South Carolina State coach respects B-CU

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough has tried to play down the magnitude of today's 4 p.m. matchup with Bethune-Cookman.

WHERE: Municipal Stadium
KICKOFF: 4 p.m.
Cable TV: 10:30 p.m., ESPNU (tape)
Internet TV: ESPN3 LIVE@ 4 p.m.
RADIO: WELE (1380 AM)
RECORDS: S.C. State 0-1, 0-0 MEAC; B-CU 1-0, 0-0
COACHES: S.C. State, Buddy Pough, 10th year (76-30); B-CU, Brian Jenkins, second year (11-2)

"I think we've got to look at it as a regular-season conference game and let things play out as they will," Pough said of the teams' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener at Municipal Stadium. "There are good enough teams in the conference that probably neither one of us will get through unscathed."

But B-CU coach Brian Jenkins describes the contest as a heavyweight fight, "like Ali-Frazier."
Neither coach's comments should be taken at face value, however. To Jenkins, all the games are heavyweight fights. "Every game is a big game," he said. "Our first game (a 63-14 rout of Prairie View A&M on Sunday) was a big game. To us, all our opponents are the same. We prepare for them the same."

That may not be true of S.C. State, however ...

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Lane at Clark Atlanta

Atlanta - The Dragons, fresh off their first win in nearly three years, are back on the road this week. This time, they're in Atlanta for their SIAC opener against Clark Atlanta at 6:00 p.m.

Clark Atlanta won both teams' opener in 2010 at Lane Field 20-6 after scoring a couple of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to break a tie. The Dragons appear to have an improved offense this season after racking up 307 total yards last week in their win at NAIA Edward Waters College.

Quarterback Alan Ferguson completed 18 of 20 passes for 157 yards while rushing 12 times for 51 yards. Cordero Cooper was Ferguson's main target, catching nine passes for 67 yards.

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Stillman travels to Samford

TUSCALOOSA, AL - Teddy Keaton, Stillman’s first-year head coach, didn’t invoke the “24-hour rule” after the Tigers opened the season last week with a 16-13 win over nationally-ranked Shaw University. Keaton didn’t want his players to forget about it. He wanted them to enjoy the victory and remember how it was earned.

“Of course, you want to enjoy the victory, but we’ve still got work to do,” Keaton said. “We’re trying to get our kids to understand winning is a habit. We want our kids to expect big plays, expect to catch the ball, expect to do things the right way." “Yes, in a way they’re riding the momentum, but we’ve tried to calm them down as much as we can. We’ve got a bigger challenge this week against a (Football Championship Subdivision) team.”

Samford, coached by former Auburn quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, opened its season last week with a 31-17 loss to Georgia Southern.

Kickoff tonight is at 6 p.m.


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Stillman volleyball downs Lemoyne Owen

TUSCALOOSA, AL - Stillman College defeated Lemoyne Owen in straight sets at the SIAC West Volleyball Cluster on Friday. Set scores were 25-20, 25-18, 25-17.

For Stillman (2-5), Jamila McKinnis had 12 kills, seven digs and six blocks while LaShaunda Spurgeon added five kills and five blocks. Chelsea Nix also had five blocks while Phyllice Eubanks added four blocks, four digs, four assists and three kills. Cynteria Jones also finished with three kills and a block.


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WSSU Maynor wants fewer mistakes

Richmond, VA - To make a solid run at the CIAA title, Winston-Salem State will have to get more disciplined. That much was evident last week in the season opener, a sloppy 22-17 victory over Elizabeth City State. The Rams had 11 penalties and several mental errors and looked out of sorts for most of the game.

Coach Connell Maynor of WSSU said he hopes today's 7 p.m. game at Virginia Union (2-0) will be different.

"It's a little disappointing," said Maynor, referring to his team's 399 yards of offense and only three touchdowns last week. "We had a lot of penalties that killed our drives. I always tell the guys other teams can't stop us, but we can only stop ourselves, and it was a classic case of that."

The Rams went backward several times at key points because ...

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SSU Athletic Hall of Fame to induct six new members

SAVANNAH, Ga.- Savannah State University will honor its athletic heritage when six new members are inducted into the SSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Slated to be inducted are Richard Basil (football), Carl Crump (men's basketball), William R. "Bill" Davis (football coach), Russell Ellington (men's basketball coach), Phyllis Oliver Mattox (women's tennis) and Kim Jones Walton (women's basketball). Davis and Ellington will be enshrined posthumously.

This year’s ceremony, set for Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m., will mark the fourth group to be inducted into the SSU Athletic Hall of Fame. The contingent honors the best of Tiger athletics over the last five decades, representing the sports of basketball, football and tennis.

Damon Evans, Vice President for Business Operations at The Markley Group and a former athletics director at the University of Georgia, will be the keynote speaker at the banquet. Shannon Sharpe, CBS Sports Analyst, NFL and SSU Hall of Famer, will be present at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Basil transferred to Savannah State from East Central Community College and played quarterback for the Tigers in 1988 and '89. In two years he passed for 3,645 yards and 44 touchdowns. He also rushed for 990 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 1988, Basil was the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Offensive Player of the Year and won the George Hobson Offensive Back of the Year Award. In 1989, he led Division II in passing percentage by completing .569 of his passes. He served as an assistant coach at SSU for nine seasons and was the head football coach for two and a half years. He graduated from SSU in 2001. The Demopolis, Alabama native currently lives in Stockbridge, Georgia and is the founder and executive director of Jump Start Youth Initiative Program.

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ECSU still confident despite 0-2 mark

Elizabeth City, NC - Elizabeth City State’s football team was a confident bunch heading into the season. After two games and two losses, it would be understandable if that confidence was waning. But coach Waverly Tillar says it is business as usual around the Vikings’ facility.

“They really feel like they didn’t play well Saturday night (in a 22-17 loss to Winston-Salem State) and they know they need to come out big this week to set them on the right course for an eight-game run,” Tillar said. “The attitude has been up tempo, execution has been sharp and the camaraderie has been good.”

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