Alabama A&M football: Fuller playing up to his potential

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Jamaal Ware and Johnny Baldwin quickly come to mind when Alabama A&M fans talk about the Bulldogs' best inside linebackers since joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Ware and Baldwin are first and second all-time in tackles and Baldwin led A&M to the 2006 SWAC championship and was a fifth-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in 2007.

Willie Fuller hoped to put his name alongside that elite list when he showed up four years ago. While Fuller's numbers won't come close to those of Ware and Baldwin, his play this season is one of the reasons A&M is in the hunt for the SWAC Eastern Division championship.

"Willie has stepped up and provided great leadership for this team," A&M coach Anthony Jones said. "When you assume leadership, you also assume responsibility. When you say follow me, all eyes go to you. When you make mistakes, everybody sees it. When you misstep, everybody sees it.

"Willie is a quiet guy, but ...



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Xavier Gold Nuggets bounce back, win at UNO in four sets

Taylor Reuther

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Taylor Reuther had 18 kills, 10 digs and three aces, and Xavier University of Louisiana recovered from a pair of four-point deficits Tuesday to defeat the University of New Orleans 22-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-13 at UNO's Human Performance Center.

The Gold Nuggets (16-6) avoided consecutive losses for the sixth time this season and swept their two-match season series with the Privateers (2-17).

Moira Kirk had 12 kills, a season-high-tying seven digs and hit .526 for Xavier. Patrice Hightower had three kills, 31 assists and a career-high 13 digs, and Celeste Poe had 11 digs.

UNO closed the first set with an 8-3 run — Tory Hearn clinched with consecutive aces — and led 9-5 in the next set. But from that point the Privateers committed 13 unforced errors, and Reuther had two kills in the final eight rallies to help Xavier even the match

"Early on it was a nightmare for us," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "We kept making all kinds of mistakes. I didn't see the confidence on their faces. I called timeout and told our players if they stay together, they'll win this match. I told them they were talented enough to do this. They stuck through it and came back."

Xavier trailed 21-17 in the third set before fighting off a set point and scoring the final five points. That's where Hamilton's concerns ended.

In the final set the Gold Nuggets hit .500 and got three Reuther kills and two Jeanay Butler aces during a 13-2 run which gave Xavier a 19-7 lead. Twelve rallies later, Poe assisted on Hightower's match-ending kill.

"We took control in the final set," Hamilton said. "I was so glad we ended the way we did because that's the team I've been looking to see since our conference matches at Dillard several weeks ago. I hope we can carry this momentum on and transition to Faulkner and SUNO later this week."

Elena Villar had 13 kills and 10 digs for the Privateers, who have lost 12 straight, and Hearn had 13 kills and four aces. Laila Hansen had 10 kills.

Reuther recorded her most kills in nine matches and produced her team-leading eighth kill-dig double-double of the season. Kirk hit better than .500 for the seventh time this season, including both UNO matches.

Xavier outhit UNO .232 to .119 and had a 63-50 advantage in digs. The Privateers committed 56 errors, 20 more than the Gold Nuggets.

Xavier finished 5-2 this season against NCAA Division I opponents.

The Gold Nuggets will play Faulkner at 3 p.m. Friday at The Barn, then travel to Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and city rival SUNO for a 6 p.m. Saturday match. Xavier has clinched a share of the GCAC regular-season championship and needs a victory against SUNO or at home against Dillard on Nov. 5 to win the title outright.

Box score

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

Howard sees win over S.C. State as step in return to prominence

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gary Harrell remembers fondly the proud days of Howard University football.

Known as "The Flea," the 5-7 former wide receiver is the school's career leader in receptions (184) and a member of the 1993 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship Bison team led by quarterback Jay "Sky" Walker. Returning to his alma mater this past year as head coach, Harrell inherited a program far removed from those glory days and owners of the longest losing streak in conference play.

Even worse, Harrell saw a talented group that seemed more focused on individual goals and not sharing his same level of passion.

"The biggest problem here when I first got here was that the guys were separated," Harrell said during Tuesday's MEAC teleconference. "They didn't spend a whole lot of time with each other as far as the cafeteria and the dorm. They didn't spend enough time together, so we made sure we brought them together off the field and now you can see it on the field that they really trust each other. Now it's not (linebacker) Keith Pough making plays. He trusts his teammates that they're going to make the plays as well. So that was the biggest thing in changing the culture."



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XU's Jacksons add to their collection of GCAC weekly awards

Xavier University's Kwame and Zahri Jackson
GCAC cross country individual champions in 2011

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Zahri and Kwame Jackson, both individual champions Saturday at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, are the GCAC Runners of the Week for Oct. 17-23.

The Jacksons are freshmen siblings from Kingwood, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and graduates of Kingwood Park High School.

Zahri Jackson extended her XU women's record with her fifth GCAC weekly award of the season, tied Ebony Harding's XU career record and matched the GCAC women's season record set by Spring Hill's Kate Imwalle in 2009. Kwame Jackson won the men's award for the third time.

Zahri Jackson ran 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 20.40 seconds to score her second consecutive individual victory and defeat defending champion Monicah Jepkemboi of SUNO by 11 seconds. The winning time is the second fastest by a female at the GCAC Championships in the past 11 seasons.

Less than an hour later, Kwame Jackson ran 8,000 meters in 28:12.09 for his first collegiate victory. He defeated teammates and former GCAC champions Ray Walston (2009) and Matt Pieri (2010).

Both the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush won their sixth consecutive GCAC team championships. Both squads earned automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships on Nov. 19 at Vancouver, Wash.

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

Stillman, UWA dream of postseason

Tuscaloosa, Alabama -- Teddy Keaton and Will Hall, a couple of young, enthusiastic head coaches, are preparing their football teams to face in-state rivals Thursday.

If Keaton's Stillman Tigers and Hall's West Alabama Tigers win, they'll enhance their chances of qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs. Stillman and UWA are ranked among the top 10 in Super Region Two. Both coaches know that the top six teams qualify, and both know that the best way to get there is to keep winning.

Hall said the top two teams in the region get byes for the first playoff round. The No. 3 seed opens against No. 6, and No. 4 will play No. 5.

Stillman plays at home Thursday, facing Miles College in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game. Both teams are 4-1 in league play, and the winner claims the West Division championship.

“That's how big this game is,” Keaton said.



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Classic matchup comes to town

Shreveport, Louisiana -- This year’s Shreveport Classic may actually live up to the name. Prairie View comes into the Classic — a Panthers “home’’ game — in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Western Division. Prairie View is 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the SWAC.

The Panthers’ opponent on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Independence Stadium is a Jackson State team which is in second place in the Eastern Division. Jackson State is 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

First-year Prairie View head coach Heishma Northern doesn’t need a primer on his opponent or its historical significance.

“One of the first collegiate football games I ever went to was Grambling versus Jackson State. My uncle was a running back. It was in Jackson Memorial Stadium,’’ Northern said. “My only loss as a senior football player at Southern University was to Jackson State University. I’ve been second in the conference and third in the nation to a guy from Jackson State. My football and my relationship with Jackson goes back a long way.’’

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DSU gets fresh start after bye; Team hopes for homecoming win, end to 5-game losing streak

Dover, Delaware -- Delaware State's football team is coming back from a much-needed week off. Now a weekend's worth of homecoming festivities await the Hornets as they look for reason to celebrate on the field.

Delaware State (2-5 overall, 0-4 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) hosts Morgan State (4-3, 3-1) in its homecoming game on Saturday at 1 at Alumni Stadium.

"I'm hoping we got a lot of stuff corrected and hopefully we can get off to a fast start for a change," DSU quarterback Nick Elko said. "That's what we're looking to do against Morgan State. Our main goal for this week is to try and get our seniors a win for homecoming. We want to send them out the right way."

First-year DSU head coach Kermit Blount said the bye week gave his players a chance to step away from a program mired in a five-game losing streak.




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