Carter finds way to Florida A&M after all

 Rattlers Head Football Coach Joe Taylor

A little more than a year ago, when Jimmie Tyson was recruiting Ravonne Carter out of Hialeah High School, Tyson saw all sorts of possibilities. Tyson, secondary coach at Florida A&M, saw a lot of Carter at cornerback, but figured he'd be the perfect nickel back. Special teams was also an option.

Tyson felt that the special relationship he'd developed with Carter meant he was on his way to FAMU. He went to New Mexico State instead. But right after the Lobos completed their second 1-11 season, Carter headed out. One of his first calls was to Tyson, who didn't hesitate to let Carter know he could come to FAMU.

"Things didn't work out as I had planned, and I felt like I needed to be closer to home," said Carter, who was a highly-touted player in high school. "FAMU was my only hope.

FAMU High grad set to make mark with Rattlers

At the urging of some parents who were watching him coach a pee-wee flag football team, George Stanley inserted his son, Jordan. Jordan was only 4 years old, but what happened next pretty much explains why he excelled at FAMU High and is hoping to do the same at Florida A&M.

"He scored a touchdown," the older Stanley said, recalling his son's first touchdown. "He was so happy, he took off running. He didn't realize that we had to finish the game. He didn't care. He was having fun."

Jordan Stanley, 5-feet-9, 190 pounds, is having even more fun nowadays for two reasons: First, he is playing his favorite position at running back; and second, he'll be playing the next three seasons as a Rattler. He's already making an impression in spring practice as he competes against Eddie Rocker and LaVante Page for a spot on the depth chart.

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Stillman faces Albany State in SIAC series

TUSCALOOSA | The Stillman College baseball team, riding a six-game conference winning streak, will take on Albany State in a key Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series this weekend at historic Eagle Stadium in Ozark.

The teams will play a nine-inning game tonight at 7, then wrap up the series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The doubleheader will consist of two, seven-inning games.

Stillman (12-13, 6-0 SIAC) will serve as the home team for the three-game series to be played in one of the state’s oldest minor league ballparks.

Ozark stadium to host its first four-year college baseball game

OZARK, AL – Several baseball fans and players from Tuscaloosa and Albany, Ga., are expected to be in Ozark this weekend for the city’s first baseball game with four-year, Division 2 college players.

Baseball teams from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa and Albany State University are playing a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Eagle Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday and will have a double-header at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Department of Leisure Services Director Steve Sherrill said Auburn University in Montgomery will play at the stadium against Thomas University in Thomasville, Ga., on April 12.

The stadium, which seats 800, was built in 1946 for the Ozark Cardinals Class D Minor League Baseball team. Sherrill said renovations to the facility have since drawn several junior college and high school baseball teams to the city for regional and state tournaments.

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Saint Augustine's Sikes had season to remember

Allison Sikes, CIAA MVP

CHARLOTTE, N.C -- Allison Sikes grabbed the neckline of her dark blue basketball jersey and brought it to the side of her face. She used the rough polyester to wipe the tears that rolled down her cheek.

The senior from Hermitage High School had just played the final game of her career at Saint Augustine's College. She scored a game-high 22 points, but the Falcons had fallen to Shaw 74-65 in the CIAA semifinals in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this month.

Shaw advanced to the Final Four. The Bears lost to Clayton State, which plays Michigan Tech today in the NCAA Division II championship game.

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Sikes Earns All-Region Honor

CIAA player of the year Allison Sikes of Saint Augustine's College earned another women's basketball award Wednesday. She was named to the Daktronics All-Region second team.

Sikes is the only CIAA player on either the first or second team. A 5-10 senior swing player from Richmond, Va., Sikes led the Lady Falcons to the CIAA Tournament semifinals for the second time in three years last week. She averaged 17.0 points and 7.2 rebounds this season.

Her scoring average led the team and ranked second in the CIAA. SIkes was also the conference leader in steals (3.1 spg).

The Lady Falcons finished 19-11 overall under the leadership of Sikes, who is believed to be the second Lady Falcon to win CIAA MVP. Sikes is the third Lady Falcon in school history to make the All-CIAA team three consecutive years. The Lady Falcons won 70 games during the four-year career of Sikes, who was the 2008 CIAA rookie of the year.

A psychology major, Sikes also produces in the classroom. She was named to the CoSIDA All-Region academic team in February for the second straight year.

By Saint Augustine's College Sports Information Office
Visit: Saint Augustine's Athletics

Shaw women fall in national semifinal 63-46

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Shaw missed shots in every form. There were blown layups, wayward 3-point attempts, misfired jump shots and errant free throws in the first half of Wednesday's night's Division II national semifinal against Clayton State. Despite a poor early offensive showing, the underdog Bears made a run at keeping its amazing streak alive.

Shaw's season ended with a 63-46 loss to Clayton State at St. Joseph Civic Arena, ending an 11-game winning streak. The eighth seed of the Atlantic Region's drive for an unlikely national championship finally ran out of gas.

Clayton State Ends Shaw's Cinderella NCAA Run

Saint Joseph, MO - They never wore glass slippers - more like well-worn steel-toed work boots - but Shaw remained the Cinderella of this year's NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament until Clayton State knocked them out of the dance by beating the Lady Bears 63-46 in the national semi-final.

Shaw was hamstrung by poor shooting and a plague of turnovers, often when trying to push the ball inside.

"We didn't play well tonight," said Shaw Head Coach Jacques Curtis. "Some of that had to do with them and some of that had to do with us. Every time we had a chance to make a run, we would have a turnover or something that just kept letting it get away.

"When we took the lead by one, we thought we had something," he continued. "But we let it get away."

The Lady Bears took a lead with 15:58 left in the game when Demaria Liles drained two free throws to give Shaw a 34-33 lead.

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Alcorn State Braves Releases 2011 Football Schedule

The Alcorn State Brave football schedule for the upcoming 2011 season is official with the Braves playing ten opponents and four of these games are being played in Jack Spinks Stadium in Alcorn State, MS.

The Braves are opening up the season September 3, 2011 against Grambling State in the Port City Classic in Shreveport, LA at 6:00 PM. In the past this was known as the Red River Classic. The Braves are the home team in the battle against the G-Men.

The Braves will then travel to Little Rock, Arkansas on the September 10th, to face Arkansas Pine Bluff at 6:00 PM. Both Grambling and UAPB defeated the Braves in 2010.

The Braves will come home to face in- state rival Mississippi Valley State on the 17th at 4:00 PM in the first home opener at Jack Spinks Stadium.

The Braves will go on the road for two straight games, facing defending SWAC champion Texas Southern on the 24th in Houston at 1:00 PM and Alabama State on October 1st in Montgomery.

Homecoming will be October 22nd, after two straight open weekends, hosting Concordia College at 2:00 PM. The Braves will close out October by facing Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA at 6:00 PM, on the 29th.

The Braves play two straight at home opening up November against Alabama A&M on the 5th at 2:00 PM and then hosting Prairie View on the 12th, also now tentatively scheduled for 2:00 PM.

The Braves will close out the regular season by meeting arch rival Jackson State on the 19th in the Capital City Classic scheduled for 1:00PM in Jackson, MS.

ASU 2011 Football Schedule

9/3, vs. Grambling State,Port City Classic, Shreveport, LA 6 p.m.
9/10 at Arkansas Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR, 6 p.m.

9/17 vs. Mississippi Valley State, HOME, 6 p.m.

9/24 at Texas Southern, Houston, TX, 1 p.m.

10/1 at Alabama State, Montgomery, AL

OPEN

10/22 vs. Concordia College, HOMECOMING, 2 p.m.

10/29 at Southern, Baton Rouge, LA, 6 p.m.

11/5 vs. Alabama A&M, HOME, 2 p.m.

11/12 vs. Prairie View A&M, HOME, 2 p.m.

11/19 at Jackson State, Capital City Classic, Jackson, MS, 1 p.m.

Notes:  All HOME games played at Jack Spinks Stadium

By Alcorn State Media Relations

Williams, Grambling expect to win

Philadelphia, PA - He's only an internet search away, but Doug Williams laughs that some of his Grambling State football players may not know a lot about what he has accomplished within the storied program or during his NFL career.

"Those young guys, sometimes they don't keep up with stuff. They might not," he said, chuckling. "They don't have to embrace me. I think it's important they embrace Grambling - the legacy and the history of Grambling."

There's no escaping that Williams has been a big part of the program that legendary coach Eddie Robinson built, first as a player from 1973-77 and then as Robinson's successor during a six-year coaching tenure from 1998-2003.

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'Gramps' leads WSSU's baseball resurgence

WSSU Rams Michael Robbins

Catcher Michael Robbins doesn't need people to remind him that he's the oldest player on the Winston-Salem State baseball team. His body does that for him. "It can get rough out there on this old dude from time to time," said Robbins, 25, "but I'm handling things pretty well."

WSSU revived the program this spring after a 37-year absence, and Robbins, a 2002 Glenn High graduate and former assistant coach there, decided he wasn't done playing.

"I just kind of kept an eye on the situation because I heard they might bring baseball back," Robbins said. "Once they brought it back, I felt like it was an opportunity, and I took advantage."

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