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TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- There is plenty of offense among the SWAC and MEAC teams, but not a lot of defense. Howard is making a statement as a legitimate forerunner and the team that other MEAC teams do not want to play. Against Bethune Cookman the Bisons rushed for 343 yards and passed for 157. Add that up and you have 500 total yards in regulation time. They beat Division 1 FCS team UNLV at the Rebel’s home stadium during week 1. They lost last week to Richmond 68-21 as the Spiders found a way to slow them down and continue scoring. Their only other loss was to FCS Kent State. If they continue to improve they’ll be a headache for the rest of the teams in the MEAC. As much as teams are scoring, the championship will likely come down to who plays the better defense.
Alabama State for whatever reason appears to be going in the wrong direction. They couldn’t score against Prairie View and are winless so far, this season. There is still plenty of time though for them to turn things around. While Grambling and Alcorn are doing what they normally do in the SWAC, Prairie View is showing signs that they may be able to challenge for the top. Meanwhile, the two North Carolina schools, A&T State and Central, have already beaten tough teams to claim their place at the top of the MEAC. So, who is the best of the best after week 4?
CHICAGO, Illinois -- | Devante Kincade came off the bench to provide an offensive spark as the Grambling State University football team started slow in defeating Clark Atlanta, 31-20, on Saturday afternoon during the 20th Anniversary of the Chicago Football Classic at Solider Field.
Kincade, who replaced Tigers starter Geremy Hickbottom after an injury in the first quarter, tossed three touchdown passes and threw for 230 yards on 19-of-31 passing.
Clark Atlanta (3-2) struck first with a 13-play, 88-yard drive, capped by a Carlos Saldana 29-yard field goal to give the Panthers an early 3-0 lead.
After the two teams traded possessions, Grambling State (3-2) responded with a six-play drive. Kincade tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to the back corner of the end zone to Darrell Clark with 3:20 remaining in the opening quarter and gave Grambling State a 7-3 lead.
The Tigers forced a turnover on the Panthers' next offensive possession and Grambling State took advantage.
Kincade connected with Jordan Jones, who sprinted 59 yards to paydirt, to give the Tigers a 14-3 advantage with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded punts, Grambling State got an interception by Chris Grant, to set up shop at the Panther 35-yard line. The Tigers got a 26-yard field goal by Marc Orozco to push the advantage to 17-3 with 12:17 left in the first half.
Clark Atlanta responded with an eight-play, 82-yard drive and used 3:26 off the clock as Deandre Jackson caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Johnathon McCrary to cut the Grambling State lead to 17-10 with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter.
The Panthers continued to trim the margin as Saldana kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1:19 left in the first half as Clark Atlanta closed the gap to 17-13.
Grambling State got the ball to begin the second half and the Tigers marched 45 yards in just three plays to extend the lead to 24-13. Kincade, with his third touchdown pass of the day, found a wide-open Jones down the left sideline for the 36-yard score with 13:55 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers started to pull away late in the third as Grambling State used a 65-yard drive and took 2:15 off the clock as Lyndemian Brooks scored on a two-yard run, with 2:43 left, to push the advantage to 31-13.
Clark Atlanta closed the margin to 31-20 with 3:53 remaining as McCrary connected with Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get.
Turning Point
Grambling State started out of the gate slowly, but found its rhythm late in the opening quarter.
With starting quarterback sidelined with an injury, Devante Kincade came off the bench to provide the spark. The senior from Dallas, Texas connected with Darrell Clark for the first touchdown pass, a 23-yarder, and hit Jordan Jones for a 59-yard strike to give the Tigers a 14-3 lead with a little over a minute left in the first quarter.
Despite a sluggish second quarter, Kincade continued his big day, and found a wide open Jones down the left sideline for the 36-yard score.
Inside the Numbers
· Devante Kincade threw three touchdowns and was 19-of-31 passing for 230 yards.
· Grambling State amassed 313 total yards of offense, including 239 yards in the air.
· Clark Atlanta finished with 428 total yards, including 371 through the air.
· Grambling State registered 10 first-half penalties for 104 yards and finished with 17 for 181 yards.
· Darrell Clark caught four passes for 48 yards and one score.
· De'Arius Christmas recorded 13 tackles, including six solo stops and one quarterback hurry.
· Ja'Terrious Pouncy added five tackles, three solo, and one interception.
· Johnathon McCrary threw for 371 yards on 23-of-55 passing and had four interceptions.
· Deandre Jackson finished with eight catches for 129 yards and a pair of scores.
· J. Victrum finished with 14 tackles, including 11 solo and one sack.
· Grambling State went 1-for-1 in fourth-down conversions. News & Notes
· Devante Kincade was named the Chicago Football Classic Offensive Most Valuable Player.
· Ja'Terious Pouncy was selected the Chicago Football Classic Defensive Most Valuable Player.
· Saturday's game was the first meeting between Grambling State and Clark Atlanta.
· Grambling State came into the game ranked No. 19 in the FCS Coaches Preseason Poll, #21 in the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll, No. 1 in the SBN Sports Network Black College Football Poll and No. 2 in the BOXTOROW Coaches and Media Poll.
· Saturday's game was just the second time in the 20-year history of the Chicago Football Classic where Grambling State has played in the event.
· Grambling State improved to 2-0 in the Chicago Football Classic (defeated Alcorn State and Clark Atlanta).
· Clark Atlanta fell to 1-1 in the Chicago Football Classic (defeated Central State; lost to Grambling State).
· Saturday's game was the final non-conference game for Grambling State. The Tigers will play the final six games against the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponents (Prairie View A&M, Alcorn State, Texas Southern, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alabama State and Southern).
Up Next
Grambling State steps back into SWAC play next Saturday as the Tigers will meet Prairie View A&M in the 92nd Annual Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.
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GRAMBLING STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina – Winning at South Carolina State is only supposed to be pretty when it shows up on the left side of the standings column. The North Carolina A&T football team played another hard-hitting, ugly, defensive slugfest at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium against the Bulldogs that resulted in the Aggies (ranked 13th in the NCAA Coaches Poll and 17th in the FCS STATS Media Poll) improving to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 21-7 win.
The Aggies have now won three straight at S.C. State for the first time since the 1998, 1999 and 2000 seasons. It is also the second time in as many trips to Dawson Stadium the Aggies have held the Bulldogs to under 10 points. That has not happened since 1969 and ‘71. The Aggies were 9-6 winners in 2015.
“We’ll take it,” said N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway. “This is a tough place to play. We are going to go back and get some things fix because we turned the ball over more than we normally do today. But we are never going to complain about winning, especially against a team like this.”
The Aggies defense held the Bulldogs (1-3, 0-2 MEAC) to only 279 yards of offense and 82 yards rushing as the Bulldogs are off to their first 0-2 start since 2001. Fifth-year free safety Jeremy Taylor was integral in all three of S.C. State’s turnovers. Taylor finished with three tackles, two forced fumbles, an interception and a pass break up.
Taylor’s first big play came in the second quarter with N.C. A&T leading 9-0. Dewann Ford broke free of Aggie defenders and was racing toward the end zone. Taylor caught the speedy Ford and conducted a tomahawk chop to Ford’s outside shoulder, forcing the ball out of Ford’s hand and onto the ground where redshirt sophomore Darryl Johnson recovered the ball at the Aggies 22-yard line.
N.C. A&T then did an excellent job of turning what could have been a score for the Bulldogs into a positive for themselves as the Aggies put together a 9-play, 54-yard drive that resulted in a 41-yard field goal by freshman Noel Ruiz to give the Aggies a 12-0 with 59 seconds remaining in the first half. It was the second of three field goals for Ruiz on Saturday.
A rarity would happen to the Aggies to open the second half as redshirt junior Lamar Raynard threw an interception to Jason Baxter at the SCSU 27. It was Raynard’s first pick in 158 straight throws. But again, the Aggies responded by forcing the Bulldogs to punt. Five plays later, the Bulldogs again threatened to score as SCSU blocked the Aggies punt and got the ball at the Aggies 30. It was Taylor turned the Aggies fortunes around again by forcing a Tyrece Nick fumble.
Three plays later Raynard found Xavier Griffin for a 71-yard touchdown pass to give the Aggies an 18-0 lead with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter. It was the longest completion of Raynard’s career.
“Those were big,” Broadway said about the Aggies forced turnovers. “Usually we try to get out of the game without making any turnovers. Even though we made some tonight, it balanced out pretty well for us. We were able to keep them out of the end zone with those turnovers, so they were huge.”
The Bulldogs did put up some points in the fourth quarter Ford connected with Trey Samuel for a 33-yard touchdown pass that cut the Aggies lead to 18-7. N.C. A&T then went to work on the clock. The Aggies constructed a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Ruiz kicking a 27-yard field goal. The drive was extended when the Bulldogs committed a personal foul on an Aggies field goal attempt. The drive and the penalty that extended took eight minutes off the fourth-quarter clock as the Aggies increased their lead to 21-7 with only four minutes remaining in the game.
“Sometimes when you start doing that it takes you out of rhythm,” said Broadway. “We didn’t want to take all the air out of it. But once we got in the fourth quarter, we wanted to get (the play clock) inside five seconds before we got a play off.”
Raynard had another good day going 18-for-31 for 298 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Redshirt junior Marquell Cartwright, the MEAC’s leading rusher, had 96 yards on 24 carries.
The Aggies will go after their best start in 24 years when they host the Greatest Homecoming On Earth on Saturday at Aggie Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m., against Delaware State. Follow Aggie Athletics on Facebook (@ncatathletics), Instagram (@ncatathletics) and Twitter (@ncataggies). NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina – The #21 ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State University continued its unbeaten streak after defeating Fayetteville State University 64-31 on Saturday afternoon at the Luther "Nick" Jeralds Stadium. With the win, Bowie State improves its record to 5-0 on the season (2-0 CIAA) while Fayetteville State dips to 1-4 overall (0-2 CIAA).
Junior Amir Hall (Bowie, Md.) threw for 329 yards, completing 22-of-32 passes (two interceptions) and four passing touchdowns and redshirt senior Robert Chesson (Annapolis, Md.) rushed for a personal season-best 172 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns to pace the Bowie State offense. Redshirt junior Brandon Britton (Columbia, Md.) recorded game-highs of nine receptions and 129 yards to lead all receivers. The Bulldogs defense was led by senior Johnny Littlejohn (Silver Spring, Md.) with nine total tackles.
As a team, Bowie State rolled up 626 yards of total offense (297 rushing and 329 passing) compared to 344 total yards (206 rushing and 138 passing) for Fayetteville State.
Hall walked into the FSU end zone at the 11:52 mark of the first quarter on Bowie State's opening drive of the game and sophomore Gene Carson (Accokeek, Md.) added the extra point for the early 7-0 lead. Bowie State scored on its very next possession, when Hall connect with redshirt senior Kerrick Pollock (Miami, Fla.) for a 12-yard, pass, catch and score to give the Bulldogs 13-0 advantage at the 8:10 mark.
Fayetteville State's Jacobe Clement (Charlotte, N.C.) gets a pick six and returned it 32 yards to trim the Bowie State lead to 13-7 with 5:04 left in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs got those points back in a hurry on a Hall to junior Lansana Sesay (Bowie, Md.) 82-yard touchdown pass. Carson's extra point gave Bowie State a 20-7 lead. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Abrams (Baltimore, Md.) punched it in from 1-yard out to give the Bulldogs a 27-7 cushion at the 12:41 mark of the second quarter.
Marquise Watts (La Plata, Md.) recorded his second touchdown of the season, catching an 8-yard pass from Hall at the 10:25 mark to push the Bowie State lead to 34-7 in the second quarter.
David Lamb (Pineville, N.C.) kicked a 28-yard field goal with 5:34 remaining before halftime to cut the Fayetteville State deficit to 34-10. Nigel Peele (Greensboro, N.C.) intercepted a deflected pass from BSU's Hall and returned it 25 yards for a Fayetteville State touchdown with 5:21 remaining before halftime, but the Broncos trailed 34-17.
Another Bowie State turnover was costly as Fayetteville State capitalized to trim the Bulldogs lead to 34-24 with 1:51 left in the second quarter. Stevie Green (Washington, N.C.) rushed seven yards for the score.
Bowie State capped off a 7-play, 75-yard drive with a Hall to Britton 25-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 41-24 advantage.
Bowie State capitalized on an interception by redshirt freshman Tevin Singleton (District Heights, Md.) and converted the Fayetteville State turnover into six points on a 3-yard score by Chesson. Chesson scored again following another Broncos turnover. This time Chesson rushed for another 3-yard score to pad the Bulldogs lead at 55-24 at the 10:57 mark of the third quarter.
Junior Maurice Williams (Baltimore, Md.) scored on a 2-yard run with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter to increase Bowie State's lead to 61-31.
Bowie State's Carson put the final nail in the coffin with 3:20 remaining in the game, following a 44-yard field goal to account for the final margin of 64-31.
The Broncos were led by quarterback Devin Knudsen (Fresno, Calif.) with 131 passing yards (14-30-2) and Donshel Jetton rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries.
The Bulldogs return home for just the second time this season on Saturday, October 7th to host the Hawks of Chowan University. Kickoff time in Bulldogs Stadium is set for 4 p.m.
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana shut down Dillard's hitters Thursday en route to a 25-15, 25-17, 25-8 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball victory at XULA's Convocation Center.
The Gold Nuggets (11-2, 5-0) have beaten the Lady Bleu Devils (11-9, 3-2) 16 consecutive times, and this is the first time during the streak that Dillard — which hit minus-.009 with 21 kills and 22 errors in 109 attacks — finished with a negative hitting percentage.
XULA, meanwhile, hit .237 with 36 kills and 14 errors in 93 attacks.
"I thought we finished well," first-year XULA head coach Pat Kendrick said. "We started the match a little flat emotionally, but we finished with a good energy."
Kayla Black hit .318 with 10 kills, eight digs and three aces for the Gold Nuggets, who are 6-0 at home this season. Adili Rikondja produced a season-high-tying eight kills, a season-high .500 hitting percentage and — for the third straight match — a career-high tying four blocks.
Lauryn Taylor had seven kills and hit .250; both were her second-best figures of the season. Anna Dalla Vecchia had 19 digs, 10 in the first set, and reached double figures for the ninth consecutive match. Juliana Tomasoni served five aces — she's the only Gold Nugget to serve an ace in every match this season — Amanda Perry served two aces, and Jaida Dowd had a career-best four blocks.
XULA split the setting role again, with freshman Eva Le Guillou collecting 21 in her first collegiate start and Tiffany Phillips getting 12.
Taylor, Le Guillou, Black, Dowd and Dalla Vecchia are freshmen.
XULA won 36-of-38 sets in its last 12 meetings with Dillard.
Corneisja Harrison had six kills for Dillard but hit minus-094 in a match-high 32 attacks. Shelby Stewart and Tristan Cojoe had five kills apiece, Cojoe had four blocks, and Alexis Barnett had 13 digs.
XULA had advantages of 11-0 in aces, 54-41 in digs and 7-5 in blocks. The teams will meet again Nov. 2 in the Gold Nuggets' regular-season finale at Dillard's Dent Hall.
XULA's victory dropped Dillard from second to third place in the GCAC, and Tougaloo (5-2) climbed to second. XULA, which seeks a seventh consecutive GCAC regular-season and tournament championship, is the only team with fewer than two conference losses.
The Gold Nuggets will play William Carey in a non-conference match at 6 p.m. next Thursday at the Convocation Center.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia — Xavier University of Louisiana's Pierre Andrieu and Gabriel Niculescu won twice apiece Saturday to advance to the men's singles consolation semifinals at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association NAIA South Regional Championships.
Andrieu defeated Point's Sam Blackburn 8-4, then SCAD Atlanta's Jonah Tewes-McCoy 8-0. Niculescu beat SCAD Atlanta's Jordan Skalet 8-2, then Point's Julien Pereira 8-6.
Semifinals will start at 10 a.m. EDT Sunday at Georgia Gwinnett College. Andrieu will play SCAD Atlanta's Patric Toren, and Niculescu will play Brewton-Parker's Caleb Bellamy. Semifinal winners will meet at 11:30 a.m.
All other XULA players were eliminated in the main draw. The recap:
• Catalin Fifea, seeded fourth in men's singles, lost 6-4, 6-2 to Georgia Gwinnett's Mika Kosonen in the round of 16.
• Samir Chikhaoui defeated Middle Georgia's Octavio Tamola 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) in the men's singles round of 16, then lost 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-2) to Georgia Gwinnett's second-seeded Gilad Berman. All three of Chikhaoui's singles matches in this tournament were decided in super-tiebreakers.
• Charlene Goreau, seeded second in women's singles, defeated Point's Katie Larck 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 16, then was upset 6-0, 6-3 by Georgia Gwinnett's Emerald Able in the quarterfinals.
• Freshman Manon Bonada upset SCAD Atlanta's eighth-seeded Katrina De Guzman 6-2, 6-3 in the women's singles round of 16, then fell 6-1, 6-1 to Georgia Gwinnett's fourth-seeded Margarida Abreu in the quarterfinals.
• Yi Chen Pao lost 6-3, 6-1 to Georgia Gwinnett's seventh-seeded Debora Scurt in the women's singles round of 16.
• In the women's doubles quarterfinals, Goreau and Bonada lost 8-1 to Georgia Gwinnett's Henar Garcia Munoz and Chiari Rebecchi. Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – The old saying “History Repeats Itself” was never a more appropriate way to describe the recent football history between Florida A&M and North Carolina Central.
That the visiting Eagles (3-1, 2-0 MEAC) turned Houdini for the third straight year to escape with a 21-14 fourth quarter victory was not surprising.
Nor was the frustration and disappointment that the gritty and determined FAMU Rattlers (2-3, 1-1 MEAC) felts yet again after another near-miss against Central.
Take away Davant Reynolds pick six off FAMU quarterback Ryan Stanley with 5:02 left in the first period, and the game might have had a different outcome.
The Eagles scored first when quarterback Chauncey Caldwell dashed in from 18 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 5:18 left in the opening stanza. Reynolds’ pick six came just 16 seconds later, staking the visitors to a 14-0 lead.
But the Rattlers dug deep and pulled themselves back into contention in this heavyweight battle, when Devin Bowers capped a 14-play, 86-yard matrch with a one-yard run with 10:27 left in the half, cutting the Central edge to 14-7.
The Rattler Defense opened the door for the tying score with under seven minutes left in the half, sacking NCCU’s Caldwell on the Eagles’ one-yard line and recovering a fumble.
Four plays later, Bowers tossed a fourth down jump pass to Kevin Newman for a 14-14 count after Khalil Clark’s PAT, with just over five minutes to play.
After, the game settled into a defensive struggle until Central’s final possession late in the fourth quarter, where they had won the two previous games in the series in 2015 (27-24) and 2016 (17-13).
The Eagles took possession after a FAMU punt was downed at the Rattler 47-yard line, driving the distance in eight plays, with halfback Isaiah Totten barging in from nine yards out with 2:02 left.
FAMU would turn the ball over on downs, with NCCU running out the clock.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Rattlers head to Norfolk, Va., next Saturday to face off against the Norfolk State Spartans in a 1:00 p.m. game at Dick Price Stadium.... The next home game will be Saturday, Oct. 14 against the North Carolina A&T Aggies in the annual Homecoming game in Bragg Stadium. Kickoff will be 3:00 p.m. INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Rattler Nation showed up strong for the nationally-televised thriller at Bragg Stadium, with 18,488 partisans filling the stands, many arriving after the 7:30 p.m. kickoff…
The FAMU Defense held the Eagles to just 241 total yards Thursday, the second fewest yards allowed this season, after the 202 allowed in the opener to Texas Southern…. The FAMU Offense fared slightly better with 258 total yards, as they passed for 185 yards and rushed for 73…. Bowers had 76 yards rushing on 19 carries, rushing for a score and tossing a TD strike…
Stanley went 19 for 31 for 182 yards, with one interception…. Brandon Norwood led FAMU with six catches for 37 yards, but was robbed it appeared of a crucial diving catch which would have sustained a fourth quarter drive, despite a lengthy replay review….
Linebacker Elijah Richardson, who went down late with an undisclosed injury, led the FAMU defense with 10 tackles, inckuding three tackles for loss…. End Elijah Price had a monster game, with six tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- There is plenty of offense among the SWAC and MEAC teams, but not a lot of defense. Howard is making a statement as a legitimate forerunner and the team that other MEAC teams do not want to play. Against Bethune Cookman the Bisons rushed for 343 yards and passed for 157. Add that up and you have 500 total yards in regulation time. They beat Division 1 FCS team UNLV at the Rebel’s home stadium during week 1. They lost last week to Richmond 68-21 as the Spiders found a way to slow them down and continue scoring. Their only other loss was to FCS Kent State. If they continue to improve they’ll be a headache for the rest of the teams in the MEAC. As much as teams are scoring, the championship will likely come down to who plays the better defense.
