Fayetteville State, Campbell fire football coaches

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina  --  The man who restored Fayetteville State to football prominence has coached his last game for the Broncos.

Kenny Phillips, who led FSU to three Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles and more wins than anyone in school history, will be reassigned to another job within the athletic department, school officials confirmed Monday.

"We are working out the final details of it right now,'' athletic spokesman Adrian Ferguson said. "What I can say is he is being reassigned within the department.''

Phillips was not the only region coach to lose his job Monday. Campbell fired Dale Steele after nearly five seasons but he will coach the Camels in their final two games this year.

FSU athletic director, Edward McLean, declined comment about Phillips' situation. McLean said he would have more to say about the situation after a press release was sent out today.

Phillips, who has a year remaining on his contract with FSU, was still trying to come to grips with being removed from the job he'd held for 13 seasons.

"I haven't had time to digest what went down today,'' Phillips said when reached by phone Monday night. "I don't know how to describe it. It was odd and awkward, if you ask me.

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Delta Devils end 5-game losing streak to Alcorn State

ITTA BENA, Mississippi – For the first time since 2006, Mississippi Valley State sent Alcorn State home with a loss.

The Delta Devils upended the Braves 33-9 Saturday at Rice-Totten Stadium using a stout defensive effort and a dominating rushing attack to end a five-game losing streak to the Braves. MVSU last defeated Alcorn in 2006.

Despite outgaining the Delta Devils 289 to 247, MVSU (3-6, 3-4 SWAC) raced past Alcorn (3-6, 3-4 SWAC) to end a two-game losing streak.

“We won the game, that’s the bottom line,” said MVSU head coach Karl Morgan.

MVSU senior running back Trey Bateaste rushed for three first half touchdowns that gave the Delta Devils a 20-3 halftime lead.

Valley quarterback Garrick Jones scrambled for a 16-yard TD near the end of the third quarter to give the Delta Devils a powering 27-3 lead.

The Braves scored its only TD late in the fourth quarter on a 55-yard strike from John Gibbs to Anthony Williams III.

MVSU sophomore running back Cortez Frizell put the finishing touches on the victory with a 45-yard TD run with 36 seconds left in the game.




“It was good to finish the way we finished,” said Morgan.

Frizell led Valley in rushing with 63 yards on seven carries while Bateaste added 59 yards and three TDs on 12 attempts.

Julian Stafford finished with three catches for 57 yards.

MVSU senior linebacker Keven Woods had another dominating defensive outing, leading the Delta Devils with eight tackles and two sacks. Jeremy Langston and Leployer Franklin had eight tackles apiece for Valley.

Alcorn State quarterback Gibbs led the Braves in rushing with 68 yards on 11 carries. He finished 13of-35 through the air for 162 yards with a TD and two interceptions.

MVSU’s Carlos Hollis and Keven Eugene each had an interception.

MVSU will be at home next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Prairie View.

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Jackson State flattens Grambling, 53-17

GRAMBLING, Louisiana — Jackson State’s five-game losing streak to SWAC rival Grambling State is officially a thing of the past.

And it wasn’t even close.

JSU scored 32 unanswered points in the first half, Clayton Moore threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns and senior Rico Richardson had 115 receiving yards in a 53-17 victory today at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium.

“I’m just happy with the way the kids responded,” JSU coach Rick Comegy said. “I was just happy and pleased to see us come out here and not let a fired up Grambling team take it to us because they’ve been beating us for a quite a few years.”

JSU relished the opportunity to kick the host Tigers while they’re down. GSU fell to 1-8 overall and remained winless (0-7) in SWAC play.

JSU (5-4, 5-2 SWAC) hosts Alabama A&M (7-2, 6-2 SWAC) next Saturday in what will be a critical Eastern Division game. JSU can clinch the division with a win over the Bulldogs. The Tigers can still clinch the division with a loss if Alabama A&M loses one of its remaining games.




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Alabama State reserve QB Daniel Duhart named SWAC Newcomer of the Week

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  --  It would've been hard for things to look worse for Alabama State early on at Prairie View A&M this past Saturday.

With their Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game hopes on the line, the Hornets were down 14. Then, senior Greg Jenkins, the Hornets second-year starter at quarterback and the conference's reining Offensive Player of the Week, went down with an injury.

Insert 6-foot sophomore Daniel Duhart.

The Macon, Ga. native led the Bulldogs to 20 second-quarter points on their way to a 35-21 win at Blackshear Field. He completed 22 of 31 passing attempts for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns and was named SWAC Newcomer of the Week Monday.

 

"We've got a lot of confidence in him," Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said of Duhart during Monday's SWAC coaches' teleconference. "This guy is a pinpoint passer, really cerebral, smart guy, understands the game and we gave him the opportunity to play. He took ownership of the offense and did some really good things for us."

 

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DWIGHT FLOYD COMMENTARY: Head Coaching Job Vacancy

DWIGHT FLOYD
"The Editor"
SportsEdit.Org

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- The anticipated head coaching vacancy at Florida A&M University is just one of many yet to come.

Picking the right person is crucial and should involve more than chasing after the old and familiar. One of the complaints by fans is that HBCUs tend to recruit within the “chitlings circuit” and are reluctant to go after the unknown and perhaps better candidate.

 If you were given the privilege of interviewing candidates to fill the vacancy what questions would you ask; or are you one of those persons who for some reason feel qualified to take the head coaching job yourself?

 Well here’s your chance to see if you qualify for a personal interview. Answer the simple questionnaire (written interview) below and see where you stand. The responses are not retained in our database and you may retry as many times as you like. This is not an official interview and it won’t get you a job. It will give you a few things to think about though.

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Tennessee State Tigers' OVC hopes take a hit

MURRAY, KY. — Murray State’s ticking time-bomb offense finally exploded against Tennessee State on Saturday and left the No. 18 Tigers in shambles.

The Racers scored the last 29 points in a 12-minute span to come from behind and beat TSU 49-28 at Roy Stewart Stadium before a crowd of 3,112.

TSU (8-2, 4-2 OVC) shouldn’t have been surprised. The Racers scored 44 points in the first 27:50 last year on their way to a 58-27 rout.

“They just got into a rhythm,” said TSU safety Daniel Fitzpatrick, who led TSU with 10 tackles. “They’re a deadly team when they get into a rhythm. We kept them out of it up until that point, but that doesn’t matter. If you don’t keep them out of it the whole game you saw what can happen.”

The Tigers were without sophomore defensive back Steven Godbolt, who suffered a concussion last week. Godbolt came into the game leading the OVC with six interceptions.

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TSU coach: Injuries to starters didn't lose this game

MURRAY, Kentucky  --  Tennessee State was short-handed with cornerback Steven Godbolt sidelined with a concussion and offensive tackle Rogers Gaines out with a sprained ankle, but coach Rod Reed refused to blame the 49-28 loss to Murray State on injuries.

Strong safety Daniel Fitzpatrick also was nursing a shoulder injury, which kept him out of contact practice last week, but he led the Tigers with 10 tackles, all solos.

Starting free safety David Van Dyke injured his knee but was able to continue.

It was the most significant injuries TSU has had to deal with in any game this season.

“We were missing some guys, but injuries weren’t the reason we lost,” Reed said. “(Murray) did a better job of coaching in the second half than we did. We made some minor adjustments, and I guess they adjusted a little better than we did.”

Reed said Godbolt, who leads the OVC with six interceptions and has 41 tackles, will not practice next week because the Tigers have a bye on Saturday.

 

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Special Teams Magic Lifts NCCU Eagles to Double OT Win Over Delaware State Hornets

DURHAM, North Carolina  —  North Carolina Central University took advantage of clutch special teams plays to pull out a 23-20 double-overtime victory over Delaware State University, thrilling a sellout homecoming crowd of 12,742 fans inside O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C.

The win pushed the Eagles into second place in the MEAC standings and clinched the program’s first winning season since 2007.

NCCU senior running back and return specialist Arthur Goforth started the special teams highlights with a dazzling 92-yard punt return for a touchdown, the longest in school history, to give the Eagles a 17-10 lead in the third quarter.

Delaware State took advantage of an NCCU fumble by driving 42 yards on eight plays to tie the score at 17-17 with one tick on the clock in the third stanza.

As the contest slipped into overtime, DSU kicker Mitchell Ward, who missed a 21-yard field goal with 3:11 left in regulation, converted a 25-yard field goal on the first possession of the first overtime to provide the Hornets with their first lead of the day.

When NCCU got the ball, the Hornets’ fifth sack of the contest pushed the Eagles back to the 29-yard line, forcing sophomore kicker Oleg Parent to try a 46-yard field goal to extend the game. With the homecoming crowd on its feet, Parent nailed the career-long three-pointer to force a second overtime.

Parent came through again for NCCU when he connected on his third field goal of the afternoon from 26 yards out to put the Eagles ahead by three points after the opening possession of the second overtime.



On DSU’s possession, NCCU senior defensive end Xavier Proctor sacked Hornets’ quarterback Nick Elko, moving the ball back to the 17-yard line. Needing a field goal to send the contest into a third overtime session, Ward’s 34-yard kick was blocked by redshirt senior defensive back Malik Cromartie, the fifth blocked kick of his NCCU career, igniting a swarming celebration on the home field.

Cromartie, who also blocked a field goal in last year’s 14-7 win at Delaware State, topped the NCCU defense with 12 tackles (9 solo) and four pass break-ups. Junior linebacker Tazmon Foster contributed 10 stops, including a sack, while Proctor recorded nine takedowns with two hits for a loss, including that critical sack in overtime.

Goforth, who ranks second in the conference in all-purpose yards, added to his total with 225 all-purpose yards on Saturday. The electrifying senior amassed a team-best 61 rushing yards, 15 receiving yards, 57 kickoff return yards and 92 yards on the recording-breaking punt return. Goforth now has six career special teams touchdowns with three kickoff return scores and three punt return visits to the end zone.

NCCU redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Reid completed 18-of-27 passes for 126 yards, including a 3-yard lob to a leaping Jonathan Nicely for a second-quarter touchdown. Redshirt senior receiver Decona Roberts led the Eagles with five receptions for 65 yards, while senior tight end Detwan Robinson, redshirt senior Geovonie Irvine and Goforth each had three catches.

Elko’s efficient play at quarterback for the Hornets continued, as the senior completed 35-of-56 passes for 305 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown to senior receiver Justin Wilson to tie the score at 10-10 in the second quarter. Wilson finished with 12 receptions for 138 yards.

DSU’s defense, which collected three interceptions and a fumble recovery, was topped by sophomore Joe Boyd with a game-high nine tackles. Rookie Terrick Colston posted 11 stops, including an assisted takedown for a loss, along with an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for the Hornets.

NCCU improves to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the MEAC, while DSU falls to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.

Next week, the Eagles travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to face Florida A&M. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m., as the Rattlers host homecoming.

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