tie for first place but were upended 36-12. The Jaguars finished 4-7.

The search for Southern's next head coach will not commence until the conclusion of the 2012 season.

"It will give us some time to evaluate the coaching staff and take a closer look at what kind of progress we make for the rest of the season.

Odums and the Jaguars willl look to quickly regroup and refocus as Southern prepares to battle heated rival Jackson State on Saturday in Jackson, Miss. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.

COURTESY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

NCCU’s Reid handed the reins

DURHAM, North Carolina -- The backup tag has been lifted from N.C. Central quarterback Jordan Reid. Reid on Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium won the starting job during a 54-17 loss to Duke.

NCCU coach Henry Frazier III said Reid will get first-team reps in practice as the Eagles prepare to get into their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule this weekend on the road in Georgia against Savannah State.

Starting Reid under center is a no-brainer, Frazier said.

“Man, if I don’t put Jordan out there, they’re going to run me out of town,” Frazier said. “I was born at night, not last night. We’ll throw Jordan out there, we’ll hand the ball to him and give him a week of running with the starters and let him have his opportunity.”

Reid in the first quarter against Duke replaced NCCU quarteback Matt Goggans on the Eagles’ fourth offensive possession, and the redshirt junior came out throwing darts, finishing the game with a career-high 218 passing yards.

READ MORE



DUKE WINS ALL 3 PHASES

DURHAM — Black helmets. Black jerseys. Black pants.

Dressing dark for the first time, Duke left N.C. Central blacked out in an 54-17 Blue Devils football win before a crowd of 22,829 at Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday night.

Duke wore black uniforms once last year, losing 23-21 to Richmond in the season-opening game. But the team added newly designed black helmets to the ensemble for the second installment of the Bull City Gridiron Classic against cross-town rival NCCU and found better results.

For the first time in eight years, Duke (2-1) scored touchdowns in the same game on offense, defense and special teams.

The 37-point margin of victory is the largest of Duke coach David Cutcliffe’s tenure, which began in 2008.  “To get to 2-1 was important,” Cutcliffe said. “To get better was important. I think the thing I like most about the win is I think we got better in the second half.”

Duke benefited from an imperfect performance from NCCU (1-2), which lost for the second week in a row. The Eagles were called for 10 penalties, costing them 70 yards. NCCU also threw two interceptions, with Duke receiver Ross Cockrell notching both and returning one for a touchdown. NCCU also turned it over a third time with a fumble.

READ MORE

Miami rolls past Bethune-Cookman at empty Sun Life Stadium

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Echoing through Sun Life Stadium, the UM alma mater serenaded those who stuck it out Saturday afternoon.

There weren't many. But the crowd — well below the announced 39,435 fans —witnessed another flash of what could be the future of Miami football.

Shedding memories of last week's 39-point loss, Miami efficiently dispatched Bethune-Cookman 38-10. The score, however, was not nearly as significant who did the damage. Freshman running back Duke Johnson's four touchdowns came three different ways as the Hurricanes overcame yet another slow start.

His 95-yard kickoff return meant Miami trailed for just 12 seconds of the first quarter against the over-matched opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision. Johnson added a touchdown catch and two more on the ground to ping the hype meter again.

READ MORE



Miami's Johnson scores four TDs as 'Canes top Bethune-Cookman

MIAMI – Bethune-Cookman head coach Brian Jenkins sat in front a small gathering of reporters in the underbelly of Sun Life Stadium Saturday evening following his team's 38-10 loss to Miami – the picture of misery.

As he spoke about the game between his Wildcats (2-1) and the Hurricanes (2-1), Jenkins often reached up to massage and contort his face and, at times, looked to the ceiling with his eyes closed. He cursed a little, raised his voice and, at one point, apologized for it all.

He refused to make players available for the postgame media press conference, stopping them en route and sending them back to the locker room, according to B-CU Assistant Sports Information Director Michael Stambaugh.

“He did not want the players to comment on the game,” Stambaugh said.

READ MORE

Bowie State earns dramatic OT victory

BOWIE, Maryland - For the second time in three games this season, the Bowie State University football team experienced high drama.

Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs used a furious fourth-quarter rally to force overtime, where they earned a 24-17 victory against visiting Fairmont State (W.Va.). After falling behind 17-0 with 11 minutes, 46 seconds left to play, the Bulldogs came back to tie the score.

Tyrae Reid tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Corwin Acker with 10:43 left. Mario Diaz-Aviles hit a 24-yard field goal with 6:06 to go. Reid then connected with Douglas McNeil on a 31-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left, and the extra point by Diaz-Aviles tied the score at 17-17.

In overtime, where teams alternate possessions starting 25 yards from the end zone, Bowie State picked up a first down at the 15-yard line and scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Reid to Acker on a third and 7 from the 12.

Needing a touchdown and extra point to force a second overtime period, Fairmont State advanced to the Bowie State 11-yard line, but tossed an incomplete pass on fourth down, ending the game.

READ MORE