Hampton, Virginia -- The Hampton University football team scored 28 points in the fourth quarter on its way to a 42-6 rout of the Hornets of Delaware State at Armstrong Stadium on Saturday.
Turnovers were the key in the game for both teams. On the second play of the game, Delbert Tyler got his first of two interceptions on the day and took it back 40 yards for a touchdown. Hampton’s defense would force four turnovers in the first half, with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Following Tyler’s interception, Destin Route forced a fumble before Tyler got his second interception of the game. Micah Pellerin would also get in on the action, when he got an interception to stop a Hornets drive.
After some back-and-forth between the two teams, Hampton went into the half with a 7-0 lead.
Hampton came out in the second half moving a lot quicker. Following a forced punt by the defense and a great punt return by Justin Blake, the Pirates went 45 yards in just three plays for their second score of the day, going up 14-0 when quarterback Bradford Hudson threw his first career touchdown pass to Dyrri McCain.
READ MORE
DSU's seven turnovers lead to another loss
HAMPTON, Va. — Delaware State committed seven turnovers, including a school-record six interceptions, in a 42-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference loss to Hampton on Saturday. The Hornets (2-8 overall, 0-7 MEAC) dropped their eighth straight game.
Delaware State trailed 14-6 after scoring its lone touchdown on a 16-yard run by Travis Tarpley with 12:56 left to play. The score capped a 10-play, 81-yard drive. Hampton scored 28 unanswered points in the last 8:41 to put the Hornets away.
Josh Bailey, a former junior college quarterback who has competed at running back most of the season, played the entire game at quarterback for the Hornets. He completed 17-of-39 passes for 134 yards and six interceptions.
READ MORE
Monday, November 14, 2011
Magic City Classic economic impact tops $24 million, most ever
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Organizers estimate that this year's Magic City Classic packed an economic impact of $24.3 million, shattering previous records for the event. "We were projecting anywhere between $13 million and $15 million, and we would have been happy with that," Birmingham Mayor William Bell said.Traditionally, the annual clash between Alabama State University and Alabama A&M has an economic impact between $15 million and $16 million, according to Gene Hallman, chief executive of the Alabama Sports Foundation, which organizes the Classic. The Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, which routinely calculates economic impact figures for major events, came up with the $24.3 million figure for this year's game.
Organizers say:
• Corporate sponsorship amounting to $890,000 was the most ever.
• The 66,473 tickets sold was not a record, but when combined with the estimated 40,000 tailgaters that remained outside Legion Field during the game, Hallman said it set a new mark.
• The 2.75 night average hotel stay was higher than in previous years.
• The $450,000 paid to each school was a new record, blowing past the $425,000 paid last year.
READ MORE
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Hall of Famer Richard Dent backs TSU's return to Hale Stadium
Possible future plans for Hale Stadium on the campus of Tennessee State University.
Nashville, Tennessee -- Former Tennessee State defensive end and recent NFL Hall of Fame inductee Richard Dent said he supports the Tigers moving their home games back to Hale Stadium and will help fund the project.
Dent said he already has made his first financial donation earmarked for the renovation of Hale Stadium, where the Tigers last played in 1998. The former Chicago Bear said he also met with university officials and informed them he was setting up a campaign in which he will match donations from other alumni.
“I’m starting a matching fund with my Make A Dent Foundation … and I’m really looking forward to helping the school,” Dent said. “I think it’s important to play games on campus.”
Dent attended Saturday’s game with UT Martin as co-grand marshal of TSU’s homecoming festivities. TSU has played at LP Field since 1999.
READ MORE
Cooper leads Winston-Salem State to CIAA football championship
DURHAM, North Carolina -- Nic Cooper scored three touchdowns and ran for 163 yards Saturday in leading unbeaten Winston-Salem State to a 38-13 victory over Elizabeth City State in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship game at Durham County Stadium.
Cooper, a senior and former Clinton High School star, scored on a 3-yard run in the first minute of the third quarter, a 1-yard dive later in the period and a 20-yard dash in the fourth period. Quarterback Kameron Smith threw a touchdown pass to Tehvyn Brantley. Smith completed 12 passes for 111 yards.
Defensive back Alton Keaton, a former Douglas Byrd High star, led the Rams with seven tackles, including a sack. He also recovered a fumble. Keaton was named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year earlier. The CIAA championship was the first for the Rams since 1978.
READ MORE
Rams return to glory
DURHAM, North Carolina -- It had been 11 long years since the last CIAA title, but Winston-Salem State was very comfortable on center stage Saturday in front of about 10,000 fans at Durham County Stadium. WSSU defeated Elizabeth City State 38-18 to win the school's ninth football title.
"Our theme is 'Return to Glory,' and we are back to those glory days and back to winning rings," coach Connell Maynor said. "We are back to winning championships…."
The Rams won the championship with a tough defense that put the clamps on running back Daronte McNeill and an offense that produced when it mattered most. The Rams (11-0) held the Vikings (8-3) to a season-low 210 yards, and Nic Cooper ran for 163 yards on 24 carries and scored on a 20-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to ice the Rams' victory.
READ MORE
Will Harris: ECSU football has come a long way
Elizabeth City, North Carolina -- It’s been a crazy few weeks here with the end of fall sports and winter teams getting started. Because of that, time and space has been kind of limited, so I guess we have some catching up to do.
But first let’s start with the Elizabeth City State football team, which lost to Winston-Salem State 38-18 in the CIAA title game Saturday.
One of these days the Vikings are going to break through, but this just wasn’t the year. Seems like every time ECSU gets this far, its runs into a team with a little more to play for. Each of the three CIAA championship losses have been to teams that were ranked pretty high in the national polls and had legitimate shots at moving on the Division II playoffs. Not that the Vikings couldn’t have taken that mantle in any of those years, but the power of the opposition has been pretty large ...
READ MORE
Cooper, a senior and former Clinton High School star, scored on a 3-yard run in the first minute of the third quarter, a 1-yard dive later in the period and a 20-yard dash in the fourth period. Quarterback Kameron Smith threw a touchdown pass to Tehvyn Brantley. Smith completed 12 passes for 111 yards.
Defensive back Alton Keaton, a former Douglas Byrd High star, led the Rams with seven tackles, including a sack. He also recovered a fumble. Keaton was named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year earlier. The CIAA championship was the first for the Rams since 1978.
READ MORE
Rams return to glory
DURHAM, North Carolina -- It had been 11 long years since the last CIAA title, but Winston-Salem State was very comfortable on center stage Saturday in front of about 10,000 fans at Durham County Stadium. WSSU defeated Elizabeth City State 38-18 to win the school's ninth football title.
"Our theme is 'Return to Glory,' and we are back to those glory days and back to winning rings," coach Connell Maynor said. "We are back to winning championships…."
The Rams won the championship with a tough defense that put the clamps on running back Daronte McNeill and an offense that produced when it mattered most. The Rams (11-0) held the Vikings (8-3) to a season-low 210 yards, and Nic Cooper ran for 163 yards on 24 carries and scored on a 20-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to ice the Rams' victory.
READ MORE
Will Harris: ECSU football has come a long wayElizabeth City, North Carolina -- It’s been a crazy few weeks here with the end of fall sports and winter teams getting started. Because of that, time and space has been kind of limited, so I guess we have some catching up to do.
But first let’s start with the Elizabeth City State football team, which lost to Winston-Salem State 38-18 in the CIAA title game Saturday.
One of these days the Vikings are going to break through, but this just wasn’t the year. Seems like every time ECSU gets this far, its runs into a team with a little more to play for. Each of the three CIAA championship losses have been to teams that were ranked pretty high in the national polls and had legitimate shots at moving on the Division II playoffs. Not that the Vikings couldn’t have taken that mantle in any of those years, but the power of the opposition has been pretty large ...
READ MORE
Southern 26, Alabama State 23: Golden opportunity slips away
Montgomery, Alabama -- It was there for the taking. But it was Southern, not Alabama State, that took it. The Hornets followed the formula that had spelled success all season. They forced four turnovers, they brought in the injured Greg Jenkins at quarterback to provide the spark. They even got 92 yards rushing from tailback Tim Clark.
But while Jackson State was demolishing Alabama A&M 34-6 -- giving ASU a berth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game provided they won -- the Jaguars were weaving their own brand of voodoo magic.
Alabama State highlights vs. Southern University: Nov. 12, at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. Watch game highlights and postgame interview with ASU coach Reggie Barlow. (Video courtesy ASU)
And when Brian McCann landed in the end zone from a yard out with nine seconds left, it was Southern, not Alabama State, that pulled out a 26-23 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of 8,255 stunned fans at the Cramton Bowl.
"It hurts," said Jenkins, who sparked the Hornets to 16 fourth-quarter points. "I'm ready to play right now, just to get that bad taste out of my mouth."
READ MORE
Finally!: Late TD helps SU sting Hornets
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The moment of truth was at hand. Moments earlier, in what looked like another trademark collapse, the Southern football team fizzled on offense, made too many late mistakes on defense and gave away a fourth-quarter lead to Alabama State.
But before freshman quarterback J.P. Douglas led the Jaguars to a game-winning touchdown with 9 seconds left in a 26-23 thriller at the Cramton Bowl, he and his teammates had a short meeting with coach Stump Mitchell on the visitors sideline. So many times, the Jaguars had been in this spot before. So many times, they caved under pressure.
“Coach told us we needed to come together as an offense,” Douglas said. “He told us, remember all the times that we lost the close ones. Win this close one.’ “ They did. Southern took over at its own 27-yard line with 2:59 remaining.
READ MORE
Payton fires up defense
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Suspended two weeks for his role in a postgame brawl, Southern linebacker Jamie Payton was despondent. In losing his cool at the wrong time, he’d prevented himself from doing the one thing he loved most: playing football.
So when Payton returned Saturday in the Cramton Bowl, he played with passion. He tried to get the most out of every snap in a 26-23 upset win against Alabama State. It showed.
Though Payton and the Jaguars defense were sloppy in the fourth quarter, they made enough key plays to help Southern win - and for much of the sunny, mild afternoon, Payton was anything but mild. He led the charge, finishing with a team-high 10 tackles to go along with an interception and a 48-yard fumble return.
READ MORE
Douglas steps up at QB
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Last week, Southern football coach Stump Mitchell said he planned to use freshman J.P. Douglas as his starting quarterback for the rest of the season. He changed his mind, starting sophomore Dray Joseph when the team faced Alabama State in the Cramton Bowl on Saturday.
Before long, it didn’t matter. Out of necessity, Douglas came in - and that turned out well for Southern, which scored with 9 seconds left to top the Hornets 26-23.
Joseph suffered a concussion in the second quarter when, after throwing an incomplete pass, his smacked the hard artificial turf. He eventually returned to the visitor’s sideline and watched the game in warmups. Joseph completed seven of 16 passes for 72 yards before his exit.
READ MORE
But while Jackson State was demolishing Alabama A&M 34-6 -- giving ASU a berth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game provided they won -- the Jaguars were weaving their own brand of voodoo magic.
Alabama State highlights vs. Southern University: Nov. 12, at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. Watch game highlights and postgame interview with ASU coach Reggie Barlow. (Video courtesy ASU)
And when Brian McCann landed in the end zone from a yard out with nine seconds left, it was Southern, not Alabama State, that pulled out a 26-23 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of 8,255 stunned fans at the Cramton Bowl.
"It hurts," said Jenkins, who sparked the Hornets to 16 fourth-quarter points. "I'm ready to play right now, just to get that bad taste out of my mouth."
READ MORE
Finally!: Late TD helps SU sting Hornets
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The moment of truth was at hand. Moments earlier, in what looked like another trademark collapse, the Southern football team fizzled on offense, made too many late mistakes on defense and gave away a fourth-quarter lead to Alabama State.
But before freshman quarterback J.P. Douglas led the Jaguars to a game-winning touchdown with 9 seconds left in a 26-23 thriller at the Cramton Bowl, he and his teammates had a short meeting with coach Stump Mitchell on the visitors sideline. So many times, the Jaguars had been in this spot before. So many times, they caved under pressure.
“Coach told us we needed to come together as an offense,” Douglas said. “He told us, remember all the times that we lost the close ones. Win this close one.’ “ They did. Southern took over at its own 27-yard line with 2:59 remaining.
READ MORE
Payton fires up defense
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Suspended two weeks for his role in a postgame brawl, Southern linebacker Jamie Payton was despondent. In losing his cool at the wrong time, he’d prevented himself from doing the one thing he loved most: playing football.
So when Payton returned Saturday in the Cramton Bowl, he played with passion. He tried to get the most out of every snap in a 26-23 upset win against Alabama State. It showed.
Though Payton and the Jaguars defense were sloppy in the fourth quarter, they made enough key plays to help Southern win - and for much of the sunny, mild afternoon, Payton was anything but mild. He led the charge, finishing with a team-high 10 tackles to go along with an interception and a 48-yard fumble return.
READ MORE
Douglas steps up at QB
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Last week, Southern football coach Stump Mitchell said he planned to use freshman J.P. Douglas as his starting quarterback for the rest of the season. He changed his mind, starting sophomore Dray Joseph when the team faced Alabama State in the Cramton Bowl on Saturday.
Before long, it didn’t matter. Out of necessity, Douglas came in - and that turned out well for Southern, which scored with 9 seconds left to top the Hornets 26-23.
Joseph suffered a concussion in the second quarter when, after throwing an incomplete pass, his smacked the hard artificial turf. He eventually returned to the visitor’s sideline and watched the game in warmups. Joseph completed seven of 16 passes for 72 yards before his exit.
READ MORE
Tennessee State Tigers gets familiar with comeback victories
Nashville, Tennessee -- For the second consecutive week, Tennessee State overcame a double-digit deficit to keep alive its hopes of posting a winning record. After falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter, the Tigers scored four consecutive touchdowns, then had to hold UT Martin off for a 35-30 victory.
The Tigers (5-5, 4-3 OVC) end the season next week at home against Jacksonville State. An LP Field crowd of 19,537 watched TSU claim its fourth win in five games. The Tigers’ last winning season came in 2008 when they finished 8-4.
Last week, TSU fell behind Eastern Illinois 17-5 in the third quarter and battled back for an 18-17 win. “The Cardiac Kids is taken, the Comeback Kids is taken; I don’t know what you should call us,” TSU Coach Rod Reed said. “But I don’t want us to have a nickname like that. I don’t want us to have to win like this anymore.”
UT Martin (5-5, 4-3) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and threatened to take back the lead when it recovered an onside kick with 2:47 remaining and then drove into TSU territory.
Photo Gallary: TSU vs. UT-Martin
READ MORE
Xavier Nuggets finish the job, sweep SUNO to win GCAC tourney
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Moira Kirk knew it during warmups Saturday. Taylor Reuther knew it during the first set. Coach Christabell Hamilton knew it late in the third set.
All three were confident, though at different points, that the Xavier University of Louisiana's women's volleyball team was going to win the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Gold Nuggets concluded a 4-0 run through the three-day, double-elimination event with a 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 victory Saturday against city rival SUNO.
The victory was the school-record-tying eighth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (23-6), who earned the GCAC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which will begin next Saturday at 12 campus sites. Teams and pairings will be announced early next week. It's the first conference tournament championship and bid to nationals for the Gold Nuggets' 4-year-old program which began in 2003, then took a hiatus in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina before resurfacing a year ago.
Reuther, who shared tournament MVP with Talladega's Shalitha Swain, had 10 kills and 18 digs in the title match. Kirk, Xavier's other all-tournament selection, hit .609 -- 16 kills in 23 attacks with no errors -- and had seven blocks. Both Reuther and Kirk are among seven Xavier freshmen this season, four of whom started in the title match.
Chinedu Echebelem, another freshman, and Iva Bobkova had five kills apiece, and Celeste Poe had 13 digs for Xavier.
Third-seeded SUNO (20-11) eliminated defending champion and second-seeded Dillard 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 and had just 30 minutes to replenish calories and prepare for a championship round in which the Lady Knights would need two more victories to prevent a Xavier championship. But the Gold Nuggets -- who sent Dillard into the losers bracket Friday with a one-for-the ages rally from two sets down -- started strongly with 5-0 and 15-5 first-set leads. SUNO's only leads in the final were at 2-1 and 4-3 in the third set, and the Lady Knights finished second for the second consecutive year.
"We had energy and an excitement to win," said Kirk, announced Wednesday as GCAC Freshman of the Year. "We had fought too hard against Dillard last night. We didn't want to give up after fighting for it so much.
"I just felt in the warmup we were going to win. We're always high energy when we warm up, but this time it just felt different."
Reuther couldn't make any predictions until after the Nuggets' blazing start in which they produced seven kills, two aces and a block in the first 18 rallies.
"We crushed SUNO's momentum from the beginning," said Reuther, who had 11 second-set digs en route to her team-leading 12th kill-dig double-double. "We stuck together after that and played Xavier volleyball. I had confidence we were going to finish strongly."
Hamilton didn't feel confident until the final 10 rallies, and before that she kept reminding her team "that if we didn't stay focused we could easily end up the way Dillard did last night -- winning the first two sets and not being able to finish. We had to finish strongly."
Kirk led the way in that department. Her final six swings in the third all went for kills. Xavier hit .320 with 39 kills and seven errors in 100 attacks.
Xavier won all 14 of its matches this season against the GCAC -- the Nuggets were 10-0 in the regular season and won that championship too -- in a rags-to-riches climb from 11-26 in 2010. Hamilton, hired in mid-June, is in her first season as a collegiate head coach. She'll turn 30 Christmas Day.
"This has been a great experience," Kirk said. "Learning and becoming a better volleyball player . . . and bonding as a team."
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCACSPORTS
All three were confident, though at different points, that the Xavier University of Louisiana's women's volleyball team was going to win the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Gold Nuggets concluded a 4-0 run through the three-day, double-elimination event with a 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 victory Saturday against city rival SUNO.
The victory was the school-record-tying eighth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (23-6), who earned the GCAC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which will begin next Saturday at 12 campus sites. Teams and pairings will be announced early next week. It's the first conference tournament championship and bid to nationals for the Gold Nuggets' 4-year-old program which began in 2003, then took a hiatus in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina before resurfacing a year ago.
Reuther, who shared tournament MVP with Talladega's Shalitha Swain, had 10 kills and 18 digs in the title match. Kirk, Xavier's other all-tournament selection, hit .609 -- 16 kills in 23 attacks with no errors -- and had seven blocks. Both Reuther and Kirk are among seven Xavier freshmen this season, four of whom started in the title match.
Chinedu Echebelem, another freshman, and Iva Bobkova had five kills apiece, and Celeste Poe had 13 digs for Xavier.
Third-seeded SUNO (20-11) eliminated defending champion and second-seeded Dillard 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22 and had just 30 minutes to replenish calories and prepare for a championship round in which the Lady Knights would need two more victories to prevent a Xavier championship. But the Gold Nuggets -- who sent Dillard into the losers bracket Friday with a one-for-the ages rally from two sets down -- started strongly with 5-0 and 15-5 first-set leads. SUNO's only leads in the final were at 2-1 and 4-3 in the third set, and the Lady Knights finished second for the second consecutive year.
"We had energy and an excitement to win," said Kirk, announced Wednesday as GCAC Freshman of the Year. "We had fought too hard against Dillard last night. We didn't want to give up after fighting for it so much.
"I just felt in the warmup we were going to win. We're always high energy when we warm up, but this time it just felt different."
Reuther couldn't make any predictions until after the Nuggets' blazing start in which they produced seven kills, two aces and a block in the first 18 rallies.
"We crushed SUNO's momentum from the beginning," said Reuther, who had 11 second-set digs en route to her team-leading 12th kill-dig double-double. "We stuck together after that and played Xavier volleyball. I had confidence we were going to finish strongly."
Hamilton didn't feel confident until the final 10 rallies, and before that she kept reminding her team "that if we didn't stay focused we could easily end up the way Dillard did last night -- winning the first two sets and not being able to finish. We had to finish strongly."
Kirk led the way in that department. Her final six swings in the third all went for kills. Xavier hit .320 with 39 kills and seven errors in 100 attacks.
Xavier won all 14 of its matches this season against the GCAC -- the Nuggets were 10-0 in the regular season and won that championship too -- in a rags-to-riches climb from 11-26 in 2010. Hamilton, hired in mid-June, is in her first season as a collegiate head coach. She'll turn 30 Christmas Day."This has been a great experience," Kirk said. "Learning and becoming a better volleyball player . . . and bonding as a team."
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: GCACSPORTS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)