SSU conducts first scrimmage of spring practice

Photo: SSU Tigers have won three games in two years playing Division I-AA, Division II and NAIA competition. The Tigers defeated the Golden Bulls, Johnson C. Smith University (D-II) 24-10 on Sept 7, for their only victory in 2007.

Running backs Edwards, Curry and Babb run for touchdowns.

The performances of Savannah State's running backs and offensive linemen highlighted the Tigers' first scrimmage of spring practice Saturday morning.

Antwan Edwards, Rashad Curry and Justin Babb each ran for touchdowns behind an offensive line that was proficient with the Tigers' zone-blocking scheme.

There was not a final score or a winning team among the blue and white squads (the quarterbacks wore orange jerseys). There was not a roster and no statistics were recorded. SSU coaches used the scrimmage to evaluate performances and develop techniques.

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JSU's Denardo Smith hopes to make mark at tailback

Denardo Smith knows this is his chance.

The redshirt freshman came to Jackson State last fall with the undefined "athlete" label. He played linebacker, and even some defensive end, at Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala. He started out as a safety/linebacker with JSU, but was quickly converted to running back.

Carver certainly wasn't getting any playing time behind the trio of Erik Haw, Lavarius Giles and Cody Hull in 2007 - hence the redshirt. But there weren't high expectations for 2008 either - until Haw decided to forgo his senior year and test the NFL waters.

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Golden Lions bounce back with pair of victories over Texas Southern

After Arkansas-Pine Bluff lost 15-2 to Texas Southern on Friday, the Golden Lions’ morale was at an all-time low.

My, how quickly things can change.

Daniel Gathright pitched a complete game and UAPB pounded out 18 hits in a 15-9 win over the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader, and the Golden Lions scored 10 runs in the final three innings — including five in the bottom of the ninth — of the nightcap to pull off a thrilling 12-11 victory to take their first Southwestern Athletic Conference series of the season on Saturday at Regional Park.

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Southern Jaguars sweep Prairie View Panthers

Photo: Southern's head coach Roger Cador said, “We finally won an ugly game. We made more errors than hits and we came out on top by two runs."



Pitching stands out in wins over Panthers

Saturday was a day long in coming for two of Southern’s senior relievers. First, Theo Ycoy, in his fifth year, got his first win, going 1 1/3 innings as the Jaguars rallied for a 6-3 win over Prairie View.

Then, Cody Elliott, a sixth-year senior who has had Tommy John surgery and just got cleared to play earlier this month, earned his first save by pitching a scoreless seventh in a 4-2 victory at Lee-Hines Field.

As SU (10-9, 8-3 Western Division) rebuilds its bullpen, those are the performances the Jaguars will need as SU seeks its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2005.

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Delaware State and UMES Hawks split doubleheader

Photo: Mike Roberts threw a six hitter in the second game win for the Hawks. The 5-11/165 junior LHP is from Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright H.S.

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - In one of the most exciting game played at Hawks Stadium in recent memory, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) picked up a very important conference win over local rival Delaware State University (DSU) 2-1 in extra innings. The Hawks dropped game one of the doubleheader 12-7 but with the one win moved to 4-1 overall in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

Game two was the definition of a pitcher's duel. UMES southpaw Mike Roberts faced off against the Hornet's Josh Schmidt and both went the complete game each allowing just one earned run. It was Roberts' day however as he would pick up his second win of the season, allowing just six hits, one walk and recording six Ks.

Schmidt took the hard-luck loss, giving up five hits, one walk and ringing up 10 strike outs. He may have gotten the win, but we will never know because with two on no outs Phillip Vaughn hit a ball to DSU third baseman Jose Portella that looked like a routine out but he overthrew first base, Vaughn reached and Michael Guy, who led-off the inning with a single, scored from third, giving the Hawk's the win.

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Southern Jaguars Coach Richardson not satisfied after first week

Southern coach Pete Richardson didn’t leave satisfied as the Jaguars closed their first week of spring practice by running 30 plays Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium.

“We were inconsistent, as far as not finishing on plays,” Richardson said. “Some of that is coming from conditioning, with some of them going a lot of plays. But some of the upperclassmen I’m not real pleased with, as far as going full speed.”

The Jaguars, who donned full gear for the first time, ran 10 plays from their own 20-yard line, then 10 from their own 5 and then 10 from the defense’s 20. The ball was never advanced.

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FAMU Rattlers' offense runs in first football scrimmage

Photo: No doubt, with MEAC all-purpose yards leader Philip Sylvester, #30, the Rattlers can run; but, can their 2008 defense stop the run of the other teams? That's the question the Joe Taylor staff will determine in spring training.

FAMU's first football scrimmage Saturday morning left coach Joe Taylor with a lot to think about. His analysis won't cover just the three phases of the game. Sacks and penalties will be right up there.

Through all of that on a balmy day, there were glimpses that hinted the Rattlers' meat-and-potato plays might be on the ground.

"I was glad to see that we're building our personality; we're trying to run the ball," Taylor said. "The best thing about this is we will go back and look at this on film. The plays that were positive we will keep running and the players that were zero we would probably take out."

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