ECSU Names Interim Head Basketball Coaches

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina -- Elizabeth City State University has announced their head basketball coaches for the 2014-2015 school year.

Ron Woodard and Alico Dunk and will serve as interim head coaches for the ECSU basketball teams this fall. Coach Woodard will be at the helm of the Lady Vikings' program while Coach Dunk will take over the on the men's side.

Ron Woodard brings a wealth of knowledge to the Lady Vikings' program. He compiled a 120-92 record 11 seasons as the head men's basketball coach at Claflin University (Orangeburg, SC). He guided the program from the NAIA ranks, where Claflin won the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 2005, to Division II where in their first season of eligibility, the Panthers won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title (2009). During their transition year from NAIA to NCAA Division II (2007-08) Woodard's club posted the best record of any HBCU team with a 24-2 mark.

"I'm happy to be here and am thankful for the chance to be a head coach in the CIAA", says Woodard. "I look forward to an exciting year of Lady Viking basketball keeping in mind that our athletes are students first. Making sure that we stay focused in the classroom is very important to the overall success of our program."

He was named Coach of the Year in both the EIAC and SIAC and has previously served as an assistant coach at North Carolina Central and Kentucky State and was graduate assistant at his alma mater, Norfolk State University.

After five seasons and a record of 83-56 at the helm of the Lady Viking program, Alico Dunk will assume head coaching duties for the Vikings. Previously he spent sixth seasons as an assistant coach for the ECSU men's basketball team, including 2007 CIAA Tournament Champions.

"I would like to thank athletic administration for this great opportunity", states Dunk. "It is an honor to build on the solid foundation that has made ECSU one of the top programs in the CIAA. Our student-athletes will be equally dedicated to both success in the classroom and competitiveness on the court."

During his five year stint as coach of the women's team Coach Dunk built an impressive résumé. Under his guidance the Lady Vikings won the CIAA Northern Division twice and he was tabbed as the 2013 CIAA Coach of the Year after leading ECSU to the best record in school history of (24-4 , CIAA 15-1).

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After easy win, A&T Aggies turn attention to Howard

GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T was an assuredly better team than Chowan on paper.

On the field, that sentiment was reaffirmed Saturday night in front of 13,184 at Aggie Stadium.

Before heading to the nation’s capital for its MEAC opener against Howard, the Aggies made a capital statement with 52 first-half points against the Division II Hawks in a 59-0 win.

The Aggies appeared to sprint the 100 meters around Irwin Belk Track, circling the field while Chowan looked like it was jogging the 3,200.

“We just had them outmanned from the opening play on,” A&T coach Rod Broadway said. “We played like we should play when you play an opponent like that.”

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In the FCS Huddle: Surpassing all the hype

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Perhaps the beauty of Saturday's three FCS Top 25 matchups was that all three games were happening at the same time.

No matter where you turned, the furious action was surpassing all the expectations and hype.

Saturday will go down as one of the better days of the season no matter how good the conference races become in the next two months. No. 4 Montana at No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 2 Eastern Washington at No. 14 Montana State and No. 7 New Hampshire at No. 17 Richmond saw to it.

You can throw in No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana losing at Southeast Missouri State to make the day even more intriguing. But the trio of Top 25 games were enough to energize the FCS nation because highly anticipated matchups don't always satisfy, and these three were special.

North Dakota State's 22-10 win over Montana was great from the start because the two programs were on the field together for the first time since 2003. Montana is the most storied off all current FCS programs and NDSU has surpassed everyone in the division in the last four seasons.

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Xavier's Abbes, Albrecht, Bruins win titles at HBCU tourney

NOUR ABBES
XU CAREER SINGLES RECORD: 21-0

JONESBORO, Georgia  -- Xavier University of Louisiana's sixth-seeded Nour Abbes defeated Southern's third-seeded Darnesha Moore 6-4, 6-0 Saturday to win the women's A-flight singles title of the HBCU Tennis National Championships.

Abbes was one of three Xavier sophomores to win a title. Adam Albrecht beat Prairie View A&M's James Jackson 8-1 in the men's C-flight consolation final, and Sha'Nel Bruins defeated Prairie View's Stacy Lackey 8-6 for the women's C-flight consolation title.

Abbes' championship is the first by an XU woman in the main draw of this tournament. She won four singles matches in three days, with the final three victories against NCAA Division I opponents. Xavier competes in the NAIA.

Abbes is 21-0 in singles during her XU career.

Abbes and Carmen Nelson lost 6-3, 7-5 to Bethune-Cookman's Maria Sablina and Mina Matsuba in the women's doubles A-flight semifinal.

Albrecht advanced to his final with an 8-1 victory against Prairie View's Malik Morris, and Bruins beat Alcorn State's Ann Kazarina 8-4 in her semifinal.

"Once again, Nour showed what an outstanding player she is," XU coach Alan Green said. "She survived several service breaks in the first set of the final, regained her focus and cruised to victory in the second. She had a great tournament, beating three of the top four seeds.

"Consolation titles always are won by the hungriest players who rebound from early losses in the main draw. Adam and Sha'Nel both worked hard and played very well the final two days to earn their hardware."

Xavier has won 11 HBCU titles all-time. Abbes' and Bruins' titles were the first for the Gold Nuggets since 2008.

It was the first of three fall-semester tournaments for the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets. Xavier will play host to the USTA / ITA NAIA South Regional Championships beginning Friday at XU Tennis Center and City Park.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Alcorn State rolls to 52-9 win over Mississippi Valley

LORMAN, Mississippi  -- John Gibbs Jr. threw two touchdowns and ran for a third as Alcorn State beat Mississippi Valley State 52-9 on Saturday.

Gibbs was 9 of 18 for 141 yards. He also ran for 57 yards on 11 carries. Arron Baker and Darryan Ragsdale each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Braves (3-1, 1-0 SWAC).

Gibbs threw a 41-yard TD pass to Billy Shed and 26-yarder to Brandon Vessell early in the second quarter for a 35-0 lead at halftime.

The Delta Devils (1-3) scored late in the

third on a safety, followed by a 39-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Ivy to Tavis James. They trailed 35-9 as the final quarter got underway.

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FVSU Wildcats pickup SIAC win over Clark Atlanta 19-18

FORT VALLEY, Georgia –  Fort Valley State University holds off Clark Atlanta University on a blocked kick attempt by FVSU's Aaron Davis after Clark Atlanta scored with .55 seconds left for an 18-19 score.
 
Fort Valley State scored 13 fourth-quarter points to beat Clark Atlanta University 19-18 on Saturday, September 20 at Wildcat Stadium in Fort Valley, Ga.
 
The Wildcats, 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), totaling 317 yards offensively, while allowing 304 yards on defense with the help of 8 tackles-for-losses.
 
FVSU's Otis Brown and Malcolm Eady combined for 261-yards in rushing, with Brown rushing for 129-yards and Eady another 102.
 
Clark Atlanta (1-2; 0-2) scored the first, as Tayl Montavious capped off a 16 play, 89-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run, Austin Casillas kick failed at the 12:47 mark in the second quarter.
 
The Panthers added six more points in the third quarter with 13:18 left on the clock when Daniel Matthews went up the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run, Montavious rush failed to increase the score to 12-0.
 
FVSU's Otis Brown connected with Renard Williams on a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard to complete a 4 plays, 55-yard drive, Brown pass failed making the score 6-12.
 
Brown completed a 4 play, 57-yard drive with 6:23 left on the clock as Brown went around the right side for a 46-yards run to give the Wildcats their first lead, Juan Serna kick attempt good for a 13-12 lead.
 
With 4:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, CAU' Earl Trenton pass was pickoff by Kentorius Jackson at the Wildcats 48-yard line and returned 40-yards to the Panthers 12. Brown finished the drive off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Drelon Freemon, Serna kick attempt failed with 2:03 left on the clock for a 19-12 lead.
 
CAU started the final drive on FVSU 48-yard line with 2:03 left, Trenton connected on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Montavious with: 55 second left in the game. FVSU's Aaron Davis blocked Casillas kick attempt that would have tied the game.
 
Defensively, the Wildcats LeRon Furr led the team with 14 tackles (7 solos) and 1.5 tackles-for-losses, while Stefon Harper racked up 12 tackle (6 solos). Ryan Bowman added 8 assisted tackles, Billy Sparks 7 (1 solo) and Jackson and Brian Walker had one interception each.  
 
The Wildcats will travel to Columbia, SC., on Saturday, September 27 to play the Tigers of Benedict College at 6 p.m.

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Henderson's Record-Setting Performance Leads Lincoln Past Quincy

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri  -- Morris Henderson broke a GLVC record and two Lincoln single-game marks with six rushing touchdowns, leading the Lincoln football team to a 42-13 win over Quincy on Saturday (Sept. 20).

Henderson broke the Lincoln and GLVC single-game records for rushing touchdowns with five in the first half, then added a sixth for good measure in the fourth quarter to cap off a 19-carry, 145-yard performance. Henderson, who also added two receptions for 13 yards and 22 more yards on a kickoff return, broke the GLVC mark of four, set in 2012, and the Lincoln record of four, set multiple times. Henderson's six rushing scores are the most in a game by any NCAA Division II player this season and his 36 points are also a new LU single-game record.

Backing up Henderson's big day was a Lincoln defense that gave up just six points to the Hawks. The Blue Tigers allowed Quincy to convert just eight of 18 third downs and only two of its six fourth down attempts. Lincoln entered the game ranked sixth in the country in sacks and added six more on Saturday to go with nine total tackles for loss. Leading the way was Jeremy Rives, who made 21 tackles, currently the most in a game by an Division II player, and finished with 2.5 tackles for loss. Rives' tackle total was just one shy of the GLVC single-game record of 22.

Quincy (1-2, 0-1 GLVC) entered Saturday's game ranked second in the GLVC in rushing defense, but the Blue Tigers amassed 233 yards on the ground on 40 attempts. Owen Jordan added 134 yards passing on an efficient 16-for-21 performance. Khiry Draine led the receiving corps with six receptions for 63 yards whileBryson Winfrey added 31 yards on five catches. Christopher Willis caught two passes for 27 yards.

Lincoln (1-2, 1-1 GLVC) scored on each of its first two drives, with Henderson scoring from 21 and 17 yards out to give Lincoln a 14-0 first quarter lead. Quincy's only points of the first half came courtesy of its defense, as defensive lineman Mykel Tuiolosega-Suifanua recovered a fumble after the ball slipped out of Jordan's hands in Lincoln's end zone. The Blue Tigers responded by scoring touchdowns on each of its next three drives, with Henderson scoring on 28, six and 41-yard runs. The last touchdown came right after Lincoln's defense forced the Hawks to punt from in their own end zone, with Willis returning the punt to the Quincy 41-yard line.


The Hawks attempted to get back into the game in the third quarter, marching 75 yards on its third quarter-opening drive to score on a one-yard scamper with 8:37 remaining in the quarter. Quincy tried some trickery on the PAT attempt, lining up to kick the extra point before snapping the ball to a runner in an attempt to get two points. The Blue Tigers were ready for the play, though, as Rives and Delano Johnson stopped the runner short of the goal line.

Lincoln closed the scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter with a one-yard dive by Henderson capping a nine-play, 43-yard drive. A strong all-around performance by Lincoln's running backs helped the Blue Tigers chew down the clock in the second half, including three carries by Byron Williams for 22 yards in the fourth quarter.Mustafa Rose finished the game with seven rushes for 39 yards while Rashyied Melvin gained 15 yards and Willis added five on an end around.

Defensively, Paul Dodson added 16 tackles while Treston Pulley, Kareem Joyner and Kerry Roby each finished with nine. Pulley also had 1.5 sacks while Roby broke up a pass and made an interception. Davon Walls also made 1.5 sacks and finished with two tackles for loss and five total takedowns. Eric Howard had an eight-yard sack, Boomer Gorn and Malcolm Pickens each assisted on a tackle for loss and Derrick Nash added a quarterback hurry.

The Blue Tiger special teams had another strong day, with Julio Segura averaging 60.6 yards and three touchbacks on seven kickoffs. Two of Segura's three punts pinned the Hawks inside their own 20, with Segura averaging 35.7 yards on those kicks. Andrew Fishel made all six of his point-after kicks, with the sixth making Fishel Lincoln's career leader in successful point-after tries. Fishel, a true sophomore, has made 50 point-after kicks in 14 games as a Blue Tiger, breaking the previous career mark of 49, set by Gerald Walker from 1963-65.

Lincoln, which joined the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season as a football-only member, won its first GLVC game as well as the first-ever meeting between the Blue Tigers and the Hawks. Dating back to last season, Lincoln is now 3-1 in its last four conference games, all of which have been played at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.

The Blue Tigers will get their first shot at a GLVC road win next Saturday (Sept. 27), when Lincoln travels to Kirksville, Mo. to play Truman State at 7:00 p.m. CDT.




Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
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Miscues, turnovers stymie Alabama A&M in loss to Texas Southern

HOUSTON, Texas  -- Alabama A&M wasn't able to overcome four first-half turnovers – including two inside the Texas Southern 10-yard-line – and fell to the Tigers 45-23 Saturday night at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

It was the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for the Bulldogs (0-1 SWAC, 1-3 overall). Texas Southern improves to 2-0, 4-0.

One of the turnovers came when quarterback Jaymason Lee was sacked and fumbled on the final play of the half at the Tigers' 14-yard-line. Lee also threw an interception in the endzone with the Bulldogs at the Texas Southern 3 with 4:09 left in the half. However, the Tigers were stopped on Dexter Reese's first interception of the season at the goal line. Lee also had a fumble at the Bulldogs' 9 with 2:37 left in the first quarter.

The game started badly for the Bulldogs when Brendan Johnson misplayed the opening kickoff and it was recovered by Texas Southern in the end zone for a touchdown.

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North Carolina A&T Aggies Roll Past Chowan Hawks, 59-0

GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T knows what it has in sophomore running back Tarik Cohen. As the conference season approaches, the Aggies need to make sure their other offensive parts are finely tuned.

It certainly looks that way. A&T’s offense ran with precision in a 59-0 blowout of Division II Chowan Saturday night at Aggie Stadium.  

Junior quarterback Kwashaun Quick had a career night, finishing 15 of 21 for 215 yards and three touchdowns. His completions, completion percentage (.714), passing yards and touchdown passes were all career highs. His 55-yard touchdown pass toXavier Griffin in the first half was the longest completion of his career.

In the process of scorching the Hawks defense, Quick connected with 10 different Aggie receivers. Senior receiver Desmond Lawrence benefited the most with five receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Here's The Love Show again, but with a special twist. Congratulations to Kiera Davis and Juan Vargas on their engagement!  Cameras: 4x Canon 5D mkII, Canon C100.  Audio: Sennheiser MKH-8000 series mics, Sound Devices 788T recorder.  

To top off his day, Quick also had another stellar rushing performance with 82 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. It marked the third time this season he has rushed for more than 80 yards in a game.

“I felt like we came out a little sluggish, but we picked it up real quick,” said Quick. “We connected in the passing game like we’ve wanted to do all year. We just took what the defense gave us and tried to execute the best we could. It turned out pretty good for us.”

Cohen wasn’t completely absent from the Aggies offense. Even though his four-game streak of rushing for 100 yards or more was snapped with his seven-carry, 35-yard performance, Cohen did add three rushing touchdowns to his season total of seven. It was his second career three-touchdown game after scoring three times against Florida A&M last season.

“I felt like we played a good all-around football game,” said Cohen. “Our offense was going hard; our defense was going hard; we were really connecting. Everything was functioning well.”

Donald Mattocks served as the Aggies’ defensive star on Saturday. Mattocks intercepted a school record three first-half passes. The Aggies intercepted five passes from Chowan quarterback Dain McDonald.

Mattocks would have returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown but was called for excessive celebration before he stepped into the end zone. Instead of a touchdown, the ball was moved back to the Chowan 17-yard line where two plays later Quick found Lawrence open underneath for a 15-yard touchdown reception that gave the Aggies a 52-0 lead.

It was the biggest halftime lead in school history and it was the most points ever scored by an Aggies team in the first half.

“It was a lopsided win, but a win is a win,” said head coach Rod Broadway. “I thought our guys played well in the first half and played like you should play when you’re playing a team like that. We are going to try to make some improvements before we go up to (Washington DC) to play.”

The Aggies (1-0) begin conference play next week when they travel to the nation’s capital to face the Howard Bison 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27 at Greene Memorial Stadium. 

Freshman Marquell Cartwright led the Aggies in rushing with 87 yards on 14 carries.

Well, I don’t know,” said Broadway when asked whether the Aggies were ready conference play. 

“I feel good about our players and our team and our coaching staff and what we are doing. We just have to prepare and get ready. I know that we have to make a lot of improvements between now and then, which is always the case around here.”

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A&T 59, Chowan 0

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HBCU Alumni and Students Head To Soldier Field As The Sun Washed Away The Rain At The 17th annual Chicago Football Classic

CHICAGO, Illinois -- It started off rainy and wet but the sun soon came out and shined on the 2014 Chicago Football Classic. The annual charity event that puts a spotlight on the academic advancement of Chicago youth took place at Soldier Field on Saturday afternoon to a lively crowd that came ready to show their support and respect for historically black colleges and universities.

The day which culminated in a football battle between Central State University and Morehouse College, began with the 2014 H.B.C.U. College Fair and Empowerment Summit, and High School battle of the bands. The college fair, which had over 25 historically black colleges and universities in attendance, focused on financial planning, as both parents and students prepare to take on the most daunting task of beginning their college career, paying college tuition.

As fans began to fill the seats for Central State University vs Morehouse College, the atmosphere was nostalgic and very familiar to any student or alumni of a historically black college or university. The bands, dance ensembles, and Color Guards, were all there to give Soldier Field a little HBCU flavor.




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XU Nuggets 3-0 in GCAC after sweeping Philander Smith

XU women's volleyball vs. Philander Smith (Photo Gallery)

NEW ORLEANS -- Claudia Haywood and Jada Broussard combined for 22 kills Saturday, and Franziska Pirkl recorded her fourth double-double in five matches to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-23, 25-11, 25-22 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Philander Smith.

The Gold Nuggets (5-2, 3-0) have won five straight. They've won 46 consecutive matches against GCAC opponents -- 37 in the regular season -- and 44 straight against HBCUs.

Haywood had 12 kills, two blocks, hit a season-high .478 and reached double figures in kills for the fifth consecutive match. Broussard, a freshman, had 10 kills and hit .389, both career highs, and had two blocks. Pirkl had 34 assists, 11 digs and an ace.

Zyra Wright had 12 kills, three aces and two blocks for Philander Smith (4-10, 0-2).

The Gold Nuggets trailed 23-21 after leading 19-11 in the opening set, but they clinched with the help of two Philander Smith attack errors and two Jodi Hill kills. Xavier had 16-4 leads in the second and third sets and completed the sweep after Philander Smith closed the third-set score to 23-20.

Xavier outhit Philander Smith .232 to .059 -- .500 to minus-.029 in the second set -- and had advantages of 44-26 in kills and 71-46 in digs. Kayla Jones, a freshman, led Xavier with 13 digs. Darian Harris had 12 digs, and Chinedu Echebelem had 11.

Echebelem and CeCe Williams had seven kills apiece, and Hill had six.

Xavier will play Talladega at 7 p.m. Monday at the Convocation Center.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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XU Nuggets, Rush record best finishes at LSU Invitational

XU cross country at LSU Invitational (Photo Gallery)

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Xavier University of Louisiana posted its best-ever finishes -- third place for the women, fourth place for the men -- in the LSU Invitational cross country meet Saturday.

Led once again by seniors Catherine Fakler and Kwame Jackson, both the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush finished ahead of two NCAA Division I teams. Xavier competes in the NAIA.

Fakler ran 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 10.99 seconds to place eighth out of 48 women. Jackson ran the men's 5K in 16:15.94 and finished 11th out of 54 runners.

The Gold Nuggets scored 92 points and finished ahead of NCAA D-I's Nicholls State and New Orleans. LSU won the women's team title with 22 points, and Southeastern Louisiana was second with 77.

Xavier's women are 11-3 through four meets this season with five victories against NCAA Division I.

The Gold Rush qualified for team scoring for the first time this season. The XU men had 123 points and finished ahead of Jackson State and Nicholls State. LSU won the men's title with 18 points, followed by SLU with 72 and UNO with 98.

Fakler's time is the eighth fastest in Gold Nuggets history. Jackson, who set the XU men's 5K record on Sept. 6, posted the Gold Rush's fifth-fastest 5K of the past 12 seasons.

Also competing for the Gold Nuggets were Hali Yarmush (21st place, season-best 21:04.91), Carlee Calais (25th, career-best 21:42.37), Hannah Finnegan (27th, 21:51.93) and Reeka Belton (30th, season-best 22:34.42).

The other Gold Rush finishers were Brent Kitto (21st, 16:55.91), Christopher August (26th, 17:05.51), Emmanuel Detiege (43rd, 18:38.63) and Christopher Kennie (54th, 25:50.60).

Xavier will compete next Saturday in the McNeese Cowboy Stampede at Lake Charles, La.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Hampton's Bailey Career Day Leads Pirates past Miles Bears

HAMPTON, Virginia -- Behind a career performance from sophomore quarterback Bryan Bailey, the Hampton University football team picked up its first win of the season on Saturday, defeating Div. II Miles College 34-30 at Armstrong Stadium.

The win was the first in the tenure of head coach Connell Maynor.

Bailey (Woodruff, S.C.) threw for a career-high 267 yards and three touchdowns, completing 20 of his 31 passes. Redshirt sophomore Rashawn Proctor (Hampton, Va.) caught six of those passes for a team-high 69 yards and a touchdown. In all, Bailey found nine different receivers.

Three of those receivers caught touchdown passes.

Senior Jorrian Washington (Los Angeles, Calif.) rushed for a team-high 92 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per rush.

The Pirates (1-3) had 411 yards of total offense.

Miles (1-2) scored the only touchdown of the first quarter, a 16-yard pass from Demetric Price to Antonio Pitts that gave the Golden Bears a 7-0 lead at the 4:56 mark.

But the Pirates answered with 10 unanswered points in the second quarter, starting with an 8-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard field goal from sophomore Anthony Prevost (Chesterfield, Va.) to cut the lead to 7-3 with 7:15 left in the half.

Hampton took a 10-7 lead with 3:47 left in the half after Bailey found senior Morris Brailsford (Westbury, N.Y.) from 19 yards out for his first scoring toss of the night.

The Pirates took that lead into the half.

Miles answered on its first possession of the second half, going 52 yards on 10 plays before Jason Coste hit a 42-yard field goal to tie the score at 10-10 at the 10:43 mark. It was his first field goal of the night after missing two tries in the first half.

But the Pirates answered immediately, marching 66 yards in nine plays to set up a 1-yard run up the gut from Washington. Washington had four carries in that drive, including a 24-yard scamper on a 3rd-and-1 that crossed midfield.

Jamarcus Hill scored on an 8-yard run with seven seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game at 17-17.

But on the first drive of the fourth quarter, Bailey led the Pirates down the field – starting with a 19-yard strike to Washington. Later in the drive, Bailey hit a leaping SeQuan Gooding (Chesapeake, Va.) over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown – after Gooding fought through a pile across the goal line.

That gave Hampton a 24-17 lead with 12:49 left in the contest.

Hampton's defense then stepped up, as senior Charles Owens (Upper Marlboro, Md.) forced a fumble on a 3rd-and-2 play that freshman Hayden Gregory (Nashville, Tenn.) recovered at the Miles 25-yard line.

Bailey hit Proctor from 25 yards out on the next play to give Hampton a 31-17 lead with 9:33 left.

Miles needed just three plays and 56 seconds to answer, cutting the Pirates' lead to 31-24 after Price found Pitts from 25 yards out with 8:30 left to play. The Golden Bears' momentum appeared to continue after a Bailey interception, but Miles turned the ball over on downs with 2:47 left.

Prevost hit a 29-yard field goal with 1:24 left to put Hampton up 34-24.

Miles drove 63 yards in 1:17, until Price found Michael Ross for an 11-yard touchdown pass. But a missed PAT, and just 2.1 seconds left on the clock, left Miles trailing 34-30.

Senior Khambrel McGee (Miami, Fla.) led the Pirates defense with 11 tackles, while juniors Frank Morlock (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and Joshua Thorne (Oxon Hill, Md.) each had 10 stops. Thorne also had two sacks and a forced fumble.

Junior Breon Key (Hampton, Va.) had an interception.

The Pirates will open MEAC play on Saturday, playing host to South Carolina State at 2 p.m. For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

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Central Florida handles Bethune-Cookman for first win of season

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ORLANDO, Florida -- After traveling more 5,000 miles during the past three weeks, the UCF football team finally enjoyed a home victory.

The Knights had to regain some of the swagger that helped them finish as the No. 10 team in the country last season after suffering two disappointing losses to Penn State in Ireland and at Missouri. And UCF made Bethune-Cookman pay big during a 41-7 win before an announced crowd of 44,510 fans at Bright House Networks Stadium Saturday. It was the largest recorded season home opener crowd since the Knights hosted No. 6 Texas in 2007.

“The first win of the season is always a big win, especially at home,” UCF coach George O’Leary said. “I feel like we have been away for two months. It’s a good win, but now we get into the conference season. The one goal we have on the team is to win the conference championship each and every year.”

UCF will have to head into its conference opener against Houston on the road Oct. 2 without one of its top players in senior receiver Rannell Hall.

+ Final Stats
+ Photo Gallery

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MSU Bears Outlast Howard 38-35 at NY Urban League Classic

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey  -- The Bears and Bison put on quite a show at the 42^nd Annual Urban League Classic, but it was a Chris Moller field goal late in the fourth quarter that helped give Morgan State a 38-35 victory over Howard on Saturday.
 
Moller's 38-yarder sealed Lee Hull's first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win and improved the Bears record to 2-2 overall. It also marked the most points scored against Howard since a 38-20 win against the Bison on Oct. 19, 2002.
 
Morgan State ran 10 plays and marched 65-yards during the opening possession of the game. MSU quarterback Robert Council hooked-up with Thomas Martin for a 34-yard pass play that helped setup a 1-yard touchdown run by Herb Walker Jr. Moller's extra point gave the Bears the early 7-0 lead with 12:18 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Council was back it orchestrating the Bears next scoring drive. The Camden, S.C. product had a sensation play in which he rolled left and then cutback across the grain for a 44-yard run. Four plays later Council scored on a 2-yard keeper to put the Bears up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
 
Morgan was off to a great start with16 plays and two touchdowns in the early going.
 
Council finished the day by completing 13 of 22 passes for 168 yards, including a pair of touchdown tosses. He also had 14 carries for 90 yards on his way to being named the Classic's Most Valuable Player.
 
The Bison's offense got into gear toward the end of the first quarter.
 
Howard (1-3, 0-1) quarterback Greg McGhee connected with Matt Colvin for a 55-yard toss behind the Bears' secondary to put the Bison within striking distance. Three plays later McGhee play-faked and walked into the endzone for a 3-yard touchdown. John Fleck's point after cut the lead to 14-7.
 
McGhee engineered a 14-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with his 1-yd TD to help tie the ballgame at 14-14 with 4:56 remaining in the half.
 
McGhee, the 2013 MEAC Player of the Year, did just about everything for the Bison. He threw for 229 yards (16-35) and finished with 74 rushing yards and three TDs.
 
The Bears got a spark from their defense during Howard's first possession of the third quarter when senior linebacker Cody Acker picked off McGhee to help give the Morgan the ball deep in Bison territory.
 
It only took the Bears six plays and just under 2 minutes to find paydirt when Walker scored on a 4-yard for a 21-7 lead.
 
Walker, who entered today's contest ranked No. 5 in the FCS in rushing yards per game (153.3 ypg) finished with a game-high 141 yards on 32 carries.
 
The Bears pushed the lead on its next possession when Martin was on the receiving end of a 17-yard TD pass by Council in the back of the endzone. The score capped an 11-play, 88-yard drive and seemed to really put Morgan in the drivers seat with a 28-14 lead with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter. 
 
The Bison responded with another long, time-consuming drive, this time William Parker scored on a 1-yard run. Orlando Johnson raced the ensuing kickoff 82-yards to help give the Bears excellent field position. Three plays later Council completed a screen pass to Walker for a 17-yard TD to extend to a 35-21 lead to end the quarter.
 
However, Howard was far from finished and scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
 
McGhee scored on a playaction bootleg and ran in from 4-yards out to help trim the lead to 35-28. And William Parker sidestepped a tackle for a 10-yard touchdown run to complete a 12-play, 73-yard drive to tie the game at 35 with 2:27 left to go.
 
Johnson recorded another big play for the Bears special teams unit when he posted a 35-yard return on the ensuing kickoff to help set up the game-winning field goal by Moller.
 
Notes:
• The Bears had a 100-yard rusher for the fourth game in a row
• Herb Walker Jr. finished with his third straight 100-yard game
• Orlando Johnson recorded the longest kick return of the season
• Herb Walker rushed for his third straight 100-yard game
• Christopher Robinson led the Bears with 8 tackles and two sacks
• Cody Acker added 8 tackles and an interception
• Thomas Martin led the Bears with four receptions for 75 yards and a TD
• The teams combined for 854 yards of offense; Morgan had 435, while Howard finished with 419.
• The 38 points was the most by the Bears since scoring 44 points against Savannah State on Oct. 8, 2011.

COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Southern rolls to 34-24 win over Prairie View in SWAC opener

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Southern had to adapt to a variety of changes that it couldn’t control during its nonconference schedule.

Then, when the Jaguars opened Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday night, they chose to make several changes that paid big dividends in a 34-24 victory against Prairie View at Blackshear Field.

After using Austin Howard to relieve Deonte Shorts in a quarterback platoon in the first three games, Southern started Howard and played him the whole way. The true freshman from West St. John responded by throwing for one touchdown and running for another.

Howard was an efficient 8-of-15 for 108 yards as, after a series of losses at wide receiver, the Jaguars turned to a power running game. Lenard Tillery responded with 135 yards and a touchdown before limping off with cramps in the fourth quarter.

Throw in a boost that first-time starters ...

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Jackson State's turnovers prove costly in upset loss to Grambling

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Grambling State showed up.

And it made the most of its trip to Jackson.

After failing to board its bus for last year's game with Jackson State because of a player boycott, Grambling State arrived to Veterans Memorial Stadium in front of 18,522 spectators.

Now, it heads home with its first win of the season, defeating Jackson State 40-35.

After juggling three quarterbacks in the beginning of the season, Grambling State (1-3, 1-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) settled with Stephen Johnson. And the redshirt freshman orchestrated a hurry-up offense, the very one JSU (2-2, 0-1 SWAC) has tried to execute all season.



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