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ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- "Motivation, dedication and a lot of work" is what it takes to be a college cheerleader, says Oshia Smalls, a member of the South Carolina State cheerleading squad.
Smalls and Keylonda Walker, both SCSU sophomores, are no strangers to hard work and giving their all. Both are Orangeburg natives who began cheering at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.
“It’s time consuming. You’ve got to love it because if you don’t, you’ll be doing this for nothing," Walker said. "We put a lot into it."
Smalls, a speech pathology major, says she wanted to be a cheerleader since first grade after she watched the sports comedy movie, "Bring It On."
“I thought to myself, 'That could be me,' " she said.
Walker, a pre-med major, got into gymnastics at the tender age of 3. She said cheerleading was the closest thing to it and told herself, "Hey, might as well try something new," when she got to high school.
AHOSKIE, North Carolina -- I’m still chewing on my Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) predictions for the upcoming campaign. I’ll not delay you beyond the next two weeks since the season is nearly on us and it’s time to just throw my thoughts out there, have at it, and, well, just embarrass myself.
Before I go there, I looked at some of the games, and some of the personalities CIAA fans will be encountering this year. Elizabeth City State’s Waverly Tillar is always a favorite of mine because he always has something funny to say. The yucks come so fast and furious it’s sometimes hard to believe he can really be a hard-liner at practice and on game-day, but that’s what his players tell me, and his outstanding record proves it. No one else in the league’s Northern Division makes for good sports-copy, as we say in the business; but then sometime being a good ‘quote-meister’ isn’t all its cranked up to be. Chowan fans will see Tillar and the Vikings at Garrison Stadium a week before Halloween. After the controversy of that late play in 2013, maybe in this year’s home game the Hawks can scare up a win.
Perusing the Chowan football schedule further I noticed they will open at FayettevilleStateUniversity on Sept. 5 and a week later, return that way when they face the Fighting Camels of Campbell University. Not a bad docket, because even though gasoline is cheap, playing two schools back-to-back that are only 30 miles apart is some shrewd scheduling. Especially with road games later in the season in the likes of Delaware (Delaware State), D.C. (BowieState) and Pennsylvania (Lincoln); save that petrol while you can. Just stick it on I-95 and go.
I don’t know how far ahead they scheduled the Camels, but a good match-up between fellow in-state Baptist schools should bring out the fans, not to mention keep the cussin’ on the field down to a minimum.
HAMPTON, Virginia -- Coming off of a 3-9 season, Hampton Pirates coach Connell Maynor is back on the field for his second season as he continues to rebuild his team.
“We got a full recruiting class in, more bodies, more depth,” Maynor said. “Hopefully we can stop teams for 4 quarters in stead of 2 or 3 like we did last year.”
The defense is a big emphasis. Coach Maynor made it an off season priority and he’s expecting improvement.
“We weren’t very good on defense, that’s no secret, hopefully we addressed that, we feel good right now, but every coach in America feels good, so we’ve got to wait until September 5th.”
That’s when the Pirates open the season against Eastern Kentucky, and under center, former University of Virginia quarterback David Watford who also went to Hampton high school.
VICKSBURG, Mississippi -- It looks to be a promising year for Alcorn State University athletics.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Derek Horne is excited for the year and is now going into his second year as Alcorn’s athletics director.
“I feel very good and after being here for a year. I’ve had an opportunity really get to know the community, know the area and get to know our program. I feel very positive,” Horne said. The Braves hosted a meet and greet of its athletic departments for alumni and the community Saturday afternoon.
This allowed those fans and alumni to interact with the football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, softball and golf coaches in an relaxed intimate environment.
“With the meet and greet what we wanted to do is give our alums an opportunity to ...
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Considering all of Brian Jenkins' success coaching Bethune-Cookman football the last five seasons, the Southwestern Athletic Conference's preseason poll might have seemed odd.
Alabama State was picked to finish only fourth of five teams in the East Division, even with Jenkins coming on board as the team's new coach. Jenkins compiled a 46-14 mark in five seasons at Bethune-Cookman, winning four Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and reaching the FCS playoffs three times.
Nobody at Alabama State is believing the SWAC poll. With a solid roster, some of the conference's better facilities and an overall hunger after a disappointing 2014 campaign, the Hornets are expecting to have success similar to what Jenkins enjoyed in the MEAC, which, like the SWAC, is a conference of historically black schools.
"I'm OK with those expectations," Jenkins said. "I've never been a guy that says, 'next year,' or that it's going to take us two years or it's going to take us three years. I believe in right now because next year I may not be here, so I may not get the opportunity. Next year, these young men may not be here. So they understand the here and now."
Come out and meet the Rattler players and coaching staff on Aug. 22, at Fan Day. The event starts at 2 p.m. and there will be posters and other collectibles for fans. The FAMU Ticket office will also be open, just in case you haven’t picked up your season tickets as of yet. There will be a photo booth and all types of activities for the whole family.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Jairockeis “Jay” Jones says he knows Florida A&M didn’t have to give him a second chance.
Jones just wanted another opportunity to play football after being dismissed from Eastern Michigan prior to the first game of the 2014 season. Jones’ career with the Eagles ended after he entered a plea of no contest to an assault charge stemming from an August 2014 fight.
Three EMU players, including Jones, were charged with assaulting Demarko Taylor, the cousin of the man who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in the 2013 death of Eagles receiver Demarius Reed. All three players involved in the incident were dismissed from the team.
It’s part of Jones’ past he said he wants to put behind him, and new FAMU head coach Alex Wood is giving him the opportunity to do so.
“I got to the school when FAMU was going through the coaching change,” Jones said.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – The Florida A&M Rattler Football team capped their second week of preseason training camp Saturday afternoon with a lively scrimmage in the cozy confines of venerable Bragg Memorial Stadium, highlighted by a nifty offensive effort.
Redshirt junior QB Carson Royal (Yulee, Fla.) ran the first team FAMU offense efficiently, directing his group on five scoring drives, tossing four touchdowns in the game. Royal connected on two long scoring plays, a 63-yard play to fullback Gerald Hearns (West Palm Beach) and a 93-yard catch-and-carry to sophomore Brandon Norwood (Atlanta, Ga.), who caught two scoring passes from Royal.
The Rattler ground game showed some serious signs of life, sparked by the combo of Hearns, Tysean Holloway (Asheville, N.C.) and Devondrick Nealy (Monticello, Fla.), who all got in their licks against the number one defensive unit.
FAMU got the day underway early with a 9:30 a.m. practice on the main practice fields south of the stadium as a warm up for the afternoon session.
The Rattlers are gearing up for their September 5 season opener in Tampa against the University of South Florida at Raymond James Stadium (7:00 p.m. – ESPN3.com).
Tickets for that game, and FAMU Season Tickets are available from the FAMU Athletic Box Office (850) 599-3141), through the FAMU Athletic Website, www.famuathletics.com, or from www.Ticketmaster.com.
LOOKING AHEAD: Week Three, which begins Monday will be the final week of two-a-day opportunities, as the Fall Semester begins on Monday, August 24. The daily practice schedules will be announced Monday.
COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern University football will conduct its first scrimmage on the final practice of Fall camp Saturday at the Louisiana Leadership Insititute in North Baton Rouge.
The scrimmage, which is set for a 9:15 a.m. start, is scheduled to feature between 80-100 plays.
Following the scrimmage, fans will have the chance to celebrate the start of the 2015 football season and secure tickets for the Jaguars' season opener at Louisiana Tech at the fourth annual SU Fall Fan Fest on Aug. 15 in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
SU has partnered with Cumulus Radio Baton Rouge and Coca Cola to help Jaguar fans kickoff the 2015 season with the Cumulus Tailgate Party prior to the football team's arrival at 1:45 p.m.following the Jaguars final scrimmage of fall camp. Fan are asked to enter Fan Fest through Portal A of the F.G. Clark Activity Center located near Harding Blvd.
Doors for Fan Fest open at 1 p.m. The two-hour event is free to the public.
SU officials are encouraging fan to share their Fall Fan Fest experience through social media using the hashtags #SUFanFest and #TailgateParty on Twitter and Facebook. SU will also broadcast select portions of Fan Fest live, including the SU Human Jukebox perfomance, on the Periscope social media app.
COURTESY SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Alfy Hill, a former player at Alabama and Winston-Salem State, has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hill was signed after the Eagles waived linebacker Brandon Herburn and defensive lineman B.J. McBryde.
Hill, who is 6-4 and 283 pounds, played two seasons for the Rams on the defensive line after transferring from Alabama.
He went undrafted in May but did spend time in an Arizona Cardinals tryout camp.
“I’m excited,” Hill said by telephone Friday night from Philadelphia. “From what I’ve been told, I’m going to play on Sunday, so it’s hard to believe I’m going to play in an NFL game.”
Hill, who signed a three-year contract, was in Winston-Salem when he got a call from the Eagles.
Hill’s agent then did the rest of the work in getting a contract in Hill’s hands.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in conjunction with its Volleyball Coaches Association has announced the 2015 Predicted Order of Finish and the Preseason All-CIAA Team.
Reigning champion Chowan University has been predicted to lead the conference into the 2015 season with the most votes. The Hawks swept Fayetteville State University 3-0 in the 2014 championship tournament to advance to the NCAA Atlantic Region Playoffs. The Hawks finished last season 26-7 overall and 14-2 in conference play under first-year head coach Dawn Peipher.
2014 CIAA Rookie of the Year Sydney Holland of Winston-Salem State University will highlight the Preseason All-CIAA Team. The outside hitter from Durham, NC was also named to the 2014 First Team All-CIAA squad. She finished last season with 272 kills and 26 service aces with 17 assists. Defensively, Holland recorded 250 digs and added 43 total blocks.
The 2015 season will begin on August 22 with Elizabeth City State taking on Johnson & Wales (NC) in the Lenoir Community College Invite in Kinston, N.C.
The predicted order and preseason team is announced as follows:
2015 Predicted Order of Finish
1.Chowan (1st North)
2.Winston-Salem State (1st South)
3.Fayetteville State (2nd South)
4.Virginia State (2nd North)
5.Virginia Union (3rd North)
6.Johnson C. Smith (3rd South)
7.Saint Augustine's (4th South)
8.Livingstone (5th South)
9.Elizabeth City State (4th North)
10.Bowie State (5th North)
11.Shaw (6th South)
12.The Lincoln (6th North)
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- As the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team continues to compete for dominance in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and chase after a conference championship, its 2015-16 schedule announced on Friday looks to prepare the Aggies for success.
The Aggies are coming off a 20-11 ledger during the 2014-15 season that produced their third consecutive 20-win season under head coach Tarrell Robinson. A&T has also maintained its supremacy at home by posting a 35-5 record at Corbett Sports Center for the last three seasons. Despite the Aggies success and two postseason appearances in the WNIT under Robinson, the Aggies are trying to advance beyond the MEAC tournament semifinals, where their dreams of earning an NCAA tournament bid have been halted the past three seasons.
A&T believes it has the answer which rests in its 2015-16 schedule which features five non-conference opponents who appeared in the postseason, 12 home games, and a pair of exciting holiday tournaments.
“Our 2015-2016 schedule is by far our toughest schedule in my tenure here,” Robinson said. “We will be fortunate enough again this season to open up at home which is special to us. We love giving our fans a first glimpse at what's in store for the upcoming season. We will also participate in two tournaments during Thanksgiving and before Christmas to give us that tournament feel before we participate in the MEAC tournament at the end of our regular season.”
After opening up the schedule at home against Florida Gulf Coast (Nov. 13) who is the reigning Atlantic Sun champion and appeared in the NCAA tournament, A&T will visit Campbell (Nov. 18) and Navy (Nov. 22) before heading to the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament in Albuquerque. The two-day tournament beginning on Nov. 27 will feature Duquesne who participated in last season’s WNIT, New Mexico who competed in the WBI last year and Southern Utah.
A&T returns to Corbett for a three-game homestand beginning with North Greenville (Dec. 2). The Aggies will kick off the conference schedule against Howard (Dec. 5) and UMES (Dec. 7) at Corbett.
Up next for the Aggies will be a road matchup against Ohio State (Dec. 13), who advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year. The Wichita State Christmas tournament (Dec.18-19) hosted by the Shockers, who also appeared in last season’s NCAA tournament, will also feature North Dakota State.
A pair of non-conference games against Pfeiffer (Dec. 30) and VCU (Jan. 2) are scheduled before the Aggies resume conference play on the road at Savannah State (Jan.9), the current MEAC tournament champions and S.C. State (Jan. 11).
“I think we put together a strong enough schedule to really give us a chance to compete for a championship when we start conference play in January,” Robinson said. “We understand that we need to give our ladies a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare them for the teams we compete against in the MEAC.”
Virginia foes Hampton (Jan. 16) and Norfolk State (Jan. 18) who haven’t faced A&T at Corbett Sports Center in five and four years respectively will make their way back as Delaware State (Jan. 25) and Savannah State (Jan. 30) close out the month of January.
A&T opens February in Durham against rival N.C. Central (Feb. 6) and continues its schedule including Florida A&M (Feb. 13), Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 15), Morgan State (Feb. 22), Florida A&M (Feb. 27), and Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 29). The Aggies conclude the regular season at home against N.C. Central (Mar. 3) before participating in the MEAC tournament March 7-12 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
HEMPSTEAD, New York -- Deron Powers will play his final collegiate season at Hofstra, the former Williamsburg Christian Academy standout said Friday.
After posting 1,080 points and 395 assists in three seasons at Hampton University, Powers announced his decision to transfer in June.
The 5-foot-11 point guard will have to sit out one season in compliance with NCAA rules before he's eligible to play a game for Hofstra, which finished fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014-15 with a 20-14 overall record. He'll have one year of eligibility remaining.
“The vibe I got up there when I went to visit,” Powers said, “how seriously they take basketball up there - I definitely think it's a good move.”
Powers averaged 10.1 points for Hampton last season and ...
LORMAN, Mississippi — Alcorn State jumped to the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference heap in a hurry.
The Braves won their first SWAC championship in two decades last year by beating Southern 38-24 in the title game. With veteran quarterback John Gibbs Jr. returning, fourth-year coach Jay Hopson says his team has a chance to win another title.
Gibbs, the league's co-offensive player of the year last season, threw for 2,842 yards, 21 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in 2014 while also running for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns. He'll have several of his top running backs and receivers returning.
The defense will have several new faces after losing multiple key contributors. The defensive line will be anchored by Darien Moody, who had 10½ tackles for a loss, including 7½ sacks. Warren Gatewood is back in the secondary after a team-high 16 pass breakups last season.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State hopes an experienced offense can help the program bounce back from its first losing season since 2009.
LaMontiez Ivy returns after throwing for 3,209 yards, 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season. His top four receivers also return, including Daniel Williams, who caught 72 passes for 990 yards and nine touchdowns.
Second-year coach Harold Jackson will still have to find several new starters along the offensive line and improve a running game that ranked last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference last year with just 102.2 yards per game.
Jackson's first season leading the Tigers was difficult, but the program did get a needed boost when it beat eventual league champion Alcorn State in the regular season finale.
ITTA BENA, Mississippi — Rick Comegy led Mississippi Valley State to one huge victory during his first season leading the program.
Now the veteran coach believes the Delta Devils can make those moments a little more common.
Mississippi Valley is trying to improve on a 2-9 record last season, which included the first victory over Jackson State in 20 years. The unexpected win over its in-state rival was a brilliant moment in an otherwise difficult season — the Delta Devils lost by at least two touchdowns in six Southwestern Athletic Conference games.
Mississippi Valley returns quarterback Quantavius Peterson, who threw for 874 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions last season while splitting time with now-departed Patrick Ivy. Peterson was also a running threat, with 297 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Brian Jenkins has had a steep learning curve with his Alabama State football team.
The new Hornets coach wasn't able to hold spring practices because of low Academic Progress Rate performance under his predecessor, Reggie Barlow. Jenkins also said he only watched "a little bit of film" from last year's team.
"We just haven't had enough time to look into what they did last year," he said. "We didn't have spring ball so we had to make sure that we came up with some ways to creatively get the guys to understand our scheme. We couldn't waste time on anything from the past.
"Our total concept and attitude was just to make sure that we introduced them to everything in our program and have them fully focused on our program."
The Hornets aren't eligible for the new Celebration Bowl featuring the champions from the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference because of the APR scores.
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WINNIPEG MB, Canada -- Robert Marve may already be a household name in Winnipeg, but on Friday it appears the 26-year-old will make his first career start.
All signs are pointing in that direction after Marve took first-team reps on Wednesday, the team's only full practice during this short week as the Bombers get set to take on the Toronto Argonauts on Friday.
In addition to Marve, wide receiver Jhomo Gordon will be making his pro starting debut. The 21-year old Gordon impressed the Bombers at their mini-camp in Florida in April and has been awaiting his chance. The Bethune-Cookman grad will replace injured Darvin Adams at wide receiver.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M hit the field twice on Thursday, and head coach Alex Wood said he is pleased so far with the Rattlers efforts.
It is no secret Wood has had some work to do, as he looks to turn around a 3-9 program. As far as the offense goes, he said everyone is starting to gel together, and the quarterback race? It's closer than ever.
Wood said Carson Royal, who saw the most action in the spring game, is still in the lead, but Kenny Coleman is looking better and better each day.
Wood will not name a starter until game week, but the most important thing is the offense is starting to vibe.
SALISBURY, North Carolina -- Bigger, faster, stronger, deeper, tougher. All those positive adjectives apply to a Livingstone College football program that is on the upswing.
Livingstone has quietly trended in the right direction every year since the 0-11 quagmire of 2010. The recent records: 1-9, 2-8, 3-7, and then 5-5 last fall in head coach Daryl Williams’ second season. Last fall, the Blue Bears flirted with the program’s first winning campaign since 1998, although three straight road trips and key injuries created a slide from the euphoria of 5-2 to a final balance sheet of 5-5.
That’s not a losing season, but it’s not a winning season, either.
We lost our top receiver (Jalen Hendricks) and our senior running back late in the year and that hurt us,” safety Billy Moore said. “They went down and our quarterback (Drew Powell) had to try to put too much on himself. But no excuses. "
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Change is the only constant in Southern linebacker Martin Henry’s life.
Stemming back to his days of high school ball in his hometown of Philadelphia, it’s easier for Henry to name positions he hasn’t played. From quarterback to long snapper, he’s done everything a coach has ever asked him.
That’s why this season, most likely his last in organized football, is so strange. For the first time in his career, Henry will line up at the same position for the second consecutive season as the Jaguars’ starting inside “buck” linebacker.
“I was playing outside (linebacker) when I first came here. … Now I’m playing the inside, and I had to adapt to that because it was part of me buying into the program,” Henry said.
“Now, I’ve bought into the program, and I’m playing the same position, for the first time in my life, back-to-back, and I feel real good; I feel real confident and everything is just second nature.”
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern is getting close to figuring out its starting offensive line and its rotation.
It’s also preparing for the unexpected.
Offensive line coach Chennis Berry insists on players practicing on both sides of the line and sometimes at multiple positions to be prepared for unexpected, though not necessarily unlikely, developments.
“His motto is you stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” tackle Eric Janeau said.
The importance of that approach was driven home to the Jaguars last season.
“It came in very handy,” guard Jamal Boulden said.
All-Southwestern Athletic Conference guard Anthony Mosley was declared academically ineligible before the season started. Two linemen were pulled from the team bus before it left for the season opener at Louisiana-Lafayette because they weren’t academically certified. Tackle Reginald Redding missed several games because of a concussion.
Fans can purchase tickets online to all four of the Golden Bulls home games by clickinghere.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Johnson C. Smith football has a new coach. New players. New questions.
When fall drills open on Thursday, head coach Kermit Blount will start a reclamation project the entire CIAA is watching. Blount, who is Winston-Salem State’s career wins leader with 90, inherits a Golden Bulls program that has gone through four head coaches in the last 11 years. Since 1993 when Blount took over at WSSU, JCSU has gone through seven coaches.
This is the toughest challenge of his career. Blount was always in the hunt for CIAA titles at Winston-Salem State because the program was adequately funded, got alumni support and had a tradition of success.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- It turns out kickers aren’t exempt from the dog days of training camp.
Jackson State place-kicker Ryan Deising is finding that out all too well after the Tigers completed their seventh day of camp on Thursday afternoon.
“(My legs are) still in recovery mode, we’ve been doing a lot of running,” Deising said. “(It affects my kicking) a good bit, but I can’t use that as an excuse. I need to be ready to go whenever I come out on the field.”
At SWAC Media Day, Deising, who was named to the BOXTOROW preseason All-American team earlier this week, said he worked on strengthening his legs this offseason, and that is getting put to the test with all the conditioning the team has done during camp.
Deising, who was preseason All-SWAC first team, connected on ...
