2013 Boombox Classic: Jackson State vs. Southern

Tuskegee pulls away from Lane

JACKSON, Tennessee  -- Through three-plus years of football with head coach Derrick Burroughs, Lane football has progressed from a league doormat to a competitive team.

Thirty minutes of football Saturday afternoon at Lane Field showed how far the Dragons have to go.
Tuskegee, the defending SIAC champion, outscored Lane 27-0 in the second half for a 42-14 road win in Jackson.

Lane is now 2-2 overall, 0-1 in SIAC play and clearly not yet playing to the standard of a league title contender as was hoped in August.

“Very discouraging day,” Lane coach Derrick Burroughs said. “We couldn’t score, we couldn’t stop them from scoring. We couldn’t do anything offensively. We couldn’t do anything defensively.

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Alabama State rushes for nearly 300 yards in 49-30 win against Alcorn State

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State made what was supposed to be a major matchup against Alcorn State, previously unbeaten in the SWAC, look like easy work in a 49-30 Saturday afternoon.

The Hornets did with a whole lot of running back Isaiah Crowell early on and just enough of his backup Malcolm Cyrus while it stilled mattered in picking up their third win in a row and second ever at its new stadium to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Crowell, the SWAC's leading rusher heading into the contest, rushed for 99 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone as Alabama State went up 28-7.



The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder junior from Columbus, Ga. finished with a game-high 133 yards and four touchdowns to lead all ball carriers.

"High school," said Crowell, a former Georgia signee and five-star recruit, when asked when was the last time he scored that many touchdowns in a game. "I was excited but, really, I was just out there to help my team win. I feel like the line did a good job and I executed."

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TSU Tigers One-Stroke Back at National Black College Hall of Fame Tournament

ATLANTA, Georgia  – The Tennessee State men’s golf team are in striking distance of its third title in four years at the National Black College Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., tournament.  The Tigers shot a 4-over, 292 as a team at the Par-72, 6,539 yard Browns Mill Golf Course on Saturday morning.

 

TSU is one-stroke behind co-leaders, Alabama State and Florida A&M, who turned in a 3-over, 291.

 

“We just need to stay focused on playing the course,” head coach Parrish McGrath said. “We cannot get caught up watching our playing partners. We have a couple of holes, that as a team, we could have played better.”

 

James Stepp and Andrew Warner paced the Tigers with a pair of Even-par, 72’s. Blake Burgett and Codie Welborn each carded a 2-over, 74. Shane Sampair finished day one with a non-scoring 82.

 

Warner drove nine fairways and was just about perfect hitting 17 greens. On the par-3, 2nd, Warner hit his tee-shot to two-feet of the pin to set up one of two birdies on the day.

 

Welborn picked up birdies on 10 and 11 to score a team-best 1-under, 35 on the back-nine. The senior reached the green in two on the par-5, 10th, and had a 10-foot putt for eagle. The putt just lipped out leaving a tap in for birdie. On 11, Welborn would stick his second shot two inches from the cup for another easy tap-in putt.

 

Stepp led the Tigers with four birdies and finished with seven fairways and eight greens in regulation, while Burgett sank three birdies and hit five fairways and 10 greens.

 

The final round will begin at 8:00am on Sunday.

 

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St. Aug Topples Bowie State 29-7 For Second Straight Win

BOWIE, Maryland – Led by a stout defense and a ball-control offense, Saint Augustine's University thumped Bowie State University 29-7 in the CIAA football opener for both teams at Bulldog Stadium on Saturday, September 28, 2013.

The Falcons (2-2 overall) won their second consecutive contest. More importantly, they are off to a flying start in the conference.

"This was a momentum builder," St. Aug Head Coach Michael Costa said. "We needed this win. It really helps our confidence as we continue our CIAA schedule."

Quarterback A.J. Gilford (R-Fr./Savannah, Ga.) completed 17 of 23 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown for the Falcons, who gained 372 total offensive yards. He also added 10 carries for 44 yards. Wide receiver Brian Richards (R-Sr./Waldorf, Md.), playing in his home state, had six receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown and wide receiver Herman Reeves (R-Jr./Miami, Fla.) added three catches for 71 yards. Jermaine Jones (R-Sr./Wilmington, N.C.) had three receptions for 50 yards.

The offense piled up tons of yards, but the defense set the tone. Led by 10 tackles from Chaz Robinson (Sr./Hampton, Va.), the Falcons held their second consecutive opponent to seven points. Safety Dominque Marsh (Jr./Norfolk, Va.) added six tackles and a forced fumble and defensive tackle Nigel Crawford-Kinney (R-Jr./Washington, D.C.) had five tackles including two for losses.

Defensive tackle Shonquez Nelson (Sr./Lake City, S.C.) and defensive end Javarous Faulk (Sr./Macon, Ga.) both totaled a sack and Nelson recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Defensive backs Dezmon Hopkins (Fr./Manassas, Va.) and Brandon Taylor (Fr./Opelika, Ala.) each picked off a pass.

For Bowie State (2-2 overall), quarterback Jared Johnston completed 16 of 34 passes for 191 yards and halfback Keith Brown caught six passes for 42 yards. Defensively, linebacker Antoine Young led the Bulldogs with eight tackles and a forced fumble.

The Bulldogs' offensive line was no match for the Falcons' front line featuring Nelson, Crawford-Kinney, Faulk, Michael Oliver (R-Jr./Washington, D.C.) and Christopher Roberts (R-So./Albany, Ga.). It was a huge reason why the Falcons forced three turnovers and limited the Bulldogs to 256 offensive yards. Thanks to the defense, the Falcons stayed in control despite committing four of their five turnovers in the first half.

"Overall, [the defense] did a good job," Costa said. "We blew an assignment near the goal line which allowed them to score. Other than that, we played well."

The offense gained its rhythm in the second half. They scored 10 points and ate time off the clock, preventing a comeback by the Bulldogs. In the fourth quarter, the Falcons won time of possession 12:09 to 2:51.

The Falcons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. A 45-yard pass from A.J. Gilford to Herman Reaves set up a six-yard scoring run up the middle by Roderick Davenport (R-So./Orangeburg, S.C.) on the opening drive which took three plays. The snap was bobbled on the extra point attempt, leaving the Falcons' lead at 6-0.

Later in the first quarter, the Falcons extended the lead to 12-0. Carlton Butts (Jr./Thomasville, Ga.) blocked a punt which bounced into the Bulldogs' end zone. John'ta Cooper (Jr./Cairo, Ga.) fell on the ball for the touchdown. The pass failed on the two-point conversion attempt.

The four turnovers prevented the Falcons from stretching the lead, but the Bulldogs failed to capitalize because of the St. Aug defense. The Bulldogs made only 1 of 8 third-down conversions in the first half.

The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with their first sustained drive of the game. It led to a Kendall Jefferson touchdown on fourth and inches which cut the Falcons' lead to 12-7. The Falcons responded on the ensuing drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Gilford to Richards, who drew a pass interference penalty on a Bulldogs' defensive back the previous play. Richards, who is 6-3 and weighs 205 pounds, leaped to snag the ball over the smaller defensive back for the score. The extra point by Michael Lima (R-Jr./Miami, Fla.) pushed the lead to 19-7.

The Bulldogs threatened again inside the Falcons' 20-yard line, but the Falcons stiffened on defense and forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs. The Falcons mounted another long drive, keyed by a 33-yard jump-and-catch by wide receiver Jermaine Jones (R-Sr./Wilmington, N.C.) in the fourth quarter. The drive ended with a missed field goal from short distance, but the Falcons ran valuable time off the clock.

The Falcons ventured into Bulldog territory again, this time coming away with a 24-yard field goal by Lima for a 22-7 lead. The defense capped a tremendous performance with a touchdown late in the game. Nelson recovered a fumble in the end zone to ice the game with 1:27 left. Lima kicked the extra point for the final margin.

The Falcons return home for a three-game home stand starting with Elizabeth City State University on Saturday, October 5, 2013. Game time is 1:30 p.m. at John H. Baker Stadium on the campus of Southeast Raleigh High School.

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South Carolina State dumps Hampton, 30-6

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The backfield of Dondre/Brown more than held up Saturday on Willie Jeffries Field at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

With starter Justin Taylor sitting out the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener with a shoulder injury, the Bulldogs utilized a three-headed attack out at running back in Dondre Lewis-Freeman, Dondre Brown and Charles Brown (no relation).

The trio did not miss a beat, combining for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Coupled with another dominating performance by the defense the Bulldogs rolled to a 30-6 victory over the winless Pirates in their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener.

“It was a gratifying experience to see our guys go out and have the kind of success that they had,” S.C. State head football coach Buddy Pough said.

A season-high 17,139 fans and Internet audience watching live on ESPN3.com witnessed Lewis-Freeman rush for a career-best ...



BULLDOGS PHOTO GALLERY

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Southern suffers a painful finish against Jackson State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- The stage was set for the Southern football team to score a thrilling win against rival Jackson State on Saturday night and enter an open date as the last remaining unbeaten in the Southwestern Athletic Conference race.

The Jaguars fell painfully short.

Senior quarterback Dray Joseph had tight end Bradley Coleman open for the go-ahead score with about a minute left, but the fourth-down pass into the end zone was too low for Coleman to corral.

Jackson State celebrated a 19-14 victory before 30,816 fans at A.W. Mumford Stadium, pulling even with Southern in a series that includes 58 meetings.

“We have a good football team, and we fought a good football team,” Southern coach Dawson Odums said. “We just came up short. It came down to the end, just like most of these games do, and we just came up on the wrong side of it.”

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Southern offense laments missed chances, including the last one

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Southern’s search for productive offense had positive notes Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a lethargic overall outing during the Jaguars’ 19-14 loss to Jackson State at A.W. Mumford Stadium.

Southern finished with 348 yards of offense as it nearly matched JSU’s total of 355. But Southern couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities in JSU territory and came up short with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter.

“I hurt for the guys,” Southern coach Dawson Odums said. “This is probably the most focus as a football team we had going into a game.”

Quarterback Dray Joseph threw his only interception early in the fourth quarter. But Southern’s defense held, and Joseph came back to direct Southern on a promising 10-play march to the JSU 7 as the clock ran down. His 32-yard completion to Mike Jones highlighted the series with a first down at the JSU 14.

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Southern rush defense starts strong in loss

The Southern rush defense had been much maligned through the first four games of the season, and rightfully so. The Jaguars had given up 257.2 yards per game, including 419 yards on the ground to Prairie View two weeks ago.

Jackson State entered Saturday’s game as one of the better rushing offenses in the SWAC.

The Tigers racked up an average of 174.5 rushing yards per game, good for third-best in the conference.

However, just as they had done the week before, Southern’s rush defense limited the high-powered rushing attack of Jackson State to a mere 58 yards at the half.

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