North Carolina A&T Homecoming Excellence

GREENSBORO, North Carolina – North Carolina A&T head coach Rod Broadway, who is never one to shy away from the reality of a situation, understood how he sounded Saturday evening complaining about dropped interceptions after his No. 12/16 Aggies improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with a 44-3 drubbing of Delaware State at Aggie Stadium as a part of the Greatest Homecoming On Earth.

But for Broadway, his coaching staff and his players, what he said on Saturday made perfect sense.

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“We’re chasing excellence,” said Broadway, leaning back in his chair with an arm draped over the chair to the right of him and the other arm draped over the chair to the left of him. “It’s not just about winning, it’s just not about how bad you beat people, it’s about chasing excellence and being as good as we can be. That’s what I’m trying to get these guys to understand. Great teams do the little things. When the ball is thrown to you, catch it. When the guy is front of you, tackle him … do the little things.”

Broadway also mentioned the five potential interceptions the Aggies dropped, including two that probably would have been touchdowns. One of those potential pick-6’slipped through the hands of redshirt freshman Mac McCain, who had he of ran it back, would have tied the NCAA FCS single-season record for interception returns for touchdowns (4).

Nevertheless, while the Aggies continue to perfect themselves to excellence, doing so while undefeated is not a bad position to be in. Plus, Broadway’s football team gave homecoming Aggies plenty to be proud of as they continue to enjoy the week’s festivities. The defense sacked Delaware State quarterbacks eight times, leading to the Aggies holding the Hornets (0-5, 0-3 MEAC) to minus-38 yards rushing.

Sophomore wide receiver Elijah Bell had a career day with a career-best nine receptions for a career-high 178 yards receiving. Redshirt junior quarterback Lamar Raynard also had a career day and made history in the process. Raynard completed 20 of 26 passes for a career-best 324 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, he became the first player in program history to have two 300-yard passing games in the same season following his 321-yard day at Gardner-Webb on Sept. 2.

“I have some great talent around me, so it’s really no pressure on me,” said Raynard. “The guys upfront protect me, and the guys I throw to and hand it off to, are all capable of making big plays. It’s really no pressure.”

Raynard’s high school teammate and redshirt junior running back Marquell Cartwright also had another stellar performance with 96 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 19 carries. It was Cartwright who first put the Aggies on the board with a 2-yard touchdown run set up by a short pass to Bell that turned into a 51-yard catch and run. The Aggie defense then made its presence felt as a fumble sack by Jermaine Williams led to a DSU safety and a 9-0 Aggies lead with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Aggies took advantage of the free kick that ensued as All-American returner Khris Gardin returned the kick 78 yards to the DSU 2-yard line.

Mr. Cartwright once again did the honors by running in from 2-yards out for a 16-0 Aggies lead going into the second quarter.

DSU did respond as Bycen Alleyne returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to the Aggies 39. It led to a 47-yard field goal from Wisdom Nzidee to put the Hornets on the board.

It didn’t help much. The last nine minutes of the first half included Raynard going 4-for-4 on a 4-play drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Gardin. It also included a 44-yard catch and run from graduate running back Jamari Smith. The drive ended with a 16-yard completion to Bell and 10-yard TD toss to fifth-year senior Xavier Griffin as the Aggies went into the locker room leading 30-3.

Just to give the sellout crowd something else to cheer about after the Blue & Gold Marching Machine completed its halftime performance, Raynard connected with Bell for a 61-yard TD bomb to put the Hornets away. With a little more than half the season gone, a top-15 national ranking and a 6-0 start in their possession, the Aggies are looking to rededicate themselves to chasing excellence and greatness. Sound crazy? It sounds just right to the guys doing the chasing.

“We can’t make the mistakes we made today and expect to be a great football team,” said Broadway. “We had a dominant performance, and I am proud of my guys and my coaching staff. But once we get a team in a position we had them in the first half, let’s end it. Let’s get that killer mentality. I hate to sound like I’m complaining, but it could have been a much better performance.”

N.C. A&T returns tMEo the road next week when they travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to face the Florida A&M Rattlers at Bragg Stadium, starting at 3 p.m.

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Top-8 finishes for Fifea, Andrieu at Battle on Bayou

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana's Catalin Fifea defeated Louisiana-Lafayette's Arthur Libaud 8-5 Friday to finish fifth in the flight one singles bracket of the Battle on the Bayou men's tennis tournament.
     
Also placing in the top eight was XULA's Pierre Andrieu, who was eighth in flight two singles after defeating the Ragin' Cajuns' Silvio Cocito-Monoc 8-4.
     
The tournament was scheduled for two days but condensed into one due to the expected landfall of Hurricane Nate this weekend on the coasts of Mississippi and south Louisiana.
     
The Gold Rush finished 4-6 in singles and 2-2 in doubles.
     
Andrieu also won 8-2 against Prairie View's A&M's Cesar Rayna, and Andrieu teamed with Chris Anders for a 7-6 doubles victory against Tiger Cheung and Ernesto de Diego of city rival Loyola.
     
Gabriel Niculescu beat UL Lafayette's Jamie Fraser 8-4 in singles consolation, then Niculescu teamed with Fifea for a 6-4 doubles consolation victory against Alcorn State's Nikita Kostikov and Nischay Rawal.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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Nuggets sweep Carey after climbing out of 1st-set hole

NEW ORLEANS — Juliana Tomasoni and Vivica Price-Spraggins keyed a Xavier University of Louisiana rally late in the first set Thursday to help the Gold Nuggets emerge with a 31-29, 25-9, 25-21 volleyball victory against William Carey.

The Gold Nuggets (12-2) won for the 11th time in 12 matches and completed a two-match regular-season sweep of the Lady Crusaders (11-9).

XULA, led by Tomasoni's four kills and Price-Spraggins's two blocks and a kill, rallied from a 24-19 deficit in the opening set. The Gold Nuggets never trailed in the set after Tomasoni's kill tied it at 25, and Price-Spraggins combined with Lauryn Taylor on a block for the 30th point and with Kayla Black on a block for the clincher.

"We weren't going to quit," Price-Spraggins said. "We weren't going to let balls hit the floor."
"We kept fighting," XULA coach Pat Kendrick said. "We had opportunities to make plays late in the set, and we were ready to do it."

A 19-3 run sparked XULA in the second set, and the Gold Nuggets ended the match after a third set that included four Tomasoni kills, three Taylor kills and three Price-Spraggins blocks.

Three Gold Nuggets finished with double-doubles. Tomasoni had 13 kills and 14 digs — she also hit .323 — Black had 11 kills and 12 digs, and Tiffany Phillips had 14 assists and 11 digs.

Price-Spraggins produced a career-high seven blocks — the most in a match by a XULA player in four years and most by a XULA freshman in five years — and Anna Dalla Vecchia had 17 digs to reach double figures for the 10th consecutive match. Eva Le Guillou had 21 assists and two aces.
Caroline Golden had nine kills and 10 digs for William Carey, and Emma Cotney had 12 digs.

XULA outhit William Carey .215 to .087 and had advantages of 43-35 in kills, 4-1 in aces, 61-57 in digs and 11-4 in blocks. It was the first time this season that the Gold Nuggets reached double figures in blocks.

XULA, 7-0 at home this season, will conclude a three-match home stand when Gulf Coast Athletic Conference opponent Philander Smith visits at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center. The Gold Nuggets are 5-0 in the GCAC and hold a two-match lead in the loss column.

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Big-Play Defense, Late TD Run Carries Norfolk State Spartans to 2-0 MEAC Start

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Larry Bishop's 2-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left was the game-winner as Norfolk State improved to 2-0 in the MEAC with a dramatic 35-28 win over Florida A&M on Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium.

Bishop's first TD of the year came after the Spartans (2-3, 2-0 MEAC) recorded their season-high fifth takeaway of the game. NSU linebacker Kyle Archie forced FAMU (2-4, 1-2) receiver Marcus Williams to fumble on a 6-yard reception. Spartan lineman De'Shaan Dixon pounced on the loose ball at the Rattlers' 40 with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans picked up three first downs on their next drive. Quarterback Juwan Carter had the last one, a 17-yard scramble down to the FAMU 2. Two plays later, Bishop plunged in for the go-ahead score.

FAMU got the ball back and made one first down before NSU forced the Rattlers to turn the ball over on downs, giving NSU its first-ever home win over the Rattlers in eight all-time meetings at Dick Price Stadium.

The Rattlers held a sizeable edge in total offense (485-243), but the Spartans' big-play defense was the story. NSU came into the week ranked tied for fifth in the nation in turnover margin and figures to improve in that area after a game in which the Spartans had one interception and four fumble recoveries, scoring off two of them.

FAMU took a 7-0 lead on a 9-yard TD pass from Ryan Stanley to Brandon Norwood in the first quarter, but NSU tied the game in the second when Archie returned a fumble 38 yards for a score. Archie's touchdown was set up by defensive end Nigel Chavis' second forced fumble off the half, which came at the tail end of a tackle in the backfield.

The Spartans took a 14-7 lead on a highlight-reel worthy 24-yard TD pass from Carter to George Wahee, who out-positioned and out-leaped a FAMU defender in the end zone with 3:34 left in the second quarter. But the Rattlers had the answer, knotting the score at 14-all on an 18-yard pass from Stanley to Williams with 38 seconds left in the first half.

FAMU pulled ahead 21-14 on Tevin Spells' 3-yard TD run at the 9:45 mark of the third quarter, but the Spartans got within 21-20 on a 45-yard scoring strike from Carter to Taylor less than three minutes later. The point-after missed, keeping FAMU in the lead.

The Rattlers looked poised to add to their lead in the fourth, putting together a 76-yard drive that put the Spartans' backs up against the end zone. But the NSU defense came up big again, as safety Nhyre' Quinerly forced FAMU running back Devin Bowers to fumble inside the Spartan 10-yard line. Cornerback J.T. Wahee picked it up and raced 96 yards for the go-ahead score, the Spartans' second defensive touchdown of the game and fourth of the year. Carter then found Chuma Awanna for a two-point conversion pass to give NSU a 28-21 lead with 9:43 to play.

The Rattlers took advantage of three penalties against NSU to set up the tying score. Stanley threw his third touchdown of the day, a 25-yarder to Chad Hunter, to deadlock the game at 28 with 7:19 to play.

The Spartans went three-and-out and punted on their next possession, giving the ball back to FAMU with just over six minutes to play. But on the seventh play of their next march, Archie was in the right place at the right time to force FAMU into its fourth fumble of the game. NSU capitalized from there to win the teams' first meeting since 2014.

Carter passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor made six receptions for 70 yards and George Wahee had four for 48, and both caught their first scoring passes of the season. Bowers rushed for 141 yards for the Rattlers, and Stanley threw for 235 yards.

The Spartan defense had a bevy of standouts. Linebacker Anthony Smith had a career-high 18 tackles. Chavis had a career-best 12, including a sack and the two forced fumbles. Archie made 10 stops, recovered a fumble and forced another, while Quinerly had eight tackles, an interception and a forced fumble of his own.

As a team, NSU forced five turnovers for the first time since a 27-24 win at Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 9, 2013.

The Spartans are home again next week when they host Hampton (3-2, 2-0) for the Battle of the Bay at 2 p.m. The teams are two of the four remaining unbeatens in the MEAC.

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'He has earned the respect': How Baton Rouge native Chazz Wilson ended up at Alabama A&M

NORMAL, Alabama — For as long as he can remember, Alabama A&M center Chazz Wilson was a Southern fan. Every Saturday, Wilson and his mother, Valerie Lee, and a handful of other family members would go cheer for the Jaguars.

“I went to every Southern game growing up,” said Wilson, whose mother graduated from SU, along with two of his aunts and two cousins. “We had a lot of fun.”

Wilson lived 15 minutes from campus. He hoped to sign with the Jaguars.



Southern, Grambling, Jackson State and Alabama A&M all recruited Wilson, who played his senior year at John Curtis High School after transferring from McKinley.

But Southern never offered Wilson a scholarship.

“I was a little disappointed,” said Wilson, a 6-foot-1, 274-pound fifth-year senior. “I guess I wasn’t what they needed at the time.”

In the end, Wilson signed with Alabama A&M, saying he felt like the Bulldogs truly wanted him.

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Southern's defense leads the way in 35-14 homecoming win against Alabama A&M

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The Southern defense that had spent the better part of the last four games getting pushed around took its turn as the aggressor in Saturday’s 35-14 win against Alabama A&M.

On a homecoming greatly affected by Hurricane Nate — kickoff was moved up five hours, and the sky grew dark and rain came down in force at A.W. Mumford Stadium — Southern (3-3, 1-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) allowed just 251 yards from scrimmage, including a season-low 52 yards on the ground.

The Jaguars had given up at least 160 yards rushing in each of their first five games.

Southern also kept Alabama A&M in check through the air.

A harassing Jaguars defense never let quarterback Aqueel Glass find a rhythm, and the true freshman looked his age Saturday.

Glass completed just 3 of 18 pass attempts for 44 yards. He split time in the first half with Damion May but was pulled for good after throwing an ill-advised interception in the third quarter that led to a Southern touchdown.



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Late Rally Surge Lift S.C. State Bullogs Over Morgan State Bears in MEAC Action

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- Redshirt senior All-American linebacker Darius Leonard put on stellar performance in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU, recording a season-high 18 tackles (14 solo) along with two interceptions for 51-yards to lead South Carolina State to a ,35-14, victory over Morgan State Friday (Oct. 6th) at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium/Willie Jeffries Field.

South Carolina State improves to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the MEAC, while Morgan State remains winless at 0-4 overall, 0-2 in the league.

South Carolina State got on the board early on with a 44-yard scamper by senior running back Trey Samuel at the 10:41 mark in the first quarter.

Morgan State evened the score 7-7 on a 1-yard punch by senior running back Eric Harrell with 2:01 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Luke Uransel scored the only points in the second quarter kicking a 22-yard field goal to give the Bears a 10-7 lead heading into intermission.



Morgan State opened the second-half with tough defensive stands forcing back-to-back safeties in the third quarter to move ahead a score 14-7 at the 9:01 mark.

The Bulldogs offense came to life late in the third on a 28-yard touchdown toss from redshirt sophomore quarterback Dewann Ford to redshirt sophomore Quan Caldwell with 4:41 remaining.

Samuel carried the load in the fourth quarter leading the Bulldog charge with a 15-yard and an 89-yard touchdown runs late in the contest. Leonard sealed the deal on his second interception of 12-yards for a touchdown to life SC State to a 35-14 victory and first conference win of the season.

Samuel finished with 19 carries for 169-yards and three touchdowns, while Ford threw for 9-of-22 for 123-yards and a score. Sophomore Demontrez Burrough spearheaded the receiving corps with four catches for 66-yards, while Caldwell added four for 51-yards.

Leonard had help on the defense with redshirt senior linebacker Dayshawn Taylor finishing with eight tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one interception. Senior defensive back Devondre Powell added five tackles, one forced fumble in the win.



South Carolina State return to action on Saturday (Oct. 14) on the road versus Bethune-Cookman in a pivotal Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in Daytona Beach, Fla. Kickoff is 4 p.m.

For information on South Carolina State Athletics visit www.scsuathletics.com or call the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (803) 536-7060.

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