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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the last four seasons, the Howard football team had stability at quarterback thanks to Greg McGhee. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s all-time leader in total offense combined leadership and smart decision-making with a flair for the dramatic, often improvising to turn broken plays into long gains.
He was a player in the likeness of offensive coordinator Ted White, the former Bison quarterback who helped tutor McGhee and had held many of the records his star pupil broke. That first-hand experience gives White uncommon insight into what goes into developing a standout quarterback beyond such things as arm strength and accuracy.
There’s an intangible quality too, what Bison Coach Gary Harrell refers to as the “It Factor.” McGhee, he said, had that in excess.
Bethune-Cookman probably loves to hear that kind of talk.
The Wildcats will be motivated Saturday, having brought their usual complement of South Florida players – and a couple former Hurricanes – to Sun Life Stadium for the season-opener (6 p.m., ESPN3.com).
They have been an FCS powerhouse in the last half-decade and even made a shoddy Miami defense sweat in their 2012 meeting. Since then, they’ve toppled FIU twice, but managed two total touchdowns in blowout losses at FSU (2013) and UCF (2014).
After going 46-14 under controversial coachBrian Jenkins (now at Alabama State), they won’t change too much after promoting former assistant Terry Sims.
CARSON ROYAL 6-2/200 RJr. QUARTERBACK FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY RATTLERS Hometown: Jacksonville, Fla. (Yulee HS) Courtesy: Florida A&M University Athletics
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- The quarterback race at Florida A&M was not as intense as the one at Florida State, as head coach Alex Wood has been pretty clear all camp who the front runners.
Coach Wood praised both Kenny Coleman and Carson Royal since day one, but has said Royal, who got the most reps in the spring game, has stood out and been the leader.
Wood said the Rattlers finished preseason prep over the weekend, and FAMU decided as a staff that Royal will be the started for 2015, simply because he is the most prepared.
"He's been studying it a lot, and made some good decisions," Wood said of Royal's understanding of the offense.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Successful football teams typically establish an identity, home in on it, then try to execute it better than anybody else.
As the season opener against Middle Tennessee State stands just a few days away, Jackson State coach Harold Jackson is hoping his team can pinpoint some defining characteristics this fall.
“That’s the thing I told my guys the other day, we need to go find some sort of an identity,” Jackson said during the SWAC’s weekly teleconference on Monday.
During camp, the defense, which finished seventh in the SWAC in sacks last season, showed it can harass the passer with the likes of defensive ends Javancy Jones, Teddrick Terrell, Keontre Anderson and Rodney Shorter II on the edges.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern coach Dawson Odums is well aware of the differences in his program and that of FBS Louisiana Tech heading into this week’s season opener in Ruston.
While Southern is one of the top team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Odums acknowledged in his weekly luncheon press conference that there is a difference between the two leagues.
“(Louisiana Tech is) a level up from us, and just to have the opportunity to play in that kind of environment should create some excitement and should get you ready to play,” Odums said. “I think La. Tech is a worthy opponent. They’re a good program, and you have to come in with the right mindset. I think when you do that, you give yourself a chance.”
The biggest factor separating the two programs is the number of scholarship players each has on its roster, Odums said.
The Jaguars have only 65 scholarship athletes, filling in the rest of the depth chart with walk-on talent. Louisiana Tech has 80 scholarship players out of the Division I maximum allotment of 85.
RUSTON, Louisiana – At this time 11 months ago, Jeff Driskel spent his fall in a Florida Gators uniform nearly 1,000 miles away from Louisiana Tech.
The fifth-year senior quarterback wasn’t present for Tech’s 30-27 upset loss against Northwestern State last September, but he’s heard enough from his teammates inside the Bulldogs’ locker room about the unnerving defeat to an in-state FCS opponent.
In other words, there should be no issue getting up for Saturday’s season opener against Southern, which just so happens to be another in-state FCS foe.
“A lot of the guys still have that bad taste in their mouth. Especially with this being the first game, if you have difficulty getting excited for a first game, there is something wrong with you,” Driskel said Monday.
“Obviously, I was not here for that game, but that is something that you don’t forget. Going into a game you are supposed to win and should win because you are more talented than the other team, but that is why you play the game. We are not going to go out and roll a helmet out there and win. We understand that.”
ASU FOOTBALL STADIUM COURTESY: ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State University and Kennesaw State University have agreed to a four-year football contract beginning in 2017, both schools announced today.
The Hornets and Owls will face each other in a home-and home series beginning Sept. 16, 2017 at Kennesaw State. Other game dates are Sept. 15, 2018 at Alabama State, Sept. 14, 2019 at Kennesaw State, and Sept. 19, 2020 at Alabama State.
"With the Southwestern Athletic Conference's move back to a seven-game league schedule beginning in 2017, we have been very aggressive in adding quality opponents for Alabama State football during the last few months," Interim Athletic Director Melvin Hines said. "Adding quality opponents within driving distance from Montgomery should excite and energize Hornet Nation for ASU football both at home and on the road."
With the earlier announcement of the matchup with Texas San Antonio, along with Miles' two-year game contract beginning this season, the 2016 ASU Football Schedule is set.
2016 Schedule
Sept. 3 at Texas San Antonio
Sept. 10 at Alcorn State*
Sept. 17 at Southern* Sept. 24 vs. Texas Southern* Oct. 1 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff*
Oct. 8 at Prairie View* Oct. 15 vs. Miss. Valley State*
Oct. 29 vs. Alabama A&M* (in Birmingham; 75th Magic City Classic) Nov. 5 vs Jackson State*
Nov. 12 at Grambling State* Nov. 19 vs. Miles (93rd Turkey Day Classic / Homecoming)
2017 Non-Conference Schedule Sept. 2 Tuskegee
Sept. 9 at Troy
Sept. 16 at Kennesaw State
2018 Non-Conference Schedule Sept. 1 Tuskegee Sept. 15 Kennesaw State
Oct. 13 at South Alabama
2019 Non-Conference Schedule Sept. 7 Tuskegee
Sept. 14 at Kennesaw State
2020 Non-Conference Schedule Sept. 5 Tuskegee Sept. 19 Kennesaw State
Home games in bold; * denotes conference games; schedule subject to change
The 2015 Hornets, under first-year head coach Brian Jenkins, will open the season this Sunday at Tennessee State in the John Merritt Classic, with a 5:30 p.m. pregame show and 6 p.m. kickoff on the ASU Hornet Sports Network. The Hornets open the home schedule Saturday, Sept. 12 vs. Alcorn State at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Grambling State in the Prince Hall Mason's Americanism Football Classic. Season and single game tickets for Hornets' football are sale by phone at 334-229-4551 or in person at the ASU Ticket Office. Single game tickets start at just $10 online at bamastatesports.com/tickets.
COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
GREENSBORO, North Carolina — Lamar Raynard has been named the starting quarterback for N.C. A&T’s season-opening football game against Shaw on Saturday night at Aggie Stadium.
Raynard, a redshirt freshman from High Point, didn’t play a single down for the Aggies last season.
“He’s going to be nervous,” A&T coach Rod Broadway said Monday. “It’s natural to be nervous going into your first game. Hopefully he has enough support around him where we can calm him down and get him to play at the level we need him to play.”
Raynard was named the starter over incumbent senior Kwashaun Quick, who won’t start a season opener for the first time in his career.
NEW ORLEANS — It was a record-setting two days at the Big Easy Blastoff, the season-opening women's volleyball tournament that Xavier University of Louisiana hosted.
By tournament's end, the six schools combined to set or tie 17 Convocation Center records in 10 matches. A few highlights:
• Shahala Hawkins of NAIA No. 19 Wayland Baptist broke the facility record for kills in a match twice Friday. She had 24 in a victory against Mobile in the morning, then blasted 28 more in the afternoon in a victory against Faulkner. Both matches lasted four sets. Hawkins, a senior, was first-team NAIA All-America in 2014.
• Hawkins produced a Convocation Center-record nine blocks Saturday in a sweep of Loyola. Her six blocks against Xavier matched the most by an XU opponent.
• Seven times the facility record for digs in a match was tied or broken, with Loyola's Breanna Stevenson earning the mark when she had 34 in the final match, a five-set Wolf Pack victory against Mississippi Valley State.
The Convocation Center opened in November 2012 and became the site of XU home matches in 2013. It was the first time that the Gold Nuggets played host to their own tournament.
Xavier didn't set any records, but senior CeCe Williams produced a pair of kill-dig double-doubles — as many as she produced her previous three seasons.
Next for the Gold Nuggets (2-2) will be four matches in the Mariner Invitational at Brunswick, Ga.
They'll play Friday against Bethel (Ind.) at 9 a.m. EDT and NAIA No. 20 Coastal Georgia at 1 p.m.
The Gold Nuggets' next home match will be their Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener, 7 p.m. Sept. 7 against Talladega.
Here are all the Convocation Center records set or tied Friday and Saturday:
Individual Kills: 28 — Shahala Hawkins, Wayland Baptist, vs. Faulkner Attacks: 73 — Shahala Hawkins, Wayland Baptist, vs. Faulkner Aces by an Opponent: 4 — Nicole Armstrong, Mobile, vs. Wayland Baptist Aces by an XU Opponent: 3 — Nicole Armstrong, Mobile (tied mark) Blocks: 9 — Shahala Hawkins, Wayland Baptist, vs. Loyola Blocks by an XU Opponent: 6 — Shahala Hawkins, Wayland Baptist (tied mark)
Team Kills by an Opponent: 64 — Loyola vs. Mississippi Valley State Kills by an XU Opponent: 61 — Mobile Hitting Percentage by an XU Opponent: .299 — Wayland Baptist Attacks: 214 — Wayland Baptist vs. Faulkner Aces: 9 — Faulkner vs. Mississippi Valley State and Mobile vs. Wayland Baptist Aces by an XU Opponent: 7 — Mobile (tied mark) Digs: 104 — Wayland Baptist vs. Faulkner Blocks by an Opponent: 64 — Mississippi Valley State vs. Loyola Blocks by an XU Opponent: 10 — Wayland Baptist Most Errors by an Opponent: 51 — Loyola vs. Mississippi Valley State Fewest Errors by an XU Opponent: 22 — Faulkner and Wayland Baptist
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Members of the NSU football team proudly displayed their new uniforms for the 2015 season during Media Day at Price Stadium on Sunday (August 23). Gone are the bright yellow helmets from the past few seasons as they have been replaced by solid green helmets with a gold stripe down the center. The Spartans’ new head coach, Latrell Scott, answered some questions from the New Journal and Guide about the upcoming season.
New Journal and Guide: What type of offense will the NSU fans see this season? Will it be exciting with reverses and trick plays?
Coach Scott: We are going to do whatever it takes to score. What is exciting to the fans may not always work. We do have some unique formations and play designs that should help us get into the end zone.
NJG: NSU kicker Cameron Marouf is one of the better kickers in the MEAC. Will NSU go by the motto: ‘3-points adds up’ and send Cameron out to kick a field goal rather than go for it on fourth down?
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- S.C. State head football coach Buddy Pough is excited about starting the 2015 season before a national audience on ESPN in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
He’s not so excited about being without four suspended players stemming from an on-field brawl between the Bulldogs and Norfolk State players in a game last November. Those players include starting senior tailback and preseason second-team All-MEAC selection Jalen “Scoot” Simmons, along with his 1,162 yards rushing and nine touchdowns last season.
Along with Simmons being relegated to standing on the sideline for one game, other suspended Bulldogs include redshirt senior defensive lineman James Settles, red-shirt sophomore defensive end Gregtavious Newell and sophomore quarterback-turned-wide receiver Calvin Giles-McCray (who just had hand surgery and will miss more time).
FAIRFIELD, Alabama -- Miles College has posted four consecutive winning seasons, but the Golden Bears from Fairfield have some catching up to do not only in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but in their own state.
Downstate rival Tuskegee has won the SIAC championship in two of the last three years, and is the overwhelming preseason favorite to do so again in 2015. Miles — which last won the SIAC in 2011 — was picked second by league coaches in the West Division, behind the Golden Tigers.
Miles has finished 6-4 in back-to-back seasons, missing out on a second straight berth in the SIAC championship game when it lost 48-33 to Tuskegee in the regular-season finale. Reginald Ruffin's Golden Bears are 27-16 the last four seasons, but have not reached the NCAA Division II playoffs since 2012.
The Golden Bears won't do so in 2015 either, whether they win the SIAC or not. Miles has chosen to play this year in the annual Turkey Day Classic Nov. 21 against Alabama State in Montgomery, a move that disqualifies the Golden Bears from the playoffs (but not the SIAC championship game).
TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- A year after winning the SIAC championship, Tuskegee was unanimously picked to win the conference's Western Division. Hold your horses, 10th-year head coach Willie Slater says.
"Sounds like the high expectations (belong to) the ones who did the polls," Slater said of the league's coaches. "I'm a little concerned because we're going to be young in some areas that are very important areas."
Leading receiver Marquel Gardner and returning offensive tackle Kelvin Shelton were preseason All-SIAC honorees on offense. Linebacker Jewel Ratliff, defensive end Julian Morgan and safety Michael Robinson earned defensive honors.
Ratliff had 8.5 sacks and three interceptions from his defensive end position. Morgan had 13.5 tackles, 9.5 for loss.
Linebacker Osband Thompson, defensive end Darian Hall and defensive back Cedric Huff also return to spark the defense.
PISCATAWAY, New Jersey -- The Rutgers football coaching staff shouldn't be unfamiliar with Norfolk State, having game-planned for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference squad as recently as 2013.
But that was a Norfolk State coaching staff under the direction of Pete Adrian, who retired last November following 10 seasons at the helm of the NCAA Division I-AA program.
Latrell Scott was appointed in his place, becoming the 17th head coaching in Norfolk State in mid-December.
Scott arrived after a successful two-year stint as the head coach of Virginia State University, a Division II program that compiled a 19-4 record and two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Northern Division regular-season titles in his two seasons on the sideline.
2015 EDWARD WATERS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM (CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE) Courtesy: Edward Waters College Athletics THE SUN CONFERENCE
JACKSONVILLE, Florida -- A favorable early schedule has Edward Waters Tigers chugging along with a 2-0 record before the real season gets underway. Last week the Tigers had a blowout of a game with the University of Faith, winning 76-7. Your guess is as good as mines as far as which War Eagles campus that this group calls home, with Internet websites popping up all over the country for this school.
The Tigers had their second blowout of an Internet based-college with the University of God's Chosen being taken down 57-8 on Saturday. Chalk it up that the EWC athletic director knows how to give head coach Alvin Wyatt an opportunity to re-build the Tigers defense. This will be Coach Wyatt's first full season coaching the Tigers. This is also the second year that EWC will be playing a full Sun Conference schedule.
The Tigers had a bumpy ride last season, finishing with a 5-6 record, but 2-2 under Wyatt. Edward Waters has been tabbed to finish fifth in the conference after tallying 11 points with Point grabbing nine points to round out the six team preseason poll. First team All-Sun Conference honoree and dual threat quarterback Tyler Mahla will once again lead Edward Waters for the 2015 campaign. Last season, Mahla led the Tigers on the ground with 541 rushing yards and through the air with 1,616 passing yards.
In the 2015 Sun Conference Football Preseason Poll, the coaches have selected Webber International to repeat as conference champions. The preseason poll, which was voted on by the league's six head coaches, was released by the conference office last week.
So much for working out the kinks with the upstart faith-based internet schools.
The rest of the Tigers schedule has legitimate programs from established conferences at the NCAA Division I FCS, Division II and NAIA Division I levels. The Tigers will have to play the Sept. 12 home opener with FCS newcomer Kennesaw State before an official sellout crowd at Fifth Third Bank Stadium and a Atlanta area television audience of WUPA-TV/CW 69. The KSU stadium was opened in May 2010 and seats approximately 8,300. The current record attendance is 2,683 vs. Georgia State (Soccer, August 23, 2012).
KSU will provide a big time atmosphere with a noise level not usually experienced by NAIA programs, like EWC. This home opener for KSU has been planned for over a year and Edward Waters will have to bring their "A" game, if they expect to leave with the "W."
The schedule get tougher for the Tigers, moving forward with seven road games, included an ESPN3 televised game with Jacksonville University in the first Jacksonville Football Classic game. Jacksonville is no pushover, finishing 9-2 last season in the Pioneer Football League (PFL), the nation’s only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference.
The Dolphin redshirt senior quarterback Kade Bell returns to direct the Preseason All PFL offensive unit after throwing for 3,181 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, leading the league with a 152.3 pass efficiency rating (ninth among FCS quarterbacks). Coach Kerwin Bell has five first team All- PFL players returning in 2015 at the junior/senior level.
“This is one of the toughest schedules ever played in our football program’s history. We know it won’t be easy, but with consistent dedication from our athletes and unwavering support from the community we can succeed,” said Wyatt. Four of the five conference games for the Tigers will be played on the road. Ouch!
Next up for the Tigers are the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College that steamrolled EWC 31-6 on the home field last season. It just might be payback time for the Tigers and their new high powered offense. But, don't count "da house" out, yet. Depth is always a major factor in these NAIA vs. NCAA Division II match-ups.
The Tigers play as an associate member of The Sun Conference for football and the NAIA's Gulf Coast Athletic Conference for all other EWC sports.
August 22 University of Faith Home W 76-7 August 29 University of God's Chosen Home W 57-8 September 5 Morehouse College Away 7:00 p.m. September 12 **Kennesaw State University Away 4:00 p.m. TV: WUPA-TV/CW 69 Atlanta September 19 OPEN September 26 Point University Away 12:00 p.m. October 3 *Southeastern University Home 1:00 p.m. October 10 Webber International University Away 5:00 p.m. October 17 %Jacksonville University Away 1:00 p.m. TV: ESPN3 Jacksonville Football Classic October 24 Concordia College - Selma, Home 3:00 p.m. Homecoming 2015 October 30 Ave Maria University Away 12:00 p.m. November 7 Warner University Away 12:00 p.m.TV: GTV Sports NOTES: ALL HOME GAMES PLAYED AT STANTON COLLEGE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL, 1149 W. 13th Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32209. CONFERENCE GAMES IN BOLD ** Game will be televised in Atlanta market on WUPA-TV/CW 69. % The Jacksonville Football Classic will be played at D.B. Milne Field on JU's campus. This game will be televised on ESPN3. GTV Sports is partner of The Sun Conference and game broadcasts are aired live over the broadband internet channel Internetwork 1 (www.i1tv.net), and re-broadcast multiple times throughout the week.
EWC FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF (Partial) Alvin Wyatt, Sr.
Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
Gregory Ross, Sr.
Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Football Coach
NORMAL, Alabama -- There is more optimism and familiarity around the Alabama A&M football program in head coach James Spady's second season.
The Bulldogs were picked third in the SWAC's Eastern division, but return seven starters on offense and nine on defense.
During last year's 4-8 season, four losses were by a combined 15 points.
Two players were named to the preseason all-conference teams — defensive end Anthony Lanier and offensive lineman Courtney Brown.
"I think I'm a little bit more prepared this year than I was last year," Spady said. "I know what our constraints are. I know the things that we need to work on. I have a good feel for what we're not good at and a good feel for what we're pretty decent at. That makes you go into the season with a little more confidence."
LORMAN, Mississippi -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference hasn't had a repeat champion in football in more than a decade, but Alcorn State looks like a solid favorite to win its second consecutive league title in 2015.
The Braves won their first SWAC championship of the title game era a year ago — and their first league title since 1993 — when they knocked off Southern 38-24 in Houston last December. With preseason SWAC Offensive Player of the Year John Gibbs back under center this year, Alcorn State is the overwhelming favorite to make a return trip to NRG Stadium.
The Braves were the overwhelming choice by league coaches and sports information directors to win the SWAC East Division this season, outpointing Jackson State, Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Mississippi Valley State. Alcorn State received 95 poll points and 10 first-place votes, well ahead of Jackson State (83).
Alcorn's league championship in 2014 was its first in 21 years, when future NFL MVP Steve McNair was under center for the Braves. Gibbs is arguably Alcorn's most exciting player since "Air" McNair, totaling 2,482 yards and 21 touchdowns passing, and 1,006 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State has won seven or more games in five consecutive seasons, but new head coach Brian Jenkins is looking for more — quickly.
"The opportunity is now, the opportunity is here and it's time for us, not I, but us to get it done," Jenkins said shortly after he left Bethune-Cookman for ASU in December. "We have enough in place. There's some work that can still be done, but we have to do it. I don't want anyone to look at me as the answer; you have to first look at yourself and then come together and get it done."
Jenkins held a 46-14 mark in five seasons at Bethune-Cookman, including three NCAA FCS playoff appearances and two wins over FBS teams. He hopes to carry on that same success with the Hornets, who haven't won a conference title since 2004.
ASU began the 2014 season with a 4-1 mark before struggling down the stretch to a 7-5 finish that included a four-game losing streak.
NEW ORLEANS -- CeCe Williams has 13 kills and 10 digs to help Xavier University of Louisiana defeat Faulkner 25-22, 25-23, 25-22 in the Big Easy Blastoff women's volleyball tournament at the Convocation Center.
The Gold Nuggets finished 2-2 in their season-opening event. They lost 26-24, 25-21, 25-18 to NAIA No. 19 Wayland Baptist in the first match Saturday.
Claudia Haywood had nine kills and Taylor Reuther eight for Xavier against Faulkner, and Jodi Hill and Jada Broussard had seven apiece. Darian Harris had 19 digs, and Reuther had 18. Franziska Pirkl had 42 assists and eight digs.
The Gold Nuggets had advantages of 50-31 in kills and 69-64 in digs to avenge a season-opening home loss to Faulkner from a year ago.
"We dug a lot of balls and had some solid blocks for our defense to play around," XU coach Hannah Lawing said. "We made the right adjustments at the net to get the points we needed."
For the tournament, Williams led Xavier with 39 kills, and Harris had a team-best 65 digs. Freshman Ruby Hunt-Thompson hit an XU-leading .317 in 60 attempts.
Wayland Baptist won all four of its matches, including a 25-22, 25-12, 25-20 decision against Loyola, and is 8-0 this season. Loyola closed the event with a 29-27, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25, 15-13 victory against NCAA Division I's Mississippi Valley State, which lost all four of its matches to NAIA opponents. Faulkner beat Mississippi Valley 25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 25-18.
Xavier will play four matches in the Mariner Invitational at Brunswick, Ga., next week, including NAIA No. 20 Coastal Georgia at 1 p.m. EDT Friday. The Gold Nuggets' next home match will be their Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opener, 7 p.m. Sept. 7 against Talladega.
LAKE WALES, Florida -- The third edition of Warner University football got underway on Saturday afternoon as the Royals welcomed Concordia University (Ala.) to Legion Field. After a slow start, the Royals came alive in the second half and routed the Hornets 34-3 in front of more than 700 fans.
The Royals now hold a 3-0 series advantage over the Hornets having defeated them in each of their first two seasons of intercollegiate competition.
It was a sluggish start for the Royals in the first half as they totaled 88 yards in 22 plays. They did, however, hold a 10-3 lead at halftime thanks to a two yard touchdown run by Darrin Davis, Jr. and a 35-yard field goal by Angel Puente. Davis' touchdown capped off a four-play, 56 yard drive to start the second quarter for the Royals.
The Hornets got on the scoreboard first with a 22-yard field goal on their opening possession but were stymied the rest of the half by the Warner defense. The Hornets ran 33 plays in the first half but were held to 55 yards and turned the ball over five times. Don Wise, Jr., Patrick Moreland and Jamal Rivers all had interceptions for the Royals in the first half.
In the second half, the Royals were forced to go to their bench in their second possession and Andrew Rodriguez stepped under center for the Royals. Rodriguez hit Jeff Suarez, Jr. in stride on his first play from scrimmage and Suarez, Jr. took it 36 yards to the endzone to put Warner ahead 17-3.
On their next possession, Rodriguez took the Royals 38 yards in three plays resulting in a five yard touchdown run by Traven Phillips. With the defense continuing to stifle the Hornets' attack, the Royals added another touchdown in the third quarter when Rodriguez hit Raheem Phillips for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Fuente ending the scoring for the Royals with a 20-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Warner defense got off to a great start in 2015 forcing seven turnovers in the game. The Royals picked off four Hornets passes and forced three turnovers. They gave up just five first downs all afternoon and held the Hornets to 134 yards of offense despite being on the field for over half the game.
Larry Faison had a presence up front with nine tackles including a sack. Anthony James and Jamal Rivers both had six tackles. James recorded two tackles for loss while Rivers had one of the four Warner interceptions. James and Greg Hawthorne teamed up for the second Royals' sack of the game as well.
The Royals' offense ended the day with 245 yards of total offense, 219 through the air and 26 on the ground. Rodriguez was nearly perfect through the air completing 5-of-6 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Davis, Jr. was 7-of-12 for 68 yards before leaving the game in the second half.
The Royals spread the ball around on Saturday afternoon as nine players hauled down catches. Lester Lewis caught two balls for a team-high 41 yards. Davis, Jr. was the leading rusher with 18 yards on eight carries.
The Royals hit the road for the first time this season next week as they head north to Barbourville, Ky. where they will face Union College (Ky.). Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m.
COURTESY WARNER UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Alex Wood is working with limited practice time now that the school year is underway due to NCAA sanctions brought on by low Academic Progress Rate scores.
The scores are a reflection of previous years, Wood said, and not indicative of how the Rattlers are performing in the classroom now. Still, the Rattlers are restricted to 16 practice hours a week, and Wood said the team is making the most of the time it can be on the field.
“We’ll review the academics bi-weekly,” Wood said.
“We didn’t do that in the summer. We had midterm grade checks in the summer. But we’ll go bi-weekly, plus the midterm grade checks for the fall and the spring. Our kids are competing in the classroom. This group of guys, our GPA is not where we want it to be, but it’s on the rise, for sure.”
COURTESY MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
ITTA BENA, Mississippi -- Rick Comegy (2nd season at MVSU, 158-91 record overall)
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE What happened last year?
It was another in a long line of tough seasons for MVSU as it went 2-9, and 1-8 in the SWAC. There was a long-awaited victory against Jackson State it could hang its hat on, but not much else. The Delta Devils were outscored by an average of 20 points per game, but were competitive in losses to Grambling, Texas Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Three questions for coach Rick Comegy What did you learn in your first year at Mississippi Valley State? “I learned you have to understand the culture, know your way around and be familiar with the program and the student athletes that live here.”
What’s different about this year compared to last year? “I’ve seen the attitude I’ve been looking for. They (the players) were all tied (to different coaches). I’ve tried to bring (my type) of guys in and see if that’s going to change anything. I’ve seen flashes.”
RICHMOND, Virginia -- Virginia Union’s two-quarterback system was on display Saturday at Hovey Field in the Maroon and Steel game, the final intrasquad scrimmage before the Panthers’ regular-season opener next weekend.
Austin Parker, a 6-foot, 210-pound senior transfer from Purdue, started behind center and took all the first-quarter snaps. Shawheem Dowdy entered in the second quarter and the two shared series for the remainder. Dowdy is a 6-4, 218-pound redshirt junior who played in eight games last season.
Both had success. Parker threw a pair of touchdowns and rushed for one. Dowdy threw for three.
Second-year head coach Mark James was pleased with the way the offense moved throughout the day, scoring 41 points.
James said the Panthers will name a starter midweek as his team opens the 2015 season at home against Brevard College on Saturday, but it may not necessarily be a reflection of actual playing time.
“We’re a two-quarterback system,” James said, “so we use both quarterbacks. It’s just a matter of which we use first.”
