Hampton U. lures two prize Florida products

Glades Central starting quarterback Leron "L.J."Thomas is a Pirate early commitment.

Florida has long been recognized as a fertile recruiting ground, and Hampton University is now mining that prime territory as well. The Pirates have landed early commitments from two products of Glades Central High in Belle Grade, Fla., where first-year recruiting coordinator and running-backs coach Stephen Field once coached. Johnnie Dixon, a Rivals.com four-star defensive back/athlete, signed with Auburn out of Glades Central in 2007, but didn't qualify academically. He landed at traditional junior-college power Pearl River (Miss.) Community College, where he had 22 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions in 10 games in 2008.



Dixon said he kept in contact with Field, who sold him on an HU program that includes two other former Glades Central players in freshmen running back Antonio McCloude and fullback Vincent Harper. Dixon, 6-foot and 195 pounds, said he's a better player after two years at Pearl River, which finished 6-3 in 2009 and where he played cornerback and wide receiver.

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Blogger Notes: L.J. comes from a very talented Glades Central program...He is the fifth Raider to commit this season, joining DB Travis Bell (West Virginia), DB/WR Greg Dent (Miami), TE Clive Walford (Miami) and DB/RB Antwon Chisholm (Mississippi State). The 6-2, 175 star was the best quarterback in the region last season and has had several discussions with Florida International. Hampton is the only program so far, to offer him a scholarship during the early recruitment period.

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HONDA Battle of the Bands announces Winners

Three months ago, 45 marching bands from the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began the journey down the “Road to the Honda,” all competing for a spot in the 2010 Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB) Invitational Showcase. Out of 45 competing marching bands from the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), eight have been chosen to perform in January at the 2010 Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB) Invitational Showcase.




Representing varied music and performance styles ranging from precision to high-stepping, the eight headlining bands are:

• Albany State University “Marching Rams” (Albany, Georgia)

• Clark Atlanta University “Mighty Marching Panthers” (Atlanta, Georgia)

• Florida A&M University “Marching 100” (Tallahassee, Florida)

• North Carolina Central University “Marching Sound Machine” (Durham, North Carolina)

• Prairie View A&M University “Marching Storm” (Prairie View, Texas)

• Southern University “Human Jukebox Marching Band” (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

• Tuskegee University “Marching Crimson Pipers” (Tuskegee, Alabama)

• Virginia State University “Trojan Explosion Marching Band” (Petersburg, Virginia)






On January 30, 2010, the bands will perform for a crowd of 60,000 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and prove why they are the best of the best. Marking its eighth year, the Honda Battle of the Bands is the only national scholarship program that showcases an important facet of HBCU heritage and culture – music education.

The eight winning band programs chosen to participate in this year’s Invitational Showcase will be awarded $20,000 by American Honda for their music programs in addition to the $1,000 grant they received for participation in the pre-qualifying fall campus event tour. Through this program Honda is awarding a total of $205,000 in scholarships to HBCU music programs for the 2009-10 academic year, and since the beginning of the program, has awarded grants in excess of $1 million.

South Carolina State 43, Howard 13

S.C. State QB Malcolm Long has lead the Bulldogs to 6-0 MEAC record, 8-1 overall mark.

South Carolina State Remains Unbeaten In MEAC

In a tale of two programs going into different directions, the Bulldogs of South Carolina State clinched their second consecutive MEAC title with a 43-13 win over Howard at Greene Stadium before a crowd of 5,108. “ We wanted to take away the run and put them in passing situations “ said Howard coach Carey Bailey. State started the scoring with a 44 yard field goal by sophmore Blake Erickson. That was followed up with a 28 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Malcolm Long to wide receiver Terrance Smith with 3:20 remaining in the first quarter.

“ They gave us some different looks from what we had seen on film State quarterback Malcolm Long said. “ We then decided to get the ball to Chris Massey,” said Long who then scored on a 14 -yard pass with 10:42 remaining in the second quarter. The Bison put six points on the board with field goals of 37 and 35 yards from senior Dennis Wiehberg. The second feld goal came with no time remaining in the first half. That field goal allowed Howard to cut State’s lead to 22-6 at the half.

Bulldogs take another step toward MEAC title, pick up 8th win of year

WASHINGTON – Even when things went wrong, they turned out just fine for South Carolina State on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Howard University. On the game’s first play from scrimmage the Bulldogs fumbled the ball but S.C. State recovered and then went on an 11-play drive that ended with a 44-yard field goal by Blake Erickson for a 3-0 lead. When Howard got the ball Bison quarterback Floyd Haigler, from Orangeburg, appeared to have a receiver open inside the S.C. State 20 on second and 10 from the Bulldog 32. But Haigler, who said he was trying to throw the ball away, was picked off by strong safety Markee Hamlin in the end zone.

The Bulldogs then went 80 yards for a score, as Terrance Smith caught a 28-yard TD pass from Malcolm Long and the PAT made it 10-0. The high-powered S.C. State offense added a 14-yard TD pass from Long to Chris Massey early in the second quarter and breezed to a 43-13 MEAC win before 5,081 fans on a clear, cool afternoon. The Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0) won their 17th straight league contest and inched closer to the regular-season MEAC title. The Bulldogs entered the game ranked No. 10 in the Sports Network FCS poll and No. 1 in the SBN Black College Football poll.

SC State Continues Its MEAC March

Will Ford rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown to lead South Carolina State to a 43-13 win at Howard. The Bulldogs' Tre Young had seven receptions, giving him 116 for his career, one shy of the school record. With the win, the Bulldogs are 8-1 overall, 6-0 in the league, S.C. State will host Morgan State Saturday with a win giving the program its second straight MEAC championship.

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Howard University Lady Bison: Preview '09

Coaches
Head Coach: Niki Reid Geckeler, 2nd season (Georgetown '93)
Assistant Coach: Jimmy Howard, 2nd season (Greensboro '91)
Assistant Coach: Julie Flanders, 2nd season (George Mason '05)
Assistant Coach: Brian Johnson, 2nd season (Drexel '98)

Players to watch
Zykia Brown, Jr., G, 5-8: Brown, a graduate of Parkdale High School, was the third-leading scorer in the MEAC last season, averaging 17.3 points per game, and was an all-conference second-team selection.

New Recruits
Kara Smith (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young), Cabria Johnson (Washington, D.C./Elizabeth Seton), Jerelle Gorham (Durham, N.C./Hillside), Tomaria Holmes (Durham, N.C./Hillside), Julee O’Neal (Durham, N.C./Hillside), Portia Deterville (Toronto, Canada/Weston) Cheyenne Curley-Payne (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake) and Nicole Deterville (Toronto, Canada/Weston).

Kara Smith, a 6-0 forward, averaged 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds as a senior at Whitney M. Young High School in Chicago, IL. The Dolphins posted a 31-2 record in 2008-09, finished No. 10 in the USA TODAY Super 25 poll and finished in second place in the state 4A championship game, falling to national champion Bolingbrook. Smith was named best team defender for two consecutive year.

Cabria Johnson, 5-11 forward starred at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, MD and has been rated a top-25 prospect in the Real Basketball Report (MD/DC/VA/WV Region). Johnson suffering a season-ending injury prior to the start of her senior season.

Jerelle Gorham, 5-8 guard is an All-American in the class room as well as an outstanding athlete. Gorham was ranked sixth in a class of 182 with a grade-point average of 4.4 and lettered in basketball, track and volleyball. Her team finished with a 26-6 mark in 2009.

Tomaria Holmes, 5-6 guard was a 2009 McDonald’s All-American nominee for the Hornets.

Julee O'Neal, 6-2 center/forward was named to the 4A East Regional All-Tournament team. O'Neal, Gorham and Holmes Hillside squad won the 4A state championship in 2008 and a sectional championship in 2009.

Portia Deterville, 6-1 center/forward had career averages of 18 points and 12 rebounds per game at Weston Collegiate Institute. Her team went to the provincial championship semifinals in 2009.

Cheyenne Curley-Payne, 5-5 point guard led the nation with 328 steals as senior at Eastlake High School, breaking the record set by Candice Wiggins. WNBA star. Curley had 1,065 career steals and set new California record during her high school career.

Nicole Deterville, 6-1 center/forward is the second half of the twin-towers with sister Portia. Nicole was co-captain in her final campaign at Weston and helped her team to the City of Toronto ‘Final 4' qualifier. She was invited to the All-Canada Classic for her efforts. A talented athlete, Nicole was a silver medalist in the track program at Weston.

Shooter Zykia Brown will anchor the '09/'10 Howard Lady Bison team.

RETURNING BISON PLAYERS
24 Baulkman, Charae' 6-1 Sr. forward, Newark, N.J. / University H.S.
2 Bradford, India 5-4 So. guard, Washington, D.C. / Archbishop Carroll H.S.
12 Brown, Zykia 5-8 Jr. guard, Riverdale, Md. / Parkdale H.S.
13 Doyle, Saadia 5-11 R-Fr. forward, Atlanta, Ga. / Columbia H.S.
30 Edwards, Amanda 6-0 Jr. forward, Ontario, Canada / Notre Dame Catholic
22 Pullins, Jalisa 5-5 Jr. guard, Decatur, Ga. / Southwest DeKalb H.S.
3 Scharschmidt, DonnaLee 5-6 Jr. guard, Palm Beach, Fla. / Summit Christian

Schedule
NOVEMBER
13, American, 7; 16, at Fairleigh Dickinson, 7; 21, LIU, 2; 25, Jacksonville, 7; 27, at Maryland, 7; 29, at Radford, 3.
DECEMBER
5, Hampton, 2; 12, at George Mason, 2; 19, at Central Michigan, 2; 29, Monmouth, 2*; 30, La Salle/Holy Cross, 2/4*.
JANUARY
5, at Colgate, 7; 9, Morgan State, 2; 11, Coppin State, 6; 16, at North Carolina A&T, 2; 18, at Norfolk State, 6; 23, Florida A&M, 2; 25, Bethune-Cookman, 6; 30, at UMES, 2.
FEBRUARY
1, Delaware State, 5:30; 6, at Winston-Salem State, 2; 8, at South Carolina State, 5:30; 13, North Carolina A&T, 2; 15, Norfolk State, 6; 20, at Florida A&M, 2; 22, at Bethune-Cookman, 5:30; 27, UMES, 2.
MARCH
4, at Hampton, 6; 8-13, MEAC tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C.

* — Hawk Holiday Classic in West Long Branch, N.J.

Arkansas - Pine Bluff 49, Grambling State 42

Pine Bluff prevails over Grambling in shootout

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lion football (5-3, 3-2 SWAC) team prevailed over the Grambling State Tigers (5-4, 3-2 SWAC) 49-42 on Saturday. Offensively UAPB erupted for its largest point total output of the season as they clicked on all cylinders rushing and throwing the ball with a high success rate. Josh Boudreaux went 11-of-18 for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mickey Dean led all Golden Lions rushers with 20 carries for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dean also threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Raymond Webber to put Arkansas-Pine Bluff ahead 14-10 in the second quarter.

SWAC Big-play bonanza lifts Lions

It took a little more than two minutes for Arkansas Pine-Bluff to flip the momentum in Saturday’s Delta Classic 4 Literacy. UAPB scored 28 points in a span of 2:14 and held on for a 49-42 victory over Grambling State before 26,211 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Golden Lions scored three times in the final 1:56 of the first half, using a roughing-the-kicker penalty, a mistake by the Grambling State punter and an interception to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 28-10 halftime lead. UAPB then ran back the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown and a 35-10 lead early in the third quarter.

UAPB SCORES SEASON HIGH IN GRAMBLING WIN

LITTLE ROCK — For the last couple of weeks, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has felt as if it were on the verge of breaking loose. During a period of just over two minutes at the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters on Saturday, the Golden Lions took risks, hit on big plays and took advantage of Grambling State mistakes to help them score more points than they have in a single afternoon in more than four years. The 28-point barrage that ended with a 95-yard kickoff return by Mareo Howard to start the second-half turned a four-point UAPB deficit into a 25-point lead that the best defense in the league almost let slip through its fingers.

But, it didn’t. UAPB made enough plays after Grambling State twice cut the lead to a single touchdown and eventually held on for a 49-42 win over the defending Southwestern Athletic Conference Champions at War Memorial Stadium.

TRICK PLAY HELPS GOLDEN LIONS JUMPSTART RALLY

LITTLE ROCK — Five years ago Mickey Dean stood on the turf at War Memorial Stadium and, from his running back position, threw a touchdown pass that helped Little Rock Central beat West Memphis for a state championship. Dean was a high school senior then. On Saturday, as a senior for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Dean lofted a similar pass in the same stadium that helped kickstart a rally that has kept UAPB in another title hunt. Dean’s pass, gloved-hands and all, found Raymond Webber in the back of the south end zone and gave the Golden Lions a 14-10 lead and jumpstarted a string of big plays that pushed that lead to 35-10 just 15 seconds into the third quarter.

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Florida A&M 31, North Carolina A&T 27

Rattlers win isn't pretty, but it counts

The one quarter Alonzo Lee’s team has dominated all season turned out to be the difference in an unpredictable game between North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M. A four-point halftime lead disappeared in the third quarter as the Rattlers (7-2, 5-1) overcame fumbles, and the loss of quarterback Curtis Pulley to take a lead they would not relinquish in a 31-27 victory over North Carolina A&T. Heading into the game the Aggies (5-5, 3-4) had allowed only six points in the third quarter all season; however touchdowns by Philip Sylvester and LeRoy Vann led the Rattler revival and overshadowed fumbles from both men. “We’re a long ways from playing our best ball game,” FAMU coach Joe Taylor said. “At some point that is going to have to happen, but we will have to make plays.”

Record-setting performance lifts Rattlers over Aggies

The Florida A&M University Rattlers defeated the North Carolina A&T Aggies in their regular season home finale at Bragg Stadium 31-27 in front of 8,034 fans. The game, which was the last home game for 28 Rattler seniors, was one of ups and downs. Senior LeRoy Vann returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to help seal the game for Rattlers, who improved to 7-2 overall, 5-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Vann has now returned five punts for a touchdown this season tying an NCAA FCS single-season record set ironically by North Carolina A&T’s Curtis Deloach in 2001. Vann also broke single-season school records for punts returned for a touchdown (five) and for punt return yards (540), both previously set by Howard Huckaby in 1988.

Vann ties a pair of NCAA records, sparks Florida A&M in 31-27 win over N.C. A&T

LeRoy Vann's punt return for a score tied two NCAA records to lead Florida A&M to a 31-27 win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday. Vann's 51-yard touchdown on a punt return in the third quarter was the senior's fifth of the season and his eighth career punt return for a score. He tied both the NCAA single-season and career records, along with setting the Football Championship Subdivision record for career returns. Vann now shares the Football Bowl Subdivision and FCS records for single-season punt return touchdowns with Hawaii's Chad Owens (2004) and North Carolina A&T's Curtis DeLoatch (2001).

Aggies come up short in upset bid

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Turnovers gave N.C. A&T a chance to defeat Florida A&M. The Aggies returned the favor. Two fumbles, an interception and a missed extra point hurt N.C. A&T as the Rattlers held on for a 31-27 victory on Saturday in MEAC football at Bragg Memorial Stadium. N.C. A&T (5-5, 3-4 MEAC) still had a final shot to pull off the upset, using a fake punt to extend the drive and push farther into FAMU territory. But the Aggies' Dontavious Payne, who graduated from Tallahassee's FAMU High School and played his home games at Bragg Stadium, was stopped on fourth-and-2 at the Rattlers' 22. Aggies coach Alonzo Lee said he thought Payne was close to a first down. "We didn't get a measurement," Lee said. "It was a situation where I was crying and hollering for a measurement -- but they couldn't because they had already moved the sticks."


Houston's mom allowed to cherish this special day at FAMU

She couldn't hold back the tears. Carron Brown's son had made her that proud. So there she was near the FAMU sideline on the football field at Bragg Stadium in front of thousands Saturday afternoon. Photographers snapped pictures of her and her boy, Cameron Houston. She only knew a few in the crowd who came with her, but this was her moment and not even being in front of a crowd of 8,034 fans for the first time in her life intimidated her. Saturday was one of two days she's been waiting for since her son enrolled at FAMU. "I'm happy," she said, wiping way tears. "I'm sure any mother would be happy to see this day." The next big occasion will be graduation. This day was special. The day that her son got his recognition for working his way to one last semester of college. Nobody kept count of the hits Cameron Houston took at nose guard. They only counted the ones he gave. He had six tackles, giving him 26 for the season.

Photo Galleries
FAMU Pre game photos
FAMU vs. NC A&T Fan Cam
FAMU 31 Aggies 27

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Prairie View A&M 33, Alabama A&M 27

Prairie View survives Alabama A&M's second-half rally

PRAIRIE VIEW — The Prairie View A&M Panthers are guaranteed at least a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division title with Saturday’s 33-27 win over Alabama A&M, but they took little happiness with the result. Neither did coach Henry Frazier III. The Panthers (6-1, 5-0 SWAC) relinquished a 26-point, second-half lead before holding on for a heart-stopping win before a crowd of 4,876 at Blackshear Stadium. The Bulldogs scored 20 unanswered points within the final 17 minutes to reduce the deficit to six with 56 seconds remaining, but Prairie View recovered an onside kick to preserve the win.

Prairie View A&M's "The Marching Storm & Black Foxes" perform at 2009 Labor Day Classic Reliant Stadium.


Panthers Hold On To Defeat Alabama A&M 33-27

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas - Prairie View A&M jumped out to an early lead but had to hold on for dear life as they held off a late rally by Alabama A&M in a 33-27 victory at Blackshear Field before 4,876 fans on Saturday afternoon. Prairie View scored on its opening possession as Gabe Osaze-Ediae caught a short pass from quarterback K.J. Black and raced 21 yards to the endzone for a 6-0 lead. Brady Faggard's PAT was good as the Panthers led 7-0 with 13:30 left in the first quarter.

Alabama A&M answered Prairie View's score several drives later as tailback Ulysses Banks took a handoff 42 yards for a touchdown. Jeremy Licea's PAT was good as the Bulldogs tied the game at 7-all. The tie didn't last long though as Osaze-Ediae once again came up big and scored his second touchdown of the game as the senior from Austin, Texas caught a 72-yard pass from Black en route to a 13-7 advantage.

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