Central State Marauders shut out KWC Panthers

Owensboro, Kentucky -- The lack of numbers is starting to catch up to Kentucky Wesleyan College's football team. The Panthers had no answer for Central State in a matchup of winless teams on Saturday at Steele Stadium.

Jeffrey Brooks ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third as Central State broke an eight-game losing streak and beat the Panthers 36-0.

“I thought we would be very competitive in this game, but it didn't work out that way,” KWC coach Brent Holsclaw said. “We're having huge lack of depth issues.” The Panthers are having to patch holes along the offensive line and in their linebacking corps.

“Guys are injured and out there playing,” Holsclaw said.

Brooks hit Chris Murray-Towns with a 42-yard touchdown pass to put Central State up 14-0 with 10:49 left in the first half. Brooks scored on a 15-yard run and a 2-yard run in the third and fourth quarters, pushing Central State to a 29-0 advantage.

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Realignment hits Division II — KWC leaving Great Lakes Valley, will form own conference with Central State (Ohio), others

Owensboro, Kentucky -- It’s not just the big schools shuffling conferences. Kentucky Wesleyan College is leaving the Great Lakes Valley Conference to form its own conference in and around the Ohio River valley, along with Notre Dame College, Ursuline, Cedarville University, Central State University (Ohio) and Urbana University.

KWC officials in recent months had been discussing whether to remain in Division II or consider moving to non-scholarship Division III status over financial concerns, eventually choosing this middle road, of forming a new conference of comparably sized schools and athletic departments.

“We believe that this is the best fit at this moment for Kentucky Wesleyan,” athletic director David Williams said. “Academically, socially, athletically and budgetarily. . . . We are striving for teams that support their programs at similar levels to what we plan to do in the future.”

KWC, a charter member of the GLVC which will remain a GLVC member through next season, is taking a leading role in the conference, planning to have the documents drawn up by Dec. 1 of this year. Unlike in Division I, where schools are looking to step up to bigger arrangements, this was a search aimed at stepping away from escalating athletic budgets.



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VISIT: CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY (OHIO) MARAUDERSPORTS

Central State University Marauders are currently playing football this season as a NCAA Division II Independent member. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced on October 13, 2010 that the associate membership applications of Central State University and Urbana University in the sport of football had been accepted for competition in 2012.

Central State, located just 18 miles east of Dayton in Wilberforce, Ohio, was established in 1887 and currently has an enrollment of over 2,100 undergraduate students. The athletic department, led by athletics director Kellen Winslow, currently participates as an NCAA Division II independent.

CSU reinstituted their football program in 2005 following a nine-year hiatus. Central State is led by head coach E.J. Junior and plays its home contests in McPherson Stadium which seats 7,000. The Marauders began football in 1947 and have a storied history with three NAIA national championships to their credit in the last 20 years.

The GLVC was established in 1978 and is the largest NCAA Division II conference in the country with 17 member institutions in five Midwestern states. With the addition of football in 2012, the GLVC sponsors championships in 18 sports that also includes men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field and volleyball.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Kentucky Wesleyan leaving Great Lakes Valley Conference, plans to form conference with Ohio schools
KWC Staying D2, Leaving GLVC‎

XU Gold Nuggets beat SUNO, win GCAC championship outright

Coach Christabell Hamilton

New Orleans, Louisiana -- Xavier University of Louisiana got 18 kills from freshman Moira Kirk and defeated SUNO 25-12, 15-25, 25-19, 25-8 on Saturday at The Castle to win the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship outright.

The Gold Nuggets (18-6, 9-0) won their first volleyball championship in four intercollegiate seasons. They were 11-26 in 2010 in their first season since 2004.

Kirk hit .533 in 30 attacks and had five blocks. She had four kills during a 10-0 run which gave Xavier a 11-2 lead in the fourth set.

Chinedu Echebelem and Taylor Reuther had seven kills apiece for Xavier, which won its third straight, and Jeanay Butler had five. Reuther had 16 digs, Celeste Poe 12, and Butler and Kia Smith had six apiece. Patrice Hightower assisted on 32 of the Gold Nuggets' 44 kills.

Xavier hit .579 in the first set, then hit .130 in the next to help SUNO (13-9, 7-3) even the match. But the Gold Nuggets, with Kirk collecting five kills, four blocks and an ace, regained control in the third.

"We were too relaxed in the second set and lost our focus," Hightower said. "We didn't make the necessary adjustments, especially with blocking.

"But in the third set we came back out and forgot the second set. I just thought we wanted it more, and we made the adjustments we didn't make eariler."

Senior Iva Bobkova, an All-GCAC performer a year ago but a reserve for the majority of this season, was part of the adjustments.

"We put Iva in the match in the third set to give us a bigger blocker," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "That allowed us to get in front of some balls we weren't getting to earlier."
SUNO aided Xavier in the final set with errors on eight attacks and two serves. Reuther ended the match with a kill.

2011 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions
Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Nuggets 
Record: 18-6, 9-0 GCAC
Roster -  click here
(click picture to enlarge)

"The difference this season was attitude," Bobkova said. "People are just more willing to play for each other than last year. We did not have the desire last year.

"It's frustrating for me to not play as much, but we always think about the team. I'm definitely happier this year."

Hamilton, hired in mid-June, is the third first-year XU coach to win a conference championship. Giles Wright won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball championship in 1937-38, and Alan Green won the GCAC women's tennis title in 2002-03.

"From the very beginning in August I knew we had a lot of work to do," Hamilton said. "After the first home match I knew I had a good team. I just had to put them all on the same page."

Xavier will close the regular season at 2 p.m. next Saturday against city and GCAC rival Dillard at The Barn, the travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the GCAC Tournament on Nov. 10-12. The tournament winner will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship.

"We're still not done," Hamilton said. "There's lots more to do. We can celebrate Sunday, but Monday it's back to work."

NOTES: Xavier never had a winning season before this year and won 30 percent of its matches the first three seasons . . . Kirk's kills were her second most this season. She recorded 23 kills Friday in a five-set victory against Faulkner . . . The Nuggets had two service errors -- none until the middle of the third set -- after committing 10 Friday . . . Xavier swept both regular-season matches against SUNO after losing all four, two in the league tournament, to the Lady Knights in 2010 . . . All three XU fall teams won GCAC Championships. The men's and women's cross country squads won their league titles for the sixth straight time this past Saturday.

Box score

Ed Cassiere

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

SIOUX NICKNAME: Alcorn State still home of the Braves

Grand Fork, North Dakota -- As a student at Alcorn State University in Mississippi from 2000 to 2004, Latoya Shields was a devoted fan of Alcorn Braves athletics. As the school’s sports information director today, she still is. “Once a Brave, always a Brave,” she said.

Except in the post-season.

Alcorn State is a small, historically black college, and it boasts among its alumni the civil rights figure Medgar Evers, “Roots” author Alex Haley, the late NFL quarterback Steve McNair and Leslie Frazier, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

Except for UND, still home of the Fighting Sioux, Alcorn is the only NCAA member school resisting the association’s 2005 ban on use of American Indian names, mascots and imagery.

Vigorously backed by its alumni, Alcorn chose to keep its nickname and accept NCAA sanctions. Thus, its athletic teams still take the field as the Braves — until a Braves team reaches post-season play. Then, the only symbol identifying Alcorn State athletics is a brave capital A — a symbol that bears no small resemblance to a teepee.



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KSU Thoroughbreds thwart Lane Dragons' efforts

Jackson, Tennessee -- Lane went into Saturday's game with Kentucky State with a skeleton crew defense in some areas, but the Dragons helped the Thoroughbreds to three points after halftime.
The problem was Kentucky State scored two touchdowns in the first half en route to a 17-6 win at Lane Field.

"We're just not very good offensively right now," said Lane head coach Derrick Burroughs. "A lot of teams had scored a lot of points on their defense, and I thought we would have a chance to do so, too. "To only get one offensive touchdown, that's not good at all."

Lane was the first team to score as Evan Yabu ran 49 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter, but that was the only time the Dragons would cross the goal line. The Dragons had their opportunities as well.



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WSSU Rams holds on to defeat Shaw Bears

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State's unbeaten season is alive, but barely. The Rams, ranked No. 9 in the Division II coaches' poll, needed a key defensive play in the fourth quarter to secure a 21-14 victory against the Shaw Bears in front of about 3,500 at windy Bowman Gray Stadium.

An interception by defensive back Cameron Demps with 8:21 left turned the momentum in the favor of the Rams, who improved to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the CIAA — and posted their first unbeaten conference finish since 1999.

Coach Connell Maynor of WSSU preached all last week that the Bears, last season's CIAA champs but now 2-7, would come at the Rams hard.

"These guys are the ex-champions, and I knew they wouldn't have any quit in them," Maynor said. "We knew they would come out and fight us. And they gave us their best shot. And it was a good test, and we needed that."



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24-3 Tuskegee victory a bright spot on difficult year

Tuskegee, Alabama -- The 2011 campaign has been difficult in many ways for Willie Slater and his program. Tuskegee isn't comfortably resting atop the conference standings like in seasons past and Slater will finish with his worst record as head football coach since taking over in 2006. Saturday afternoon, however, brought some normalcy and smiles back to the Golden Tigers in the form of a 24-3 victory over Clark Atlanta.

"I think we've been getting better all year," said Slater, whose worst season at TU was last year's 9-2 mark. "We've gotten better every week, but we're still making a lot of mistakes. We needed this win, so we'll take whatever we can get and any way we can get it right about now."

It was the fifth consecutive win over the visiting Panthers (2-7, 1-5 SIAC), who trail 58-15-3 all-time in a series that dates back to 1902. Tuskegee's last loss in the series came during Slater's inaugural campaign. Tuskegee (3-5, 3-3) aims to string together its first pair of wins when Miles College visits Abbott Memorial Stadium next week.



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Home sweet home: Albany State Rams trample Tigers in rout

Albany, Georgia -- One win away. Albany State's 37-13 Homecoming victory against Benedict on Saturday has the Rams one win away from an SIAC East Division Championship. One win away from extending their season. One win away from Rams coach Mike White getting a Gatorade bath. On Saturday, ASU defensive leader Justin Blash almost jumped the gun on that Gatorade bath.

"I was standing beside (White at the end of the game), and I was acting like somebody was getting ready to hit coach White with the Gatorade," said Blash, a 320-pound defensive tackle. "I said, 'Watch out, they have the Gatorade!' He tensed up for it. But I was just playing."

Blash may have been joking at the end of the game, but the No. 22 nationally ranked Rams were all business early in the game Saturday. They held Benedict to zero offensive yards in the first half and scored about every way possible to take an insurmountable 31-0 lead into intermission.

Even though the Rams (7-2, 5-1) came out with little ...



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Morehouse, Carter take care of FVSU

Fort Valley, Georgia -- Morehouse’s David Carter wears No. 32 on game days. The running back, however, might as well have had a question mark embroidered on his jersey Saturday at Wildcat Stadium. Fort Valley State simply had no answer for the SIAC’s leading rusher.

Carter needed merely a half to break the Morehouse single-game program record for rushing yards, finishing with 351 on 32 carries. The junior also scored on touchdown runs of 60, 45, 22 and 2 yards as Morehouse throttled FVSU 49-12.

Morehouse rang up 536 of its 662 yards on the ground.

“We couldn’t tackle the big running back,” FVSU head coach Donald Pittman said. “Defending the run has been our Achilles’ heel. “We gave them a short field a lot of times to work with, and we had some key people that did not make plays. That kept the defense out on the field.”

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Stillman Tigers falls in close one against Miles Golden Bears

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (Oct.27, 2011) | The Miles College Golden Bears squeaked by rival Stillman College to claim the Southern Intercollegeate Athletic Conference Western Division title with a 9-7 victory, one year after going 3-8 and finishing in near the bottom in the conference.

The Golden Bears (6-3) won with a suffocating defense, holding the Tigers (6-3) to just 210 yards of offense and forcing three interceptions, including two in the fourth quarter. They also got just enough offense, led by quarterback David Thomas who went 17 of 25 for 180 yards.

“It’s been a long time coming for Miles College,” first-year coach Reginald Ruffin said. “I asked these guys to just to buy, and these guys have bought in.”

The Golden Bears got off to a fast start, starting the game with a trick play. Quarterback David Thomas threw a 50-yard bomb to D.J. Fife on a flea-flicker pass on the first play from scrimmage. Several plays later, running back Jordan Lewis took a pitch in from four yards out for the score, diving into the end zone to cap off the scoring drive. The extra point was blocked.



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Seniors eye another upset in FVSU home finale

Fort Valley, Georgia -- Senior night is always an emotional one for a team, regardless of how a season has gone. The players preparing for their final home game start thinking about how fast their career has gone and how their lives have changed.

It’s no cakewalk for coaches, for similar reasons. They’ve watched players grow from green, wide-eyed freshmen who were either timid or arrogant upon arrival turn into young men. The Wildcats will honor 16 seniors before the home finale, and it will be a little painful for the FVSU coaches to watch.

Nine position players are basically starters, and one position player, wideout Demario Barber, is one of the nation’s top punt returners. Nearly all in the group are regulars who get substantive snaps. Head coach Donald Pittman noted how many played only on special teams as freshmen and can only wonder about if they had been redshirted.

“If those guys would be able to play next year?” Pittman said. “Wow. What an impact.”



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Maynor, WSSU Rams have sights set high

Winston Salem, North Carolina -- Coach Connell Maynor approaches a familiar football intersection driving a John Deere utility vehicle that resembles a golf cart as it climbs the rocky hill from the Winston-Salem State practice field to Bowman Gray Stadium.

The green cart, adorned with a tiny Rams decal on the front, matches the recreational tastes of a former quarterback who shoots around par during golfing months.

On October's final Saturday afternoon, though, golf takes a back seat beside bags of workout footballs while Maynor strives to scratch out a win against Shaw. The Rams, 8-0 and No. 9 in the NCAA Division II coaches' poll, look perfectly situated, having clinched a spot in the CIAA title game.



Despite routing the field by an average score of 48-16 thus far, the Rams could still blow their NCAA ride. Cruise control remains a dangerous illusion, which WSSU discovered last season when St. Augustine's and Shaw derailed the roaring red revivalists. Shaw intercepted a disastrous screen pass and converted a short touchdown drive for the second defeat.

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Kirk's work helps Xavier Gold Nuggets defeat Faulkner in five

EW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Freshman Moira Kirk had 23 kills, the most by a Xavier University of Louisiana player this season, to rally the Gold Nuggets in a 25-19, 14-25, 17-25, 25-20, 15-12 women's volleyball victory Friday against Faulkner.

Kirk had three kills in the final seven rallies to help the Gold Nuggets (17-6) rally from a 17-14 deficit in the fourth set, then she closed the match with consecutive kills after Xavier trailed 3-0 and 9-5 in the fifth.

"I wish I had a team full of Moira Kirks," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "I say that because of her heart. She plays hard every day, whether it's a match or practice. She always gives me 100 percent, and sometimes she exceeds that. She's a leader by example."

Kirk also had four blocks and an ace and hit a team-best .364 in 44 attacks. Chinedu Echebelem had 10 kills, eight digs and three blocks, and Taylor Reuther had eight kills, 16 digs and a career-best five blocks. Xavier also got 11 digs from Celeste Poe and a career-high 17 digs from Kia Smith, whose dig set up Kirk's winning shot.

"Kia Smith played a great match," Hamilton said. "She's continued to fight for playing time. She's gotten more time recently, and today she stepped up."

Neysa Hernandez had 14 kills, 10 digs, two blocks and two aces for Faulkner (18-17), which dropped its fourth straight. Kelsey Bell had 10 kills and 23 digs, and Abbie Melvin had 19 digs.
Xavier took the lead for good in the deciding set with a 7-1 run. Echebelem and Jeanay Butler blocked Brittnay Renfroe's attack to tie the score at 10, and Reuther's lone ace put the Nuggets ahead to stay.

"Man, we were in some trouble in the fifth," Hamilton said. "I just told them that we've got to stay together and keep fighting."

It's the second time in the program's four seasons that Xavier won after trailing two sets to one, and it's the first time in five tries that the Gold Nuggets defeated Faulkner. This is the first Xavier team with three five-set victories in a season.

Both teams committed 48 errors. Xavier outhit Faulkner .155 to .154 and had a 71-67 advantage in digs, but the Lady Eagles had advantages of 54-48 in kills, 8-4 in aces and 9-7 in blocks.

Xavier will travel to Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and city rival SUNO for a 6 p.m. match Saturday. The Gold Nuggets have clinched a share of the GCAC regular-season championship and need a victory against SUNO or Dillard to win the title outright. SUNO and Dillard are both 7-2 in conference, and they're the only teams which can catch Xavier.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Savannah State meets Hampton on homecoming Saturday

Savannah, Georgia -- There are still four games to go in the football season for the Savannah State Tigers. After losing six of the first seven, you might think first-year coach Steve Davenport would be looking at younger players.

But Davenport isn’t using the final part of the season as an audition for next year. Particularly today on the Tigers’ homecoming.

“We’re not at that point,” said Davenport, whose squad meets Hampton University at 2 p.m. at T.A Wright Stadium. “I don’t want to toss the seniors aside just for the sake of looking at young kids. We’re going to play the best players. The guys we have playing are the older guys and they’re the best players.

“Our mentality the whole time is we’re going to play the best players. If the results aren’t good enough, then we have to go out and get better players.”



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Scouting report: Morgan State vs. Delaware State

Morgan State (4-3, 3-1 MEAC) vs. Delaware State (2-5, 0-4 MEAC)
Time: 1 p.m.
Radio: 88.9 FM
Series: Morgan leads series 30-23
MSU Gamenotes

What's at stake: Morgan State, which is tied for first place in the MEAC, will face the struggling Hornets on the road as both teams are coming off bye weeks. Before the break, the Bears had won two straight, including a dominant 52-3 victory at North Carolina Central on Oct. 29. Meanwhile, the Hornets have plummeted in the standings. After winning its first two games of the season, Delaware State has lost five straight under first-year coach Kermit Blount. The Bears have not won at Delaware State since 2003, when they claimed a 53-36 victory.

Key matchup: Morgan State running back Travis Davidson rushed for a game-high 142 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears' rout of N.C. Central two weeks ago. The junior leads the team with 455 rushing yards this season and five touchdowns. Running backs have had no problem against the Hornets, who have allowed more than 200 rushing yards per game this season. The Delaware State defense has allowed a MEAC-worst 441 yards per game.

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Spears makes return to SU as Alcorn coach

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- This weekend's game will be a homecoming of sorts for so many more than the Southern University faithful. Sure alums, former faculty members, administrators and fans from all over will converge on the Baton Rouge campus on Saturday in anticipation of seeing old friends, watching a little football and hearing the SU band, also known as the Human Jukebox perform.

But as Southern (2-5, 2-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) prepares to host Alcorn State (2-4, 1-4) Saturday at 5:30 p.m. inside A.W. Mumford Stadium, the Jaguars are also aware it will be a homecoming for several players and coaches from the visiting team.

Alcorn first-year head coach Melvin Spears, a Clinton native, grew up a short drive away from the SU campus.

Michael Roach, a Baton Rouge native and a 1985 graduate of SU, is Alcorn's assistant head coach/defensive coordinator. Roach played football at SU and later coached at the school after graduation. Until last year, he was also the head coach at Southern Lab, which is located on the SU campus.







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Andrews aims for history: Receiver set to break ASU career mark

Montgomery, Alabama -- He's humble by anyone's standards, so it wasn't easy for Nick Andrews to stand in front of teammates and announce his individual goals.

The Alabama State senior receiver was one of a handful head coach Reggie Barlow called on after an August practice, asking the player to step forward and tell teammates of his personal goals for 2011 as well as hopes for the Hornets this season.

Andrews spoke of returning to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game and completing the mission after losing to Texas Southern in 2010.



"At the end, I was like, 'My individual goal is to break his record,' " he said, referring to Barlow's career receiving yard standard at Alabama State. "He told (offensive coordinator Fred) Kaiss, 'If he breaks my record, this is your senior year, too.'

"We joke about that all the time."

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Grambling State plays Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday in important SWAC game

Grambling, Louisiana -- Suddenly, Grambling State University is back in business in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Well, almost.

"We've won our last two games, but this season is far from over and there's no need to start bringing out the black and gold pom-pons and start cheering," said Tigers' Head Coach Doug Williams. "There's still a whole lot of work to be done and it all starts Saturday."

Grambling (3-4, 2-3) will have an important 2:30 p.m. test against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-3, 3-2) at the Golden Lions' Stadium.

It will mark the Tigers' first road appearance in nearly a month after having dealt with an open date and then back-to-back home games, the latest being last week's 30-24 overtime victory against Mississippi Valley. Saturday's game looms significant in the SWAC chase. UAPB is in second place and GSU third for the Western Division.

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FAMU football tops MEAC in nine categories

Tallahassee, Florida -- Getting to its bye week has been quite a rollercoaster ride for Florida A&M. But even as they sit in a third-place tie, the Rattlers have plenty to feel good about — at least through this weekend's MEAC games.

The Rattlers amazingly are leading the league in nine of 33 statistical categories. Topping the achievement is the team's 19 interceptions, which is the best in the national in all levels of college football.

FAMU also has the conference's best scoring offense, kicker off coverage, PAT success, third-down conversions, time of possession, red zone offense, red zone defense and sacks.

"I take my hat off to the coaches," head coach Joe Taylor said Thursday, as he read the list. "We have been adjusting as we go and that's why you see us playing better."

Safety Anthony Shutt agreed that the stats that the Rattlers are racking up is the result of the chemistry between players on both sides of the ball.



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This week in Georgia HBCU Football

Macon, Georgia -- The SIAC race has come down to the end. Albany State controls their own destiny. The Rams can represent the SIAC East with wins vs. Benedict and FVSU in the final 2 games. Morehouse is in good position if they win the 2 remaining games and Albany State loses one of the 2 remaining games.

Morehouse Tigers - As you all know the Maroon Tigers have been my pick since the beginning. The Tigers won on homecoming in a come from behind win 37-31 last saturday vs. Benedict. RB David Carter turned in 111 yards and the game winning touchdown. The Maroon Tigers are in the mix, but are in a peculiar position as they no longer control their own destiny. Morehouse is such a quality team that I still believe even if they don't get into the conference championship game a Division II playoff game is in store. A worst Morehouse is looking at a Pioneer Bowl bid, and they have had a very good season.

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Fort Valley State vs. Stillman College - 2011 Pregame Battle