Bowie State Trounces Lincoln 76-19 in Home Football Finale

Bulldogs Set Two School Records

BOWIE, Maryland  -- Bowie State held Lincoln to 267 total yards in a 76-19 home finale thumping at Bulldogs Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The 76 points is the second highest (83 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson – 1975) in Bowie State history. The Bulldogs won their second straight game to improve to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the CIAA. The Lions dropped their seventh straight to fall to 1-8 and 0-6. 
Prior to the game, 15 seniors, Darius Clair, Omar Fahnbulleh, Sean Garland, Anthony Gary, Jr., Jared Johnston, Oladimeji Layeni, Steven Marks, Jonathan Mason, Oluwadamiloa Omotade, Prince Onuoha, Dwayne Price, Malcolm Speller, Eric Walters and Delante White were honored with framed jerseys.

Johnston led the assault completing 13-of-23 passes for 226 yards, setting a new BSU season passing yards record. The prior record (1,538) was held by former Bulldog Clifton "Dominique" Budd in 2010.

In terms of team superlatives, the Bulldogs set a new single game record for first downs with 27, surpassing the old mark of 25 set back in 1982 versus St. Paul's College. BSU fell just shy of setting a record in offensive yards, rolling up 557.

The Bulldogs defense limited the Lincoln Lions to 30 yards rushing and 237 yards through the air. Lincoln was 8-for-18 on third down conversions in the contest.

Bowie State opened the scoring on a blocked Lincoln field goal attempt by sophomore Curtis Pumphrey (Laurel, Md.). Pumphrey returned it 70 yards for a defensive touchdown and the extra point by junior Mario Diaz-Aviles (Washington, D.C.) gave the Bulldogs the early 7-0 lead.

Lincoln responded with a five-play, 82 yard drive that resulted in a Lions touchdown. The big play during the drive was 74 yard pass and catch by Doug Cook (Miami, Fla.) to Akeem Jordan (Washington, D.C.). After two incomplete passes, Cook connected with Jordan for a 13-yard score.

A Diaz-Aviles 25-yard field goal at the 6:43 mark of the first quarter moved the Bulldogs lead to 10-6. The BSU defense forced a Lincoln three and out setting up the Bulldogs next score.

Bowie State redshirt sophomore Kendall Jefferson (Temple Hills, Md.) scored the first of his two touchdowns on the afternoon, scampering in from 14 yards out to put the score at 17-6.

Cook's second and final TD pass came with 1:45 left in the opening quarter when he flipped a high end zone corner pass to Anthony Green (Chester, Pa.) for an eight yard score. Kyle Jaske (Escondido, Calif.) added the extra point to trim the Bulldogs lead to 17-13.

The Bulldogs exploded for 35 second quarter points and strolled into halftime with a cushy 52-13 stronghold. Bowie State scored on all five of their second quarter possessions.

Bowie State put together a nine-play, 78 yard drive to begin the third quarter, capped off by Jefferson six-yard touchdown run to extend the Bulldogs lead to 59-13.

The Bulldogs defense held Lincoln again on their next drive and Jefferson returned a Jaski punt 53 yards for another BSU score and a 66-13 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Bowie State's reserves saw plenty of action in the fourth quarter. Of the 18 Bulldog plays run over the final 15 minutes, 17 were runs. Freshman Stephen Willis toted the ball nine times for 68 yards, second best for the game.

Senior Keith Brown scored his second touchdown (12th of the season) from one-yard out on BSU's first possession of the fourth quarter, padding the Bulldogs lead at 73-13.

Bowie State's final points on Senior Day came via a 39 yard field goal by Diaz-Aviles with 4:45 remaining in the game.

Lincoln had two more possessions over in the final minutes of the game and managed to score with three seconds left on the clock. With 2:22 remaining, Cook continued to air it out with nine straight passes. The biggest play during the Lions final drive was a 23 yard reception by Jordan down to the BSU five yard line. Three plays later, Steve Gilliam (Bowie, Md.) rushed around the right end for a four-yard TD run and final 76-19 score.

Cook completed 20-of 41 passes for a game-high 232 yards and two scores, but he was sacked six times. Jordan recorded game-highs of nine receptions and 153 yards to lead the Lions receivers.

Tyahir Mitchell (Wilmington, Del.) and Gavin Lampkin (Baltimore, Md.) paced the Lincoln defense with 10 tackles apiece.

Redshirt freshman Kevaugn Townsend (Ft. Washington, Md.) led the Bowie State defense with seven tackles, including one behind the line-of-scrimmage and a forced fumble. Redshirt sophomore Denzel Prince (Temple Hills, Md.) had five tackles, four solo; while White and sophomore Ronald Baines (Clementon, N.J.) had four tackles each.

Sophomore Garry Cropper (Odenton, Md.) had a team-high five catches for 66 yards and one score to lead the BSU receivers. Brown led the Bulldogs with 28 rushes for 143 yards, his fourth game over 100 yards and is currently 106 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.

The Bulldogs close out the 2013 season next Saturday (November 9th) at Elizabeth City State University. Game time is 1:00 pm in ECSU's Roebuck Stadium.

Box Score    

GAME PHOTOS
FOOTBALL SENIOR PRESENTATION PHOTOS

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AAMU Jones earns his 100th Victory with a 19-18 win over Alcorn State

LORMAN, Mississippi -- It wasn't pretty but that's how the Bulldogs have done it all season as they broke their second three game losing streak of the season with a 19-18 win over the Braves of Alcorn State.

The win is head coach Anthony Jones 100^th overall victory, 60^th Southwestern Athletic Conference win, 40^th victory over teams from Mississippi, and 399^th win for the Alabama A&M football program.

"Thank the Lord for allowing me to be here and all the support we have gotten throughout the years," Jones said. "This was a team effort from the players to my family, Dr. Hugine Jr., Mr. Hicks, our fans and our band. I am thankful for everyone involved in this process."

Transfer Barrington Scott carried the load for A&M with 21 rushes for 66 yards. The lightning of the duo Brandon Eldemire collected 65 yards on five carries. Coming in after the Bulldogs posted 45 offensive yards, one first down, and a 15-0 deficit, Jaymason Lee went 11 of 20 for 150 yards and three touchdowns.

In his first drive he led the Bulldogs on a four play, 73 yard possession in 1:49 seconds to get A&M on the scoreboard.

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Montaurius Smith secured five catches for 81 yards and made by far one of the best plays of the season when he laid out to catch a Mason pass that had thought to be overthrown. The reception allowed Alabama A&M to covert a third down into a first down.

"When I saw the pass I thought, this ball is to pretty I have to catch it," said the Birmingham native.

Chris Ervin led the fourth ranked defense in the Football Championship Subdivision with 11 tackles while linebacker Robert Nelson posted 10.

"I'm proud of my team they made some great plays today. I've said this all along we are a good football team and we are better than what our record says," Jones mentioned.

The game started fast for Alcorn as they took a 15-0 lead with 14:04 remaining in the second quarter. Alcorn took advantage of a safety after a Brave punt pinned the Bulldogs on their own four yard line. The Braves then added their second score on the very next drive giving them a 9-0 advantage. Alcorn then scored their second and last touchdown of the game on their fourth drive of the contest.

From there the Bulldogs took over the game and played their brand of football. With over seven thousand fans in attendance, Jones and crew debut the Mad Dog offense with former quarterback Terrance Pride running the show. This allowed the passing game to open up for Mason who on his very next drive took A&M on a 13 play, 80 yard possession for their second straight score.

With the score at 15-13 and halftime looming Alcorn booted a 45 yard field goal to give themselves an 18-13 lead. With 2:52 left in the first half the Maroon and White's Scott got loose for his longest run of the game at 26 yards, then Lee found Smith for 23 yards and a Brendon Johnson 10 yard run saw the Bulldogs at the Purple and Gold 19. Cesar Ramon attempted a 36 yard field goal but pushed it left and saw AAMU down 18-13 at the break.


The second half saw one score between both teams a 26 yard throw and catch from Lee to Dorsey. Those six points put A&M up 19-18 for their first lead in a game since the :49 second mark remaining in the Southern University contest.

From there the number one defense in the league held Alcorn to two punts, a pair of missed field goals and a fumble on special teams to put the ball back in the Bulldog offense hands for the eventual win.

"We told the guys at half time we could win this game. As long as we played them to the very end we knew we would have a chance," said Jones. "It's an emotional win due to the way the season has gone. We've fought in all of our contests and this time we were able to finish it."

The win was similar to last seasons as Alcorn defeated A&M by one point giving the Bulldogs their first loss of 2012 and tripped up A&M trying to get to their sixth championship game. Alcorn falls to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Eastern Division of the SWAC.

The Braves were led by John Gibbs who went 18 of 30 for 171 yards and a TD strike. Arnold Walker rushed for 109 yards on 27 touches while Tollette George posted four receptions for 54 yards.

Next up A&M will welcome the Tigers of Jackson State at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, in Louis Crews stadium.

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Florida A&M Rattlers Spoil NSU Homecoming With 16-6 Win

NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Florida A&M football team picked up their third win of the season as the Rattlers defeated Norfolk State 16-6, here Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.

FAMU played the role of spoiler for NSU’s homecoming as this was the third homecoming game that the Rattlers have played in this season.  With the win FAMU remains undefeated in Norfolk, Va., as they go to a perfect 7-0 at Dick Price Stadium.

A pass interference penalty by NSU’s defense would set up the Rattlers' first score of the game as Damien Fleming recorded his second rushing TD of the season on a 27-yard scamper with 13:09 remaining in the second, giving  FAMU a 7-0 lead.

The FAMU special teams would record the Rattlers' second score of the game as they forced a safety with 5:32 remaining in the first half, increasing FAMU’s lead to 9-0.

NSU would get on the board with 10:01 to go in the third on a Lynden Trail fumble recovery in the end zone, cutting the Rattlers’ lead to 9-6 after the failed PAT.

James Owens scored the Rattlers' final TD of the game from eight yards out with 1:11 left in the contest for the 16-6 finale.


With the win, FAMU goes to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play, whereas NSU lowers their record to 2-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Owens led the Rattlers ground attack as he rushed for 89 yards on 18 carries with one TD.

Fleming garnered 140 yards of total offense as he passed for 66 yards by completing six passes in 16 attempts with one interception and finished the game with 74 yards rushing on 10 carries with one TD.

Lenworth Lennon led the Rattler receivers with 48 yards receiving on three receptions.

Brandon Denmark finished the contest as the game's leading tackler with 10 tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, followed by John Ojo with eight tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

NSU was led by Rolandan Finch as he rushed for 151 yards on 23 carries with the longest rush on the day being for 32 yards.

Marcell Coke led the Spartans defense as he tallied nine total tackles and one tackle for loss, followed by a Keenan Lambert with six.

FAMU will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 9 as they will travel to Orangeburg, S.C. to take on South Carolina State in their fourth homecoming game of the season at Oliver Dawson Stadium in a 1:30 p.m. start.

Rattlers defeat NSU 16-6 In Norfolk COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Houston Baptist Huskies Runs over Texas College Steers, 49-7

HOUSTON, Texas – HBU freshman running back B.J. Kelly had 16 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown, while freshman safety Taylor Thompson had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery as the Huskies rolled past Texas College, 49-7, Saturday night at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory's Crusader Stadium.

The Huskies (3-3) totaled 269 yards on the ground for the game with Jackie Robinson Jr. rushing for 60 yards on three carries and a touchdown, Larry Day Jr. carrying 10 times for 46 yards and a pair of scores, and Craig Bell Jr. getting 11 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown.

Freshman quarterback Ka'Darius Baker completed 5-of-10 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown and did not have his favorite target, junior wide receiver Darian Lazard, who was out with an illness. Junior tight end Kenneth Bibbins had two catches for 25 yards, and Wesley Lewis made his second touchdown catch of the year. Even though the Huskies dominated the game, they totaled only 356 total yards in large part to starting six drives in Texas College territory.

The HBU defense allowed 238 total yards, with Texas College (1-7) rushing for 123 and passing for 115. In addition to Thompson's three takeaways, defensive end Kameron Lecoq forced and recovered a fumble. Freshman linebacker Garrett Dolan posted his third double-digit tackle effort of the season, leading the Huskies with 13, including 10 unassisted and two for losses. Terrell Brown III made nine stops, with Ore Bankole and Najee Bissoon chipping in six apiece.

Taylor Gray had 90 yards on 20 carries for the Steers, while quarterback Curtez Griffen rushed 15 times for 53 yards and a touchdown, but only netted nine yards due to the Huskies' five sacks. Ja'Marius Allen had four catches for 30 yards, and Jamaal Johnson had 48 receiving yards for Texas College.

The Huskies received the opening kickoff, ran the ball on 10-consecutive plays, and capped the four-and-half-minute drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Bell. On the drive, Kelly rushed three times for 42 yards.

On Texas College's first possession, Taylor Thompson picked off Griffen near midfield and took it back 46 yards for a touchdown to give HBU a 14-0 lead.

In the second quarter, HBU forced a punt and took over inside Steers territory at the 41 with 6:22 to go. Baker completed a 15-yard pass to Max Brown down to give the Huskies a first-and-goal, then Kelly scored on a nine-yard run to put HBU ahead, 21-0, with 3:56 remaining in the half.

After the Steers got the ball back, Griffen completed a 48-yard pass to Johnson down to the HBU 35. Thompson struck again, though, intercepting a pass and returning it 38 yards to the Texas College 37. On third-and-eight from the 35, Baker found Bibbins on the left sideline for a completion down to the 1-yard line. Day punched it in to make the score 28-0 with 39 seconds left.

Texas College took over after and touchback and tried to get something going on offense instead of running out the clock, but Griffen was sacked from behind by Lecoq, who forced a fumbled and recovered at the 38-yard line. On the Huskies' first play, Baker hooked up with Lewis along the right sideline for a touchdown to give HBU a 35-0 lead heading into halftime.

In the first half, HBU rushed for 121 yards and held Texas College to 40 yards on the ground. The Huskies threw for 87 yards, and the Steers had 83 yards through the air. HBU forced three turnovers with a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery.

HBU took over at the Texas College 47 with 6:39 left in the third quarter, but the Steers recovered a bad snap by the Huskies. On Texas College's first play, HBU forced a fumble and Thompson came up with the recovery. Day's 19-yard run set the Huskies up with first-and goal at the 3, then he took it in from there two plays later to put HBU in front, 42-0, with 25 seconds left.

After a Texas College punt, the Huskies took over at the Steers' 45. On the first play, Robinson broke free on the left side, outran the Steers to the endzone for a touchdown and a 49-0 Huskies lead with 11:39 to go in the game.

The Steers moved the ball on the ground and took 7:06 off the clock on their late touchdown drive. Texas College ran for 53 yards on the drive, with Griffen taking it in from a yard out with 4:26 on the clock. Thompson fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but Texas College missed a 35-yard field goal with 3:08 left.

The Huskies return to action when they host their season finale against Texas A&M-Commerce on Homecoming Saturday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m. at Crusader Stadium.

 Box Score

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Concordia dominated by Georgia Military

SELMA, Alabama  -- Concordia College Alabama was blown out by Georgia Military College 52-10 Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The Hornets turned the football over seven times — five interceptions and two fumbles — stopping any momentum the Concordia offense found during the game. After being down 42-6 at halftime, the Hornets played better in the second half to keep the score from getting more out of hand.

“We don’t play until the third or fourth quarter,” Hornets head coach Don Lee said. “We wait for people to bring it to us and we’ve got to learn to bring it to them. That’s what you are dealing with when you are dealing with a young team, knowing that you have to come out ready to go.”

Lee was proud that his team never quit fighting, even after the game was well out of hand.

Georgia Military, now 10-0 on the season, got off to a quick start. The Bulldogs racked up 345 of their 380 total yards in the first half, but it was their defense that kept the upset-minded Hornets from making it a game.

“The guys have done a tremendous job defensively all year making tackles and forcing turnovers and we were able to do that today several times,” Georgia Military head coach Bert Williams said.

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Bethune-Cookman rolls by N.C. Central despite 232 penalty yards

B-CU COACH BRIAN JENKINS

DURHAM, North Carolina  -- Isidore Jackson ran for 182 yards and a touchdown and became Bethune-Cookman’s all-time leading rusher as the Wildcats cruised to a 38-14 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday in Durham, N.C.

The 13th-ranked Wildcats (8-1) improved to 5-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and won their 18th consecutive conference game dating back to 2011 with a domiant performance against the Eagles (4-5, 2-3).

 

B-CU amassed 436 yards rushing and 594 total offensive yards, while holding N.C. Central to 138 yards, including minus-1 on the ground. The Wildcats had two interceptions (by safety Nick Addison and tackle Rony Barrow) and tallied 11 tackles for loss for 62 yards.

 

“You have to play sound defense in order to win, and right now our defense is playing at an all-time high,’’ B-CU coach Brian Jenkins said.

 

But the Wildcats were also penalized an almost incomprehensible 25 times for 232 yards. NCCU was flagged nine times for 110 yards.

 

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Grambling golf legacy slipping away

GRAMBLING, Louisiana  -- Tegitra Thomas is a man of God; a Baptist preacher in the piney woods of Northeast Louisiana, where he was the men's and women's golf coach at Grambling State University before state budget cuts forced the school to shut down these programs in 2010.
Long before most of Grambling's football team refused to play a game against Jackson State on Oct. 19 -- most notably over the "horrible condition" of the school's athletic complex and the drain and exhaustion of taking long bus rides to far away games -- the 41-year-old Thomas was praying over the golf program at his alma mater.

Prayer, ingenuity and elbow grease were about the only virtues he could draw upon to keep a non-revenue-generating sport churning in this little town made famous by its football team's legendary coach, Eddie Robinson, who amassed 408 wins in 56 years at the head of the program.
At Grambling, where state support has decreased 57 percent since 2008, from about $31 million to $13 million in 2013, the golf program was an easy target in a culture where football is too big to fail.

When Thomas was on the Grambling golf team in the mid-1990s, his coach was John W. Jackson, a former pitcher in the Negro Leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs in the early 1950s.

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Last-second FG lifts Delaware State Hornets over Howard

DOVER, Delaware — Mitchell Ward kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to lift Delaware State in a come-from-behind victory over Howard 22-20 Saturday.

Down 20-13, Cole Murphy connected with Milton Williams on a 33-yard touchdown pass to pull the Hornets (4-5, 4-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) within one with 1:38 remaining. The Hornets recovered the ensuing on-side kick, and Murphy led a nine-play drive to set up Ward’s winning kick.

Murphy, who leads the MEAC in yards passing, was 20 of 30 for 241 yards without an interception. He also had a team-high 49 yards rushing.



Howard (3-6, 2-4) took a 14-13 halftime lead, highlighted by Richard Aiyegoro’s 75-yard kickoff return. The Bison then opened the fourth quarter with a 13 minute, 99-yard drive capped by a 4-yard TD run by Anthoy Philyaw.

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North Carolina A&T Wins Homecoming In A Rout

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T’s impressive 59-12 Homecoming win over Virginia University of Lynchburg was as much about beating the Dragons as it was about trying to become a better football team over the three remaining games in 2013.

“When you’re playing in game like this the thing you’re trying to do is get better individually,” said A&T head coach Rod Broadway. “That’s what we’re trying to get our guys to see.”

There were some outstanding individual performances on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball that may give the Aggies a needed spark as the season comes to an end. Fifth-year senior quarterback Lewis Kindle completed 17 of 23 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think Lewis Kindle gives us what we need to win,” said Broadway. “He gets blamed a lot of times for our performance when a lot of times it’s not on him.”

Freshman running back Tarik Cohen continued his push toward becoming the first Aggie freshman to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Ninety-eight of Cohen’s 130 rushing yards on Saturday came in the second half. He also scored on a 22-yard touchdown run. Backup freshman center Darriel Mack showcased the Aggies future. He started the second half to spell starter Ronald Canty and helped clear the way for some of Cohen’s runs. Senior running back Ricky Lewis scored twice on the ground as the Aggies ended the day with 452 yards of offense.

While the offense was gaining confidence, the Aggies defense continued its dominance. The Aggies forced eight VUL turnovers and scored 31 points off of those turnovers. A&T held the Dragons to 178 yards of offense, marking the second straight week the Aggies defense did not allow more than 200 yards.

Senior middle linebacker Brian Houston led the way with eight tackles and senior weak side linebacker D’Vonte Grant recovered three VUL fumbles.

The Aggies defense did let down a few times on Saturday. After a miscommunication between Kindle and Cohen on a toss sweep led to a fumble and recovery by the Dragons on the Aggies’ first drive, VUL quarterback Emmanuel Yeager found a wide open Devon Stewart (a former A&T player) going across the middle of the football field for a 54-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead. A&T responded with 38 unanswered points and scored touchdowns on their next three drives following the VUL touchdown.

The Aggies took a 28-6 lead after senior cornerback D’Vonte Graham intercepted a Yeager pass at the A&T 2-yard line and returned it 28 yards. Nine plays later, Lewis scored from seven yards out to give A&T a 28-6 lead with 4:43 remaining in the first half. On the Dragons’ next drive, Grant stripped Stewart of the football after Stewart gained enough yards for a first down on a 4^th-and-10. After taking the ball from Stewart, Grant lateraled it back to Graham who returned it to the Aggies 49 with 3:30 remaining in the first half.

The turnover led to a 23-yard field goal by freshman kicker Cody Jones as the Aggies went into the locker room with a 31-6 halftime lead.

“We were better than they were,” said Broadway. “But it’s always nice to win. It doesn’t matter if it is homecoming or what, a win’s a win. I’m proud of my guys. They stayed focused and played well enough to win.”

Broadway has won all three homecomings he has been a part of as the Aggies head coach. A&T now has a 16-16 homecoming record at Aggie Stadium. A&T will return to conference play next week as it heads to Baltimore to face Morgan State, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. The Aggies hope the good that came from seeing positive things happen against VUL will lead to a great close to the season.

“I still think we made way too many mistakes,” said Broadway. “There are some things that we need to clean up, and we definitely need to get a lot better in a lot of areas. We were able to recognize those things and still get the win. That’s good.”

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A&T 59, VUL 12

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Cue’s 6 TDs propel S.C. State past Savannah State 45-9

SAVANNAH, Georgia — Through one quarter of football Saturday at Ted Wright Stadium, Savannah State revived concerns about an emotional letdown for South Carolina State.

The Tigers had not just led the Bulldogs in a game for the first time since their lone win in 13 meetings in 2001, but managed to do so twice in a span of 14 minutes.

The early deficit apparently provided the wakeup call which sparked a single-game record-tying performance by quarterback Richard Cue. The Florence native threw three of his four touchdowns and rushed for two scores during a 38-0 scoring barrage which lifted the Bulldogs to a 45-9 win over the Tigers.

“Richard ran the ball well today,” S.C. State head coach Buddy Pough said. “We made some changes in our read zone and rezoning our attack and the defense was giving certain lanes and he took it. He also threw the ball pretty well today.”

In rebounding from a subpar offensive effort a week ...

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Week 10: HBCU Football ScoreCard Finals

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Saturday, November 2, 2013

MEAC
Bethune-Cookman 38, North Carolina Central 14  Highlights  » 
North Carolina A&T 59, Virginia University Lynchburg 12 H
Morgan State 30, Hampton 27 
Florida A&M 16, Norfolk State 6 H
South Carolina State 45, Savannah State 9
Delaware State 22, Howard 20

OVC
Eastern Kentucky 44, Tennessee State 0  Highlights  » 

SWAC
Southern 31, Texas Southern 24 (Nov. 1)
Grambling State 47, Mississippi Valley State 40  H
Alabama A&M 19, Alcorn State 18
Kentucky 48, Alabama State 14   Highlights  »

SIAC
Lane 38, Kentucky State 28
Tuskegee 41, Central State 10  H
Albany State 31, Benedict 6
Miles 31, Stillman 30
Shorter 58, Clark Atlanta 14
Fort Valley State 46, Morehouse 19

OTHER CONFERENCES AND INDEPENDENTS
Langston 20, Oklahoma Panhandle State 19
West Chester 66, Cheyney 14
Ave Marie 45, Edward Waters 14
Notre Dame College 42, West Virginia State 16
Central Oklahoma 49, Lincoln (Mo.) 42
Houston Baptist 49, Texas College 7
Georgia Military 52, Concordia-Selma 10

CIAA
Virginia State 28, Chowan 0
Elizabeth City State 28, Virginia Union 21
Bowie State 76, Lincoln (Pa.) 19
Winston-Salem State 28, Shaw 24  
Saint Augustine's 13, Johnson C. Smith 6
Fayetteville State 34, Livingstone 31


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(H)  Homecoming

Norfolk State next test for Florida A&M Rattlers

NORFOLK, Virginia -- It wasn’t too long ago that Norfolk State had the best quarterback in the MEAC. Now that they have four, head coach Pete Adrian is still trying to find one that could play a complete game.

The Spartans’ inability to establish some stability under center has had such a toll on their offense that their last three games have gone down to the wire. Each ended in a defeat.

“We’ve been playing roulette with our quarterbacks,” Adrian said during his weekly national conference call. “Last week our quarterback went down and we had to go with number two and number three. They are getting experience but we haven’t been able to do that (find consistency) for the past two years.’

Two years ago, the Spartans won the conference championship with Chris Wally at quarterback. But since his departure at the end of the 2011 season, NSU (2-6, 2-2) has been searching for a comparable replacement.



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Southern ends Houston hex by topping Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas  -- These trips to Houston aren’t such a bad deal for Southern after all.

The Jaguars had lost their past five games and six of the past seven played in this city before beating Texas Southern 31-24 on Friday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Southern, 5-4 and 5-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, moved within one victory or one Prairie View loss of clinching the conference’s West Division title and returning here next month to play for the league championship. The Tigers fell to 2-7 and 2-6.

The Jaguars bounced back from a 44-38 loss to Alcorn State last week and overcame three turnovers to maintain control of the division with a one-game lead and the tiebreaker edge. They could clinch the division as early as Thursday, when Prairie View plays at Alcorn State.

Southern has two more SWAC games — at Alabama State next Saturday and vs. Grambling in the Bayou Classic on Nov. 30 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Prairie View also hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a league game Nov. 23.

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Morgan’s fake punt run brings Jaguars’ offense to life

HOUSTON, Texas -- Trailing Texas Southern 3-0 in the second quarter, Southern found an offensive spark in an unlikely place: hiding behind two big lineman in a punt formation.

Sophomore receiver Justin Morgan took a fourth-down snap as the upback from the Southern 39-yard line and ran 26 yards for a first down.

SU quarterback Dray Joseph connected with Lee Doss on the next play for the Jaguars’ first touchdown. Five minutes later, the Jaguars had turned a 3-0 deficit into a 21-3 lead.

It all started with Morgan’s fake punt, and the Jaguars never looked back in a 31-24 victory over Texas Southern at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday night.

“I’m tired of practicing fakes and not running them,” coach Dawson Odums said. “We needed to jump-start the game, and we had to do something to create some momentum.”

After SU saw its first two possessions end in turnovers, the Jaguars were lined up to punt the ball back to Texas Southern. Only the ball never got to punter Corey Carter.



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Bulldog Buzz: Alabama A&M at Alcorn State

WHAT: Alabama A&M at Alcorn State
WHEN: 4 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Jack Spinks Stadium, Lorman, Miss.
LINE: N/A

THIS GAME WILL DETERMINE:

If Alabama A&M can at least play the spoiler role in the SWAC East. Alcorn is 5-1 in the SWAC, trailing Jackson State (7-0) and Alabama State (6-1). A loss would all but eliminate the Braves from contention.

THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR:

1. Any semblance of offense from A&M. Struggling all year, the Bulldogs now face the second-stingiest defense in the SWAC and on their home turf. However, Alcorn has been more vulnerable to the run than the pass, which can be promising for an A&M team that has run well and has breakaway speed.

2. A lot of kicking. Both A&M and Alcorn are among the best defenses on third down. Meanwhile, A&M's offense is one of the worst on third-down conversions. This shapes up as a low-scoring game.

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Johnson puts emphasis on defense for FAMU Rattlers

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Clemon Johnson is convinced that he’s got plenty of shooters on his FAMU men’s basketball team. So for the past few weeks since preseason practice began, he’s been harping on the D-word.

Defense.

“They got the message that they’ve got to shoot the ball, but they’ve got to understand that for us to win ballgames we’ve got to play defense,” Johnson said. “I’ve told them that if they want to be on the floor they’ve got to learn to play defense. I’m looking for those individuals that can stop people from putting the ball in the basket.”

Johnson has good reason to be pleading to his players to pressure the ball more than they ever did. FAMU was the worst team defensively in the MEAC last season, finishing the season ranked 13th.

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Despite offensive struggles, Alabama A&M Bulldogs refusing to play the blame game (Mark McCarter column)

 HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - You could imagine the bumper stickers:
"Don't Blame Me. I Play Defense."

Alabama A&M is going to Alcorn State Saturday in still another under Bulldog position. It has lost three in a row and sits at 2-6, 2-4 in the SWAC, with four games remaining.

Despite the record, statistically Alabama A&M has the best defense in the SWAC. It has allowed the fewest points and fewest yards. Its opponents have the fewest first downs and A&M is second-best in preventing third-down conversions.

By the same token, its offense is last in scoring and pass efficiency, seventh in total offense.

A&M would seem a football equivalent of those two theatrical masks, one with the broad smile, the other scrunched up in anguish.

As young as this team may be, there is a certain maturity present. Outwardly, at least, the players aren't playing the blame game.

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Early to rise, Alabama A&M Bulldogs looking to reverse basketball fortunes

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama  --  Pre-dawn wake-up calls are right up there with pop quizzes and trolling for parking places when it comes to favorite things for college students.

And, Alabama A&M basketball coach Willie Hayes even confessed, "the coach doesn't want to come to the gym at 5 a.m. either."

However, for the sake of time management and team unity, to assure all his players can be at every practice without their classroom schedules interfering, the Bulldogs have been working out at 5 a.m. as they prepare for the 2013-14 season.

"The guys are kinda mad at me," Hayes said.

They're also responding to the demands, returning to the gym later in the day for weight training and to work on free throws.

Hayes, the former A&M standout now beginning his third season as head coach, is brimming with ...

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FAMU players, coaches hope for strong finish

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- While there is an obvious sense of urgency as FAMU football players approach the remaining four games on their schedule, their fans are calling for the intervention of a higher power to help them through.

Take the man who called the Democrat newsroom late Monday night trying to find someone to discuss the Rattlers’ struggles. He was brief, only expressing his concern about their ability to win another game this season.

“Have a good night,” he said, “and God bless FAMU.”



It has come to that, and the Rattlers obviously know it, considering the go-for-broke attitude that they had during Tuesday’s practice.

“We are all trying to finish strong and play the way the coaches tell us to play,” said safety Devan Roberts. “There is a sense of urgency because FAMU is known for its winning tradition. Even though we have a couple teams left on the schedule that are winning, we just want to play spoilers.

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Magic City Classic Win, Cross Country Three-Peat Highlight ASU Hornet Sports Report

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  -- Another State Farm Magic City Classic win and the third straight SWAC Women's Cross Country championship highlight this week's new Alabama State University Hornet Sports Report television show.

The show also highlights the 2013 SWAC East Champion soccer team completing SWAC play undefeated, volleyball finishing October with a 9-2 record, and updates on the bowling and basketball teams.

Launched in late September to spotlight the academic and athletic accomplishments of nearly 400 student-athletes in 18 Division I programs, the program also features a compliance tip of the week, increasing the knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations for all Hornet student-athletes, staff, alumni, and supporters of Alabama State University.

"We are excited to debut this new program to spotlight the accomplishments of our student-athletes, both in competition and in the classroom," Interim Athletic Director Melvin Hines said. "This show will profile our great students-athletes, coaches, programs and our University."

The show airs Thursdays on demand at bamastatesports.com and locally in Montgomery on WFRZ-TV Friday evenings at 9:30 p.m.

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Penalties continue to hurt FAMU's momentum

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- There is a segment of daily practice for the FAMU football team that offensive coordinator Quinn Gray wishes he didn’t have to go through. But at the rate that the Rattlers have been committing penalties, there is no escaping it.

Up until this week, FAMU was tied for being the most penalized team in the MEAC. Going into this week’s game at Norfolk State, the Rattlers are the fifth in penalties in the league.

“We practice them, not to get penalties, but they are part of the game,” Gray said. “We have to practice every situation and that’s one of them where we do find time to put that in practice.”

Penalties have killed drives that started with plenty of promise for the offense in almost every game. They haven’t been whistled as many times as they were in the opening games of the season when they had 15 for 160 yards, but they’ve had plenty.

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Alabama State blows out Hungtindon 94-69 in exhibition

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State made light work of Division III Huntingdon College in a 94-69 win in exhibition action at the Acadome Thursday night.

The Hornets got big scoring outputs from juniors Luther Page and DeMarcus Robinson.

Page, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound forward led the way for the Hornets with 22 points on perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Robinson, a 5-10, 165-pound JUCO transfer added 21 points while dropping five assists.

Jamel Waters scored 14 and dished out seven assists and high-flyer Bobby Brown chimed in with 11 in a winning effort.

"Some of the good tonight was we got out and ran hard," ASU coach Lewis Jackson said. "We got out and had some easy baskets in transition and that is something we have been working on, getting the ball out fast and going. We shared the ball a little bit and had a good number of assists."

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Norfolk State Spartans Welcome Florida A&M Rattlers to Dick Price Stadium for Homecoming

By Mark Sutton Photography

Game Notes | Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio | Twitter Updates

NORFOLK, Virginia - Norfolk State hosts Florida A&M this Saturday for the Spartans' 2013 Homecoming game. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.

The Spartans will be looking to move over .500 in MEAC play against the Rattlers, a team NSU has not faced since 2010.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
NSU dropped its third straight game in dramatic fashion last Saturday, falling to cross-town foe Old Dominion, 27-24. The Monarchs' Jarod Brown kicked the game-winning 24-yard field goal as time expired to cap a thriller. The Spartans rallied from a 17-3 second-quarter deficit by scoring 21 unanswered. Malik Stokes – the third Spartan quarterback to see action against ODU – threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to help NSU take a 24-17 lead early in the fourth. But ODU scored the game's final 10 points to spoil NSU's upset bid. Stokes passed for 87 yards and rushed for 38 while accounting for two touchdowns. Rolandan Finch, the MEAC's leader in total rushing yards, rushed for 97 and added 36 receiving yards.

Finch has a conference-best 687 rushing yards and is second in the league at 85.9 rushing yards per game. He also ranks third in the MEAC with 105.4 all-purpose yards per game. Tight end Joseph Hawkins is seventh in the MEAC with 29 receptions (3.6 per game). After recording his second straight double-digit tackle game with 11 last week against ODU, junior linebacker Marcell Coke is now tied for sixth in the MEAC with 76 tackles. Sophomore linebacker/end Deon King continues to pace the MEAC and ranks second in the nation with 15.5 tackles for loss.



SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
Florida A&M lost its second straight ballgame last Saturday in a 20-13 overtime decision to North Carolina A&T in Tallahassee. Tarik Cohen ran for 210 yards and three touchdowns for N.C. A&T, including the game-winning 8-yard scoring run in overtime. It appeared as though the Rattlers were going to pull out the win in a low-scoring affair when Damien Fleming found Dewayne Harvey on an 8-yard TD pass with 19 seconds remaining, capping a 96-yard scoring drive. That tied the game at 13-all, but FAMU's Chase Varnadore missed the extra point, sending the game into overtime. The Aggies got the ball first in OT and scored on Cohen's third TD. FAMU had the chance to answer, but Fleming was intercepted by Isaiah Martin to end the game.

The Rattlers were outgained 274-179, including 256-57 on the ground. FAMU's other touchdown came on Shaun Ward's 17-yard interception return in the third quarter.

Like NSU, the Rattlers have struggled on offense this year. Fleming, the MEAC Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year, is averaging just 112 yards per game through the air and has been intercepted 12 times. FAMU is last in the MEAC in total offense, averaging just 218.8 yards per game.

THE SERIES
• FAMU leads the series with NSU 12-1. The Spartans' only win was a 33-27 victory at FAMU in 2007.
• The Rattlers are 6-0 against NSU all-time at Dick Price Stadium.
• FAMU's last four wins at NSU have been by a total of 13 points.



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Ave Maria Gyrenes Football Readies For Coach Wyatt and Edward Waters On Senior Day

AVE MARIA, Florida -- The Ave Maria football team will host Edward Waters (Fla.) on Saturday in the team's final home football game of the season. Prior to the game, Ave Maria will honor its seven seniors as well as the nine players that remain from the inaugural season of Ave Maria football.

Seniors Ethan Manos, Colin Behm, Kyle Van Duser, Scott Ruane, Matt Novak, Richard Shockley and Gage Hayes will be honored before the game beginning at 12:30 p.m. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Edward Waters comes in with a 1-7 overall record. After dropping their first seven contests of the season, Edward Waters defeated Apprentice School, 38-21, last weekend for its first win of the season.

Ave Maria is coming off a 28-13 win against Webber International. Edward Waters fell to Webber 49-9 on Oct. 12.

Darryl Campbell leads the rushing attack for Edward Waters averaging 49.3 yards per carry this season. He is tied for second on the team with three rushing touchdowns. Cleve Williams has five rushing touchdowns to lead the Tigers.

The Tigers use a two-quarterback system with Reymond Berhane and Taron Williams. Berhane has thrown for more yards (592) and more touchdowns (5) than Williams but he has also thrown more interceptions (8) than Williams (6).

Four different receivers have caught a pair of touchdown passes this season for the Tigers. Ray Dukes leads the wide receiving corps in receptions (23) and yards (330).

Dukes is also a threat on kickoff and punt returns. He averages 14.8 yards per return on punts and 25.7 yards per return on kickoffs. He has returned on punt for a touchdown this season.

Ray Dukes had 284 all-purpose yards as visiting Edward Waters, playing its first game under interim coach Alvin Wyatt, won for the first time this season. Dukes had a 63-yard punt return for a score and caught a 30-yard TD pass from Taron Williams. Diondre Wynn added a 65-yard TD run in the fourth quarter as EWC scored the game’s last 10 points to pull away from Newport News Apprentice.

By Taylor Hodge
COURTESY AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Woody: Scott on way back at VSU

Scott is running a Division I-quality program at the Division II level.

ETTRICK, Virginia — We live in an imperfect world. People make mistakes.

What they do after the mistake is important.

Latrell Scott made a mistake while he was the football coach at the University of Richmond and resigned.

At Virginia State University, Scott has been given a second chance. He’s making the most of it.

The Trojans, picked to finish 10th in the 12-team CIAA, are 7-1, 5-0 in the conference and in first place in the league’s Northern Division.

Scott was the coach at Richmond in 2010 and until a week before the season-opening game in 2011.

On Aug. 23, 2011, a driving under the influence charge, his second since 2004, changed his life.

Scott immediately resigned as Richmond’s coach. In that November, he was found guilty of driving while intoxicated and sentenced to 10 days in jail.

Even before the trial, Scott had begun work to change his life. He went to counseling, choosing group sessions over individual meetings.

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Spoken 4 Communications Communications Preview: Bethune-Cookman vs. North Carolina Central

Spoken 4 Communications "Because Every Child Deserves to be Heard" previews the fifth meeting between North Carolina Central University and Bethune-Cookman. Chris Hooks chats with NCCU head coach Dwayne Foster to break down what the Eagles must do to break a two-game skid at home. Be sure to tune in to the Denny's of Durham Pregame Show beginning at 11:30 a.m. as the NCCU Sports Network crew will countdown to kickoff.

For more information on Spoken 4 Communications, check out the website at www.spoken-4.com




COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION