FAMU football coaches get aboard 10 for $10 campaign

HEAD COACH EARL HOLMES

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- Earl Holmes and his staff of assistants have gotten aboard in support of a 10 for $10 fund-raising campaign that is rapidly approach the $100,000 mark since it began just over a week ago.

The football coaches donated $150. Wednesday, said Cecka Rose Green. She initiated the campaign with a "let's see what happens" approach on Labor Day.

The idea has gone viral and as of mid-afternoon Wednesday had raised $76,916.85 from 2,319 donors online.

"I think it's an excellent idea," Holmes said at the 220 Quarterback Club's luncheon. "I think it's catchy. You have to start small, but think big and that's exactly what I'm seeing."

The coaches will continue to give online, where they and other donors could earmark their donations to a specific program at FAMU, Rose Green said. She said she hopes that other athletic programs will follow suit.

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#4 Coastal Carolina football ready to play at North Carolina A&T

CONWAY, South Carolina  -- The 4th ranked Coastal Carolina football team is set to take on North Carolilna A&T on Saturday, September 6 at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

CCU is 4-0 lifetime against North Carolina A&T out of the MEAC. The Chants own a 17-1 career record against MEAC teams.

Coming off a 31-16 season-opening victory at The Citadel, Coastal hits the road for a second straight week. It is the first time in program history that CCU has started a season with two FCS games away from home.

The North Carolina A&T Aggies won their opener 47-13 over Alabama A&M. Former Scotland Scots quarterback Kwashaun Quick leads the Aggies offense. Quick had nine carries for 94 yards and scored two TD's last week.

VIDEO

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Milstead: 'It feels great to be home' at DSU

DOVER, Delaware  -- Rod Milstead represents the best of Delaware State University's football past.

His All-American career with the frequent MEAC-champion Hornets from 1988-91 was the foundation of an eight-year NFL stint during which the guard earned a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers.

But it's Delaware State's football future – and its immediate 6 p.m. test Saturday at Delaware – that command Milstead's attention these days.

Under a hot afternoon sun Wednesday, on the steamy turf at Alumni Stadium, Milstead attempted to convey those interests to the DSU offensive linemen he is in his first season coaching.


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XU's Fakler, Jackson finish first at Big Easy Opener



XU women's and men's cross country at 2014 Xavier Big Easy Opener



NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Catherine Fakler set a school record for two miles, Kwame Jackson posted his second-fastest 5,000 meters, and both were individual winners Friday in the Xavier Big Easy Opener cross country meet at City Park.
     
Xavier won the women's team title. The Gold Nuggets had seven of the eight fastest finishers and scored 18 points.

Fakler finished in 12 minutes, 42.18 seconds to break Denitra Robinson's 2001 XU mark of 13:13.3. It was the sixth time that Fakler, the 2013 Louisiana Runner of the Year, has broken a school record. She also holds the 4K. 5K and 6K marks.
     
"I'm really excited to hold four records," said Fakler, a senior. "But I'm sure one of my teammates will break this record next year. I wish I could've gone faster."
     
Jackson, a two-time All-Louisiana runner and a two-time Gulf Coast Athletic Conference champion, won the men's race in 16:21.57. The time is the second-fastest by a Gold Rush runner in the last 12 seasons; Jackson ran 16:12.13 as a freshman in 2011.
     
 "I felt pretty good," Jackson said. "I was going for a time between 16 minutes and 16:30. I"m feeling a lot better about the season after today."
     
The XU men had the three fastest runners but did not qualify for team scoring because it did not have the minimum five runners. Edward Waters scored 16 points to win the men's team title.
     
Xavier's Briana Simms was second in the women's race in 13:13.18 and also bettered Robinson's record. Also competing for the Gold Nuggets were Ashley Flournoy (fourth place, 13:55.91), Hannah Finnegan (fifth, 14:06.54), Hali Yarmush (sixth, 14:07.55), Carlee Calais (seventh, 14:10.39) and Reeka Belton (eighth, 14:25.77). It was the first collegiate cross country meet for Flournoy and Calais.
     
In the men's race, Xavier's Brent Kitto was second in 16:38.94 and posted the sixth-fastest Gold Rush time of the last 12 seasons. Christopher August was third in 17:08.43, and Emmanuel Detiege was sixth in 18:43.15.
     
It was the first time since 2007 that Xavier competed in its home city. The Rush and Nuggets will be close to home in their second meet, the Louisiana Army National Guard/ROTC Wolf Pack Invitational in suburban Metairie, La., on Sept. 6.
     
\"For the first meet of the year we didn't do bad," 10th-year XU coach Joseph Moses said. "We still need to do some work, but we'll be ready for next week."

Results:  Men    Women
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Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Mississippi Valley State set for Illinois State Season Opener

NORMAL, Illinois -- The Illinois State (0-0, 0-0 MVFC) football team will open its 2014 season in front of a home crowd at Hancock Stadium Saturday, Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m., against the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State (1-0, 0-0 SWAC). Saturday's game marks the first meeting in program history between the two teams and the second competition against a Southwestern Athletic Conference member for the Redbirds.

The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet (CSN) via the Illinois State Television Network. To locate which channel CSN is available on through your cable provider, please view the channel finder.

THE SERIES
ISU has only competed against a current Southwestern Athletic Conference member one time previously, an Oct. 21, 2000, meeting against Prairie View A&M that resulted in a 64-0 win for the Redbirds.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Illinois State (33-24). Spack led the Redbirds to their first playoff victory since 2006, just the third nine-win season in school history and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award during the 2012 season.

Mississippi Valley State: Rick Comegy (Millersville, 1976) is in his first season as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State (1-0) and has a career record of 163-86. He arrived at MVSU after a stellar career as head coach at Jackson State, where he led the Tigers to the SWAC championship game in 2012 and 2013.

THE REDBIRDFOOTBALL PROGRAM

• Four FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012)
• Three-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012)
• Four-straight winning seasons for the first time since the 1940's
• The team is 22-6 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU finished the 2013 regular season undefeated at home (5-0), the first perfect home record for the Redbirds since 1999
• The team set a program-record cumulative GPA of 2.94 in the Spring 2014 semester

PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior running back and 2014 team captain Marshaun Coprich leads the way for the Redbirds on the ground. In 2013, Coprich led the team with 890 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Those numbers were bolstered by a streak of four-consecutive 100-plus yard rushing performances in the month of October, including a 124 yard and career-high three touchdown game in a victory over in-state rival Western Illinois.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Mississippi Valley State University is located in Itta Bena, Mississippi, and has an enrollment of 2,452 students. The Delta Devils are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and play their home games at Rice-Totten Stadium (10,000).

• The Delta Devils finished the 2013 season with a 2-9 record, including a 2-7 record in SWAC play which placed them fifth overall in the Eastern division.
• MVSU upended University of Faith, 32-8, at Rice-Totten Stadium last Saturday to kickoff the 2014 season and give first-year head coach Rick Comegy a win in his first game at the helm.
• Jerrell Moore, who made the switch from receiver to running back, made a huge splash with 116 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries against the Glory Eagles. He had a 52-yard run and a 38-yard scamper for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
• All-SWAC wide receiver Julian Stafford led the Delta Devils with three receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Patrick Ivy connected with Stafford on a 50-yard strike in the second quarter and again in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard pass.
• The Delta Devils limited the Glory Eagles to just 50 total yards, including negative 32 yards on the ground, and were led by defensive tackle Jeremiah Russell who forced two safeties and had six solo tackles.

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT
In 2012, Illinois State finished the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record in road games en route to an appearance in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. The 2013 team set a goal to be perfect at home inside the newly-renovated Hancock Stadium, and the team secured a perfect 5-0 regular season home record with a hard-fought 13-3 victory over UNI (Nov. 2). The unblemished record at home was the first for the Redbirds since 1999, when that team finished 5-0 during the regular season and added a home playoff win to finish 6-0. The Redbirds are looking for similar success in 2014, with seven home contests on the slate.

REDBIRDS PICKED SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Coming off its first sub-.500 season in the last five years, the Illinois State football team was picked to finish sixth in the 2014 Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll. Three-time defending national champion North Dakota State was selected first in the annual list selected by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media. A pair of Redbirds were also selected to the 2014 MVFC Preseason Team in the annual vote. Senior preseason All-American long snapper Chris Highland and 2013 All-MVFC Second-Team linebacker Pat Meehan were among 30 MVFC student-athletes listed on the preseason lineup. In addition, senior offensive tackle Jermaine Barton was tabbed as a preseason honorable mention selection, signifying he received at least five votes on the ballots submitted.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Redbirds have played well at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, including in their home openers the last five seasons. ISU is a perfect 5-0 in home openers in the past five seasons, and the Redbirds hope to extend that streak to six against Mississippi Valley State on Saturday. Last year, the 'Birds celebrated the opening of the newly-renovated Hancock Stadium with a 31-17 non-conference victory over Abilene Christian.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Over the past four seasons, the Redbird defense has scored nine touchdowns, including a pair in 2013. Safety Tevin Allen scooped up a dropped lateral attempt and returned it 17 yards for a score in a win over UNI (Nov. 2) and fellow safety Dontae McCoy returned an interception 64 yards for a score in the season finale at SIU (Nov. 16). With the two touchdowns, Illinois State has scored at least one defensive touchdown each year under Spack.

GoRedbirds.com:  Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, WSF gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.

COURTESY ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY REDBIRDS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

XU's Fakler and Jackson receive GCAC weekly awards

Catherine Fakler

Kwame Jackson

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Catherine Fakler set a school record Friday and tied a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's cross country record Wednesday.
    
After setting a school mark of 12 minutes, 42.18 seconds for two miles in the Xavier Big Easy Opener at City Park, Fakler was chosen GCAC Women's Runner of the Week for the eighth time in her career. Fakler matched the conference record in that sport held by teammate Zahri Jackson and Spring Hill's Kate Imwalle.
    
Xavier's Kwame Jackson, Zahri's older brother, was named GCAC Men's Runner of the Week for the 10th time in his career. He is No. 2 on that GCAC career list behind former teammate Matt Pieri, who was honored 13 times.
    
Fakler and Jackson were the individual champions at the Big Easy Opener, and Fakler led the Gold Nuggets to the women's team championship. Jackson's time of 16:21.57 for 5,000 meters was the second-fastest of his career.
    
The victories were the fourth of Jackson's XU career and the third of Fakler's. All of Fakler's victories occurred in Xavier's last four meets.

Both honorees are seniors. Fakler is from Phoenix, Ariz., and a graduate of Xavier College Preparatory Roman Catholic High School, and Jackson is from Kingwood, Texas, and a graduate of Kingwood Park High School.
    
Both XU teams will compete Saturday in the Louisiana Army National Guard/ROTC Wolf Pack Invitational at Lafreniere Park in suburban Metairie, La. The women will race at 7:50 a.m., followed by the men at 8:25. Both races will be 5,000 meters.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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Austin Howard back in the race for Southern starting QB job

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- It must be something in the water in Edgard. Southern University freshman quarterback Austin Howard, from West St. John High in Edgard, looked pretty seasoned in the Jaguars opener against the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Coming off the bench, he completed 18 of 31 passes for 181 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in the Jaguars' 45-6 loss to UL-Lafayette.

Howard's precision passes resembled those of another West St. John product, Dray Joseph, the previous Southern quarterback who led the Jaguars to the 2013 SWAC Championship before his eligibility expired.

Howard's performance puts the Jaguars back at square one in the search for a starter. Redshirt freshman Deonte Shorts started Saturday's game but Howard, who came in the first quarter on Southern's third drive, got most of the snaps.



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