Lincoln Blue Tigers Fall in Defensive Tussle

QUINCY, Illinois -- In a game controlled by defense and special teams, Quincy edged the Lincoln football team, 7-3, on Saturday night (Sept. 16).

Lincoln (1-2, 0-1 GLVC) held Quincy (2-1, 1-0 GLVC) to just 55 yards through the air, but 48 came on the decisive touchdown pass in the third quarter. The Hawks also rushed for 134 yards, but averaged 3.6 yards per play while the Blue Tigers averaged 4.4.

The Blue Tigers got on the board with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter, as Wolky Belancourt hit a 45-yard field goal to give LU the early lead. Eriq Torrey hauled in a 22-yard pass from Henry Ogala to begin the drive, and Miles Drummond had 16 rushing yards to set up the early score.

Near the end of the third quarter, Lincoln nearly re-took the lead. Ogala found Harold Lacy for a 20-yard gain, then later found him again on a 31-yard pass that ended in Lacy being tackled just outside the end zone. On the next play, however, the Blue Tigers fumbled while running into the end zone, and Quincy recovered for a touchback.

Lacy and A'Jani Johnson led Lincoln with 53 receiving yards apiece, with Lacy averaging 13.3 yards per catch and Johnson finishing with a team-high eight receptions. Blake Tibbs caught five passes for 49 yards while Justin Korakakos made two grabs for 19 yards. Lacy also gained 49 yards on 16 carries, and Drummond finished with 34 rushing yards.

Ogala completed 15 passes for 166 yards, and Eugene Sainterling went 5-for-8 for 30 yards. On special teams, Wolky Belancourt averaged 60.0 yards on kickoffs and 34.6 yard on punts while Tibbs averaged 21 yard on kick returns.

Aaron Brown had nine tackles to lead the Lincoln defense, followed by Willard Cotton with eight and Taj Moore and Addison Tucker with five apiece. Isaiah Gray made a pair of tackles for loss, and he and Jervonta Jones each were credited with a sack. Moore and Antonio Watts broke up passes, and Julius Jackson had a quarterback hurry.

Lincoln will be back in Jefferson City next Saturday (Sept. 23) to host Truman State at 2:00 p.m. CDT. In addition to be LU's annual Homecoming game, it will also be the Blue Tigers' Blue Out game, as fans are encouraged to arrive decked out in their favorite blue Lincoln gear.

BOX SCORE

Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

TSU Remains Perfect with 24-13 Win over FAMU in Tampa Classic

TAMPA, Florida -- AMPA, Fla. --- Steady offense and another strong performance by the defense lifted the Tennessee State football team to a 24-13 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium in the FAMU Tampa Classic. The win moves TSU to 3-0 to start the season for the second year in a row.

The Tigers held a 10-6 edge over the Rattlers (1-2) at the half before outscoring FAMU by a 14-7 margin the rest of the way.

Quarterback Treon Harris threw touchdown passes to Steven Newbold and Patrick Smith on the night, while sophomore running back Seth Rowland added another touchdown on the ground for the Tigers.

Newbold was named MVP for TSU in the game.



WHAT’S NEXT:
The Tigers will open Ohio Valley Conference play with a trip to UT Martin on Saturday, Sept. 23.

NOTES
Tennessee State is ranked 22nd in the STATS Top 25 and 24th in the FCS Coaches Poll
Captains for TSU were Chris Collins, Patrick Smith, Ebo Ogundeko and Lane Clark
FAMU won the coin toss and deferred the opening kickoff.
Official attendance for the FAMU Tampa Classic was 17,102
Tennessee State now leads the all-time series versus Florida A&M by a 30-25 margin.
TSU has won six in a row versus the Rattlers.
TSU is 3-0 for the second year in a row.

QUOTES

Senior Defensive Lineman Jason Marrow

“It’s always good to win. I’m going to say what I said last week, it’s still early in the season. We still have to go out there and keep working because we still have a long road ahead of us. We’ve got a lot of teams that we need to beat on our schedule.”
- On the win tonight

“Being relentless and coming off the ball. Not taking ‘no’ for an answer. Points are points. We have to do whatever we can to keep the offense off the board.”
- On blocking the kicks

“It was just in the moment. I just did what I was taught. I just wanted to get back there and make something happen.”
- On how he blocked the kicks

Senior Wide Receiver Patrick Smith

“We stepped it up, especially after the first two games. In the first half, we started off slowly, but we saw that we could do what we wanted to do. We picked it up in the second half. As we keep going on throughout the season, especially going into conference play, we need to keep getting better.”
- On the play of the offense

“It’s very important to be 3-0 right now. It builds confidence in the team. It helps you think about being 4-0, 5-0 and take it one game at a time. We feel like the only people who can stop us is us. You can tell from this game. We had a lot of mistakes that took us back on offense, but once we get it together, we’ll be very, very explosive and hard to stop.”
- On being 3-0




Senior Defensive Lineman Latrelle Lee

“We missed a couple tackles here and there. We weren’t as precise and fundamentally sound as we’ve been, but we played a good game and got the win.”
- On the defense

“That’s big. Just mentally being 3-0 is always a good thing. To be undefeated heading into conference and keeping that streak alive, we want to keep it going.”
- On being undefeated through three games

“It’s always good to beat your rivals. It’s a storied rivalry, so it’s great to get the win.”
- On beating Florida A&M

Junior Quarterback Treon Harris

“Controlling the line of scrimmage was big. We controlled the line of scrimmage from the offensive line. They did a great job of moving their guys out of the way to create some lanes to run the ball and throw the ball.”

- On the success of the offense

“It means a lot. Nobody wants to leave the stadium with a loss in a classic game and a rivalry game like this. We prepared all week and we got better. We executed the plan that we had.”
B
- On beating FAMU

“In my home state. It was great. I had my mother, my dad, my grandma, my auntie and friends here. And my daughter, this was her first game seeing me play, so it’s special.”
- On winning in the state of Florida

BOX SCORE

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Richmond Spiders Re-Write the Record Books in Home Opener with Howard Bison

RICHMOND, Virginia -- It was a record-breaking performance at Robins Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the University of Richmond football team (2-1) rolled past the Howard Bison (1-2), 68-21, in the home opener.

The 68 points are the most by a Spider offense, all-time, against a Division I opponent and Lauletta's six passing touchdowns are a single-game program record. Sophomore running back Jay Palmer had the game of his career, collecting 102 yards on the ground to go with one catch for six yards and a pair of touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, LB Dale Matthews was the catalyst. He has just three tackles but contributed half a sack and two interceptions in the first half that set the tone early on. Those picks were the first of his career, at any level of football.



The stage was set early when, at the end of the first Howard drive, DB Daniel Jones blocked a field goal attempt. The sophomore drove through the line, untouched, and dove to send the try flying. Then it was the offense telling the story of this game.

Lauletta led the Spiders on a 73-yard drive that ended with a Deontez Thompson rushing score and was followed up just a few minutes later with a Gordon Collins receiving touchdown to quickly make it 14-0.

LB Dale Matthews collected his first interception of the game on the next Howard drive which led to the Spiders scoring early in the second quarter to make it 20-0. Collins ran for the score this time, giving him back-to-back touchdowns. From that point forward it was the Kyle Lauletta show.

The senior QB hit Cortrelle Simpson for his second passing touchdown of the game on the next drive then a second Matthews interception set up a pass to Porter Abell to make it 34-0 with 8:44 still left to play in the half. Howard punted again and two plays later it was Abell running down the sideline for a 70-yard catch and run to pay dirt. Lauletta tacked on a passing touchdown to Jay Palmer before the half came to a close.

The Exton, Pa. native threw for five scores in the first half, already matching his own school record but managed to do so by throwing for just 234 yards. The 48 points were the most in the first half against a Division I opponent in school history, as were the 34, second quarter points.



The second half began with the starters still on the field. The opening drive came to a close with Lauletta hitting Tyler Wilkins over the middle who hit a spin move, shed his would-be tackler and had nothing but green in front of him for a 34-yard score. With his sixth touchdown pass Lauletta set the new single-game program passing touchdown record.

Jay Palmer later added one more scores en route to becoming the first Spider running back this season to eclipse the century mark, even after never doing-so himself prior to Saturday.

Freshman QB Joe Mancuso led the final touchdown drive for UR. He took the team 75 yards down the field without throwing a pass and finished it off with the first rushing score of his career to cap it off.

Richmond will be back at home next weekend to host Elon in its CAA opener. That game is set to kick off at 6 p.m.

BOX SCORE

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

JMU Dukes Rush Past Norfolk State, 75-14, in Non-Conference Finale

HARRISONBURG, Virginia -- Top-ranked James Madison bulldozed its way to over 400 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground en route to a dominant 75-14 victory against Norfolk State in its football non-conference finale on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

The Dukes (3-0) amassed 472 rushing yards, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. They were led by junior running back Trai Sharp who ran for 130 yards and a touchdown on just nine touches (14.4 ypc) and freshman Percy Agyei-Obese, who finished with 103 yards and a score in his first career game. Three other Dukes ran for over 50 yards in junior Marcus Marshall (64 yards, 2 TD), redshirt senior Cardon Johnson (57 yards) and senior Bryan Schor (54 yards, TD).



QUICK HITS

JMU gained 728 yards of total offense, which was just one yard shy of the program-record 729 yards gained back on Sept. 26, 2015 at FBS-foe SMU.
The Dukes limited the Spartans to only 91 yards of offense, marking the largest margin of total offense difference between two teams in JMU's 46-year history.
The team had six different players score rushing touchdowns, led by Marshall's two.
The Dukes scored 35 points in the second quarter, tying the program mark for most points in a single quarter.
Schor passed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, while Cole Johnson had 99 passing yards and a touchdown.
Two freshmen Dukes scored first career touchdowns in tight end Clayton Cheatham (rec. TD) and Agyei-Obese (rush TD).
Dukes had a pair of points in special teams when Bryce Maginley blocked a punt in the end zone, resulting in a safety.

BOX SCORE

DEFENSE COMES UP BIG ONCE AGAIN
The Dukes' defense had another sterling afternoon, holding Norfolk State to just 91 total yards of offense, 28 of which came in the final quarter, and without an offensive touchdown. JMU surrendered just 1.9 yards per play and only allowed the Spartans to cross midfield on three offensive drives.

view full photo gallery

3-0 START FOR THE DUKES

• Fifth time in school history JMU starts a season 3-0
• First time since 2015 when the Dukes began 7-0 - program best start to a year
• Win extended JMU's D1-leading win streak to 15 straight games, which is just two shy of Richmond's CAA-record 17 straight (2008-09)

OFFENSE GOES OVER 70

• Most points since scoring 84 against Rhode Island back on Oct. 29, 2016
• This is the third time JMU has scored more than 70 points under Head Coach Mike Houston
• Also the eighth game since start of 2016 going over 50 points

UP NEXT
JMU opens Colonial Athletic Association play next Saturday, Sept. 23 when it hosts Maine for Family Weekend. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Stadium.

JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS 

'An unlikely path': Former FAMU tennis player Kamau Murray coaches US Open finalist

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Kamau Murray didn’t attend Florida A&M thinking he'd wind up coaching tennis.

Murray was on FAMU's campus from 1998 until 2004 – four of those years were spent on scholarship with the tennis team. He got his MBA from FAMU’s School of Business and Industry, settled into corporate pharmaceutical work and coached tennis part-time to help children.

For the most part, he was content. That was flipped on its head in 2015, when he decided to quit his job at Novo Nordisk, Inc., and become a full-time coach.

Now 36, Murray is not only a full-time tennis coach, but he’s coaching 24-year-old Sloane Stephens, a rising American star. He’ll be watching closely on Saturday as his student looks to win the U.S. Open in New York.

Murray still calls the career change a risk.

“I definitely did not come to FAMU with the idea of being a tennis coach,” Murray said over the phone.

“I fell in love with the process of transformation young people into great adults. I gave up my corporate job, which SBI trained me for, and took a risk. I was making money in my corporate job. I gave it up to focus on a purpose. This is very fulfilling, to be able to help somebody achieve their dream.”



CONTINUE READING

S.C. STATE FOOTBALL: Bulldogs ready for long-awaited home opener

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The football season for South Carolina State should get rolling forward Saturday when the Bulldogs welcome Johnson C. Smith to Oliver C. Dawson Stadium for the home opener.

Not only will it be the first time S.C. State has played since a 14-8 loss in the season opener at Southern in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Sept. 3, it will be the first time the 0-2 Golden Bulls have played outside of Charlotte this season.

That's right, the Bulldogs haven't played a home game and the Golden Bulls haven't played a road game. But they have three losses and no wins between them. Something has got to give Saturday.

"We didn't even score a touchdown in that first game and, at this point, it's been so long ago I almost can't use that information as something to reflect on," Pough said, since it will have been nearly 13 full days since the Bulldogs last played. "We've still got lots of work to do, maybe on both sides of the ball.

"We need to play better, especially in the early part of the game. Looking back, the weather part I think had a big impact on what we looked like. Now, the fact that we have to go back out and play in the same kind of circumstances, you know, on turf in 90 degrees and humidity, it's kind of a repeat of what we went through. You can run but you can't hide. We have to learn how to deal with those circumstances."

CONTINUE READING

Richmond’s national championship coach returning to face Spiders

RICHMOND, Virginia -- The announcement of the visiting head coach before a game doesn’t always draw loud applause, but it will on Saturday when eighth-ranked Richmond hosts Howard.

Howard first-year coach Mike London led Richmond to the 2008 FCS national championship in the first of his two seasons guiding the Spiders. The 56-year-old also is a Richmond graduate and had two different stints as a Spiders assistant coach before returning to his alma mater.



Richmond is playing its home opener at Robins Stadium under new head coach Russ Huesman, who was London’s defensive coordinator in 2008 before he left to become Chattanooga’s head coach.

“Just knowing the area, just knowing there’s a rich tradition there in terms of success on the field and in the classroom, and having been a part of that it makes you proud,” London said. “But also humbled in a way that I’m at a place like Howard University that has similar academics aspects and wanting to be good from a football, athletic standpoint. It will be one of those things that, obviously, what matters is the focus on the game. It’s not about me coming back, it’s about preparing a football team to play another good football team, an FCS opponent that over the years has been one of the top programs.

CONTINUE READING