WSSU Rams Control Second Half To Roll Past Elizabeth City State, 35-7

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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- The #15 Winston-Salem State University Rams overcame a sluggish first half start, to outscore the Elizabeth City State Vikings 21-0 in the second half, as they came away with a 35-7 victory.

With the win WSSU moves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA, while Elizabeth City falls to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the CIAA. Winston-Salem State also pushes their winning streak to 30 consecutive games over HBCU's and 25 straight in the CIAA.

After a scoreless first quarter that saw neither team be able to sustain a decent drive, the teams exchanged five punts through the first 15:00 minutes of the game.

Another three and out by the Vikings saw Phillip Sims lead the Rams on their first scoring drive of the night.

Sims would complete five of five passes and a six yard run of his own before connecting with Eric Williams for a 15 yard scoring strike to give WSSU a 7-0 lead.



Elizabeth City State would come right back, going 80 yards in nine plays, capped off by a Tyrell Houghton to Lovie Banks-Rose touchdown pass and catch from 28 yards out to tie the score at 7-7.

Winston-Salem State would seem to settle down and get into an offensive rhythm, and Rudy Johnson would come in and lead a scoring drive of his own. WSSU would go 65 yards in eight plays, highlighted by a Johnson pass to Demeeko Jones for a 21 yard touchdown pass to put the Rams back out in front, 14-7.

The Vikings would get one more opportunity before halftime, but a 35 yards field goal attempt at the buzzer allowed WSSU to take the 14-7 lead into the locker room at the half.



The Rams came out in the second half firing on all cylinders, and Rudy Johnson would take the team on an 89 yard drive in 10 plays capped by a pass to Brenden Felder who dove at the corner of the endzone for an 11 yard touchdown to push their lead to 21-7.

Elizabeth City State would move the ball on their next series but the Rams defense that played bend but not break the whole night, came up with a big interception by Matthew Browning to give the ball back to WSSU.

Winston-Salem State would take advantage of the Vikings miscue and Phillip Sims would direct the Rams down the field in six plays, covering 73 yards and finished off with a 39 yard scoring strike from Sims to Eric Williams to give the Rams a 28-7 lead.



Once again the Vikings would move the ball on WSSU's defense and they worked their way down to the Rams 21 yard line. But as before the Rams defense stiffened and held the Viking s on fourth down to turn the ball back over to the hot WSSU offense.

In the fourth quarter, WSSU scored the only points, as they would go 67 yards in 12 plays and tyree Massey plunged over the goal line to give WSSU the final score of 35-7.

Winston-Salem State accumulated a season high 454 yards, although the Rams did give up a season high 303 yards passing. The one caveat, WSSU held Elizabeth City State to 0-5 in the red zone, and blanked them on the scoreboard in the second half.

Offensively for WSSU, Tyree Massey led the rushing attack with six carries for 40 yards and one touchdown, while Maurice Lewis rushed 14 times for 33 yards. Rudy Johnson picked up 25 yards on five carries and Phillip Sims rushed four times for 20 yards.

Phillips Sims finished the evening 13 of 16 for 178 yards and two touchdowns, and Rudy Johnson went 14 of 20 for 171 and two scores.



Marcel Caver led the Rams receiver corps with nine catches for 104 yards, while Brenden Felder finished with seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Eric Williams had four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Jamal Haizlip had two catches for 40 yards, and Demeeko Jones, Michael Benis, Jalen McDaniel, Mustafa Greene and Maurice Lewis each had one catch. Demeeko Jones' 21 yard catch resulted in a touchdown.

Defensively, Larry Hearne, Terry Ross and Conor O'Neal all led the Rams with five tackles each, while Hearne also had a tackle for a loss and a pass breakup, and Ross had 0.5 tackles for a loss. James Hickman had four tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss, and Casey Davenport also had four tackles to go with two quarterback hurries. Matthew Browning finished with three tackles and an interception he returned for 21 yards, and D'Metrius Smith also had three tackles and a pass breakup.

Winston-Salem State will hit the highway next weekend, as they will travel to Murfreesboro, NC to take on the Chowan Hawks at 7:00 pm.


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Livingstone Blue Bears seize victory over BSU in last seconds

SALISBURY, North Carolina -- Livingstone College secures first conference win and continues 4-0 winning streak. The Blue Bears faced Bowie State Saturday (Sept 27) at Alumni Memorial Stadium where the Blue Bears snatched the 36-33 victory with just seconds left on the clock.

Kicker Leonardo Manzo was the edge that the Blue Bears needed to send them over into victory. Manzo nailed a 25-yard field goal with just seconds left in the fourth quarter with a tied game of 33 a piece.

Junior Arthur Bowden was also a crucial player for the Blue Bears leading in 2 touchdowns, for the team overall. Bowden opened up the contest with a 9-yard pass from Drew Powell setting the tone of the game 7-0.

The Bowie State Bulldogs answered back with a touchdown making the score 7-7.

Receiver Jalen Hendricks had a 49 yard punt return early in the game giving the Blue Bears a little edge over the Bulldogs.

The contest remained tight with back–to-back touchdowns from each side for majority of the game.

In the second quarter the Bulldogs were leading with 21-13, but Brandon Bennett closed the score deficit with a 41 yard pass from quarterback Drew Powell, sending the score to 21-19 at halftime.

With the continued vitality from the team, Arthur Bowden once again shows up early in the third quarter, knocking down a 10-yard pass from key player Drew Powell, making the score 21-26.

The boys continued to fight hard, although the Bulldogs would not be outdone yet, by countering with 2 back-to-back field goals by kicker Aviles Diaz.

At this point ,the adrenaline was boiling as the Bulldogs made one more 8-yard run making the score 33-26. The Blue Bears were not defeated with 8:13 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Hendricks caught a clutch 6-yard pass fromDrew Powell, with the added in kick, making the score a nail bitting tied score of 33-33.

The Livingstone Blue Bears were running out of time, they were down but not out for the count. With just 3 seconds left, no time outs, and adrenaline pumping, kicker Leonardo Manzo went for the kick, and it was good! The Livingstone Blue Bears snatch the win of the game, scoring overall 36-33, to make them undefeated,with a 4-0 overall record. ,

Quarterback Drew Powell finished the game with 4 passing touchdowns, all to help send the Blue Bears into another winning victory.

Head Coach Daryl Williams, who directed the Blue Bears to the defeat said, "Everyone did a great job today playing the full 60 minutes. From the coaches, to the trainer to the players I am glad to see that we all stuck in there and played the hardest until the end". Although the offensive line may have gave up some big plays, they were a great in helping kickerLeonardo Manzo nail the kick to win the game"

Livingstone College takes on their next away game against Elizabeth City. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.

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ASU Football Hornets Defense Tames TSU Tigers

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Texas Southern came into Montgomery averaging over 41 points and 463 yards per game in building their 4-0 record. Tonight the Alabama State defense held the Tigers high-powered offense to only three points and 221 total yards in a 38-3 victory over the previously unbeaten Tigers.

"I think Coach (Kevin) Ramsey and the defensive staff is doing a good job of continuing to develop our guys, our starters and those back up guys are playing meaningful time," Head Coach Reggie Barlow said. "Coach Ramsey coached a lot of those guys and recruited a lot of them and he kind of new what the can and can't do. I thought he had an outstanding game plan together to force them to get the ball out of their hands (quarterbacks) quick."

Texas Southern (4-1/ 2-1 SWAC) rushed for 122 yards, with 71 of those coming in the fourth quarter when the game was no longer in doubt.

Barlow added, "We were really worried about them running around, but our guys did a good job of sustaining and containing the edge. We were able to get some sacks and some turnovers and our defense really played combative and that's exactly how you want to play it."

In knocking the Tigers from the ranks of the undefeated, the Hornets held the dangerous passing game of TSU to only 99 yards passing on 12 of 31. ASU had one pick and sacked the TSU quarterbacks on six times.

Daerius Washington led ASU with 10 total stops (5 solo) while Kourtney Berry had nine (eight solo). Washington had two of the team's six sacks while Berry added a sack and 1.5 tackles for lost yardage.

Torrey Davis continues to have a solid season, finishing with seven tackles, a sack, two tackles behind the line of scrimmage and forcing two fumbles.

Senior Marcus Berg had his second interception of the season while Edward Mosley and Darien Barrett each had fumble recoveries.

The Hornets (4-1/3-0 SWAC) offense managed to accumulate 492 yards of offense on 83 plays, averaging 5.9 yards per play. ASU once again rushed for over 200 yards, finishing with 273 yards rushing on 48 attempts.

Malcolm Cyrus continued to pile up the yards finished with a game-high 118 yards. He only carried the ball 16 times, and only twice in the third quarter as ASU played four other running backs in the second half.

Quarterback Daniel Duhart had a solid performance rushing for a career-high 63 yards and a single-game and career-high two touchdowns, one from 25 yards out and his final score from three yards. He also completed 18 of his 32 pass attempts for 209 yards, including a 40 yard touchdown pass to DeMario Bell.

"Offensively Coach (Fred) Kaiss and his offensive staff are getting the guys prepared and the players are buying into that philosophy and they are going out and playing with a lot of passion," Barlow said.

Of all the big numbers from the Hornets, none were bigger than the freshman Clark. His five field goals was a career-high and now gives him 10 on the season. He also had a solid outing punting the football, averaging 39.5 yards per punt, including a career-long 54 yarder. Two of his four punts were downed inside the 20 and none of them were returned.

"Tonight I had the five-for-five and I actually struggled in practice this week," Clark said. "Tonight I came out and stuck to my technique and did my thing out there and came through with it."

ASU did most of their offensive damage in the opening half as the full starters only played two series in the third quarter. ASU did manage to score a safety when Deontrelle Silmon tackled a TSU quarterback in the endzone after a Clark punt had been downed on the one yard line.

The other scores came on Clark's fifth field goal of the game and Duhart's final touchdown run to push the final advantage out to 38-3. The Hornets defense held TSU scoreless in the second half.

The first half was all ASU as the Hornets rolled up 314 yards in building a 26-3 lead. ASU ran 48 first-half plays while scoring on each of its six possessions.

Most of the scoring came off the foot of Clark who kicked four of his five field goals. He hit from 18, 31, 29 and the final from 31 yards out on the final play of the half.

The other scores came on a Duhart 25-yard run and a 40-yard pass to Bell in the endzone. Bell was able to out jump two Tiger defenders in the scoring play.

ASU's defense held the high-scoring Tigers to only 115 total yards and three points on a Eric Medina 29 yard field goal in the second quarter.

Barlow added, "This was a really good game. Obviously there are some things we have to clean up, but it was a solid performance by our guys.

The Hornets will once again have a short week as they will travel to Alcorn State for a Thursday night ESPNU broadcast game. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. Both teams enter the game undefeated in the East Division. The game will be ASU's fourth game in 20 days.

"I don't know if I have ever played that many games in that few of days," Barlow said. "We just have to have a good plan. We don't have a lot of time to prepare for Alcorn and you never want to look past an opponent like a Texas Southern, so we have figured out how we are going to practice, and we only have two days really."

"We have to let these guys heal, and get treatment, and we have to make sure we are doing study hall. Then Monday get a practice in and Tuesday another one in and Wednesday we will be traveling out. It's a huge challenge for us next week. We have a lot of respect for Alcorn and Coach Hopson and those guys are doing a great job and playing lights out."

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Ivy leads Jackson State to its first SWAC victory

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas – The pocket-passing quarterback was told he needed to run more.

So that's just what he did.

Jackson State's LaMontiez Ivy saw an opening to his right, sprinted for the 15-yard game-winning touchdown and handed JSU its first Southwestern Athletic Conference win.

The Tigers defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 33-30 in overtime Saturday at Golden Lion Stadium and grabbed a much-needed victory after back-to-back losses.

"People been talking to me about running, so I put it in my head that if I have an opportunity to run I'll run," Ivy said. "So on the last play, the play before that, we had trips (formation). And nobody lined up on the same receiver side. So I told Coach to go to the draw on the other side, and I would just have to beat one person. So we called it, and I got to the end zone. And I beat him."

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Bethune-Cookman fends off Florida Tech upset bid, 34-33

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Florida Tech traveled to Daytona Beach to pull off an upset.

The Panthers came within one play of accomplishing their mission.

Bethune-Cookman thwarted FIT's 2-point conversion attempt with 19 seconds left and escaped the second-year Division II program's upset bid with a 34-33 victory Saturday at Municipal Stadium.

“All I know is we won,” B-CU coach Brian Jenkins said. “Good, bad, ugly, whatever. A win is a win. I don't think at the end of the day they judge how pretty the win was.”

For a while, it looked like Florida Tech (3-1) would celebrate with a big victory for the second consecutive week. The Panthers knocked off D-II No. 12 Tarleton State on Sept. 20. This time, they set their aim on the 14th-ranked Division I FCS Wildcats.



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TSU beats FAMU with defense

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  Tennessee State's offense made an appearance Saturday night, but as usual, it was the defense that won the game for the Tigers.

TSU beat Florida A&M 27-7 in the Tigers' homecoming before an LP Field crowd of 29,225.
After the Rattlers (0-4) threatened throughout the second half, TSU defensive end Roc-M Nesbitt hit backup quarterback Carson Royal and jarred the ball loose near the goal line.

Defensive tackle Samquan Evans scooped it up and ran untouched 12 yards into the end zone with 6:56 remaining. It was the only score of the second half for TSU (4-1).

"Coach (Rod Reed) saw that (Royal) was out there and said we had to get after him because he is not a mobile quarterback," Evans said. "We had a defensive line stunt on. When I came around, I saw the sack and the ball was loose. I'm an athlete, so I bent my knee, picked it up and scored."

RELATED: TSU scores again off interception



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Jackson breaks 4-mile school record at McNeese meet

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Kwame Jackson broke the Xavier University of Louisiana men's cross country record for four miles Saturday at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede.

Jackson, a senior, finished 36th out of 74 runners in 21 minutes, 21.7 seconds. The previous XU record was 21:24.37 by Ray Walston in 2008. This was the second time at Xavier that Jackson competed at four miles; his previous best was 21:46.1.

It was the second time this season that Jackson broke a school record. He set a 5,000-meter mark of 15:30.90 on Sept. 6.

"My next goals are to win conference and try to break the 8K school record there," said Jackson, the 2011 and 2013 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference individual champion.

XU sophomore Christopher August placed 49th in 22:12.7, the ninth fastest in Gold Rush history. Emmanuel Detiege was 61st in 24:30.4.

The Gold Rush did not qualify for team scoring. Jarrett LeBlanc of McNeese alumni won the race in 19:08.3, and Tulane's Moses Aloiloi (19:16.1) was the first collegiate finisher.

Xavier's women originally were scheduled to compete but did not. Next race for both XU teams will be the GCAC Championships at City Park in New Orleans on Oct. 18.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Abbes and Nelson beat top seed, reach regional final

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana's Nour Abbes and Carmen Nelson won 8-6 against Auburn Montgomery's top-seeded Paula Diaz and Anna Rudolfova on Saturday in the women's doubles semifinals of the USTA / ITA NAIA South Regional Championships at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.

Abbes and Nelson, the No. 4 seed, will play Sunday for the championship against Brenau's third-seeded Maria Perdomo-Medina and Patricia Recalde or AUM's Claudine Maheu and Alice Baudeign.

Abbes and Nelson won 8-5 in the quarterfinals against Georgia Gwinnett's Judith van Fraaijenhoven and Luma Schwab.

Abbes, the No. 1 singles seed, defeated Maheu 6-4, 6-2 in the round of 16, then advanced to the semifinals when Georgia Gwinnett's Chiara Di Salvo retired because of injury with Abbes leading 3-0.

Abbes will play sixth-seeded Diaz in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Sunday. The other semifinal will match Baudeign and Georgia Gwinnett's second-seeded Valeria Podda, who eliminated Xavier's Brion Flowers 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

Flowers beat Rudolfova 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16.

In men's doubles, XU's Kevin Chaouat and Tushar Mandlekar defeated AUM's Sergi Espias and Othmane Lalami 8-5 to reach the semifinals.

XU senior Nikita Soifer defeated Mobile's Marcio Dal Pont 8-6 to win the men's singles consolation championship. A No. 4 seed, Soifer won four matches -- three on Saturday -- after being upset in the main draw on Friday. Soifer led 3-0 against Dal Pont, then dropped four consecutive games before rallying for the victory.

All remaining matches will be played at XU Tennis Center. The three-day tournament is scheduled to conclude Sunday, weather permitting. The National Weather Service is predicting a 60-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 p.m.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Echebelem doubles up again, leads Xavier past Dillard

NEW ORLEANS -- Senior Chinedu Echebelem, recording back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career, had 14 kills and 12 digs Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-10 women's volleyball victory against Dillard at XU's Convocation Center.

The victory was the eighth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (8-2, 5-0 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference). Xavier has won 48 consecutive matches against GCAC opponents, 39 in the regular season.

It was the fourth double-double of the season for Echebelem, who hit .379 in 29 attempts, and the 18th of her career. She had 10 kills and 13 digs Friday in a three-set home sweep of Loyola.

"We carried over our energy from the third set against Loyola," Echebelem said. "We played better than we thought we would. Our new players overcame any anxieties they had about playing Dillard, and we didn't let anything distract us."

Claudia Haywood had 10 kills and hit .500 for the Gold Nuggets -- she's hitting .481 this season against conference opponents -- and Jodi Hill, CeCe Williams and Jada Broussard had six kills apiece. Franziska Pirkl had 36 assists, eight digs and two aces, and Darian Harris had 17 digs to reach double figures for the eighth consecutive match.

Mercades Chevis had six kills for Dillard, and Demetria Horton had 16 digs.

Xavier closed the first set with an 11-2 run after trailing 16-14. Echebelem had four kills during a 12-3 second-set run which erased an 11-9 deficit, and Haywood had four kills and Echebelem three during a 13-2 run in the third.

Xavier outhit Dillard .267 to .019 -- .290 to minus-.029 in the final two sets -- and had match advantages of 43-22 in kills, 4-0 in aces and 52-42 in digs.

Xavier defeated its longtime city rival for the 10th consecutive time. They'll meet again Nov. 6 at Dillard to close the regular season.

Xavier's next match will start at 7 p.m. Monday against GCAC member Voorhees at the Convocation Center.

Photo Gallery: XU women's volleyball vs. Dillard

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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Week 5 HBCU Football ScoreCard

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SATURDAY, September 27, 2014

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
Tennessee State 27, Florida A&M 7

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
North Carolina Central (Bye Week)
North Carolina A&T 38,  Howard 22
South Carolina State 17, Hampton 10
Norfolk State 15, Morgan State 14
Bethune-Cookman 34, Florida Tech 33
Delaware State 35, Savannah State 10
Tennessee State 27, Florida A&M 7

SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Alabama A&M 42, Mississippi Valley 20
Grambling State 26, Prairie View 20 at Dallas (State Fair Classic)
Alcorn State 56, Southern 16
Alabama State 38, Texas Southern 3
Jackson State 33, Arkansas Pine Bluff 30 O.T.



OTHER CONFERENCES
Fairmont State 24, West Virginia State 12
Edward Waters 40, Point U. 7
Hardin-Simmons 30, Langston 29
West Georgia 42, Clark Atlanta 2
Oklahoma Panhandle State 70, Texas College 27
Bethune-Cookman 34, Florida Tech 33
Saint Francis (Pa.) 80, Virginia University Lynchburg 0
Delta State 72, Central State (Ohio) 8
Kutztown 74, Cheyney 0
West Alabama 60, Concordia-Selma 7
Truman State 29, Lincoln (Mo.) 20

CENTRAL INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Shaw 38, Lincoln (Pa.) 27
Livingstone 36, Bowie State 33 
Saint Augustine's 33, Chowan 31
Virginia Union 27, Johnson C. Smith 26
Virginia State 35, Fayetteville State 14 
Winston-Salem State 35, Elizabeth City State 7 

SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Tuskegee 44, Lane 3 
West Georgia 42, Clark Atlanta 2
Morehouse 20,  Paine 10
Stillman 34, Kentucky State 20 
Fort Valley State 33, Benedict 30
Delta State 72, Central State (Ohio) 8 
Albany State 14, Miles College 7

Grambling State's backup QB leads comeback effort in State Fair Classic win

DALLAS, Texas -- It was a toss-up, really, which team would take home the 2014 Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic title. Grambling State entered the game having won its first game of the season just last weekend, while winless Prairie View A&M had dominated the annual meeting the past three years.

But in the end, momentum trumped history Saturday as Grambling State won 26-20 at the Cotton Bowl.

Grambling played catch up the entire game before notching its first lead toward the end of the third quarter on senior running back Juwan Martin’s 8-yard touchdown run that also proved to be the winning score.

Making the win even more impressive was the fact that Grambling was without its starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Stephen Johnson, who injured his ankle after leading the team to victory last weekend over Jackson State.

And then about halfway through the first quarter, Grambling was without its second choice when senior quarterback D.J. Williams left the game with a knee injury. So the job went to redshirt junior Johnathan Williams.

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S.C. State comes from behind to beat Hampton 17-10

HAMPTON, Virginia — Hampton University and South Carolina State each left sunny Armstrong Stadium with plenty of regrets over botched plays and missed opportunities. A conference road victory eases the sting considerably.

While S.C. State finally converted those chances, the Pirates’ red-zone execution again lacked in a wrenching 17-10 loss Saturday in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

“They made a couple more plays than we did,” HU coach Connell Maynor said. “We left some plays out there on the field. When it comes down to it, they made more plays than we did. We don’t make excuses. We had 60 minutes to prove we were better and we didn’t do it.”

South Carolina State (3-2, 1-0 MEAC) scored two touchdowns in a wild fourth quarter, the second on Jalen Simmons’ 1-yard stroll into the end zone with 1:09 remaining for the eventual winning points.

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A&T Aggies Earn First Conference Win, Beat Howard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – North Carolina A&T put the ball in the hands of a true freshman Saturday afternoon and then relied on its defense to secure an important 38-22 conference win over Howard at Greene Memorial Stadium.

A few Bison (1-4, 0-2 MEAC) dropped passes – 11 to be exact – helped along the way. The Aggies (4-1, 1-0) will take what they can get after winning without the nation’s sixth-leading rusher in sophomore Tarik Cohen and playing the entire second half without starting quarterback Kwashaun Quick who left due to injury.

Instead the Aggies turned to High Point, N.C., freshman Marquell Cartwright to carry the ball in place of Cohen, while freshman Hasaan Klugh took care of the quarterbacking duties for Quick. Cartwright finished with 135 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. In only two quarters of play, Quick threw for 200 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 14-for-23 passing. He also caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in the first half.

But it was the Aggies defense that remained steadfast despite watching a 28-7 lead dwindled into a 28-22 lead with three minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Cartwright gave his defense a boost by bursting through a humungous hole on the left side to score on a 16-yard touchdown with a minute left in the third quarter to put A&T ahead 35-22.



“I’m so proud of our guys because they just keep overcoming a lot,” said A&T head coach Rod Broadway. “Tarik couldn’t play today. Our quarterback only played a half, but guys just keep rising up and playing for us. That’s a good sign to have as a football team.”

MEAC preseason offensive player of the year Greg McGhee tested A&T’s toughness throughout the afternoon. McGhee closed out the third quarter with a 50 yard run after scrambling around in the pocket to break free. McGhee complemented the 50-yard run with a 10-yard run to the Aggies 4-yard line to open the fourth quarter. But a 5-yard false start penalty, a 1-yard run and three straight incompletions, including a drop in the end zone kept the Bison from scoring.

“He’s a heckuva a player. I’m glad he is gone,” said Broadway about the senior signal caller who threw for 237 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 20-for-44 passing.

Howard’s next possession resulted in a three-and-out before junior cornerback Tony McRae would all but seal the game by intercepting a McGhee pass and returning it 23 yards to the Bison 36. The Aggies came into the game leading the nation in interceptions. McRae’s pick was the team’s 11th. Nine plays after the turnover, sophomore Cody Jones connected on a 40-yard field goal to put A&T in front by 16.

“I thought we should have had 35 or 42 points in the first half,” said Broadway. “We had few too many mistakes that cost us. But any time you can get up 28-7, it’s big for you. Despite what they did to us on that first drive, our defense ended up playing well.”

The Bison took the game’s opening drive 76 yards on seven plays and closed the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run from McGhee. The Aggies offense looked unstoppable for the remainder of the first half. Senior Desmond Lawrence turned a short pass into a 49-yard touchdown receptions thanks to his sprinter’s speed as the Aggies tied the game at 7. A&T used a little trickery as a double reverse turned into a 3-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman receiver Caleb Gabriel to Quick on a 4th-and-goal from the 3.

The Aggies scored on three straight possessions to close the first quarter as Cartwright broke through for an 11-yard touchdown run. Junior Darren Bullock closed out A&T’s first-half scoring as Quick found him wide open on a post pattern. After catching the ball, Bullock made a move toward the middle of the field at the 20 to score on the 46-yard catch and run to put A&T ahead 28-7 before Howard scored nine straight to close out the first half trailing 28-16.

Redshirt sophomore nose guard Marquis Ragland led the Aggies with five tackles (all unassisted), two tackles for loss, a sack and he blocked an extra point. Redshirt junior Denzel Jones added a team-high 10 tackles.

“We’re glad to come up here and get out of here with a win but it was costly,” said Broadway. “We have a number of injuries, so we just have to go back and prepare for South Carolina State the best way we know how.”

The Aggies return to Atlanta to face the Bulldogs in the 26th annual Atlanta Football Classic at the Georgia Dome. S.C. State won last year’s matchup in Atlanta, 29-24.

BOX SCORE: A&T 38, Howard 22

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Pough lowkey on getting 100th career win, looks for repeat performance from new QB against Hampton

HAMPTON, Virginia — Don’t expect confetti or balloons flying over the South Carolina State sidelines should head coach Buddy Pough earn career win 100th at his alma mater this afternoon.

Even if today’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener against Hampton took place at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium rather than Armstrong Stadium, the achievement would continue to receive low-key treatment from Pough.

“Hopefully, it will happen in a way where we can let it go into the sunset,” said Pough, whose record at S.C. State stands at 99-45.

A week after leading the Bulldogs (2-2) to a 17-7 win over previously ranked Furman, quarterback TeDarius Wiley will remain in the lead role. The North Carolina native was given the nod based on his error-free play against the Paladins and former starter Adrian Kollack Jr. remaining sidelined with his left shoulder injury.



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Sidney Lanier retires jersey of former standout Reggie Barlow

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  -- Current Alabama State University head coach and former Sidney Lanier High School player Reggie Barlow received a big honor this week as the Poets retired his #8 jersey during a ceremony on Thursday.

"[Current] Coach C.J. Harris and the Booster Club reached out to me and told me that was something they wanted to do," Barlow said. "Obviously I was honored and I do know the tradition and the history and all the great people that have been through Lanier High School and not just athletes. We have had people that have turned out to be lawyers, doctors, mayors, just really top of the line folks. It was a blessing to be honored and have the jersey retired."

Barlow earned All-State honors as a member of the Poets football team, and from there he went on to be an All-SWAC player at Alabama State.



"We didn't win a lot of games (at Lanier)," Barlow said. "I think they looked at the body of work with me being there and being All-State, and coming over here (ASU) and doing what I was able to do here and of course in the NFL. Maybe it was just an accumulation of all those things that have happened to me in my sports career."

After playing in college, Barlow was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft.

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Week 5: HBCU Football Schedule

ALWAY WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN 

SATURDAY, September 27, 2014

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
Florida A&M at Tennessee State (Homecoming), 7 PM, FREE Live Video

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
North Carolina A&T at Howard, 1 PM
South Carolina State at Hampton, 2 PM
Morgan State at Norfolk State, 4 PM
Florida Tech at Bethune-Cookman, 4 PM
Savannah State at Delaware State, 6 PM
Florida A&M at Tennessee State (Homecoming), 7 PM,  FREE Live Video 

SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Alabama A&M at Mississippi Valley, 5 PM
Prairie View vs. Grambling State at Dallas (State Fair Classic), 5 PM
Southern at Alcorn State, 5 PM, ESPN3
Texas Southern at Alabama State, 6 PM
Jackson State at Arkansas Pine Bluff, 7 PM



OTHER CONFERENCES
Fairmont State at West Virginia State, 1 PM
Point U. at Edward Waters, 2 PM
Langston at Hardin-Simmons, 2 PM
West Georgia at Clark Atlanta, 2 PM
Oklahoma Panhandle State at Texas College, 3 PM
Florida Tech at Bethune-Cookman, 4 PM
Virginia University Lynchburg at Saint Francis (Pa.), 4 PM
Central State (Ohio) at Delta State, 6 PM
Cheyney at Kutztown, 6 PM
Concordia College at West Alabama, 7 PM
Lincoln (Mo.) at Truman State, 8 PM

CENTRAL INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Lincoln (Pa.) at Shaw, 1 PM
Bowie State at Livingstone, 1 PM
Chowan at Saint Augustine's, 1:30 PM
Virginia Union at Johnson C. Smith, 2 PM
Fayetteville State at Virginia State, 2 PM
Elizabeth City State at Winston-Salem State, 6 PM

SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Lane at Tuskegee, 1 PM
West Georgia at Clark Atlanta, 2 PM
Morehouse at Paine, 2 PM
Kentucky State at Stillman, 3 PM
Fort Valley State at Benedict, 6 PM
Central State (Ohio) at Delta State, 6 PM
Miles College at Albany State, 7 PM

ALL GAMES EASTERN TIME ZONE

5 from XU reach regional singles round of 16

NEW ORLEANS -- Five singles players from Xavier University of Louisiana, including top-seeded Nour Abbes, advanced to the round of 16 Friday at the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional Championships at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.

Abbes, a sophomore who is 22-0 in singles at Xavier, defeated Brenau's Snezhana Kiseleva 6-0, 6-1 and will play Auburn Montgomery's Claudine Maheu at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Also advancing from XU were Brion Flowers and Sha'Nel Bruins in the women's main draw and Tushar Mandlekar and Adam Albrecht in the men's. Mandlekar won twice, including a 6-3, 6-1 decision in the round of 32 against Mobile's Marcio Dal Pont, an honorable-mention NAIA All-American last season.

XU doubles teams of Abbes-Carmen Nelson, Bruins-Brandi Nelson and Mandlekar-Kevin Chaouat advanced to the quarterfinals. Reaching the round of 16 were Albrecht-Nikita Soifer and Flowers-Dasia Harris.

Soifer, seeded fourth in men's singles, lost 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 to AUM's Francisco Mendieta in the round of 32.

All round-of-16 main-draw singles matches will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at City Park, followed by singles consolation rounds at 10:15 and 12:30 p.m., main-draw singles quarterfinals at 11 and doubles at 1:30. Semifinals and finals in the main draw will be conducted Sunday at XU Tennis Center.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

https://twitter.com/xulagold
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GCAC awards: Jackson ties record, Fakler extends hers

 Kwame Jackson and Catherine Fakler

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Kwame Jackson tied a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's cross country career record when he was named GCAC Runner of the Week for Sept. 15-21. It's the 13th time that Jackson has been honored.

Earning the GCAC women's award was Xavier's Catherine Fakler, who extended her career record to 11. Jackson and Fakler have won four times apiece in as many weeks this season.

Jackson is from Kingwood, Texas, and a graduate of Kingwood Park High School. Fakler is from Phoenix, Ariz., and a graduate of Xavier College Preparatory Roman Catholic High School. Both are XU seniors.

Jackson, who shares the GCAC men's record with former teammate Matt Pieri, finished 11th out of 54 runners in the LSU Invitational at Baton Rouge, La. He ran 5,000 meters in 16 minutes, 15.94 seconds — the Gold Rush's fifth-fastest 5K of the past 12 seasons.

Fakler ran her 5K in 19:10.99 to place eighth out of 48 women. Her time was the eighth fastest in Gold Nuggets history.

Both XU teams earned their highest-ever finish at the LSU Invitational. The Nuggets placed third, and the Rush placed fourth. Both teams finished ahead of a pair of NCAA Division I opponents. Xavier is an NAIA member.

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


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

https://twitter.com/xulagold
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GAME DAY CENTRAL HUB: Florida A&M at Tennessee State

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS        FAMU Game Notes    LP Field (NFL) Bag Policy    TSU Game Notes

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  – Be prepared as the Rattlers take on the Tigers of Tennessee State, Sat., Sept.27 at 6 p.m. (CST) 7 p.m. (EST) at LP Field.

Watching On The Web: Tennessee State is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), who produces webcasts of sporting events for its member institutions.  To watch the game online, visit: http://www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com/watch/?Live=1795

Listening on the Radio: WHBX 96.1 JAMZ Tallahassee is our flagship radiostation.  The radio station can be heard locally in Tallahassee and surrounding areas on 96.1-FM.  If you are not in the immediate area, you can log on and listen to the call of the game by play-by-play announcer Joshua Jackson and color analyst Michael Smith, by navigating to www.961JAMZ.com.  In addition, the station is on iHeart radio, where you can listen in on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Log on to iHeart radio and find WHBX 96.1 Tallahassee.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XU sweeps Loyola; Dillard visits Saturday

NEW ORLEANS -- Chinedu Echebelem's third double-double of the season, 10 kills and 13 digs, led Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-21, 25-19, 27-25 women's volleyball victory against Loyola on Friday at XU's  Convocation Center.

The Gold Nuggets (7-2), winner of seven straight, will play another city rival, Dillard, at noon Saturday at the  Convocation Center.

Echebelem also matched her career high of four blocks. She had a kill and teamed with Jodi Hill for a pair of blocks in Xavier's 12-3 run to end the match. The Gold Nuggets trailed 22-15 in the third set and fought off four set points.

Hill ended the match with an ace. Hill, CeCe Williams and Claudia Haywood had eight kills apiece, and Hill had a career-high six blocks. Jada Broussard had seven kills.

XU's Darian Harris had 17 digs and reached double figures for the eighth consecutive time.

Eva Allen had 16 kills and Lauren Brand eight for the Wolf Pack (6-10), and Becca Burnett had 10 digs.

Xavier, beating Loyola for the fourth consecutive time, rallied from 4-0 and 16-13 first-set deficits.

Xavier outhit Loyola .252 to .216 for the match and had advantages of 45-41 in kills, 55-42 in digs and 10-3 in blocks. The Gold Nuggets' blocks were a season high.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

https://twitter.com/xulagold
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Tennessee State: Ed Temple To Be Honored With Statue

ED TEMPLE
COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Mayor Karl Dean will join friends and supporters of legendary TSU and U.S. Olympic women’s track coach Ed Temple at a reception Tuesday, Sept. 30, to announce the creation of a statue honoring Temple.

The event will be held at 5 p.m. in the main atrium at Bridgestone Arena. Pete Weber, voice of the Nashville Predators, will moderate a discussion with Coach Temple following remarks from Mayor Dean and Bo Roberts, who has led the effort for this statue for more than 15 years. Nationally renowned sports sculptor Brian Hanlon will be on hand to unveil a model of the statue.

The reception will announce the creation of a statue honoring Coach Temple, including an announcement of the statue’s location, a model of the statue and a call for fundraising support.

Temple was head women's track and field coach at Tennessee State University for 44 years. During his coaching career at Tennessee State University, forty members of the famed Tigerbelle teams have represented their countries in Olympic competition. Coach Temple has led the team to 34 national titles, and eight Tigerbelles have been inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, including Wilma Rudolph, Edith McGuire, Wyomia Tyus, and Chandra Cheeseborough, the current coach at TSU.

Temple has been inducted into at least nine Hall of Fames, including one from his alma mater Tennessee State University.

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

A&T Aggies Open Conference Season At Howard

North Carolina A&T (3-1, 0-0 MEAC) vs. Howard (1-3, 0-1 MEAC)
Date: Sept. 27, 2014
Time: 1 p.m.
Facility: Greene Memorial Stadium
Series: A&T leads, 25-20-2
Media: WNAA, 90.1 FM; Play-by-play – Spencer Gwynn; Analyst – Billy Covington and Al Swann

Aggies Overview: North Carolina A&T heads to the nation’s capital to open the conference season against Howard University. The Aggies are 2-1 under head coach Rod Broadway in conference openers with the team’s only loss coming in a 21-18 defeat at home against Morgan State on Sept. 27, 2012. The last time the Aggies opened the conference season on the road, they came away with a 24-3 win over Morgan State in Baltimore on Oct. 1, 2011. The Aggies are 7-10-1 at Greene Memorial Stadium. A&T will face a tough challenge in the MEAC’s preseason offensive player of the year Greg McGhee, the Bison’s starting quarterback. A&T’s secondary looks up to the challenge. Their 10 interceptions lead the nation, and cornerback Donald Mattocks leads the country in picks per game (1.3). On the offensive end, the Aggies will be looking for the offensive diversity that allowed junior quarterback Kwashaun Quick to connect with 10 different receivers versus Chowan last week.

Howard Overview: McGhee has played three games against A&T in his career. He has thrown for 662 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions on 59-for-116 (.509) passing in those games. This season McGhee has completed 48.3 percent of his passes for 614 yards and two touchdowns. Against Division II Morehouse he was 16-for-30 for 149 yards and two touchdowns. At the start of the season, the Bison also featured a superstar sophomore running back in Anthony Philyaw, but he has not played this season. Instead the running game has been put in the hands of McGhee, Aquanius Freeman, Terrance Tusan and William Parker. Each player has at least 25 carries this season with McGhee leading the way with 61. McGhee had 95 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 20 carries in the Bison’s 38-35 loss to Morgan State at MetLife Stadium last week. The Bison rank third in the conference in total offense and ninth in total defense.

News & Notes:

A&T scored a school record 42 points in one quarter, which was the second quarter against Chowan. The Aggies also scored a school-record 52 first-half points against the Hawks.
The Aggies had a few more records in their win over the Hawks. Donald Mattocks tied Alonza Barnett’s school record with three interceptions in one game. The Aggies also picked off a school record five passes.

The Aggies 59-0 win was the fourth-biggest shutout win in school history. Head coach Rod Broadway owns two of the Aggies’ biggest shutout wins after his 2012 team defeated West Virginia State 77-0.

A&T lost 35-28 in its last trip to Greene Memorial Stadium after giving up an 82-yard kickoff return, fumbling at the Bison’s 1-yard line and failing to score after having 1st-and-goal from the Bison 3 in overtime.

They said what?

“A&T coming to town is always exciting for the campus. The student population and the campus love when this type of team comes to town. Coach Broadway and his staff have the Aggies playing well. They are very explosive and they make big plays. The quarterback (Kwashaun Quick) has done a good job and of course the running back is outstanding. But they also do a good job on defense in terms of creating turnovers, and their special teams are outstanding. They are a tough matchup.”

Howard head coach Gary Harrell on playing A&T

“We are sort of in a similar position we were in three years ago when we went up there. We were 4-2 when we went up there at that time. We weren’t a very good football team. We thought we were fairly good, but we got up there and got embarrassed. Now we’re sitting here 3-1, taking a team up there that I know is a better football team, but we’ve got to play the best game we’ve played all year. That loss (three years ago) changed the course of our football season, so we’re going to go up there and play hard and hopefully we want put ourselves in a position that we put ourselves in the first year I was here because we only won one more game the rest of the year.”

A&T head coach Rod Broadway on the Aggies 35-28 overtime loss in 2011

COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XU's Abbes is No. 1 seed at ITA/USTA NAIA regional

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's tennis teams will have three seeded singles players and one doubles seed in the USTA/ITA NAIA South Regional Championships.
    
For the second consecutive year, Xavier will play host to the three-day event. The tournament will begin at 9 a.m. Friday at City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center (5900 Marconi Drive, New Orleans, LA 70124). Competition will resume at 9 a.m. Saturday at City Park, with the semifinals and championship matches on Sunday at XU Tennis Center (3619 Pine St., New Orleans LA 70125).
    
XU sophomore Nour Abbes is the No. 1 women's singles seed, and junior teammate Brion Flowers is No. 8. Senior Nikita Soifer is No. 4 in men's singles. The women's doubles team of Abbes and senior Carmen Nelson is seeded fourth.
    
Abbes, 21-0 in her XU singles career, was the A-flight champion at the HBCU National Championships in Jonesboro, Ga., last week. Flowers and Kourtney Howell, a senior last year, won the 2013 South Regional doubles championship. Flowers is paired with redshirt freshman Dasia Harris this week.
    
Also competing will be the men's and women's teams of Auburn Montgomery, Belhaven, Georgia Gwinnett, Loyola, Point and William Carey, the women of Brenau and the men of Mobile. Georgia Gwinnett's men and women in May won the NAIA's national team championships.
    
The No. 1 men's seeds are Georgia Gwinnett's Jordan Cox in singles and Cox and Matias Hatem in doubles. Auburn Montgomery's Paula Diaz and Anna Rudolfova are the top-seeded women's doubles team.
    
Main-draw champions in singles and doubles will qualify for the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships at Sumter, S.C., from Oct. 9-12.

Tournament home page
     
Here's the complete list of seeds:

Men's Singles
1. Jordan Cox, Georgia Gwinnett
2. Nicolas Pinones, Auburn Montgomery
3. Matias Hatem, Georgia Gwinnett
4. Nikita Soifer, Xavier
5. Othmane Lalami, Auburn Montgomery
6. Birkir Gunnarsson, Auburn Montgomery
7. Ricky Keppeler, William Carey
8. Jefferson Nino, Belhaven

Women's Singles
1. Nour Abbes, Xavier
2. Valeria Podda, Georgia Gwinnett
3. Maria Perdomo-Medina, Brenau
4. Judith van Fraaijenhoven, Georgia Gwinnett
5. Alice Baudeign, Auburn Montgomery
6. Paula Diaz, Auburn Montgomery
7. Chiara Di Salvo, Georgia Gwinnett
8. Brion Flowers, Xavier

Men's Doubles
1. Jordan Cox-Matias Hatem, Georgia Gwinnett
2. Birkir Gunnarsson-Francisco Mendieta, Auburn Montgomery
3. Nicolas Pinones-Miguel Grifol, Auburn Montgomery
4. Nick Van Amerom-Marcio Dal Pont, Mobile

Women's Doubles
1. Paula Diaz-Anna Rudolfova, Auburn Montgomery
2. Valeria Podda-Chiara Di Salvo, Georgia Gwinnett
3. Maria Perdomo-Medina - Patricia Recalde, Brenau
4. Nour Abbes-Carmen Nelson, Xavier


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

https://twitter.com/xulagold
https://www.facebook.com/xulagold 

ASU Hornets' Ponder turns up aggression on defense

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- He's certainly paid his dues, waiting five years for this opportunity.

When Dionte Ponder became the third starting cornerback in four games for the Hornets, the senior had a sense of urgency to do the job correctly.

"The coaches wanted us to be a little more aggressive," Ponder said. "We've been getting some bad comments about the secondary, so we've got to pretty much show everybody we're not the weak link of the defense. We can compete with anyone.



"So I just took it upon myself. I just felt like the guy in front of me, I have to limit him in what he can do and stop him from making catches and touchdowns."

The tactic worked. Alabama State's defensive starters pitched a shutout against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on national television last week (the reserves gave up a late touchdown) gaining a little redemption for a much-maligned secondary.

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