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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

UAPB Golden Lions take a step back in defeat

UAPB Head Football Coach Monte Coleman has had a difficult first season with the Golden Lions.

Forget the step forward the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions seemed to be taking the past two weeks. In losing to Grambling State 28-7 Saturday before a crowd of 15,500 at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, the Golden Lions did an about-face and marched squarely in the wrong direction. UAPB fumbled the ball four times, with three of those fumbles being recovered by Grambling State. Golden Lions quarterbacks Gvona Turner and Jonathan Moore had three interceptions combined while completing only 8 of 23 passes.

This two weeks after the Golden Lions scored 42 points against Division II Lincoln in their first victory of the season and one week after UAPB took Southwestern Athletic Conference power Southern University of Baton Rouge to overtime in a 31-24 loss. “We had opportunities to win this game. We’ve been jinxed with that bug all year, turning the football over with fumbles and interceptions,” said UAPB’s Monte Coleman, who has yet to win a SWAC game in his first season as head coach.

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Grambling, first-year coach Donnita Drain have a winning debut

(L) Head Coach Donnita Drain; (R) Sophomore forward Secrett Anderson, a transfer from Florida A&M 2006-07 team, was the game high scorer.

First-year women's basketball coach Donnita Drain made a successful debut as the Grambling State University Lady Tigers captured a 91-63 exhibition win over Huston-Tillotson on Sunday afternoon in the Assembly Center. With eight newcomers receiving extensive action in the first half, it took some time for the Lady Tigers to establish an offensive rhythm as Huston-Tillotson managed to claim an early 16-15 lead at the 10:36 mark. However, the tide of the contest began to change as Grambling went on a 13-0 run that was sparked by newcomers Rachele Dobbins and Secrett Anderson. From that point, Grambling never looked back as they closed out the first half ahead 47-37.

Huston-Tillotson drew to within eight points on several occasions early in the second half but never could get over the hump as the Lady Tigers managed to stop several of their runs with defensive stops. As a result, Grambling eventually secured control of the contest midway through the second half with an 18-1 surge that featured five points and four rebounds from senior Gabrielle Fleming.

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SSU player proposes on football field

SSU senior lineman, Roland Jackson

Savannah State University football player Roland Jackson did not have a post-game surprise after the Tigers played Edward Waters College on Saturday, but he certainly did the previous Saturday. After SSU's 23-7 homecoming victory over Concordia-Selma on Nov. 1, the senior stunned his girlfriend, Janika Davis, by proposing marriage to her on the field at T.A. Wright Stadium.

"She said yes," Jackson said, grinning. "She was really shocked."

After the game, a sweat-and-grass-covered Jackson sprinted to the locker room and showered. "I was going to (propose) in uniform, but I knew that the moment was going to get deep, and I didn't want to be hugging on her smelling like that," he said. Davis, an SSU senior from Riverdale, waited at midfield along with her family, Jackson's family and their friends.

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LAST GAME: Edward Waters 26, Savannah State 21 (4-6 record) at Gilman Stadium, Kingsland, GA. Attendance: 3,117.

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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Everything falls apart for ASU; Jackson State smothers Hornets

Photo Gallery: ASU loses to Jackson State

Three weeks ago, the Alabama State football team changed its offensive approach, going from a pass-heavy game plan to one that relied more on the running game. After two games in which the offense was clearly improving, the Hornets thought they had found the answer. They thought their severe struggles were behind them. They thought wrong.

Against an aggressive Jackson State defense determined to stop the run, the ASU offense was absolutely atrocious. The Hornets managed a meager 93 total yards, had only seven first downs and threatened to score just once. Jackson handed ASU its first shutout of the year, 20-0. "We just took a huge step back," ASU head coach Reggie Barlow said. "It was just a combination of everything. We couldn't run it. We couldn't throw it. We couldn't do anything."

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TSU inches closer to conference title

Heffner throws 4 TDs, runs for another in win

Photo Gallery: TSU vs. Eastern Illinois

Antonio Heffner is still hurting, but the Tennessee State quarterback inflicted plenty of pain Saturday on Eastern Illinois at LP Field. After missing last week's game with a rib injury, Heffner hobbled back onto the field and led the Football Championship Subdivision No. 22 Tigers to a 45-24 win. Heffner completed only seven passes, but four were touchdowns and he ran for another, helping TSU (8-2, 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference) finish with an undefeated home record for the first time since 1999 and stay on course to win the OVC title.

It could have been Heffner's final game at LP Field depending on whether the Tigers secure a playoff berth and whether the game is played at home. But if it was his last game, he was determined to go out in a big way no matter how badly he was hurting. "I am still in a little bit of pain but it was better this week than last week," Heffner said. "I came out from the first play in a pretty good groove because this was possibly my last game at LP Field. Knowing that, and with it being Senior Day, you just want to go out and play your best."

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Attendance: 6393 (9.3%) at LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee (Capacity: 68,800).

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Cal Poly Barden ties Rice’s consecutive TD record in 49-3 romp over NCCU

There was no sweating it out this week. Cal Poly receiver Ramses Barden was in the end zone on the first drive, and tied the FCS record for consecutive games catching a touchdown pass less than five minutes after Saturday’s kickoff of Cal Poly’s 49-3 win over North Carolina Central. He shares the record with Jerry Rice. It was a stark contrast to last week’s game, in which Barden had just one catch in the first 28 minutes and didn’t get a receiving touchdown until the third quarter.

People were left to wonder whether Barden’s streak of games with a touchdown catch was in jeopardy just one shy of reaching Rice’s mark. But he kept it alive last week against Idaho State and tied the Hall of Fame receiver with a touchdown grab in his 17th straight game Saturday against the Eagles. Barden caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jonathan Dally just 31⁄2 minutes into the game to put the Mustangs ahead 7-0.

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Attendance: 10,825 (108%) at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, San Luis Obispo, CA (Capacity: 10,000).

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