Winston-Salem State Rams’ Miller takes to learning on the fly

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Fullback Will Miller of Winston-Salem State was tempted to spike the ball after catching the first touchdown pass of his career in last weekend’s playoff victory against Slippery Rock.

Adding to the temptation for Miller, a 24-year-old junior and 2007 Carver High graduate, was the fact that it was the first touchdown he scored, ever, after years of toiling as a lineman through youth football and into high school.

"The funny thing was it was my only touchdown, and it was actually a highlight on ESPN,” Miller said. “How great is that?”

WSSU highlights don’t usually make it to ESPN’s “Sports Center.” But they did this time, because the Rams were in the national news after the attack on quarterback Rudy Johnson at a CIAA luncheon Nov. 15 and the playoff game was Johnson’s first since then.

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Shepherd is winning despite limited scholarships

SHEPHERDTOWN, West Virginia  -- It’s difficult to know for sure which of the 16 teams left in the Division II football playoffs has the smallest number of scholarships, but Shepherd at least is a candidate for doing the most with the least.

Shepherd (10-0) has about 19 scholarships, said Coach Monte Cater, who has 200 wins in his 27 seasons at the school. His team’s opponent for Saturday’s second-round game, Winston-Salem State, has about 28 scholarships, and the Division II maximum is 36.

Cater has seen many changes in Division II, but one constant is that teams with the most scholarships usually have an advantage in the postseason.

"You tend to see that as the playoffs unfold," he said.

"We just try and work with ...

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S.C. State, B-CU: 2 shots at breaking MEAC skid

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  -- The time for “campaigning” for more favorable representation in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is over.

With two teams in the field of 24 for the first time since 2010, Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State have turned their attention toward ending the conference’s 16-game losing streak in the playoffs this weekend in the Palmetto State. The Wildcats will get a second crack this Saturday in Conway at Coastal Carolina in a rematch of last year’s first-round matchup, while the 25th-ranked Bulldogs play host to Furman.

“I’ve stopped trying to campaign,” said Bethune-Cookman head football coach Brian Jenkins, who was outspoken about the MEAC deserving an at-large berth. “I’ve just put my focus towards taking care of business we need to take care of since we’re one of the teams that was automatically selected. But I’ll tell you what? I think it also speaks volumes that the selection committee and many others are starting to take notice in selecting us as well as South Carolina State as one of the top teams, as well as Tennessee State.

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Bethune-Cookman seniors lead ball-hawking secondary

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Cornerbacks Tim Burke and Dion Hanks arrived at Bethune-Cookman together three years ago, and since then they have collected three championship rings. Now the seniors want to earn one more before they leave.

“Our goal is to win a national championship,” said Burke, who won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles with the Wildcats in 2010, 2012 and this season. “We've got to win four more games to make it (to the title game).”

 

First, B-CU has to win an FCS playoff game for the first time, which they will try to do at 1 p.m. Saturday in a first-round contest at Coastal Carolina. The winner travels to No. 8 seed Montana next week for the round of 16.

 

The corners have been on the losing end twice in the playoffs, both times at home (against New Hampshire in 2010 and Coastal in 2012).

 

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TSU Tigers to Take on Butler Bulldogs on Saturday's Playoffs

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -- On Saturday, the Tennessee State football team will play in its first postseason game since 1999 when the squad travels to Butler for the opening round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

 

The Tigers were off for the first time all season last weekend, giving them a chance to get some of their banged up players healthy.

 

Redshirt junior quarterback Michael German is one who benefited from the extra rest, and he is cleared to participate against the Bulldogs.

 

German, who has only played in five contests this year, has completed 45-of-78 passes for 725 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Pompano Beach, Fla. native has also not thrown an interception all year.

Freshman Ronald Butler has filled in admirably for German this season, completing 130-of-223 passes for 1343 yards, 12 scores and only four picks.

 

However, the offense has not been the same when German is forced to miss. TSU is 4-3 in such contests and only scored an average of 18.4 points per game. With German, TSU is 5-0 and averaging 42.2 points.

 

The Tigers could use the points, but the Big Blue defense has been dominant this season, only allowing 278.9 yards per contest. TSU also sits inside the top ten in third down conversion defense (1st), tackles for loss (5th), passing efficiency defense (6th), scoring defense (6th) and rushing defense (9th).

 

The stellar play of the unit starts upfront where the Tigers boast a defensive line that consists of four players who have recorded at least four sacks on the year. Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Anthony Bass is first on the squad with 10, which ranks him tied for seventh nationally. Senior, and fellow First Team All-OVC’er, Antonio Harper plays at the defensive end spot, and is fourth on the team with 44 stops and tied for second with 11 tackles for loss.

 

The Tigers will need to continue to play well on defense on Saturday when they take on Butler (9-3) who won the Pioneer Football League for the second consecutive time.

 

Butler will be the first PFL team to participate in the playoffs, benefiting from a defense that currently ranks seventh nationally with 30 takeaways in 2013 and the squad has a +0.9 per game turnover margin, which is 10th in the FCS. Senior Sean Grady leads the squad with four interceptions on the year.

 

Offensively, senior quarterback Matt Lancaster is averaging 239.9 passing yards per game and has 19 passing and 12 rushing touchdowns this season. Senior tailback Trae Hester was the only PFL rusher to average over 100 yards per game this season, finishing the season with 1,311 yards and 13 scores.

TSU has never faced Butler, but is 1-3 all-time in the Playoffs (and an additional 1-2 in years vacated). This will also be the first time that Tennessee State has played 13 games in one season.

 

The winner of Saturday’s game will meet Eastern Illinois on Dec. 7.

 

TSU will kickoff at Butler at 12 p.m. CT, and fans can watch the game on ESPN3.



COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

TSU players say playoffs are way to go

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- For years fans of big-time college football have been clamoring for what the Football Championship Subdivision has had for decades: a playoff system.

The Football Bowl Subdivision will finally take a step in that direction next season when it introduces a four-team playoff.

It will be a step in the right direction, according to some of Tennessee State’s players. The Tigers are getting a taste of the playoffs, which were expanded this year to 24 teams, for the first time since 1999.

“The playoffs are what football is about,” said TSU senior running back Tim Broughton, who rushed for 1,046 yards on 212 carries in the regular season. “It’s how the NFL does it, and that tells you all you need to know.”

The Tigers (9-3) will visit Butler (9-3) on Saturday in the first round. The winner moves on to play No. 2 Eastern Illinois, which has a first-round bye.

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Nuggets lose to Oklahoma Baptist in Capital City Classic

Paige Gauthier

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After a halftime tie, Oklahoma Baptist pulled away for a 75-46 women's basketball victory Thursday against Xavier University of Louisiana in the opening game of the Capital City Classic.

The Lady Bison (6-1), ranked 23rd in NAIA Division I, won their fifth in a row.

Paige Gauthier scored nine points and Vinnie Briggs eight for the Gold Nuggets (4-3), ranked 15th in the NAIA.

Jalissa Council scored a career-high 24 points, 15 in the second half, for Oklahoma Baptist. Elisabeth Daniels scored 17 points, and Charity Fowler had 11.

Xavier trailed 20-15 after Zbeyda Aremi's layup for OBU at 5:54 of the first half, but the Nuggets got five points from Briggs to rally for a halftime tie at 28. Xavier took its final lead, 27-26, on Chelsea Broussard's layup with 36 seconds remaining.

Oklahoma Baptist scored the first seven points of the second half and led 46-32 after Council's 3-point play with 13:43 remaining.

The Lady Bison outshot the Gold Nuggets 50 to 32.1 percent from the floor -- 65.4 to 25.9 percent in the second half -- and outrebounded them 47-29.

Xavier will play NAIA No. 2 Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. Friday in the final game of this event.

Box score

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