Virginia State beats ECSU to stay unbeaten in CIAA

ETTRICK, Virginia -- Sophomore running back Kavon Bellamy records a career-high 139 yards rushing; including a game-high three rushing touchdowns to help lift the Virginia State University football team past Elizabeth City State University on Saturday afternoon, 41-14. VSU is on a four-game win streak.

With the victory, the Trojans improve to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association; while the Vikings drop to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the CIAA.

Virginia State opened the game taking the ball 62 yards in 10 plays to record its first score off a nine-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Tarian Ayres to junior wide out Javion Smallwood, taking the 6-0 lead. The Trojans defense held the ECSU offense to only six plays on its first drive.



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Lulu Perry enrolls at Langston University

RUSTON, Louisiana --  Former Benton and Lady Techsters standout Lulu Perry was searching for a place to continue her collegiate career when she recently received a call from Tech’s former director of basketball operations Ronnie Barney.



Now at Langston University, located in tiny Langston, Oklahoma, Barney offered the former Louisiana Miss Basketball a place to land. It didn’t hurt that former USC head coach, U.S. Olympian, WNBA head coach and collegiate superstar Cheryl Miller was the Lady Lions’ incoming coach.

“When (Barney) mentioned that Cheryl Miller was the coach, I was shocked,” Perry said. “I follow women’s basketball and when that name was mentioned, I automatically knew who it was. She and I talk every day.”

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Quick hits from Grambling's win over Alcorn State

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling earned its fourth-straight win Saturday with a 28-21 victory over No. 24 Alcorn State. The Tigers did it with a mix of early offense and late defense that helped maintain a perfect record in the SWAC.

Grambling is now the lone undefeated team left in the SWAC. The day began with two before Alcorn took its first conference loss of the season.

Here are some quick hits from the win.

Game ball goes to: Quarterback Johnathan Williams ran for two touchdowns and added a 26-yard score through the air to lead the Tigers' offense. Making his second straight start, Williams kept Alcorn State off balance with the zone-read as he produced several long gains. When the Braves brought extra defenders to slow down Williams on the ground, he dissected the secondary with his arm.

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In the FCS Huddle: It's changed quickly

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (SportsNetwork.com)  -- The witching hour has come early for too many of the teams in last year's FCS playoff field.

And Halloween is still two and a half weeks away.

At the midway point of the season for many teams, one-third of last year's first-ever 24-team playoff field already lacks strong-enough resumes for at- large bids, and the early conference results suggest a lot must change - too much probably - for the teams to secure an automatic bid.

In mid-October, the chances of last year's teams returning to the 2014 field appear to be:

Likely qualifiers: Bethune-Cookman, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Washington, Fordham, Jacksonville State, McNeese State, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota State and Southeastern Louisiana

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WSSU routs J.C. Smith

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Winston-Salem State ran roughshod over another CIAA opponent with another convincing victory Saturday afternoon.

WSSU rolled over Johnson C. Smith 37-0 at soggy Memorial Stadium. The Rams led 30-0 at halftime and after the rain hit in the second half cruised to their 27th straight win against a CIAA team.

The Rams, ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Division II coaches’ poll, improved to 5-1 and 3-0 in the CIAA heading into next weekend’s homecoming game against St. Augustine’s.

“It’s not for me, it’s for the kids,” Kienus Boulware said of his first shutout as a head coach.

Not even an one-hour weather delay between the ...

PHOTO GALLERY



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Fleming leads Florida A&M Rattlers to first victory, 24-14

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Coach Earl Holmes pinned his hopes for ending a two-year-long home losing streak on two quarterbacks, but starter Damien Fleming made it his personal showcase by leading the Rattlers victory over Savannah State on Saturday night.

A collective sigh of relieve seemed to over Bragg Stadium from the 9,868 fans as the Rattlers snapped their losing streak to pick up their first win of the season.

Fleming started the day rotating with back-up Carson Royal, but his day was done after he threw a second-quarter interception.

The Tigers had a better day with their back up Tino Smith, who engineered a 12-play drive to cut it to a 21-14 game with just over 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter.



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FAMU remembers 'Bullet Bob' Hayes

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Fans attending Saturday's game between FAMU and Savannah State were reminded of the greatest Rattler ever during halftime ceremonies that highlighted the achievements of Bob Hayes on the tracks and football field.

The recognition hailed Hayes on the 50th anniversary of his winning two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo and became the fastest man on the planet at the time. Hayes was such a dominant force in track and field that he was better known as "Bullet Bob" throughout his career.

VIDEO: Bob Hayes, 1964 Olympics
VIDEO: The Complete Tokyo 1964 Olympics Film | Olympic History 
Bob Hayes won two Gold Medals in Olympic and World Record fashion: 100m (starting at 24:46) and 400m Relay (starting at 54:30)).  

Hayes took his speed to the NFL as a receiver and had such an impact on the game that he made the man-to-man defense obsolete, forcing teams to adopt the now popular zone defense.

Hayes was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2009 ...

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Jordan, Brihm lead Bethune-Cookman to 49-12 rout of Howard

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The third quarter has been a thorn in Bethune-Cookman’s side this season.

Coming into Saturday’s homecoming game, the Wildcats had been outscored 41-8 in the third period. And when Howard’s Robert Mercer returned the second-half kickoff 74 yards to set up a touchdown, it appeared the pattern would continue.

But Anthony Jordan followed up with a 79-yard touchdown run on first down, and the Wildcats went on to crush Howard 49-12 before a near-capacity crowd of 10,247 at Municipal Stadium.

“We got punched in the mouth there,” B-CU coach Brian Jenkins said. “They came out with a big return off of our guys’ lackadaisical play. Then, they got it in the end zone a couple of plays later. But I tell our guys it’s not that you get punched in the mouth, it’s how you respond. And they responded.”

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Week 7: HBCU Football ScoreCard & Feature Bands

ALWAYS WATCH IN 1080p HD, WIDE SCREEN


Football Saturday, October 11, 2014

OVC
Jacksonville State 27, Tennessee State 20 Watch Replay 

SWAC
Southern 35, Alabama A&M 34
Mississippi Valley State 27, Jackson State 23
Grambling State 28, Alcorn State 21
Prairie View A&M 34, Alabama State 24

MEAC
North Carolina Central 48, South Carolina State 35
Delaware State 13, Norfolk State 10 OT
Bethune-Cookman 49, Howard 12
Florida A&M 24, Savannah State 14
North Carolina A&T 31, Hampton 14 (Thursday) Highlights  » Watch Replay 

SIAC
Clark Atlanta 41, College of Faith 0
Limestone 47, Paine 30 
Stillman 48, Benedict 36
Fort Valley State 36, Kentucky State 21
Miles 22, Central State (Ohio) 12
Tuskegee 49, Morehouse 0
Albany State 33, Lane 0


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CIAA
Fayetteville State 27, Shaw 26
Virginia Union 78, Lincoln (Pa.) 13 
Saint Augustine's 31,  Livingstone 30
Virginia State 41, Elizabeth City State 14
Winston-Salem State 37, Johnson C. Smith 0
Bowie State 39, Chowan 11

OTHER CONFERENCES
Wesley 54, Concordia-Selma 0
Atlanta Sports Academy at Virginia University Lynchburg (Cancelled)
West Virginia Wesleyan 25, West Virginia State 22
Webber International 70,  Edward Waters 14
Saint Joseph's (IN) 28, Lincoln (MO) 20
Bacone 47, Texas College 6 
Langston 28, Oklahoma Baptist 21
East Stroudsburg 49, Cheyney 21

NCCU flips the script on S.C. State

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The deck stacked against them, the N.C. Central Eagles dealt last year’s co-champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference a taste of their own medicine during a 48-35 road win at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on Saturday.

S.C. State had been getting low-scoring wins by running for 210 yards a game and doing an even better job of keep other teams from gaining much ground, limiting the opposition to 138 rushing yards per game.

The Eagles didn’t care about any of that.

“I felt as a rushing offense, we had to make a statement,” NCCU running back Andre Clarke said.

The 290 rushing yards NCCU generated against ...

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Delaware State squeezes past NSU 13-10

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Delaware State has one of the least productive FCS offenses.

On Saturday, the Hornets barely needed it.

Mitchell Ward kicked a 43-yard field goal in overtime to lift Delaware State to a strange 13-10 MEAC win over hapless Norfolk State at Dick Price Stadium.

The Hornets (2-5, 2-1), who entered the game 120th out of 121 FCS schools in total offense, won despite being outgained 240 yards to 114 and not scoring an offensive touchdown.

"We should've won the football game," Spartans coach Pete Adrian said. "There's no question about that. I mean, we found a way to lose it."

Ward's game-winner came after NSU quarterback Tyler Clark threw an interception in the end zone on first possession of overtime.

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MVSU upsets Jackson State in Comegy's return, 27-23

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Rick Comegy and his new Mississippi Valley State team spoiled Jackson State's homecoming game.

The former JSU coach, who was fired by the program last December, guided his MVSU squad to a comeback 27-23 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

It was the first time since 1994 that the Delta Devils defeated the Tigers.

And it was another painful loss for JSU (3-4, 1-3 SWAC), which dropped its third game to a team seeking its first conference win.

The Tigers held the 14-6 lead. But it all changed when the Delta Devils switched quarterbacks from Patrick Ivy (the older brother of JSU quarterback LaMontiez Ivy) to Quantavius Peterson.

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Prairie View earns SWAC victory over Alabama State

PRARIE VIEW, Texas --  A slow start led to a conference loss for Alabama State.

Prairie View A&M built a 20-7 first-half lead, scored a touchdown on its opening possession of the second half and held on for a 34-24 victory over the Hornets (4-3 overall, 3-2 in SWAC).

"We got off to a slow start we were a little flat in the first half and just didn't make it happen," Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said. "We fought back and I was proud of them at the end. We just didn't have enough to finish it."

Alabama State's Malcolm Cyrus ran for 125 yards, Daniel Duhart threw for 225 yards and Quinterris Toppings scored a rushing touchdown.

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Southern University scores in final minute for 35-34 win over Alabama A&M

HUNTSVILLE – Southern University's Malcolm Crockett scored with just 51 seconds remaining in a 35-34 victory over Alabama A&M in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game Saturday.

Alabama A&M took a 34-14 lead with 6:08 left in the third quarter when Jonathan Dorsey scored on a 44-yard pass from Jaymason Lee for the Bulldogs.

It was the third straight score for the Bulldogs who turned a 17-14 lead into the 34-14 advantage. Brandon Eldemire scored on a 2-yard-run with 8:18 left in the first half. Then Cesar Ramon-Diaz kicked a 40-yard field goal just 1:19 into the third quarter for a 27-14 lead.

After Dorsey's score, it was all Southern University as they scored the next three touchdowns for the win.

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2014-15 SWAC Preview: Alabama State, Texas Southern lead the way

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama  -- To say the least, the 2013-14 season was a difficult one for the SWAC. While the league had a clear regular season champion in Southern, the Jaguars were ineligible for postseason play thanks to low APR scores. That would be the case for three other SWAC programs as well, with those teams allowed to participate in the conference tournament. Ultimately Mike Davis’ Texas Southern Tigers, who were picked by some to win the regular season title, earned the NCAA tournament bid with well-traveled big man Aaric Murray leading the way.

Leading scorers Murray and D’Aris Scarver have moved on, which means that Davis has some significant holes to fill in order to lead Texas Southern back to the NCAA tournament. Davis welcomes back senior forward Jose Rodriguez while reloading with transfers. Nick Shepard (Long Beach State) and Nevin Johnson (Creighton) are ready to go while point guard Deverell Biggs (Nebraska)will be eligible at end of the fall semester. Will the “second chance” route once again work for Texas Southern? If it does, the Tigers will have the talent needed to win the SWAC automatic bid.

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Grambling stands alone atop SWAC with win over Alcorn

GRAMBLING, Louisiana – Grambling proved its rise to the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference West division is real.

In fact, make that the entire SWAC.

Grambling shut down No. 24 Alcorn State, the SWAC's top-ranked team, Saturday, 28-21, with a mix of stingy defensive play and a fast-paced offense in the Tigers' home opener at Eddie Robinson Stadium.

Quarterback Johnathan Williams accounted for three touchdowns — two on the ground and one through the air — to lead Grambling in a battled of SWAC unbeatens.

"I think it sends a message that ...

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Abbes, 30-0 at XU in singles, reaches "Super Bowl" final

SUMTER, South Carolina -- Xavier University of Louisiana's unflappable and unbeaten Nour Abbes survived an early deficit Saturday afternoon to earn a women's singles semifinal victory in the "Super Bowl" of the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships.

After dropping three of the first four games, the XU sophomore won 11 of the final 12 games to produce a 6-3, 6-1 victory against NCAA Division III champion Ashnaa Rao of Johns Hopkins.

In the morning, Abbes won the NAIA championship -- the first for XU in this event -- by defeating Oklahoma Baptist's Anastasiya Baranova 6-1, 6-4. That title qualified Abbes for the "Super Bowl."

Abbes is 30-0 in her XU singles career, 13-0 this season.

NOUR ABBES
NAIA Women's Singles Champion of the 2014 USTA/ ITA
National Small College Championships

"In the beginning I was trying to find the right tactics because I didn't know my opponent," Abbes said. "I just had to hang in there and not let (Rao) gain too much confidence because she's a good player.

"As soon as she started making mistakes, I used the momentum to take control of the match. And coach (Alan) Green was very encouraging and kept me focused, so I'm grateful for that."

Abbes will play NCAA Division II champion Valentine Confalonieri of Lynn for the overall championship. Confaloneri, seeded first in her division, defeated Joanna Savva of Tyler Junior College 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in the other semifinal.

All the "Super Bowl" champions in singles and doubles will earn wild cards into the USTA/ ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Championships next month in Flushing, N.Y.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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XU beats Concordia (Mich.) in 4 sets, improves to 11-3

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana overcame 45 errors, 31 by its attackers, to earn a 25-21, 25-15, 22-25, 25-20 women's volleyball victory against Concordia (Mich.) on Saturday.

Chinedu Echebelem, who did not record her first kill until a first-set-clinching shot, finished with 13 kills, 17 digs and four assists for the Gold Nuggets (11-3). It was Echebelem's seventh double-double of the season, her third in a row and fifth in the last six matches.

Jodi Hill, reaching double figures in kills for the second consecutive match, had 11 of them and five blocks for Xavier. Franziska Pirkl posted her career-best third consecutive double-double with 36 assists and 13 digs, and she served three of Xavier's seven aces.

Alisha Anderson had 15 kills, 11 digs and three aces for Concordia (8-15).

Xavier hit .112 -- its lowest in a victory since the second match of 2011 -- and no primary attacker hit higher than .185. (Pirkl, the Nuggets' setter, hit .250 in 16 swings.) But Xavier limited the Cardinals to .108 hitting and benefited from 46 Concordia errors, 12 on serves.

Xavier had an 89-66 advantage in digs -- Darian Harris had 23, CeCe Williams 16 and Kayla Jones 13 -- and led 49-36 in kills.

The Gold Nuggets used a 12-2 run to take control after trailing 9-5 in the second set and got kills from Echebelem, Hill and Pirkl to take a 22-18 lead in the third and close in on a sweep. But Concordia extended the match by scoring the final seven points of the third, three on XU attack errors.

Xavier trailed 4-1 in the third but righted itself with a 6-0 run which included a Williams ace and a block and a kill by Hill.

The Gold Nuggets have won 10 of their last 11 matches. The only blemish was a five-set home loss to Spring Hill on Friday. Spring Hill played Concordia at XU prior to the Nuggets' match and beat the Cardinals 25-10, 25-7, 25-12.

Xavier will be on the road for a 7:30 p.m. Tuesday match at the University of Mobile. Xavier's next home match will start at 1 p.m. next Saturday against Tougaloo; Echebelem will be honored on Senior Day.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Wildcats and Rattlers Tussle at Al Lawson Center

FAMU LADY RATTLERS BLANKS BETHUNE-COOKMAN WILDCATS 3-0
PHOTO COURTESY: FLORIDA A&M SPORTS INFORMATION

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- The Lady Wildcats are probably looking forward to a rematch after losing to the Lady Rattlers on Friday night. The Rattlers hit what appeared to be an early TKO winning the first set 25-14. However, the Wildcats quickly recovered and put up a good fight the rest of the way before losing the match 3-0.

It was an unusual night for the Rattlers compared to their previous conference games. This was the first time in a while that they didn’t struggle in the first set and then raise their game in the second set. In the first set there were no ties and no lead changes as the Lady Rattlers led the set from start to finish.

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Xavier's Nour Abbes wins NAIA women's singles national title

BREAKING NEWS: (4:10 PM ET) Nour Abbes wins 6-3, 6-1 in "Super Bowl" semifinals of USTA / ITA National Small College Championships... Abbes won 11 of last 12 games to go to 30-0 for her Xavier University of Louisiana career.

SUMTER, South Carolina  -- Xavier University's Nour Abbes continued her perfect season by winning the NAIA women's singles national championship with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 3-seed Anastasiya Baranova of Oklahoma Baptist Saturday.

The top-seeded Abbes improved to 29-0 with the win and now will advance to a four-player tournament later Saturday and again Sunday that will also include champions from the NCAA Divisions II and III levels, and the junior college champion.

Abbes was five-for-five in service breaks early in the match, jumping to a 6-1, 2-0 lead. Baranova then broke Abbes twice and held serve for the first time to take a 3-2 in the second set.

The two see-sawed for the rest of the second set before Abbes won the match in 74 minutes.

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Badgers rally in final 2 sets to snap XU Nuggets' win streak

Xavier Volleyball vs. Spring Hill (Photo Gallery)

NEW ORLEANS — Megan Haber had a season-high 23 kills, two in a 5-0 closing run, to lead Spring Hill to a 17-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11 women's volleyball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana on Friday.

The Badgers (18-5) snapped the 10-match win streak of the Gold Nuggets (10-3), who had not lost since Aug. 26.

Chinedu Echebelem had 19 kills and 20 digs for Xavier. CeCe Williams had 22 digs and a career-high-tying 14 kills. Jodi Hill had 10 kills and five blocks, and Claudia Haywood had 10 kills and three blocks. Franziska Pirkl served a pair of aces and had season highs of 53 assists and 13 digs.

Spring Hill trailed 5-1 in the final set before taking its first lead, 12-11, on Haber's kill. Haber and Sami Hantak scored the next point on a block of Echebelem's attack. After an XU timeout, the Badgers ended the match on kills by Hantak and Haber.

The Badgers rallied from a 14-8 fourth-set deficit to extend the match.

Spring Hill is 16-0 all-time against Xavier. It was the second consecutive time that the Badgers rallied from a 2-sets-to-1 deficit.

Hill, Echebelem and Jada Broussard had three kills apiece to lead the Gold Nuggets to their first-ever first-set victory against the Badgers.

Sami Maurer had 19 digs for Spring Hill, and Hantak had six blocks.

Xavier outhit the Badgers .213 to .163 and had advantages of 65-60 in kills and 81-71 in digs.

Both teams will play Concordia (Mich.) at XU's Convocation Center on Saturday — Spring Hill will lead off at 11 a.m., with Xavier playing the Cardinals at 1 p.m.

Box Score 
 

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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

XULAATHLETICS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Tuskegee's Reese gives offense consistency

TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- Tuskegee's offensive line has been shuffled, rearranged and jumbled through the first five games of the season, but center Matthew Reese has been a staple throughout it all.

Reese, a 6-3, 314-pound center has been the only lineman who's made it to every practice and game so far this season. It' looks like Saturday's matchup against Morehouse at 4 p.m. in Columbus, Georgia, will be a rare occurrence, having all five starters play in the same game.

"It's been kind of tough, but I know everybody works hard, so I wasn't really worried. But it's getting better because everybody's back now," Reese said. "All of us have been working hard, but we've been having a lot of injuries along the offensive line and I've really been the only one that hasn't been injured this year. So I just keep working hard and try to keep all of the fellas together."

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Jalen Hendricks thriving in Livingstone's HOBO offense

SALISBURY, North Carolina -- Anybody who has been around Jalen Hendricks knows that he is not going to be the most talkative person in the room.

What the Livingstone College wide receiver is doing on the football field Saturday afternoons this fall says enough.

Hendricks, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior and 2012 graduate of Nash Central High, has turned into one of the better receivers in all of Division II football.

Hendricks is second in the nation in every notable statistical category for receivers, including 10 touchdown receptions.

After each of those touchdowns this season, in a manner that befits his personality, Hendricks simply hands the ball back the referee as his teammates do more of the celebrating.

“He has always been like that,” Hendricks’ father, Steve, said. “He’s so quiet.”

Hendricks certainly is drawing the attention of other CIAA teams with the numbers he has put up through five games for Livingstone (4-1, 1-1 CIAA).



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UMES Hawks coach inducted to hall

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball coach Bobby Collins will be inducted into the Eastern Kentucky University Hall of Fame.

Collins was on the basketball team there from 1987 to 1991, was selected to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Freshman team in 1987-1988 and was named All-Conference honorable mention as a senior.

Collins coached Hampton University for 11 seasons, four as a head coach, and was named 2005 MEAC Coach of the Year. Collins then left to join Winston-Salem State University for eight seasons, leading the Rams’ program to a 79-35 record from 2010 to 2014.

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HU's Maynor tackling new challenge

HAMPTON, Virginia -- — Connell Maynor has a new challenge, and success might take longer than it did at his last stop.

When Maynor started his head-coaching career at Division II Winston-Salem State in 2010, building a solid program seemed to take only weeks.

At Division I Hampton, the transformation might take longer as Maynor deals with different recruiting rules, a much deeper conference and a bit more pressure.

On Thursday night, Hampton was hoping to catch talented N.C. A&T off guard in a nationally-televised game. But A&T, one of the MEAC’s top teams under Coach Rod Broadway, prevailed 31-14.

“There’s a lot of talent in the MEAC, and there are no days off,” Maynor said. “There’s just no place on the schedule in this league where you can circle a date on the calendar and say that’s a sure win.”

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