Fort Valley State Wildcats hoping to get on track on road at B-CU

Daytona Beach, Florida -- Fort Valley State is sputtering, and Bethune-Cookman isn’t exactly operating as finely tuned as hoped for. And they will battle each other Saturday in a game being billed as the inaugural “Biker Classic” in Daytona Beach, part of the weekend’s Biketoberfest.

Both groups of Wildcats hope to avoid turning in a moped performance in front of the bikers.
FVSU is 1-5 and Bethune-Cookman is 2-3, and both are out of their respective conference races, Bethune-Cookman in the FCS Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

It’s the second game against an FCS opponent this season for FVSU, and a fair amount of success in the first game -- a 28-22 loss to Florida A&M -- has given the struggling Wildcats some confidence.

“They might have more talented players, but I think if we get after it, we’ll be OK,” defensive end Emanuel Williams said, citing Bethune-Cookman having more scholarship players as a Division I program. “As long as we don’t make mental mistakes.”

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Game preview: Tuskegee at Lane College

When: 2 p.m. today
Where: Jackson, Tenn.
Records: Tuskegee (1-4); Lane (3-3)
On the air: None

FOUR-DOWN TERRITORY
1. Close. That's where Tuskegee head coach Willie Slater believes his program is, despite its 1-4 start. "I think we're getting better every week," Slater said. A big part of the Golden Tigers' struggles so far, Slater said, has been their youth. After a knee injury sidelined starting quarterback Jeremy Williams for four weeks, Slater was forced to insert freshman Justin Nared at QB. Three freshmen on the offensive line and an inexperienced backfield adds to the mistake-prone offense.

2. Slater said Williams' knee injury won't keep the junior quarterback out of the lineup much longer. "He was out here running steps today, so I think he's a little ahead on his rehab," Slater said. Williams was injured in the first half of Tuskegee's loss to Alabama A&M three weeks ago.



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WSSU can lock up division today at Livingstone

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State will try to remain undefeated today with a game at last-place Livingstone. The Rams (6-0, 5-0 CIAA), ranked No. 13 in the NCAA Division II poll, can clinch the Southern Division title with a win over the Blue Bears (1-5, 0-3). Game time is 6 p.m.

After doing just enough in a 35-28 win over St. Augustine's last week, the Rams should have an easier time against the Blue Bears, who average a CIAA-worst 10.8 points a game. The Rams allowed 464 passing yards last week. Of course, the Falcons did throw the ball 65 times, something that coach Connell Maynor of the Rams pointed out.



"We have to address it," Maynor said about the pass defense. "But they threw the ball 65 times. Most teams don't throw it that much in two games. When you throw the ball that many times and have 37 completions, you should have 400-something yards. "But we still won the game."

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Johnson C. Smith vs. Virginia Union

Freshman Wallace leads Golden Bulls

Charlotte, North Carolina -- Keahn Wallace isn't wasting time making a difference for J.C. Smith football.

The Golden Bulls' quarterback leads the CIAA in passing yards (1,426) and total offense (1,752) and is on pace to break the school's season passing mark of 2,129 yards set last year by Harding High graduate Ryan Carter. The Golden Bulls (3-3), who play Virginia Union at 1 p.m. today at McGirt Field, have already eclipsed last year's two-win campaign.

"I couldn't have done it without my (offensive) line and defense giving me opportunities and (tailback) Dedrick Anderson coming out of the backfield helped me a lot," said Wallace, a freshman from Homestead, Fla. "Without them and the receivers, none of this would be possible."

The freshman debuted with a bang, completing 16-of-25 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns in the Golden Bulls' 64-27 win against West Virginia State.



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Lincoln fades late, falls to Bowie State

LONDON GROVE, Pennsylvania – With a prime opportunity to notch its first back-to-back victories in 57 years and solidify a spot near the top of the CIAA Northern Division standings, Lincoln faded down the stretch and fell to visiting Bowie State, 22-10, in college football action on Friday evening at Avon Grove High School.

Lincoln (2-3, 2-5) hardly had the football in the first half as the Bulldogs (3-2, 4-3) controlled the clock and ran 45 plays to just 17 for the Lions. And even though LU moved the football much more effectively the rest of the way, second half turnovers sabotaged several critical scoring chances.

“This loss is very disappointing. This hurts,” said linebacker Brandon McElwee, who is a member of the program’s first four-year senior class since football was reinstated after a hiatus from 1961-2007. “We’ve already experienced the lowest we can possibly go, so we can only go up. And I feel like we are moving up. I even feel like we gained something from this loss.”

Despite it all, Lincoln pulled to within three, 13-10, early in the second half, but was outscored 9-0 the rest of the way, including a safety and a late touchdown following the ensuing free kick.



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XU's Didavi, Taylor grab third place in NAIA doubles

MOBILE, Alabama -- Xavier University of Louisiana's second-seeded Loic Didavi and Zach Taylor defeated Oklahoma Christian's fourth-seeded Bruno Tiberti and Martin Poboril 6-7 (4), 7-5, 1-0 (10-7) Friday in the NAIA men's doubles third-place match of the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships.

 Loic Didavi 

Zach Taylor

Didavi, unseeded in singles, upset fourth-seeded Vladislav Khudziy of Huntington (Ind.) 6-4, 6-3 in the consolation semifinals.

Didavi and Taylor lost 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to Fresno Pacific's third-seeded Cledson Carvalho and Nathan Martinet.

XU's doubles tandem finished the fall semester 7-2. Taylor is 22-10 at Xavier in two seasons of doubles.

"That third-place match started right after both teams lost in the semifinals," Xavier coach Alan Green said. "Both teams were given a 40-minute break, but they decided to stay on court and play. Oklahoma Christian was coming off a tough loss in a super-tiebreaker.

"At first it looked like all four guys did not want to be on the court, but they eventually warmed up to it. It was a back-and-forth match. Loic and Zach did a great job taking control in the second set, then they got a good lead early in the super-tiebreaker and held on."

Didavi, 9-1 in singles this season, broke Khudziy's serve to take a 4-2 lead in the second set.

"Loic's first set of singles was ugly," Green said. "He almost lost serve a couple of times but pulled it out.

"Loic's opponent was really good but deceptive. It was a mental challenge for Loic because his opponent looked like he was coasting at times, and at other times he'd produce great shots. It was hard for Loic to get into a rhythm, but he did what he had to do to win."

Didavi will play Graceland's Laurentsi Arakhamiya at 8:30 a.m. Saturday for fifth place.

Graceland's first-year coach is Xavier graduate Monroe Walker, who played for the Gold Rush from 2001-05.

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

SSU tries to rebound at home against FAMU

Savannah, Georgia -- After having five of his first six games on the road, Savannah State football coach Steve Davenport is looking forward to being close to home the rest of the season. Four of the Tigers’ last five games are in SSU’s T.A. Wright Stadium, beginning tonight at 7 against Florida A&M. State’s lone road game during the season-ending stretch is Nov. 12 in Daytona Beach against Bethune-Cookman.

“We spent 12½-13 hours on the bus going to and coming back from Morgan State last week, so we’re looking forward to getting some normalcy around here,” Davenport said.



The Tigers (1-5, 1-2 MEAC) may be at home, but they’ll be playing probably the most difficult part of their conference schedule. Three of SSU’s remaining five opponents — FAMU, Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State — shared the league title last season.

Norfolk State is 5-1 (the only loss at West Virginia) and atop the MEAC with a 3-0 league record this season.

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