No Surprise: N.C. A&T, Tuskegee Remain in First Place in Week 5 of HSRN Polls

HARTLY, Delaware – North Carolina A&T captured all but two first place votes to remain in the top spot in the HSRN FCS Football Poll. Tuskegee University remained undefeated and was a nearly unanimous leader in the DivisionII/NAIA Poll.

In the Division I FCS poll, Grambling State held on to second place with Tennessee State close behind in third.  Southern and North Carolina Central jumped over Prairie View A&M to round out the top five.  Morgan State enters the top ten for the first time this season.

In Division II/NAIA, Tuskegee’s Golden Tigers captured 12 of 13 first place votes of the HSRN pollsters ahead of a strong representation from the CIAA, who took the next five places in the poll.

Bowie State moved back into second place ahead of Virginia Union, Virginia State, Winston-Salem State and Chowan. SIAC representatives  Albany State, Miles, Benedict and new entry Clark Atlanta, round out the top ten.

Week 5 – Rankings
Division I FCS
	School (First Place Votes)	Record	Pts	Last Week
1	North Carolina A&T (11)	3-1	128	1
2	Grambling State (1)	3-1	115	2
3	Tennessee State (1)	4-0	105	3
4	Southern U.	2-2	85	5
5	North Carolina Central	3-2	71	6
6	Prairie View A&M	3-2	58	4
7	South Carolina State	1-3	43	7
8	Texas Southern	3-2	32	10
9	Alcorn State	1-3	20	9
10	Morgan State	2-2	19	NR
	Others receiving votes
	Jackson State, Hampton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Bethune-Cookman

Division II/NAIA
	School (First Place Votes)	Record	Pts	Last Week
1	Tuskegee (12)	5-0	129	1
2	Bowie State (1)	3-2	108	3
3	Virginia Union	3-2	99	2
4	Virginia State	4-1	89	6
5	Winston-Salem State	3-2	80	5
6	Chowan	4-1	59	7
7	Albany State	2-3	40	9
8	Miles College	2-2	34	4
9	Benedict	3-2	19	10
10	Clark Atlanta	3-2	13	NR
	Others receiving votes
	Lane, Elizabeth City State, Central State, Morehouse

SC State game against Bethune-Cookman postponed

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The South Carolina State versus Bethune-Cookman football game previously scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 will be postponed to a later date due to the anticipation of Hurricane Matthew.

All athletic activities, including the 2016 Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony set for Friday, Oct. 7, are postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. Tickets already purchased will be honored at the rescheduled event.

In a statement from Dr. Dennis E. Thomas, Commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, he expressed the safety of the coaches, student-athletes and fans from both institutions, and how that affected the decision to postpone the game.

"The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is actively monitoring the weather forecasts in the areas Hurricane Matthew may potentially affect," said Dr. Thomas. "Our top priority is the well-being and safety of the student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, ancillary units and fans. As a result, we are in daily discussions with the institutions in the areas that may be impacted and we will adjust games, dates and times accordingly. We will keep the public informed if there are any changes."

 For more information or updates check your local news provider. For more information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

With Hurricane Matthew looming, Morgan State's road game Saturday postponed

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- The Morgan State football team's game Saturday night at Savannah State has been postponed because of the threat of inclement weather in Georgia.

Savannah State closed today and will remain closed through Monday. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for 13 counties in the state's coastal areas, where Hurricane Mathew is expected to head. Forecasters with the National Weather Service predict strong rain, wind and flooding in the Savannah area and the East Coast.

"Our top priority is the well-being and safety of the student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff, ancillary units and fans," MEAC commissioner Dennis E. Thomas said in a release. "As a result, we are in daily discussions with the institutions in the areas that may be impacted and we will adjust games, dates and times accordingly. We will continue to keep the public informed of potential changes."

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AFC rushing leader Isaiah Crowell (ASU) keeps pledge to Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowellhas made good on his pledge to donate his first game check of the 2016 NFL season to the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation.

In July, Crowell briefly posted on his Instagram account an image of a policeman having his throat slashed by a hooded figure.

The post came after two black men -- Alton Sterling in Louisiana on July 5 and Philando Castile in Minnesota on July 6 -- were killed by police officers and the day before 12 police officers were shot and five were killed at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas on July 7.

On July 16, Crowell attended the funeral of Patrick Zamarripa, one of the five Dallas Police officers killed by the sniper. The formerAlabama State star went to the funeral after an invitation from Dallas Police Sgt. Demetrick Pennie, the president of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation.

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Jackson State's O-line has improved drastically

JACKSON, Mississippi -- The Jackson State offensive linemen wrote their goals on a piece of paper and posted it on a wall in their meeting room, highlighting their desire to reduce the number of sacks allowed and giving the team’s running backs an opportunity to rush for more yards this season.

So far, so good.

The Tigers gave up 26 sacks and rushed for an average of 3.6 yards per carry last season. They are on pace to allow 22 sacks and have averaged 3.6 yards per attempt this season, figures that are slightly skewed because the Tigers have already played three of their toughest opponents.

“Combination of (scheme, personnel and the linemen being more motivated have helped),” offensive line coach Matt Jones. “The acquisition of techniques has definitely helped. We’ve spent a significant amount of time on pass blocking technique and pick-ups.”

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Season on the line: Alcorn State travels to Alabama A&M

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Alcorn State finds itself in a must-win situation this weekend.

The Braves (1-3, 1-2 SWAC) travel to Alabama A&M at 2 p.m. Saturday in Huntsville, Ala. Alcorn has lost three straight, including SWAC contests to Arkansas Pine Bluff and Grambling. Another loss would put idle Jackson State (2-3, 2-1) in the driver’s seat to win the East Division title and reach the SWAC Championship game.

Noah Johnson continues to play at quarterback, having started the Braves’ last three games while Lenorris Footman recovers from an ankle injury. Footman is expected to play against the Bulldogs.

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Notebook: After a week of rest, quarterback Austin Howard is ready for action

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Austin Howard looked like his usual self at Southern’s Tuesday morning practice, moving around in the pocket and slinging a couple sharp passes against the first team defense.

He might’ve even looked more fresh than usual after spending a chunk of last week’s practices in a protective walking boot as a spectator on the sidelines.

“It’s mostly my ankle, I had an injury from the last game,” Howard said. “It’s getting better day-by-day and that’s how I’ve been taking it.”

Howard was one of a number of veteran players Southern coach Dawson Odums took the liberty of getting some rest during the Jaguars’ extended off period. Southern had two consecutive open dates on its schedule and doesn’t play again until October 15 against Jackson State.

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Up next: Mississippi Valley State at No. 10 Montana

Saturday, 2:30 p.m.

Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217 FieldTurf)

Cowles Montana Media

watchbigsky.com

Series history: First meeting.

Records: Montana is 3-1. Mississippi Valley State is 0-5.

What's at stake: Continued momentum. This is the second of three straight home games for the Grizzlies before a tough stretch playing three of four on the road. UM has already won its first in that stretch, 43-20 against Southern Utah, last week.

Man in charge: Rick Comegy. The third-year Delta Devils coach is a veteran of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Prior to coming to Mississippi Valley State he coached SWAC rival Jackson State for eight years, putting up a 55-35 record in that time with six SWAC East Division titles and one conference championship. He also coached Central State to an NAIA national title in 1995. Since joining MVSU, the Devils are just 3-24 though.

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Perry wins her second GCAC Defender of the Week honor

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana freshman Amanda Perry has earned her second Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Defender of the Week volleyball award.

Perry, a libero/defensive specialist from Bolingbrook, Ill., and a graduate of Bolingbrook High School, was honored for Sept. 26-Oct. 2 after averaging 4.67 digs per set during the Gold Nuggets' 3-0 week. Perry had 10 digs against SUNO and 16 apiece against Talladega and Edward Waters.

Perry has reached double-figure digs in 21-of-23 matches, and her 366 digs are a XULA freshman record. She was part of a defensive effort that limited NAIA aces-per-set leader Larissa Pereira of Edward Waters to zero aces in 10 attempts and held Talladega's Carla Novaes — the 2016 GCAC Preseason Player of the Year — to less than .200 hitting for the fifth straight time against XULA.

XULA (10-13, 7-0), the GCAC leader, will travel to Little Rock, Ark., to play Philander Smith (3-13, 0-7) at 10 a.m. Saturday. Starting time of that match has been moved up three hours.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold  

Demanding XULA schedule includes busy November segment

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball will have a 15-day stretch busier than the local NBA team, plus plenty of opportunities to compete against the best in the NAIA.
     
Bo Browder, back for his 18th season as head coach, announced the 2016-17 schedule Wednesday.
     
The Gold Nuggets will play nine times in 15 days Nov. 11-25. During that same period the New Orleans Pelicans will compete eight times.
    
"It was not necessarily by design to play that frequently," Browder said. "The most important thing during that time is that we have a chance to play several teams that went to nationals last year and will probably make it again this season. It will be a great challenge for us, and we'll be able to see how our team stacks up."
     
XULA's women finished 22-12 in 2015-16, won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the sixth time in the last nine years and qualified for the NAIA Division I National Championship for the 19th time in the last 22 seasons.
     
After opening the season with home games against Florida Memorial on Nov. 4 and Webber International on Nov. 5, the Gold Nuggets will play at the LSUS Classic in Shreveport, La., Nov. 11-12, the Las Vegas (Nev.) Shootout Nov. 18-20 and their 15th annual Xavier Classic Nov. 24-25. At those events, XULA opponents who reached the 2016 postseason will be LSUS twice, Our Lady of the Lake, Lewis-Clark State, Carroll (Mont.) and Langston. There also will be a Nov. 15 home game against city rival Loyola, another qualifier for nationals a year ago.
    
Our Lady of the Lake (Nov. 11 at LSUS Classic) was No. 1 in the NAIA coaches poll for six consecutive weeks last season. Lewis-Clark State (Nov. 18 at Las Vegas) reached the national quarterfinals.
     
LSUS (Nov. 24) and Langston (Nov. 25) will be the Gold Nuggets' opponents at the Xavier Classic.
     
"November has a good mix of outstanding teams from our region and three in Las Vegas from the Frontier Conference, a strong and competitive conference in the NAIA," Browder said.
     
Other standout non-conference opponents will be Dec. 1 at Louisiana-Lafayette of NCAA Divison I, Dec. 15 at home against Concordia (Ala.) and Jan. 2 against Oklahoma City in Dallas. The Ragin' Cajuns won the WBI in 2016 and 2015, Concordia was the 2016 USCAA national champion, and Oklahoma City is an eight-time NAIA national champion, most recently in 2015, 2014 and 2012.
    
XULA will open its GCAC schedule Jan. 7 at home against Tougaloo. Talladega — last season's GCAC regular-season champion and a qualifier for nationals — will play host to the Gold Nuggets Jan. 30 and visit XULA Feb. 20. The GCAC Tournament will be March 3-5 in New Orleans, followed by the NAIA's national tournament March 15-21 at Billings, Mont. This will be the 39th season of XULA women's basketball during the Title IX era.

Xavier University of Louisiana
2016-17 Women's Basketball Schedule

Nov. 4 (Fri.):  FLORIDA MEMORIAL (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 5 (Sat.):  WEBBER INTERNATIONAL, TBA
Nov. 11 (Fri.):  Our Lady of the Lake, 5 p.m. (LSUS Classic, Shreveport, La.)
Nov. 12 (Sat.):  at LSU-Shreveport, 5 p.m. (LSUS Classic, Shreveport, La.)
Nov. 15 (Tue.):  LOYOLA (N.O.) (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 18 (Fri.):  Lewis-Clark State, 8 p.m. PST (Las Vegas Shootout, Las Vegas, Nev.)
Nov. 19 (Sat.):  Carroll (Mont.), 5 p.m. PST (Las Vegas Shootout, Las Vegas, Nev.)
Nov. 20 (Sun.):  Rocky Mountain, 1:30 p.m. PST (Las Vegas Shootout, Las Vegas, Nev.)
Nov. 22 (Tue.):  at William Carey, 6 p.m.
Nov. 24 (Thu.):  LSU-SHREVEPORT, 7 p.m. (Xavier Classic)
Nov. 25 (Fri.):  LANGSTON, TBA (Xavier Classic)
Dec. 1 (Thu.):  at Louisiana-Lafayette, 5 p.m.
Dec. 15 (Thu.):  CONCORDIA (ALA.), TBA
Dec. 31 (Sat.):  at Dallas Christian, TBA
Jan. 2 (Mon.):  Oklahoma City, TBA (at Dallas)
Jan. 7 (Sat.):  •  TOUGALOO (DH), 3 p.m.
Jan. 16 (Mon.):  •  SUNO (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 21 (Sat.):  •  EDWARD WATERS (DH), 3 p.m.
Jan. 23 (Mon.):  •  at Philander Smith (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 (Sat.):  •  DILLARD (DH), 3 p.m. (Crosstown Classic)
Jan. 30 (Mon.):  •  at Talladega (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 (Wed.):  WILLIAM CAREY (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 4 (Sat.):  •  at Edward Waters (DH), 3 p.m. EST
Feb. 6 (Mon.):  •  PHILANDER SMITH (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 11 (Sat.):  at Mobile, 4 p.m.
Feb. 13 (Mon.):  •  at SUNO (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 15 (Wed.):  STILLMAN (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 18 (Sat.):  •  at Dillard (DH), 3 p.m.
Feb. 20 (Mon.):  •  TALLADEGA (DH), 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 (Sat.):  •  at Tougaloo (DH), 3 p.m.
March 3-5 (Fri.-Sun.):  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, New Orleans
March 15-21 (Wed.-Tue.):  NAIA Division I National Championship, Billings, Mont.

Home games in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS
•  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference game
(DH) Doubleheader with Xavier's men
All times are Central except where noted
Schedule is subject to change

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold  

ASU Hornets hope one win can soon lead to others

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State coach Brian Jenkins brought his family into an excited and jubilant locker room area after the Hornets’ 41-21 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.

The Hornets (1-4, 1-3 SWAC) finally have a “1” in the win column. Jenkins said the team handled its early-season adversity very well.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way these guys represented the university,” Jenkins said. “We had some hiccups and they could’ve easily hung it up, but the pride and the character they displayed is first-class.”

Saturday’s post-game scene was far different from the atmosphere after the Hornets blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter to Texas Southern the week before.

Hornets quarterback Quinterris Toppings said the change in attitude began with a good week of practice before Saturday’s triumph.

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