Coastal rallies over WSSU for first victory

Coastal rallies for first victory

By Travis Sawchik, The Sun News

The journey for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleer on Saturday, with all its young hands on deck, again had its rough patches.

Seven CCU fumbles were akin to cut rigging and there was a snapped mast in the form of two long touchdown runs surrendered. But unlike the Dover experience, CCU hung on and sailed into port with a 28-21 win to even its record on the season.

"Every win is going to be gutty," CCU coach David Bennett said of his young team. "We did improve."

Starting quarterback Will Richardson was among those who improved.

After missing his first seven passes last week - though several catchable balls were dropped - the CCU starting quarterback completed 9 of 12 passes in the first half for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Richardson finished 16 of 24 for 301 yards (his first 300-yard game), with a touchdown pass and a strike to Jerome Simpson that setup up the game-winning touchdown. Richardson said of the 50-yard strike that it was "probably" the best pass he had thrown.

His sharp play rolled over to a better performance on third downs.

At Delaware State, CCU converted just 1-of-16. On Saturday, the Chants were 7-of-15, including a Richardson to Trent Usher 36-yard connection on third-and-30 to set up the game's first score, a 24-yard field goal from freshman kicker Justin Durham.

"I never [lacked] confidence," Richardson said. "The [two late touchdown drives at Dover] carried over.

"You can't replicate game speed but I've been in this offense so long I've practiced against the first team defense. I know where to look."

Among the others who improved were freshman Eric O'Neal, who gained 132 of the Chants' 483 yards.

And of course Simpson was, well, Simpson. He had three catches for 90 yards and come up one yard short of lengthening his touchdown streak to 10 games. That particular catch setup Tommy Fraser's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Still, the Chants are not without their flaws.

Bennett had spoken at length this week about how his defense preformed well at Dover, if you takeaway a 53-yard touchdown pass, a 63-yard touchdown run and a long reverse gain. And again the defense played well in spurts but fell victim to big plays as the third quarter turned in the Monte Purvis Show.

In the quarter, the Rams' quarterback rushed for 66- and 80-yard touchdown runs to turn a five-point Winston Salem State halftime deficit into a 21-18 lead with 1:24 to play in the third.

"Missed assignments," Bennett said of the plays.

The miscues momentarily pulled CCU heads down on the sideline as the Chants trailed for the first time in the game and were staring at an 0-2 start.

CCU had built a lead early thanks to Justin Durham's two field goals. Richardson added to it by finishing off a 70-yard second-quarter drive with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Jamar Anderson to give Coastal a 12-0 lead.

Winston Salem-State answered with its own touchdown drive, a Jed Bines' 43-yard run shortly followed by a one-yard touchdown dive by Purvis that cut CCU's lead to 12-7.

The Rams continued to threaten, but a second fumble lost cost them as a few shifty runs from O'Neal led to a Fraser touchdown from one-yard out to give Coastal a 18-7 lead.

NCCU Eagles finally get past St. Aug's in Durham

By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun

N.C. Central broke one of its worst football curses on Saturday night.

But it certainly wasn't easy, and it wasn't over until all zeros appeared on the clock.

Stadford Brown's 21-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Blackwell early in the third quarter provided the only points of the game as the Eagles blanked St. Augustine's 6-0 at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.

It was the Eagles' second straight shutout, following a 17-0 victory over Fayetteville State six days earlier. The blanking marked the first time in 11 years the Eagles had back-to-back shutouts.

And oddly enough, it was NCCU's first win over the Falcons in Durham since 1964. A 35-year hiatus in the St. Aug football program was a big factor in that, but the Falcons had scored upsets on their past two visits here including a 22-8 homecoming spoiler two seasons ago. That 2005 loss to the Falcons was NCCU's last regular-season defeat at home.

The result wasn't safe until the last play of the contest, when Donald Laster corralled a scrambling Falcons quarterback Kevin Williams at the NCCU 12 after Williams had gained 16 yards.

"To be honest, on their last drive I was thinking about all the mistakes we had made when we had a chance to put the ball game away," said NCCU coach Mose Rison, whose team improved to 2-1 on the season while the Falcons fell to 0-2. "We had a missed field goal and a blocked field goal and a fumble on their 5-yard line after a turnover.

"St. Aug is a tough football team, and they played hard all night. But I can't say enough about the defense, defensive coordinator John Morgan and the staff -- they were the reason we won the football game."

The Falcons finished with 226 yards to NCCU's 148. Arnold Mullins rushed for 77 yards for the visitors, Tim Lovick caught three passes for 75 yards and three quarterbacks combined to complete 12 of 28 for 125 yards with one Craig Amos interception.

"It went down to the wire, that's for sure," said Amos, who continues to be a big-play man for the Eagles' defense. "At the end, we were all just saying, 'Don't let the big play happen!' Our defense can still get better and we know the offense can get better, too."

The Eagles had one first down and zero yards total offense in the first half, while St. Aug's had six first downs and 136 yards.

"Our defense played well, and overall we just played good enough to win," Falcons coach Mike Costa said. "We just made too many mistakes on offense. Central has a very good defense, but we just had too many mistakes."

The only serious threat before halftime came on the second play of the second quarter, when a 38-yard field-goal attempt by the Falcons' Adison Daniels' was wide right.

NCCU started with great field position on its second possession of the second half, as Brandon Alston returned a punt 10 yards to the Falcons' 25. Three plays later Brown found Blackwell down the right sideline from 21 yards out, and after a bad snap on the conversion attempt the Eagles led 6-0 with 10:08 left in the quarter.

"We just made too many mistakes and kept them in the ball game," said Brown, who completed 8 of 23 passes for 123 yards and was sacked four times. "They gave our line more trouble than they had all year. I made too many mistakes when we had the chance to put the game away. But we've just got to keep getting better."

The Eagles had a chance for some breathing room with 10:22 left in the game when Taylor Gray set up for a 36-yard field goal, but the Falcons' Alex Hall blocked the attempt. And again at 5:16, when Gray's 41-yard try was wide left. And again with 4:04 left, when they took over on the Falcons' 10 following a bad snap on a punt but Brown and Tim Shankle lost the ball on the exchange on the very next play.

"On their last drive everybody was just saying, 'Make a play!'" said defensive end Xavier Joe, who was in on seven tackles including three for losses with two sacks, two hurries and a breakup. "We're playing hard on defense. We're just good. And the offense got the touchdown we needed to win the game."

NOTES -- N.C. Central senior kicker Brandon Gilbert's injury will keep him out for the rest of the season, the school has announced. Also out for the year is senior running back Jeff Toliver. Gilbert, the school's all-time scoring leader with 234 points who gave the Eagles the winning points in the CIAA championship games each of the past two seasons, has a torn quadriceps muscle in his left (kicking) leg. Toliver, who was one of the Eagles' four captains and their rushing leader this season with 92 yards, has a torn ligament in his right foot. Both players will seek medical redshirts to complete their playing careers in 2008. ... NCCU leads the all-time series 26-2-1. ... The Eagles take on Elizabeth City State on Saturday in the Whitney Young Classic in East Rutherford, N.J. ... St. Aug's travels to Carson-Newman on Saturday.

Offensive line clears way for SSU running game

By Noell Barnidge, Savannah Morning News

"The Hoggies," Savannah State's starting offensive linemen, went hog wild on Saturday.

Right tackle Derrick Dorsey, right guard Algernon Wright, center Kenny Andrew, left guard Justin Norton, left tackle Rashad Jackson and tight end Joshua Marshall pushed Johnson C. Smith's defensive line all over the field in SSU's 24-10 victory.

Six players, led by freshman tailback Antwan Edwards, combined for 328 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 53 carries against the NCAA Division II school from Charlotte, N.C. It was SSU's most yards rushing since the Tigers ran for 330 yards at Fort Valley State in 1999.

Edwards, who made his first start at tailback, ran for a game-high 103 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown, on 14 carries. The 5-foot-9 177-pound Miami native became the first SSU running back to run for over 100 yards since Chad Cone gained 169 yards against Morehouse last October.

"Our offensive line worked hard this week and it showed in the game," Edwards said.
"The Hoggies," whose largest player, Wright, is 6-foot-2, 432 pounds, redeemed themselves after a 47-7 season-opening loss at Morgan State in which SSU ran for only 29 yards without a touchdown on 32 carries.

Photo: Savannah State running back Justin Babb (20) hits a wall of Johnson C. Smith University defenders during Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium.

Saturday, SSU's offensive line created running lanes that resulted in touchdown drives of 77, 94 and 52 yards, and netted a field goal on a 30-yard drive. "The Hoggies" also did not allow a sack.

"My hat goes off to our offensive line," SSU second-year coach Theo Lemon said. "Those guys did a great job of blocking and sustaining."

SSU (1-1) primarily was a passing team under former coach Richard Basil. Lemon's offensive philosophy is based on the running game.

It has taken time, including last season's 2-9 campaign, for SSU's running attack to develop. But Saturday, the running game that Lemon vowed "will come" made its much-anticipated debut.

SSU's ball-carriers, most of them members of Lemon's first full recruiting class this season, bulled their way to the most yards rushing during the Lemon era. The previous high was 204 yards rushing in a 24-20 victory over Division II Morehouse last season.

"We wanted to run the ball. That was the game plan: to control the clock," said Jackson, a 6-4, 317-pound senior from Jacksonville, Fla. "We probably only ran about seven plays. We tried more plays against Morgan State, but we realized what our limitations were.

"Today, we had different backs for different situations. We have our power backs and we have our speedy backs. When they run for a lot of yards it's a good feeling. It makes us know we're making holes and they're capitalizing on what we make.
"This is big for the school, the city and also for us."

SSU quarterback JaCorey Kilcrease raved about "The Hoggies" and their ability to spring the Tigers' stable of running backs.

"Our offensive line, those boys went out and executed," he said. "Without them we can't do anything."

Opinion: BCU pitches game away

By KEN WILLIS, Daytona News Journal

Opinion: MY TWO CENTS

In baseball, a wild pitch can lead to big trouble. In football, it can be death.

Two wild pitches double the chances.

And when it happens, there's no lonelier person on earth than the quarterback. No one unluckier, no one sicker.

"When I pitch it, most of the time I don't see the ball," Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jimmie Russell said. "I pitched it, then I looked. And I was like, 'Awwww.' That's when your stomach goes in your throat."

When the option play is working well, it's a beautiful piece of choreography. But when it's not, there's no uglier clunker. In better years -- with Pa'tel Troutman and Allen Suber at the controls -- the Wildcat offense was worth the price of admission.

Not Saturday, when a whole afternoon of erratic play included two ill-advised option pitches by Russell -- one in the first quarter and another in the third -- led to S.C. State touchdowns.

"One or two plays can make the difference in a game," Russell said. "It just wasn't a good game on my behalf."

On the opposing sideline, senior quarterback Cleveland McCoy knew exactly what Russell was going through. The Bulldogs' option game looked well-oiled for much of Saturday afternoon, but he's been on the bad side of that fine line and knows how bad it can turn when mistakes are made.

"It's tough. It rattles the quarterback a lot," said McCoy, whose offense gained 271 rushing yards Saturday. "Couple of fumbles, and once he makes several bad decisions . . . "

That's the way it goes with an option team. Blocking assignments can be missed left and right (and they were, by the way), but when the prescribed offense includes just that -- options -- the quarterback is expected to find a way. Therefore, right or wrong, Russell was doing the admirable thing by falling on his sword.

MISTAKES ALL AROUND

It wasn't for lack of effort that B-CU managed just 247 offensive yards. It was simply a lack of rhythm, which eventually became a lack of confidence. And once an option team loses control, it's like a pilot trying to recover from a spiral. Very, very tough.

"It's easy to get the confidence back when the offense isn't running smoothly," Russell said. "But when you're the person messing up, it's hard to get your confidence back. I didn't play a good game. I didn't play a good game at all."

If the offense could've found any footing at all, the Wildcats might've found a way to win, because S.C. State spent a good part of the day stepping on rakes -- 11 penalties for 155 yards, three field goals blocked, a fumble after a pass completion that was returned to the S.C. State 12.

"We won the football game, but I tell you, we were a stumblin', bumblin' bunch," Bulldogs head coach Buddy Pough said. "We just did so many silly things to not score points -- blocked field goals, off-sides. Ugly things."

When both sides watch the game film, there'll be plenty of flinching all around. This wasn't two teams at midseason form. For B-CU, the Wildcats will be able to count the ways things went bad. Up in Orangeburg, S.C., the Bulldogs will exhale and be reminded that victory is a great salve.

The Bulldogs go to Columbia next weekend for a play-for-pay date with big-league South Carolina, and while they don't go in with all their oars in the water, things could be worse.

"I feel better about next week because we don't go in there 0-2," Pough said. "We had this game sandwiched between Air Force and South Carolina. I was really worried about us coming down here and either not playing well because we didn't pay enough attention to these people, or we'd just come down here and get beat.

"Last year, you gotta remember how badly this team beat us. I'm happy with the fact that we won the football game. It at least puts us in a good enough frame of mind that we can go into Columbia and be excited about going."

BCU mistakes doom Wildcats' cause

Photo: South Carolina State's Travil Jamison dives through Bethune-Cookman University defenders for a first quarter score during Saturday's game.

By BRENT WORONOFF, Daytona Beach News Journal

DAYTONA BEACH -- All Jimmie Russell could do was take the blame and look ahead to better games to come.

"I didn't have a good game at all," Bethune-Cookman's senior quarterback said Saturday. "I wish I could have one or two plays back, but I don't have a magic wand."

Just a few plays would have made the difference for the Wildcats, who lost a mistake-filled 23-14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest to South Carolina State at Municipal Stadium.

Two bad pitches led to South Carolina State touchdowns. B-CU (1-1, 0-1 MEAC) also came away with just three points off two third-quarter drives inside the Bulldogs 10-yard line.

Photo: BCU quarterback Jimmie Russell pitches the ball out to his running back.

"We've got to go back to the drawing board and hash some things out on offense as well as special teams," said B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt.

Wyatt and S.C. State coach Buddy Pough were pleased with their defenses, but both teams self-destructed on offense and special teams. The Wildcats' mistakes were costlier.

But Russell said it was nobody's fault but his own that his errant option pitch intended for Corey Council in the first quarter landed on the ground and was scooped up by S.C. State's LaQuinn Ellerbe, who ran the ball back 21 yards to the B-CU 3.

Another option toss -- this one too high for Phillip Kirkland to handle on the first drive of the second half -- was recovered by the Bulldogs' Rafael Bush at the Wildcats 32.

Both plays led to Bulldog touchdowns.

"Our defense played great," said Pough, whose team held the Wildcats to 172 yards. "I thought our defense put them out of sync."

Travil Jamison scored on a 3-yard run to give S.C. State (1-1, 1-0) a 10-3 lead after the first fumble. And Cleveland McCoy's 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Spencer Miller followed Bush's recovery to push the visitors' advantage to 17-3.

But Council followed that score with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that charged up the crowd of 9,147 and renewed the Wildcats' confidence and make it 17-10.

"We've been coming close to breaking one," Council said. "We finally got all of our blocks. We said that we were just one man away. We finally got that man."

The Wildcats, who had rallied from a 14-0 deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 45-21 last year, seemed to be on the verge of another comeback. After Council's score, free safety Bobbie Williams forced a fumble by S.C. state receiver Octavius Darby, and cornerback Antonio Cox ran the ball back fumble 52 yards to the Bulldogs 12.

A penalty against S.C. State for interfering with the officials pushed the ball to the 6, but a sack, a Russell run for no gain and an incomplete pass forced the 'Cats to attempt a field goal. Lucas Esquivel's 27-yard try went wide right.

B-CU drove to the Bulldogs 9 on its next possession. This time Esquivel converted a 27-yarder to pull the Wildcats within 17-13.

Photo: South Carolina State quarterback Cleveland McCoy leaves the pocket and maneuvers over Bethune-Cookman's Cedric Mason.

TAKE FIVE

Big Foot

Bethune-Cookman punter Justin Keable, a DeLand High graduate, averaged 47 yards on three punts, including a long of 58 to South Carolina State's 10, on Saturday. Keable also had a 42-yard boot that was downed on the Bulldogs' 3-yard line.

This Kicker Can Hit

After B-CU's Corey Council ran back a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, S.C. State's William Ford was on his way to matching Council's feat on the Wildcats' ensuing kickoff. Ford scurried 38 yards past would-be tacklers to the Bulldogs' 44, where the last man wearing a maroon jersey in front of him -- kicker Adam Ward -- brought him down.

Block Party

B-CU middle linebacker Brendan Odom saved seven points and then three points on the same drive. With S.C. State driving at B-CU's 11-yard line late in the second quarter, the sophomore broke up a pass intended for Octavius Darby in the end zone. After a penalty pushed the Bulldogs back, Odom blocked a 40-yard field-goal attempt by Stephen Grantham. It was one of three field goals the Wildcats blocked or tipped.

Cousins Lead The Way

B-CU's Ronnie McCullough (hamstring) was not expected to play Saturday, but the senior linebacker wound up leading the Wildcats in tackles with 11. McCullough's cousin, Josh Balloon, was tied for second on the team with eight tackles. Odom also had eight tackles.

Brothers Make Noise

B-CU sophomore transfer Antwane Cox earned a starting cornerback spot coming into the season. But it was his twin brother, Antonio Cox, who had a big play Saturday. Antonio returned a Bulldog fumble 52 yards to S.C. State's 12-yard line in the third quarter. The Wildcats could not take advantage of the play, however, as they missed a 27-yard field-goal attempt. Each of the Cox brothers had three tackles in the game.

-- Brent Woronoff

QUESTIONS & ATTITUDE

Couldn't that third-quarter penalty against South Carolina State have been better described simply as unsportsmanlike conduct?

Could be, but when you give the referee a microphone, you never know what you're gonna get. It happened after Bethune-Cookman's Antonio Cox recovered a fumble following a pass to S.C. State's Darris Jackson. The S.C. State bench wanted the play ruled an incomplete pass, and coaches on the Bulldogs' sideline got up close and personal with the nearest official. The penalty was described as "Interfering with the official's ability to do his job."

Where'd South Carolina get that extra fan support behind the bench?

Probably a hardware store. The Bulldogs own six high-powered, oscillating fans, complete with misters, and in the early part of the season particularly, they take them everywhere to help beat the heat. It's the first time a visiting team has added that big-league touch to the sidelines at Municipal Stadium.

What's up with S.C. State's early-season schedule?

It took many, many years, but the Bulldogs finally employed the time-honored method for a smaller school to puts its athletic program into the black financially. They opened last week at Air Force, and next week they make the short road-trip from Orangeburg to Columbia to play South Carolina -- it's S.C. State's first two ventures into college football's upper division. Combined, the two games will gross the Bulldog program just under a half-million dollars.

Doesn't Appalachian State's monumental win at Michigan last week give hope to all underdogs like S.C. State?

You'd think, but S.C. State head coach Buddy Pough laughed when asked if he'd draw such inspiration when his team plays the Gamecocks next weekend. "Noooo," he said. "The difference is, Appalachian is a helluva lot better than South Carolina State."

-- Ken Willis

Towson escapes Morgan State

Scott's interception for 68 yards helps set up winning score for Tigers

By Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun

A local rivalry known for bizarre plays and crazy finishes played to its reputation yesterday. Towson University, which usually wins these affairs, beat Morgan State again, but barely.

The Tigers waded through high-snap misadventures, a two-interception game from quarterback Sean Schaefer, and a depleting run of cramps before escaping Hughes Stadium with a 28-21 victory.

Just when Morgan State had seemingly wrestled control of the game away from the Tigers with a dazzling 56-yard touchdown run by Chad Simpson and a gift safety, the Tigers took it right back.

Photo: Morgan State University RB Chad Simpson

Towson safety Kenny Scott stepped in front of Morgan's Roderick Wolfe to make the play of the game, a fourth-quarter interception he returned 68 yards to the Bears' 2.

On the next play, Schaefer waited in the pocket for tight end John Godlasky - Towson almost never throws to its tight ends - to clear in the back of the end zone and lobbed a 2-yard touchdown pass that broke Morgan's back.

"They ran a lot of pick routes, and I had to do a good job of fighting over the picks and make the play," Scott, a team co-captain, said of his game-changing play. "Coach was saying all week long we've got to make a play when we get the chance."

After getting shredded for 245 rushing yards, 195 by Simpson, coach Gordy Combs reached for a bottom line that has Towson off to a 2-0 start.

"We stopped them when we had to," Combs said. "That's the big thing. I'm not going to get overly concerned about how much yardage we gave up."

The Tigers were resilient on defense and methodical on offense. Schaefer more than offset his two interceptions with four touchdown passes to four different receivers.

But when Austin Weibley sent a shotgun snap over Schaefer's head into the end zone for a safety less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Morgan had come back from a 14-3 deficit to tie the game at 21.

When quarterback Mario Melton sprung Simpson for a 16-yard gain on Morgan's ensuing possession with a knockdown block, the Bears (1-1) looked like they would take over the game.

They chewed up 36 more yards on the ground before Melton, on second-and-one, tossed an option pitch high and behind Devan James, who was filling in for a cramping Simpson.

James took a 6-yard loss on the play. On third-and-seven, Melton threw his costly interception.

"The play call was an inside slant because we knew they were coming with a blitz off the edge," Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley said. "But rather than the quarterback throwing to his hot read, which was the slant that was wide open, he decided to throw the ball outside to Wolfe. ... It ended up costing us.

"But that one play doesn't make the game. We left about 24 points on the field."

The stadium's new FieldTurf was littered with squandered opportunities for Morgan.

Bears kicker Johnathan Skeete had two blocked field goals. Wolfe, who later made a sensational 44-yard catch, had a touchdown pass knocked from his hands in the end zone by Ollie Thomas. And a long pass to wide-out Edwin Baptiste was ruled incomplete in the end zone because he did not have control.

Simpson powered Morgan's second-half comeback with 110 yards on just 10 carries before going off with cramps. "I was cramping up the whole game," he said.

Towson's depth was a factor as Combs went deep into his bench.

"We were able to play 15, 16, 17 defensive players, 10 offensive linemen, all three tailbacks, a host of receivers and all three tight ends," he said.

When starting center Nick Bradway broke his right hand, he was replaced by Weibley and the Tigers were forced to pull back on offense. Without Rasheed McClaude (cramps), tailback Nick Williams pounded for 91 yards.

HU notes: Pope enjoys a block party

By David Driver, Correspondent Daily Press

WASHINGTON - Hampton cornerback Sam Pope blocked a field goal attempt by John Mendoza in the second quarter.

"There was a lot of pressure from the interior, and that broke me free. No one touched me," Pope said.

Pope also made a catch in the end zone for a near interception, but he was ruled out of bounds in the first half.

"It was a pick," said senior defensive end Kendall Langford.

CONNECTIONS

Howard played its first game under new coach Carey Bailey, a former defensive line coach at the University of Minnesota. He also made stops at Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Middle Tennessee State, Louisiana Lafayette and VMI.

Hampton coach Taylor, in his 16th season, was a Howard assistant in 1982 and the Bison head coach in 1983. Former Redskins defensive back Barry Wilburn is in his first season as a defensive secondary coach for Howard. He played for the Redskins from 1985-91, and was an All-Pro in 1987 when he led the league in interceptions.

HEAT IS ON

Hampton senior Qutrell Payton was taken to a local hospital for dehydration during the second quarter, according to coach Joe Taylor.

EXTRA POINTS

On a clear, dry day, players from both teams slipped several times on Howard's artificial grass field. ... Hampton has now won 11 openers in a row in the conference. ...Jahmal Blanchard of Hampton averaged 53 yards on five punts.

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Attendance for the game was 7,035.