WSSU Salutes Veterans at Nov. 9 Game

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State University Athletics will be hosting a Veterans Appreciation Day to thank those who have served their community and their country. There will be events throughout the day to help and to honor our veterans ending with special presentations before and during the WSSU Ram's football game against Fayetteville State University at Bowman Gray Stadium.

The first 500 veterans participating in the Veterans Fair can receive a free ticket to the football game, purchase three additional tickets at the discounted price of $10 and enjoy a free lunch.

There will be a Veterans Fair from 9 a.m. until noon at the Reserve Center, 1245 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Winston-Salem (across from Bowman Gray Stadium), as well as the Veterans Administration will be providing a variety of information on benefits. The VA Hospital will be on site to do screenings, healthcare education and enrollment, and there will also be free flu shots for the first 200 veterans.

Veterans can pick up a free ticket to the WSSU football game and you can purchase up to three discounted tickets for family members at $10 each. The tickets are good for entrance to the game and for the Meal of Honor cookout at the Chancellor's Hospitality Tent in the field house parking lot. A game ticket is required for entry to that lot and will serve as your ticket for lunch. Please bring your DD214 or Veterans ID Card with you for verification.

Veterans can park for free at the Anderson Center, and Lot Q (Reynolds Park Road) on campus and there will be shuttle service to the Veterans Fair and from the Fair to the Hospitality Tent. There will also be cadet escorts for those who want to walk across the street from the Reserve Center to the stadium. At the end of the game, please gather at the West Ticket Gate for shuttle service back to your vehicle. Handicapped parking will be in the lot at the Reserve Center.

From video tributes to our veterans and a special National Anthem presentation, we will be honoring those of you who have served. At the end of half-time, the WSSU Red Sea of Sound Marching Band will play a medley of all the songs connected to the different military branches.

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Defense still stellar for struggling Fort Valley State

FORT VALLEY, Georgia -- Donald Pittman and Steve Spurrier have something in common.
Both arrived at their current positions with reputations based on offense.

And both have ended up overseeing programs that are better on defense.

Like South Carolina under Spurrier, Fort Valley State under Pittman has been consistently stronger on defense.

More often than not, there has been some help from the offense, but not so much this season for the 3-5 Wildcats.

And even without many full-time assistant coaches, there are the Wildcats again among Division II’s leaders in a variety of categories.

“That’s the thing,” Pittman said. “These guys have been here awhile. It’s a seasoned group.”

Of the top 10 FVSU tacklers, four are seniors and four are juniors with two sophomores. And the defensive wealth is spread around, after LeRon Furr. The senior from Columbus by way of Oklahoma State tops FVSU with 60 tackles, 16.5 for loss and three sacks.



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Savannah State coach expects no letdown from S.C. State Bulldogs

SAVANNAH, Georgia – Earnest Wilson III holds his coaching “elders” in high regard.

The first-year head coach at Savannah State is preparing to play host this Saturday to South Carolina State, which is led by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s co-longest tenured sideline leader Buddy Pough. He’s expecting nothing short of a difficult challenge awaiting his Tigers at Ted Wright Stadium.

“The old man Mr. Pough is coming to town,” Wilson said at Tuesday’s weekly MEAC teleconference. “Great coach, great team. He’s having a pretty good year. Their guys come off the football both offensively and defensively very well. I think, hopefully, we can play them tough and be around in the fourth quarter with a chance to win.

“Hopefully, they’re a potential (Football Championship Subdivision) playoff team for the MEAC. But we’re going to have to be on our game in order to win this. Like I said, he’s a great coach with a great staff. We have to be ready to play.”

Savannah State is 1-11 all-time against the Bulldogs, but ...

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Newly-resurrected team holds first alumni game

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- “That first year was crazy – we almost didn’t have a team at all,” said Markley, referencing the fact that the school had to scramble to field a team in time to rejoin the CIAA conference. “But we were like a family – we kind of got to know each other off the bat.”

Over the course of that first season, Markley and his teammates fought for a position in the conference, battling a public perception that the young team didn’t have what it took to be successful while pulling off 30 wins.

“We started bonding and we started winning – people didn’t expect us to,” recalled Markley, who graduated last year. “It was probably the most fun baseball team I’ve ever been a part of.”

The team, the first WSSU baseball team in nearly 40 years, claimed the 2011 CIAA Championship and repeated that feat in 2012 and 2013 championships.

Coach Kevin Ritsche and 18 other former Rams played in the school’s first Alumni Baseball Game on Sunday at BB&T Ballpark. Head Coach Kevin Ritsche conceived the game, which pitted alumni against current players – as a means of connecting his players to the team’s recent but storied past. Ritsche, a two-time CIAA Coach of the Year, said he invited players who represented WSSU prior to the program’s end in 1973, but received no takers, leaving the Alumni Game in the hands of recent graduates.

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Week 10: HBCU Football Schedule & ScoreCard

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From Homecoming... Courtesy of the N.C.A&T State University BGMM Media Team...

Last Week
Bethune-Cookman (4-0) moved into sole position of first place in the MEAC with a 14-3 win over South Carolina State (3-1). With the win, the Wildcats extended its conference win streak to 17 games. After starting out 0-5, Hampton has rebounded to record a three-game win streak in conference play and is currently tied at second place with S.C. State. NCCU return specialist Adrian Wilkins leads the FCS in punt returns for TDs. Last week Wilkins recorded his fourth return touchdown for the season with two punt returns for TDs and 2 kick returns for TDs.   READ MORE

The SWAC is the only league in the FCS that has three teams with 4 (or more) wins in a row. Clayton Moore accounted for five touchdowns to keep Jackson State (7-2, 7-0) unbeaten in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Moore passed for 235 yards and four touchdowns including three to Zach Pendleton in the first half. He also rushed for 104 yards, a score, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Ben Anderson accounted for four touchdwons to lift the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to a 38-18 win over Mississippi Valley State at Rice-Totten Stadium on Saturday. Anderson threw two touchdowns passes and rushed for two more to help UAPB (1-7, 1-5) earn its first win of the season. READ MORE

Friday, November 1, 2013

SWAC
Southern at Texas Southern, 9PM

Saturday, November 2, 2013

MEAC
Bethune-Cookman at North Carolina Central, 12 Noon, TV: ESPNews
Virginia University Lynchburg at North Carolina A&T, 1 PM, H
Hampton at Morgan State, 1 PM
Florida A&M at Norfolk State, 2 PM, H
South Carolina State at Savannah State, 2 PM
Howard at Delaware State, 2 PM

OVC
Tennessee State at Eastern Kentucky, 1 PM  TV: ESPN3

SWAC
Mississippi Valley State at Grambling State, 3PM, H
Alabama A&M at Alcorn State, 5PM
Alabama State at Kentucky, 7:30PM, TV: ESPN GAMEPLAN/ESPN3

SIAC
Kentucky State at Lane, 2PM
Central State at Tuskegee, 2PM H
Benedict at Albany State, 2PM
Miles at Stillman, 5PM
Shorter at Clark Atlanta, 6PM
Morehouse at Fort Valley State, 6PM

OTHER CONFERENCES AND INDEPENDENTS
West Chester at Cheyney, 12Noon
Edward Waters at Ave Marie, 1 PM
Notre Dame College at West Virginia State, 1PM
Georgia Military at Concordia-Selma, 2PM
Langston at Oklahoma Panhandle State, 3PM
Lincoln (Mo.) at Central Oklahoma, 3PM
Texas College at Houston Baptist, 8PM


CIAA
Virgina State at Chowan, 1PM
Elizabeth City State at Virginia Union, 1PM
Lincoln (Pa.) at Bowie State, 1PM
Shaw at Winston-Salem State, 1:30PM
Johnson C. Smith at Saint Augustine's, 1:30PM
Fayetteville State at Livingstone, 1:30PM

(H)  Homecoming
Game Times are stated in Eastern Time Zone


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TSU Tigers Look to Rebound at Eastern Kentucky

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – After dropping last week’s contest to Eastern Illinois, 34-16, the Tennessee State football team looks to get back to its winning ways this weekend when the squad travels to Eastern Kentucky for a tilt with the Colonels.

 

The loss at the hands of the Panthers was the first in Ohio Valley Conference play for the Tigers (7-2, 4-1 OVC) this season, and ended their seven-game winning streak.

 

There were some bright spots for the TSU defense as junior linebacker Nick Thrasher notched a game-high 10 tackles (seven solo) and forced a fumble. He is now sixth in the league in tackles with 68.

 

Defensive ends Antonio Harper and Anthony Bass also came up big for Tennessee State, combining for 11 stops, four tackles for loss, three sacks and a fumble recovery. Bass is fifth in the nation in sacks with 7.5, while Harper is third in the OVC in the category with five.

 

Offensively, TSU was forced to throw the ball more than usual in hopes of a comeback, and Ronald Butler reaped the benefits. The Tallahassee, Fla. native set career-highs in completions (24), attempts (45), yards (212), carries (nine) and was turnover free. The first-year starter has turned in a solid 2013 campaign, holding a 61 percent completion rate and a nine-to-three touchdown to interception ratio.

 

Senior running back Tim Broughton continued his charge for the OVC rushing title against the Panthers, gaining 93 yards on the ground on just 16 carries. Broughton has had at least 80 yards in each of TSU’s past eight contests and is first in the league with 918 yards.

 

Running lanes for Broughton and the Tigers could be few and far between against EKU (5-3, 3-1 OVC) as the Colonels are tops in the conference in rushing defense (103 yards per game). Eastern Kentucky also ranks second in total defense, directly behind TSU.

 

EKU’s unit doesn’t have a single standout; rather it has been a team-wide effort with five players recording at least 30 stops on the year. Tyler Horn is the high man with 37 tackles and has also picked off a pass and forced a fumble.

 

Quarterback Jared McClain has led the Colonel offense this season and has accounted for 1,480 total yards, good enough for fourth in the conference. The dual-threat junior has thrown nine touchdowns on the year and has run for a team-best six more.

 

The Tigers are 5-20 all-time against Eastern Kentucky, but have won three of the last four meetings including last year’s thrilling, 23-20, victory in Nashville.

TSU will face off against EKU on ESPN3 on Saturday, Nov. 2 with kickoff slated for 12:04 central time.

 

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COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

ASU Braves Thursday Night Game Versus Prairie View Not Televised

COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

LORMAN, Mississippi -- The Alcorn State vs. Prairie View A&M football game on Thursday November 7, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. will not be televised next week.

The game is being marketed as, "A White Out for The Braves Night Out" and all fans and alumni are encouraged to come out and support the Braves by wearing their favorite Alcorn white t-shirts/sweatshirts. We will also be honoring local education and emergency first responders throughout the game.

Local school students in official school uniforms or with a valid school ID from the Vicksburg-Warren School District, Claiborne County School District, Jefferson County School District and Adams County Schools along with emergency personnel— policemen, firemen, emergency medical technicians, paramedics — with Employer ID or in Official Uniform can enter the game free of charge through Gate 8 of Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium. All game attendees will also receive free glow sticks upon entering the gate.

All other General Admission tickets will be $5. General Parking and Premium Parking along with Tailgating will be discounted to $5. RV parking is $15.

Alcorn Faculty and Staff are encouraged to purchase game tickets which includes an invitation to the President's Tailgate Tent where food and drinks will be served and they can pick up their Holiday Turkey Gift from the University at the end of halftime.

The Show Me the Money Punt, Pass and Kick Student Competition will take center stage during halftime festivities. Two students will have the opportunity to kick a 25-yard field goal and win $500 each in cash that will be added to their ASU Gold Cards.

Come out and cheer on your Alcorn State Braves Football Team for this fun, festive and family-friendly evening.


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