Friday, October 7, 2011

NSU Spartans have a score to settle with DSU Hornets

Norfolk, VA -- History is on Hasan Craig's side. Delaware State's poor record and three straight blowout losses might normally have Norfolk State looking ahead to games against Hampton and Bethune-Cookman. Craig, a senior linebacker, has the team looking back instead.

In 2007, the Spartans went to Delaware State, where a win would have clinched NSU's first MEAC championship. Instead, the Hornets scored 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of a 28-21 win, ending the best chance Norfolk State has had at a MEAC championship.



"I remember being so happy and then, at the end of the game, so hurt," said Craig, who played with the team that year before redshirting his sophomore year due to injury. "Like someone ripped my heart out."

The Hornets tied the game on a 28-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, then won it by scoring a touchdown in overtime and stopping NSU on downs.

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Banged-up FVSU Wildcats look to bounce back

Fort Valley, Georgia -- The way the season is going would normally be enough to make a coach feel a bit less chipper than usual. Throw in allergies kicking up, and it’s not the best week for Fort Valley State head coach Donald Pittman. The Wildcats are 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the SIAC, and they aren’t in the best of health themselves.

“Nobody’s back as of yet,” Pittman said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Freshmen Cameron Pearson and Jahyrie Harris are battling it out at quarterback this week. Antonio Henton has been out since suffering a knee injury against Delta State in the second game. Then W.J. McAllister sat out last week after getting a head injury Sept. 22 at Benedict.  McAllister struggled in FVSU’s 16-11 loss at Clark Atlanta but made progress against Benedict just in time to get hurt.

Pearson had played a few snaps at quarterback, and Harris had been moved to the secondary before the season because of the logjam at quarterback. He returned to the offensive side about two weeks ago.



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At midseason, JCSU football shows potential

Charlotte, NC -- Johnson C. Smith football hasn’t been this close to respectable since the 2006 squad went 7-3. But the Golden Bulls still need some work to get there.

JCSU, 2-3 going into Saturday’s CIAA game at Shaw, is statistically better in nearly every category compared to the 2010 squad that went 2-8. The Golden Bulls average 26 points and 386.8 offensive yards per game with freshman quarterback Keahn Wallace leading the attack. The special teams have shown drastic improvement, especially with returner B.J. Trimble scoring on a punt and kick in the first five games.

Defensively, JCSU still a work in progress. The Golden Bulls have improved from last year’s 39.5 points allowed per game to 27, but give up a whopping 453.2 yards per outing. That’ll need to change over the second half of the season if JCSU is to creep closer to a break-even record for the first time under head coach Steve Aycock.




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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic: It’s all about tradition

Columbus, Georgia -- The freshman walked into Tuskegee University football coach Willie Slater’s office and asked him a question about playing Morehouse College, “So, this is a big game, huh?”  Recalling the moment, Slater smiled and said when he first came to Tuskegee to coach in 2006 he didn’t realize the importance of the contest, either. “I do now,” Slater said. “It’s a big one.”

He said it won’t take long for his young players to learn that.

From the beginning of the season, players at Morehouse know the score. “You don’t want to look past any opponent, but people on campus keep reminding our players how important it is to beat Tuskegee,” Morehouse College football coach Rich Freeman said.

The two NCAA Division II teams first played each other in 1902 and the 76th annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic will be played Saturday at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus.


Last year's classic was great! The 76th Classic will be better!

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Xavier Gold Nuggets beat University of New Orleans, set school record for home victories

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Moira Kirk and Jeanay Butler led Xavier University of Louisiana with seven kills apiece Wednesday in a 25-18, 25-21, 25-12 women's volleyball victory against the University of New Orleans at The Barn.

The Gold Nuggets (11-3) tied a school record for victories in a season and set another XU season mark with their sixth home victory. Xavier has won 10 of its last 11 matches and is 6-0 at The Barn.

UNO (2-11), loser of seven straight, got seven kills from Jasmyne Walker and four aces from Tory Hearn.

Xavier trailed 10-7 in the first set before consecutive aces from Taylor Reuther and five UNO attack errors feuled a 10-3 run that put the Gold Nuggets ahead to stay. Reuther ended the set with another ace.

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2011 women's volleyball team
      Front row, from left: Kia Smith, Chinedu Echebelem, Joyy Joseph,
 Celeste Poe, Patrice Hightower and Alexandria Rencher.
      Back row, from left: Morgan Stallings, Kerris Crier, Iva Bobkova,
Moira Kirk, Jeanay Butler and Taylor Reuther.


(Click on photo to enlarge)
The Privateers scored eight consecutive points to reduce a 21-11 second-set deficit, but a Butler kill and blocks from Kerris Crier and Reuther helped Xavier close. The Gold Nuggets outhit UNO .476 to minus-.057 in the third set and rolled to a 19-7 advantage. A UNO attack error, the Privateers' 27th and their 46th overall, ended the match.

Kirk attacked errorlessly for the third time in five matches and is hitting .488 in 82 attempts during that span. Butler 's kills and.438 attack percentage were season highs.

Xavier outhit UNO .257 to minus-.027 for the match and had a 45-34 advantage in digs. Chinedu Echebelem led the Nuggets with nine digs, and Jessie Mouton had the same number for UNO.

Reuther, who won her third Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week award Monday, had season lows of five kills and a .000 attack percentage.

"We never let down," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "We made mistakes, but we kept the tempo of the match on our side. That's an important thing to do for a young team like ours with four freshmen starting. It also was also good to get all our players into the match. Because we're playing five times in four days, all of them need to be ready to play."

It was the first volleyball meeting between the schools. They'll meet again Oct. 25 at UNO. For Xavier, an NAIA member, it was the fourth victory in five attempts against NCAA Division I opponents this season. Xavier will play another D-I opponent, Prairie View A&M, at 5 p.m. Thursday at The Barn.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

LIVE THURSDAY: Bowie State vs. Fairmont State via HERBFM.COM

BOWIE, Maryland -- Listen to a live internet audio stream of the Bowie State Bulldogs at Fairmont State Fighting Falcons football game this Thursday (October 6) beginning at 6:45 pm on www.HerbFM.com.

Join host Chris Heidel and BSU head coach Damon Wilson for the Bulldogs Pre-Game Show then stay tuned for game at 7 pm "live" from Fairmont State's Duvall-Rosier Field, Fairmont, West Virginia. Former Bulldogs player and current member of the Pittsburgh Steelers running back Isaac Redman will be the halftime guest.

Tell your friends to tune in at www.HerbFM.com for other scheduled BSU Bulldogs football games:

Oct 6th @ Fairmont State University Live at 7pm
Pre game show starts at 6:45 pm

Oct 14th @ Lincoln University of Pennsylvania Live at 8pm
Pre game show starts at 7:30pm

Oct 22nd @ Elizabeth City State University Live at 1pm
Pre Game show starts at 12:30pm

Oct 29th @ Shepherd University Live at 12noon
Pre Game show starts at 11:30am

VISIT: BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY
VISIT: BSUBULLDOGS
VISIT: herbFM Sports Radio

By Bowie State Sports Information & HerbFM.com

SU Jaguars eye chance at SWAC West lead with victory over Prairie View

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Setting aside his whistle and practice plans for a moment, Stump Mitchell played the temporarily role of salesman Tuesday afternoon.

The second-year Southern football coach made an aggressive pitch to fans, encouraging them to get fired up for this week’s home game against Prairie View. Mitchell’s team has given them one good reason to buy a few tickets.

“It’s a special weekend because of the situation we find ourselves in,” Mitchell said.

Thanks to last week’s 28-21 win at Mississippi Valley State, the Jaguars (2-3, 2-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) trail Prairie View by only a half-game in the Western Division. Southern can leapfrog the Panthers (3-2, 3-1) into first place with a win this week. The teams meet at 6 p.m. Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium.




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