Winston Salem, NC - Winston-Salem State is expecting to contend for the CIAA football title and will find out starting today if its expectations are realistic. WSSU will open with a CIAA game at Elizabeth City State's Roebuck Stadium at 6 p.m.
Coach Connell Maynor of WSSU seems to have it all — depth, speed and experience after an 8-2 finish in his debut season. But he's quick to point out that, despite how things look on paper, it's what's done on the field that counts.
"We have a veteran team coming back, and we'll be ready to go," said Maynor, who returns 18 starters. Quarterback Kameron Smith, running back Nic Cooper and wide receivers Tehvyn Brantley and Dominique Fitzgerald are weapons on offense.
"I'm so excited about the season getting started," Brantley said. "We are tired of playing against our defense. I mean, it's hard when we have the best offense and the best defense and you have to play against each other all the time in practice. It gets old…."
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Saturday, September 3, 2011
Fayetteville State, UNC-Pembroke set for Saturday's Two Rivers Classic
Fayetteville, NC - Tonight at Nick Jeralds Stadium, Fayetteville State will host UNC-Pembroke in the third installment of the Two Rivers Classic. The Braves have won the first two meetings, capturing a 41-34 triumph in double overtime at FSU in 2009 and rolling to a 39-0 shutout last season in Pembroke. Yet heading into tonight's game, the Broncos may be position to turn the tides. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on.
Can the Fayetteville State defense contain Travis Daniels?
UNC-Pembroke coach Pete Shinnick is expecting a stellar senior season from Daniels, a lightning bolt of a tailback who will be the catalyst of the Braves offense. Daniels is looking to move past a disappointing 2010 campaign. Shinnick said earlier this week he has sensed renewed focus and greater dedication from Daniels, who hopes to recapture the form he had as a sophomore. Proof of Daniels' explosive potential came at Jeralds Stadium in the inaugural Two Rivers Classic in 2009, when he tore through the Broncos defense for 213 yards and two touchdowns.
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Can the Fayetteville State defense contain Travis Daniels?
UNC-Pembroke coach Pete Shinnick is expecting a stellar senior season from Daniels, a lightning bolt of a tailback who will be the catalyst of the Braves offense. Daniels is looking to move past a disappointing 2010 campaign. Shinnick said earlier this week he has sensed renewed focus and greater dedication from Daniels, who hopes to recapture the form he had as a sophomore. Proof of Daniels' explosive potential came at Jeralds Stadium in the inaugural Two Rivers Classic in 2009, when he tore through the Broncos defense for 213 yards and two touchdowns.
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Sterile turning into vocal leader for Lincoln defense
LOWER OXFORD, PA -- The hoarse voice and strained vocal chords are just the latest indication how much Brucelee Sterile has developed into a vocal leader for the Lincoln University football squad.
"I lost my voice screaming and preaching to the team that we are going to be winners this season," Sterile said recently as the Lions' prepare for their season opener on Saturday at archrival Cheyney.
"I take this seriously. If you don't have someone watching and pushing, you won't reach your full potential."
The senior linebacker is getting an awful lot of personal recognition heading into the 2011 campaign, but Sterile is much more interested in helping orchestrate a breakout season at Lincoln, which reinstituted football in 2008 after a 47 year hiatus. Sterile and 18 other seniors were the program's first recruiting class since the 1950s.
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"I lost my voice screaming and preaching to the team that we are going to be winners this season," Sterile said recently as the Lions' prepare for their season opener on Saturday at archrival Cheyney.
"I take this seriously. If you don't have someone watching and pushing, you won't reach your full potential."
The senior linebacker is getting an awful lot of personal recognition heading into the 2011 campaign, but Sterile is much more interested in helping orchestrate a breakout season at Lincoln, which reinstituted football in 2008 after a 47 year hiatus. Sterile and 18 other seniors were the program's first recruiting class since the 1950s.
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A huge test: Vikings face one of CIAA favorites in home opener
Elizabeth City, NC - Elizabeth City State has watched the film. The Vikings know they left a lot of plays and, perhaps, the program’s biggest-ever win on the field in Cleveland, Miss., last week.But that was last week and ECSU has to prove whether the 28-21 overtime loss at Delta State was a fluke, or if the Vikings are truly contenders in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
“The attitude is upbeat,” ECSU coach Waverly Tillar said. “They talked about Delta State on the bus, but by the time we got to the North Carolina line, the talk was about the next game. The attitude is they feel they can win.”
The test of that attitude comes today when ECSU hosts ...
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KEYS: A leader emerges at Southern
Baton Rouge, LA - Stunned beyond belief.That’s how the Southern football coaches felt. It was Friday night, some eight days before the Jaguars’ season opener Saturday in Nashville, Tenn., against Tennessee State. The campus had emptied out. Most students were headed home, fast asleep or out on the town.
At 10 p.m., SU coaches were milling about the A.W. Mumford Field House, preparing for a scrimmage. There, they stumbled upon Jamie Payton and 10 of his fellow linebackers, who’d stayed late to watch more film.
“Unbelievable,” defensive coordinator O’Neill Gilbert said. “Friday night, after a hard practice, most guys want to go eat pizza and do whatever college kids do. Friday night, they were up here with Jamie Payton.”
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Grambling, Alcorn State coaches have long history
Shreveport, LA - You know all the old favorite sayings, don’t you? Life has a funny way of coming full-circle. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Stuff along those lines. Sometimes, they’re overused. Sometimes, they’re right on the money.
Clearly, Saturday’s game in Shreveport is a case of the latter.
At Independence Stadium, Grambling and Alcorn State will square off in the latest chapter a long-running, old-fashioned football rivalry. They’ll kick off the season in a game that will give the winner an early leg up in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings.
In other words, this meeting feels like old times.
“Even back in the good old days, Alcorn was always that first game for Grambling,” Grambling coach Doug Williams said. “I think that’s the way it should be.”
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Clearly, Saturday’s game in Shreveport is a case of the latter.
At Independence Stadium, Grambling and Alcorn State will square off in the latest chapter a long-running, old-fashioned football rivalry. They’ll kick off the season in a game that will give the winner an early leg up in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings.
In other words, this meeting feels like old times.
“Even back in the good old days, Alcorn was always that first game for Grambling,” Grambling coach Doug Williams said. “I think that’s the way it should be.”
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TSU RB running by foes
Nashville, TN - Following a summer practice in 2007, TSU’s freshman running back Dantรฉ Thomas left an unforgettable first impression with position coach Kevin Mashack.Thomas, who just transferred from the Naval Academy Prep school, joined the rest of the TSU team for summer camp, but Mashack noticed Thomas looked slow and questioned why the program offered him scholarship to begin with.
It wasn’t until the second week of camp, according to Mashack, until he discovered the main cause for Thomas’ struggles. His cleats.
“I see him on the table taking off his cleats with skin hanging off his feet,” Mashack recalled. “But he didn’t complain. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t want us to think that he just got here and that he was already hurt.”
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