Grambling heads into conference play at 0-3

GRAMBLING, Louisiana  -- With all the off-the-field discussion surrounding Grambling and Jackson State from 2013, there’s still an actual football game to be played.

Both coaches — Grambling’s Broderick Fobbs and Jackson State’s Harold Jackson — were peppered with questions about Grambling’s boycott last season that put a dent in JSU’s homecoming plans last October.

Saturday’s SWAC opener will be the earliest meeting for the two teams since 2008 when they also met in the fourth game of the season. Grambling won the contest amid a seven-game win streak against Jackson State from 2005-2011.

Jackson State’s last win over Grambling before 2012 and the 2013 boycott came in 2004 when its program was a lot like Grambling’s now, entering the game with three wins in two seasons.

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Southern University football vs. Prairie View A&M game capsule

When/Where: Saturday at 6 p.m. at Blackshear Field in Prairie View, Texas.

Television: This weekend's game won't be aired on television, but there will be a live stream on gojagsports.com.

Radio: WYNK 97.7

Coaches: Southern — Dawson Odums (second season as head coach, was interim in 2012, 14-11). Prairie View A&M — Heishma Northern (fourth season, 14-22).

About Southern: Saturday's match is the SWAC opener for the Jaguars, and it's been quite an inconsistent start to the season for the reigning conference champs. After getting trounced 45-6 by UL-Lafayette in the season opener, Southern bounced back with a commanding 56-14 victory over Central Methodist on Sept. 6.



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Tuskegee should be a good test for WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  -- After two games, just how good Winston-Salem State can be remains a mystery.

But today’s game against SIAC power Tuskegee should offer some insight. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Bowman Gray Stadium (Aspire Network Ch. 185, WTOB 1380).

The Rams, 1-1 and ranked No. 18 in the AFCA Division II coaches poll, have had mixed results with their two-quarterback system of Rudy Johnson and Phillip Sims. It worked well in a rout of UNC Pembroke in the opener. But last week in a hard-fought 22-17 loss to Valdosta State, the rhythm of the up-tempo offense was missing.

Johnson and Sims rotated every series in the first two games, but today it’s possible each will work two series at a time, depending on the flow of the game.

“I’m trying to get this team to get an identity, and we really haven’t had that yet,” Coach Kienus Boulware of the Rams said. “I want them to establish some kind of identity to kind of get their own legacy going instead of what we’ve done in the past.”



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Fort Valley State carries momentum into SIAC opener

FORT VALLEY, Georgia  --  After watching his team be soundly defeated by Delta State in its opening game, Fort Valley State head coach Donald Pittman was upbeat, stating that his team was much better than it showed in the opener.

Pittman’s confidence in his team paid off in the second game, as the Wildcats defeated Savannah State, a team that had beaten the Wildcats a year ago.

FVSU opens its quest for an SIAC title Saturday with a home game with Clark Atlanta, and Pittman remains confident that his team will continue to improve.

“I think we are much closer to being the kind of football team we are capable of being,” said Pittman, whose team pulled away from Savannah State in the second half for a 42-28 win. “We need to improve on both sides of the football, and we had people step up in the last game. We expect that we will be better this week. Clark gave us all we could handle last year, and I expect that kind of game again this year.

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XU's Abbes beats 1 and 4 seeds, rolls to HBCU singles final

JONESBORO, Georgia -- Xavier University of Louisiana's Nour Abbes defeated the No. 1 and 4 seeds Friday to reach the women's A-flight singles championship round of the HBCU Tennis National Championships.

Abbes, seeded fifth, beat Howard's Stacey Roheman 6-0, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, then upset Bethune-Cookman's top-seeded Maria Goraz-Moreno 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals. Abbes will play Southern's Darnesha Moore for the championship at noon EDT Saturday.

Abbes and senior Carmen Nelson won 8-2 against Southern's Darnesha Moore and Gabrielle Moore to reach the A-flight doubles semifinals. Abbes and Nelson will play Bethune-Cookman's Maria Sablina and Mina Matsuba at 9 a.m., with the final scheduled for 2 p.m.

Abbes, a sophomore, is 20-0 in singles and 18-2 in doubles in her XU career.

Xavier's men and women won a combined 7-of-11 matches.  Sophomores Sha'Nel Bruins and Adam Albrecht reached the semifinals of their C-flight singles consolation brackets.

Bruins beat Benedict's Adrienne Millow 8-2 and Prairie View A&M's Capra Fellows 8-4 in the women's bracket, and Albrecht beat Prairie View's Freddy Quintero 8-4 in the men's.

"Today was a much better day overall for everybody," XU coach Alan Green said. "Nour is playing lights out in singles and doubles. Carmen is also showing me some good things out here, too.

"After a tough day yesterday, Sha'Nel picked up her game much better today."

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

https://twitter.com/xulagold
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XU's Abbes, Nelson, Chaouat advance in HBCU main draw

JONESBORO, Georgia  -- Nour Abbes began the 2014-15 tennis season the way she ended the previous one: winning.

The Xavier University of Louisiana sophomore earned singles and doubles victories Thursday in the A-flight main draw of the HBCU National Championships.

Abbes, seeded fifth in singles, defeated Tuskegee's 12th-seeded Reicia North 6-0, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Abbes then teamed with senior Carmen Nelson -- who was playing collegiately in her hometown for the first time -- for an 8-3 victory against Alcorn State's Siobhan Ryan-Bovey and Ivana Boberic. That advanced Abbes and Nelson to the quarterfinals.

"Nour played well in singles and doubles," 12th-year XU coach Alan Green said. "She has a tough singles draw, so she will have to continue to play well to advance. In doubles she and Carmen played solid and smart. They played to their strengths."

Advancing in the main draw for the XU men was seventh-seeded Kevin Chaouat, a junior who reached the quarterfinals of the singles C-flight with a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-6) victory against Prairie View A&M's 10th-seeded James Jackson.

"Kevin got off to a rough start but was able to come back and win," Green said. "He knows he can't afford to do that with his next opponent."

Abbes was 17-0 in singles and 16-2 in doubles as an XU freshman and was selected first-team NAIA All-America and ITA/NAIA National Rookie of the Year. She also received the NAIA National Championship's Marvin P. Richmond Outstanding Player Award. Chaouat was the men's Louisiana Newcomer of the Year.

After losing singles matches in the main draw, Nelson and sophomore Adam Albrecht advanced in their consolation brackets with victories.

The tournament will conclude Sunday. It's the first of three Xavier fall events.

Results:  Men    Women

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

https://twitter.com/xulagold
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Tennessee State Men's Golf Starts Season at Murray State

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The wait is over for the Tennessee State men’s golf team as they travel to Murray, Ky. to open the 2014-15 season. The five-man squad is the last fall sport at TSU to take to competition and will take part in the Murray State Invitational.

 

The Tigers will play 54 holes, 36 Monday and 18 Tuesday, at the Par-71, 6,601 yard, Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray. The 11-team field will have an 8:30am shotgun start on Monday and a 9:00am start on Tuesday.

 

TSU will face off against Alabama State, Christian Brothers, John A. Logan, Missouri Baptist, Northern Kentucky, Wright State and Ohio Valley Conference opponents, Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Murray State and UT Martin.

 

Senior James Stepp and junior Blake Burgett will lead a group which includes three newcomers. Donning the Blue and White for the first time will be Jeremy Fultz, Andy Stout and transfer Todd McGill.

 

Results and full recaps can be found on tsutigers.com.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION