Bethune-Cookman coach not planning special approach to S.C. State game

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DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Since becoming Bethune-Cookman head football coach in 2010, Brian Jenkins has characterized the annual meetings with South Carolina State as a “heavyweight fight.”

The #13/14th-ranked Wildcats (6-1, 3-0) have raised their respective hands in victory in three of the four matchups, including two at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. They also enter this Saturday’s visit riding a four-game winning streak, while the Bulldogs (4-3, 2-1) continue to lick their wounds from the 48-35 home loss to North Carolina Central on Oct. 18.

Nevertheless, Jenkins still believes S.C. State is a “ball club to be reckoned with” in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and does not take stock in recent success.

“We look at every team the same,” he said. “We don’t look at South Carolina State any differently than we look at any other team and that’s with all due respect. We look at every team we play as a high-caliber team. We respect every team we play and therefore, mentally, we take the same mental approach and mental preparation for every team. So it’s no different when it comes to South Carolina State.

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Moton recounts decision to stay in Eagles’ nest

DURHAM, North Carolina -- It could have been a one-and-done deal for N.C. Central basketball coach LeVelle Moton.

But then came his decision.

After getting NCCU to the Division I NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time, Moton said he had opportunities to take his talent to the NBA as an assistant coach.

A praying wife and a fantastic chancellor kept him in Durham, the coach said.

“You always have to weigh family first,” Moton said. “You discuss matters over with your wife. We pray on it, and we use our gut to determine the ultimate, final decision.”

Moton said the shot callers at Marshall, Florida Atlantic and Ohio universities wanted him to coach their basketball teams.

But Moton’s people talked to NCCU’s people, and, well, here he is getting ready to lead his alma mater for the sixth time.

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MEAC tabs North Carolina Central as clear league favorite

NORFOLK, Virginia -- No surprise here. Of all the smaller conferences in college hoops, few are bigger favorites to win their league than the MEAC and North Carolina Central. NCCU, which went 28-6 last season and earned a 14 seed, was picked to lord over the conference in a recent poll of league coaches and sports information directors.

The voting for the entire MEAC breaks down like this:

1. North Carolina Central
2. Hampton
3. Morgan State
4. Norfolk State
5. Delaware State
6. Coppin State
7. Savannah State
8. Howard
9. North Carolina A&T
10. Bethune-Cookman
11. Maryland Eastern Shore
12. South Carolina State
13. Florida A&M

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Texas Southern is SWAC favorite

2014-15 Projected SWAC Standings
1. Alabama State Hornets | 2. Texas Southern Tigers | 3. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions | 4. Jackson State Tigers | 5. Alcorn State Braves | 6. Prairie View A&M Panthers | 7. Southern Jaguars | 8. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils | 9. Alabama A&M Bulldogs | 10. Grambling State Tigers

Alabama State

Led by junior guard Jamel Waters, Alabama State could very well finish the 2014-15 regular season as the best team in the SWAC. Waters was one of the most efficient offensive players in the SWAC last season, posting an offensive rating of 104.8 (second highest among conference returnees with significant minutes) and earning second-team All-SWAC honors. Waters was one ...

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Grambling State University G-Men are Currently the #1 Team in The SWAC

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- What a difference a year makes, the G-Men have improved tremendously, reigning over several teams weekend after weekend, and earning a record of 5-0 in the SWAC!

The current record is double the G-Men’s total record for the two previous football seasons combined, after they started last year’s season 0-3.The winning streak began for the G-Men and first year Head Coach, Broderick Fobbs (former Grambling running back), when getting their first win against Jackson State.

The G-Men continued snatching victories over Prairie View A&M, Alabama A&M, Alcorn State University and UAPB. All wins are wins to be proud of, but the win against Alcorn State University was special to the G-Men and the GSU fans because Alcorn was previously named the top-ranked team in the SWAC.

The G-Men led the Braves the entire game, with the final score being 28-21 leaving the Tigers with a (4-3, 4-0) record. The G-Men confirmed that their comeback is mighty last Saturday at the Eddie Robinson Stadium during their Homecoming Game as they defeated UAPB 63-39.

Grambling is on its longest winning streak since winning seven games in a row to capture the SWAC title in 2011.The Tiger spirit continues as the universities students, faculty, staff, and alumni are extremely proud of the marvelous turnaround from the athletic team, and hope to see the G-Men and Coach Fobbs become the 2014 SWAC Champions.

The G-Men are the only undefeated team left in the SWAC. Alcorn State, which cracked the FCS Top 24 last week, fell to 5-2 (3-1) with the loss to the Tigers. The G-Men return to the field Saturday, November 1 at Texas Southern.

Southern University football ready to renew rivalry with Jackson State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- The Bayou Classic pitting Southern University and Grambling is still more than a month away. But to Southern coach Dawson Odums, the top rivalry in the SWAC isn't that one, despite all the fanfare and that it's a nationally televised game.

That comes this week when the Jaguars travel to face Jackson State at historic Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

"This is an environment you love to coach in,'' Odums said. "There won't be another environment like this. From my take, this is probably the biggest rivalry in the SWAC. When you look at these two teams playing against each other, it's what makes SWAC football SWAC football.

"It's one of those games, more ...



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Villanova vs. Morgan State: 3 Things To Know About The Bears

VILLANOVA, Pennsylvania -- #5/4 Villanova (6-1, 4-0) will host Morgan State (4-3, 3-1) this Saturday afternoon at Villanova Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30pm ET, and will be followed by the Blue & White Scrimmage at the Pavilion. Hopefully that means a strong turnout from the home fans.

The Bears represent a rare out-of-conference game for Villanova at this point in the season. They ply their trade in the MEAC, a relatively weak conference save Bethune-Cookman. Still the Bears have been competitive this season, with five of their games being decided by three points or less.

Here's three things to know about the Bears:

Lee Hull is having a nice first year as head coach

Having spent the previous six season on the Maryland Terrapins coaching staff. He comes with a reputation of developing some great college receivers, so it's interesting to see the Bears relying so heavily on the running game. That may just come down to personnel.

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Nuggets win on road, clinch 4th straight winning season

TALLADEGA, Alabama  -- CeCe Williams had nine kills and hit .467, and freshman Jada Broussard served three aces Monday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana in a 25-9, 25-13, 25-19 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against Talladega.

The Gold Nuggets (13-4, 9-0) won in 57 minutes and clinched their fourth consecutive winning season. Xavier has won 52 consecutive matches against GCAC opponents -- 43 in the regular season -- and 50 straight against HBCUs.

Talladega is 10-12, 4-7.

Broussard served the first two aces of her XU career during an 8-0 first-set run which gave the Gold Nuggets a 15-2 lead. Williams had five kills and two solo blocks in the second set.

Broussard's final ace, plus a kill and a block by Claudia Haywood, keyed an 8-2 third-set run after a tie at 15. Broussard ended the match with a kill.

Darian Harris had 10 digs for the Gold Nuggets. She reached double figures for the 13th time this season and the 22nd time in her career. Haywood, Franziska Pirkl had three blocks apiece, and Broussard had six kills.

The Gold Nuggets hit .211 -- .391 in the first set -- and finished with 28 kills, six aces, 40 digs and seven blocks.

Xavier completed a two-match regular-season sweep of the Lady Tornadoes and leads the series 7-0.

Xavier will return to the road for GCAC matches against Voorhees at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday and Edward Waters at 5 p.m. EDT next Monday. Both matches were pushed back one day.

Box Score

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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TSU v. EKU to be Broadcasted on ESPN3



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NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  The Nov. 1 Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee State game has been selected as a "Wildcard Selection" in the league's Game of the Week football package on ESPN3. The game will kickoff at 2 p.m. CT at LP Field in Nashville.

When the league's eight-contest Game of the Week schedule was announced in June the Oct. 4 and Nov. 1 games were deemed "Wildcard" dates where the matchup would not be announced until 12 days prior to the contest.

EKU leads the all-time series with TSU by a 21-5 margin, including a 44-0 victory in Richmond last season. Tennessee State won the last meeting played in the city of Nashville, scoring in the final seconds to top nationally-ranked Eastern Kentucky 23-20 in the 2012 season. The teams have split the season series 3-3 over the past six meetings.

This marks the second-straight season the league has produced the Game of the Week package in conjunction with WebStream Sports. WebStream Sports, an Indianapolis-based company which is a proven leader in video production, streaming video and content creation. The company, founded in 2006, produces more than 1,000 events annually and has also served as a web streaming consultant for the OVC for the past year.

Kevin Ingram, host of "The Wake Up Zone" on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, will handle play-by-play duties while Bob Belvin, on-air talent and contributor at 100.7 FM/AM 540 (ESPN Clarksville), will provide analysis. The duo has worked together each of the past two years in the league's TV package.

The OVC Football Game of the Week package is part of a five-year agreement with ESPN which was announced last October. The deal runs through the completion of the 2017-18 season.

ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smart phones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members and on Apple TV.  It is currently available in more than 85 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.  It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.

Remaining 2014 OVC Football Game of the Week on ESPN3 Schedule

Oct. 25 - Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois, 1:30 p.m. CTNov. 1 - Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee State, 2:00 p.m. CTNov. 8 - Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech, 1:30 p.m. CTNov. 15 - Eastern Illinois at Jacksonville State, 3:00 p.m. CT

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Banged-up SCSU Bulldogs ‘must figure out how to win’ vs. Bethune-Cookman

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The adage “time heals all wounds” may not necessarily apply for South Carolina State this week.

Even with an open date, the Bulldogs head into Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference matchup with 13/14th-ranked and defending co-champion Bethune-Cookman still feeling the worse for wear.

“I feel like I’m back in Great Branch with a Saturday afternoon baseball game trying to get nine (players) together so we can play,” Coach Buddy Pough said Monday at his press conference. “It is what it is. Hopefully, we can get some guys healthy by Saturday, but we are kind of broken up and ordinarily with the big open week that we had, you’d think we would be able to get some guys back. But right now, we are a little bit deeper into our injury list than I’d like to be.”

Several key players, including ...

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Howard U. Homecoming 2014 - Highlights

Lady Rattlers nip Georgia to win Berry XC Invite

ROME, Georgia (Oct. 18)  –  The Florida A&M Women’s Cross Country team continued to ramp up towards the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships Saturday with a sizzling win at the Berry (Ga.) College Invitational.

“I’m very proud of these ladies,” said a jubilant FAMU head coach Dr. Darlene Moore after the team’s performance over the 6K course, which yielded five Top 20 finishers, who all turned in personal bests to power the Lady Rattlers to a four point win (45 to 49) over the University of Georgia and the rest of the 24-team field.

Leading the way for the Lady Rattlers was junior Effiey Kosgei, who placed 3rd overall in 22:08.00, followed by Cynthia Chelelgo in 4th in 22:15.20.

Judith Kibii ran 6th in 22:41.60; QuanDra Shanks placed 14th in 23:48.00 and Phyllis Cheruiyot rounded out the FAMU Five with a 23:48.60 time, good for 18th overall.

Also competing for FAMU were Nicole Kvitkauskas (24:17.80) and April Polite (26:11.60).

WHAT’S NEXT: Dr. Moore’s Lady Rattlers will go for a threepeat in their next event, the 2014 MEAC Cross Country Championships at Dover, Delaware, hosted by Delaware State University on Saturday, November 1.

RESULTS

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Old friends FAMU's Blount and HU's McGhee reunite on field

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Most folks outside of the District of Columbia hadn't heard much about Howard quarterback Greg McGee until this season, but he and FAMU's linebacker Akil Blount have some history.

Both played AAU basketball while growing up in Pittsburgh, Pa. There might be some argument who was the best on the court, but Saturday afternoon Blount was clearly the one who walked away with something to talk about after the Rattlers stunned HU on its homecoming, 31-28.

It was their third meeting as collegiate football players. They won't meet again, though. Blount is a junior.

McGhee graduates in December, said he's enjoyed every one of their meetings.

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Murraine: FAMU's win is one to enjoy for the moment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Raise your hand if you were one of those FAMU football fans who got up Sunday morning and rushed to check the MEAC standings.

Ah, stop looking around to see who is watching.

It's OK. You should be feel pretty good about your Rattlers, although the road ahead will be very challenging.

FAMU is now 2-5 with a 2-1 conference record that puts it ahead of the bottom four teams.

Definitely this is when you want to savor the moment. Not just for spoiling Howard University's homecoming with a 31-28 victory.

But the way they jumped on the Bison early. The Rattlers showed speed that wasn't obvious during their early season losses – five straight.

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TSU Defense Stout in 21-16 Loss to UTM

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The Tennessee State defense held UT Martin to just 210 yards, but the Tigers still fell to the Skyhawks, 21-16, on Saturday at Hale Stadium.

The loss dropped TSU to 4-4 overall, 1-3 in the OVC and marked the first three-game losing streak for the team since a four-game stretch in 2011.

Quarterback Mike German finished the game 18-of-36 for 341 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and it was his third straight game with over 300 yards passing.

Senior receiver Ryan Mitchell caught six passes and set a new-career best with 156 yards and added a touchdown.

Nick Thrasher and Ezra Robinson paced the defense with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.



After a first quarter that featured only 97 total yards (27 for TSU), UT Martin (3-5, 2-3 OVC) finally broke the scoreless tie with Reuben Duckworth’s first career touchdown at the 11:33 mark in the second. Duckworth’s 10-yard carry was the seventh rushing score given up by TSU in the last three games.

The TSU offense broke out of its drought three plays later when German hit Ryan Mitchell with a 39-yard bomb. However, three Tiger penalties forced them to settle for a 34-yard Lane Clark field goal. The kick cut the UTM lead by four with six minutes to play in the half.

Tennessee State tried to put up more points before the break – German completed back-to-back passes for 40 yards – but TSU couldn’t quite get across the fifty and the second quarter ended with the score 7-3.

TSU was outrushed, 110-23, during the first 30 minutes and the Tigers averaged just 1.8 yards per carry.

Tennessee State started the next stanza on the wrong foot, as German’s first pass of the quarter was intercepted by UTM’s nose tackle Keith Jones and returned 42 yards for a touchdown. The score put the Tigers down, 14-3, with only three minutes gone in the second half.

The Tigers suffered more misfortune later in the quarter when Telvin Hooks fumbled on the TSU 12-yard line and UTM’s Tony Bell scooped up the ball. Jarod Neal connected with Corey Rogers on second down for a seven-yard score and UTM went up, 21-3.

A 26-yard toss from German to Weldon Garlington to begin the fourth quarter marked TSU’s first touchdown of the game and the Tigers added another when German found Mitchell for a 75-yard deep ball. The two scores put TSU down by just five, 21-16, with 4:37 to go.

The TSU defense could not get the UTM offense off of the field on its next series, and the Skyhawks ran out the clock.

Tennessee State held UT Martin to just 67 yards passing, but the Big Blue offense had five three-and-outs and was just 4-of-14 on third down.

TSU will hit the road for the team’s next contest and travel to Eastern Illinois for a matchup with the Panthers. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

NOTES: The loss marked the first time since 1995 that TSU was defeated in back-to-back bouts in the Hole in the same season… Michigan State transfer Ezra Robinson set a new career-high with 10 tackles… With his 11 stops, Nick Thrasher is now second in school history behind coach Rod Reed with 309… German’s 314 yards move him into second place on TSU’s all-time passing yards list. The redshirt senior now has 7,331… German’s 75-yard connection to Mitchell was TSU’s longest play from scrimmage this season… Attendance was 6,738…

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Fobbs sees room for improvement in GSU rout of UAPB

GRAMBLING, Louisiana  --
Broderick Fobbs graded his Grambling Tigers out at a "B-/C+" performance following a 63-39 homecoming win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

It's hard to believe a 5-0 start in the SWAC would warrant such an evaluation given where the Tigers (5-3, 5-0) were this time last year, but Fobbs shut the door on 2013 from the moment he left McNeese State to be the head coach at his alma mater.

"Maybe my bar is a little too high but sometimes people look at the score and think, 'they're really clicking,' but I think we can play better than that," Fobbs said. "(Pine Bluff) did a good job keeping the ball away from us so we had to make sure we possessed the football and kept our defense off the field in the second half."

Grambling came into the game planning to run anywhere from 90-100 plays, but a combination of offensive big plays and third down defensive woes allowed Pine Bluff to dictate a slower tempo.

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Paine College wins the team’s first Homecoming football game in 52 years against Edward Waters College.

AUGUSTA, Georgia  -- The Paine College football team (1-6) passed a major milestone of their football season. The team won its first victory of the season and Homecoming football game since 1962 to the tune of 38-14.

To start the game, Edward Waters (2-5) struck first with two touchdowns in the second quarter. The first touchdown came when Sean Adkinson caught a short pass from Tyler Mahla with 13:39 left in the second. The second score for the Tigers came when Kevin Hutchings picked up a Paine fumble and rushed for 42 yards into the end zone.

Paine would get on the board with :32 left in second quarter when Isiah Jenkins carried the ball into the endzone and Wisdom Ndizee making the point after, 7-14.
The second half would be all Lions as they ground and pounded their way to their first won of the season.

Austin Beamus would get Paine's second score of the day when he caught a 32-yard bomb from Loranzo Hammonds to knot the score at 14-14. Beamus's score would begin the offensive juggernaut for Paine as three more Lions would break the plane for touchdowns.

Stephen Sawyer scored a touchdown with 12:00 left in the fourth quarter after a 1-yard charge past the EWC defense, 21-14. Wisdom Ndizee showed off his powerful leg by drilling a 32-yard field goal through the uprights to bring the score to 24-14.

The Paine College defense was on fire and Jarod Richardson was proof of it. Richardson intercepted a pass from Tiger's quarterback, Taylor Mahla and ran 32-yards for the Lions third touchdown of the day, 31-14 with 6:39 left in the fourth quarter. Don Quarles, Jr. would score the fourth touchdown to solidify the win for Paine. Quarles, Jr. caught a short pass from Reginald Green with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter, 38-14.

The victory was hard fought with the Lions offense gaining total 266 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns. Paine's defense account for 47 tackles and one sack. Loranzo Hammond led the quarterback corps with 85-yards and 1 touchdown. Isiah Jenkins was the leading rusher for Paine with 40 yards and 1 touchdown. Vincent Thomas led the Lions in tackles with eight including five solo.

Edward Waters finished the day with 286 total offensive yards and 2 TDs.

Paine College returns to competition on Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. as they travel to Fort Valley State to face the Wildcats.

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Turnovers doom Kentucky State in tough loss to Miles College

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FRANKFORT, Kentucky -- Kentucky State University celebrated homecoming but it was turnovers that put a damper on the football game.

The Thorobreds’ three red zone trips in the first three quarters all ended on a turnover and a fourth quarter rally fell short in a 19-13 loss to Miles College Saturday at Alumni Stadium.

“We just can’t afford to have turnovers, especially when we are driving and playing well,” KSU head football coach Josh Dean said. “Those are the things we’ve got to really clean up.”

In the opening drive of the game, Miles College went 89 yards in 10 plays capped off on a 1-yard run by quarterback David Whipple to take the early 6-0 lead.

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Lincoln Blue Tigers Beat Texas College, 62-6, on Homecoming

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri  --  Morris Henderson ran for four touchdowns, Owen Jordan threw for three more and the Lincoln football team racked up 600 yards of offense in a 62-6 win over Texas College on Saturday (Oct. 18).

Saturday was Homecoming for Lincoln, and the Blue Tigers gave a packed Dwight T. Reed Stadium a lot to cheer for, starting with a 66-yard touchdown run by Henderson on the second play of the game. Henderson later scored from 42 yards out following an interception by Reggie McMillan, the first of four on the day by LU. In the first quarter alone, Henderson gained 119 yards and the two scores on just five carries.

The game briefly turned into a defensive tussle after that point, but Henderson changed that with just under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter with a 38-yard run down to the Texas College 28. Owen Jordan then hit Delvon Rouser for a nine-yard completion before finding Bryson Winfrey for a 19-yard touchdown. The drive came after Lincoln's defense forced the Steers to turn the ball over on downs deep at the LU 34 and took just three plays.

Kerry Roby put the Blue Tigers back on the scoreboard with 2:54 left in the half, intercepting a Texas College pass at the TC 40 and making several players miss while running all the way into the end zone. Robert Daniels had previously returned a pick for a score against St. Joseph's on Oct. 11, giving Lincoln a pick-six in two consecutive weeks.

Lincoln (2-5) would score again on its next drive, with Henderson finding the end zone for the third time on the afternoon on a five-yard run. That drive was set up by Jordan completions of 22-yards to Henderson and 20-yards to Khiry Draine and gave the Blue Tigers a 35-0 lead entering halftime.

Texas College (0-8) would get on the board for the only time on its opening drive of the second half on a drive that was ultimately kept alive by a pass interference call on Lincoln on a fourth-down incompletion. After receiving that new life, TC hit back-to-back passes of 13-yards and nine-yards, with the latter coming in the end zone. The Steers decided to go for two, but Lawrence Cayou stopped Texas College's quarterback on a keeper short of the goal-line to keep it a 35-6 game.

It didn't take long for Lincoln to answer, though, as Henderson scored his fourth and final touchdown of the day on a 21-yard scamper on the Blue Tigers' ensuing drive. The touchdown was the first of the season in a third quarter by the Blue Tigers, and was set up by an 18-yard reception by Henderson and an 11-yard catch by Draine.

Daniels ended the Steers' drive with an interception that gave LU the ball at the TC 45. A 20-yard run by Henderson moved the ball down to the LU 20, and on the next play, Jordan made it a 48-6 ballgame on a throw to Draine. Henderson finished his day with 222 yards rushing and 46 yards receiving for 268 all-purpose yards. Draine led the receiving corps with five catches for 76 yards while Winfrey had three receptions for 40 yards.

The Blue Tigers added two more scores in the fourth quarter, with the first set-up by Austin Chiagorom's first career interception. After three rushes by Mustafa Rosenetted 19 yards, Jordan connected with Vanzell Richardson on a 66-yard completion for a score. Jordan ended his day with 17 completions to eight different receivers for 261 yards and the three scores. Dennis Vinson replaced Jordan late in the fourth quarter, with his only completion going 22 yards to Christopher Willis for Lincoln's ninth touchdown of the contest.

The 62 points were the most scored by a Blue Tiger team since 1964, when Lincoln scored 73 in a shutout of Missouri S&T. Lincoln also hung 62 points against St. Mary's in 1963, with that amount being the fourth-most points scored by a Lincoln team in a single game. The 56-point margin of victory is the largest for Lincoln since that 1963 win over St. Mary's. The victory also gives Lincoln its second Homecoming win in the past three years, as the Blue Tigers also picked up a 34-27 Homecoming win over Nebraska-Kearney in 2012.

Davon Walls led the Lincoln defense with six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries, a sack and a forced fumble. Kareem Joyner also had six tackles to go with 1.5 tackles for loss while Treston Pulley added five takedowns, 1.5 TFL and a broken-up pass. Daniels and Stephen Marsh each added five tackles while McMillan, Roby and Jeremy Rives all finished with four. William Coleman posted a team-best two sacks while Derrick Nash and Eric Howard both had tackles for loss.

Julio Segura averaged 40.2 yards on four punts, three of which pinned the Steers inside their own 20. Segura also averaged 60.3 yards on 10 kickoffs. Andrew Fisheltacked on eight extra points, tying Gerald Walker's LU single-game record. Willis ran 23 yards on a punt return, Lincoln's only special teams return of the afternoon.

Up next for the Blue Tigers are their two longest road trips of the season. Lincoln will close out October at Indianapolis next Saturday (Oct. 25), with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT.



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PVAMU Panthers Claim 52-19 Win Over MVSU

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ITTA BENA, Mississippi – Prairie View A&M quickly took the fun out of Mississippi Valley State's homecoming as they dominated from start to finish in a 52-19 road win at Rice-Totten Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Junior running back Johnta Hebert wasted no time in setting the tone as he opened the game with a 95-yard kickoff return after fielding a squib kick by MVSU. The PAT was good as the Panthers claimed an early 7-0 lead. The lead improved to 13-0 at the close of the quarter as placekicker Chris Barrick nailed a pair of field goals ranking from 32 and 20 yards.

Early in the second quarter, defensive back Terence Reynolds intercepted a MVSU pass and two plays into the ensuing drive, senior quarterback Jerry Lovelocke found a streaking Greg Thurmond for a 26-yard touchdown reception and a 20-0 lead after the PAT.

On the next possession, the Panther defense came up big once again as senior linebacker Danny Brownell forced a fumble which landed into the hands of defensive end Ahkeem Barton. The offense had to punt but the defense came up huge on the next drive as Brownell forced his second consecutive fumble which led to a Damond Jackson recovery.

After the recovery, the offense kept on clicking as Lovelocke and wideout Nick Pitre hit a on a 26-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch for a 27-0 lead.

The defense forced a punt on the next drive and Hebert broke free on the first play late in the second quarter for a 77-yard touchdown run. Barrick's PAT was good as the Panthers claimed a 35-0 lead. Another defensive three-and-out by the PVAMU defense led to Barrick's third field goal of the half as the Panthers finished the half ahead 38-0.

After an impressive first half, the Panthers came out the locker room fired up as Lovelocke connected with Greg Thurmond for an 83-yard scoring strike at the 9:56 mark. Several minutes later, Thurmond made an acrobatic 44-yard catch off a Trey Green pass to move the Panthers into scoring position once again. Three plays later, Jovante Ham moved the Panthers ahead 52-0 with a 2-yard rush up the middle.

Mississippi Valley State made a late charge in the fourth quarter as quarterback Patrick Ivy connected with wideout Julian Stafford for a pair of touchdown receptions coupled with a 1-yard rush from Ivy slightly before the six-minute mark.

PVAMU finished with 465 total yards as Hebert rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Lovelocke passed for 207 yards and three touchdowns on 12-of-21 passing while Thurmond caught three passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Jerome Howard finished with 10 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.

The Panthers return home next weekend for their final contest at Blackshear Field as they'll battle Alcorn State at 1 p.m. Next Saturday's game will have a plethora of activities as the annual Sports Hall of Fame class will be introduced in addition to a pregame ceremony honoring 23 seniors and the postgame Blackshear Field celebration.


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Alcorn State Braves Rebound With 40-25 Homecoming Win Over Texas Southern

LORMAN, Mississippi  -- Head Coach Jay Hopson and the Braves football team were able to bounce back after a tough loss last week at Grambling.  Despite not scoring in the second half, the Braves were able to hold on for a 40-25 homecoming victory over Texas Southern.

After a huge run on the Braves first touch of the quarter, Anthony Williams III scored from two yards out to give the Braves a 7-0 lead.

Six minutes later quarterback John Gibbs, Jr. connected with Jordan Payne for a 19-yard touchdown to push the Braves lead to 14-0 at the 4:39 mark in the first quarter.

Gibbs scored a rushing touchdown of his own from two yards out just seconds after the beginning of the second quarter.

After Texas Southern scored for the first time to cut the lead to 20-7, Gibbs found Charles Hughes for a 63-yard touchdown to push the Braves lead right back to three touchdowns, 27-7.

About three minutes later after a holding penalty, Gibbs hit LaDarrien Davis for a 12-yard touchdown to increase the Braves lead to 33-7.

Freshman running back Arron Baker scored for the Braves one more time before the half scrambling for a 21-yard touchdown to give the Braves a 40-7 lead.  Texas Southern nailed a field goal with 1:01 left in the second quarter.  The Braves took a 40-10 lead into the locker room.

The Braves didn't score a single point in the second half but Texas Southern managed to score 15 points.  Despite the scoreless half, the Braves held on to the victory.

Gibbs completed 15-of-26 passes for season-high's of 244 yards and three touchdowns. Haiden McCraneypunted the ball four times for an average of 45.5 yards.  Anthony Williams recorded seven tackles, intercepted a pass, and averaged 24.0 yards on punt returns.  Jamil Cooks racked up five tackles, three tackles for a loss, and one sack. 

COURTESY ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Grambling routs Arkansas Pine Bluff in high-scoring win

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling moved to 5-0 in the SWAC with a high-scoring 63-39 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday afternoon at Eddie Robinson Stadium.

The Tigers (5-3, 5-0) led Pine Bluff early on 14-10 with the difference being two turnovers by the Golden Lions (1-5,0-4), one of which the the G-Men converted into six points on a stripe and fumble recovery by linebacker Rando Giovanni.

Getting the start for the third consecutive week, Johnathan Williams ignited Grambling's passing offense by completing two long touchdowns to Chester Rogers (44 yards) and Verlon Hunter (38 yards). Hunter and Williams already hooked up on Grambling's first drive of the game for a 73-yard score that put the Tigers up 7-3.

Pine Bluff quarterback Ben Anderson, who entered the day ranked second in the SWAC in total offense, completed 27-of-50 passes for 467 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 66 and two additional scores also threw two costly interceptions Grambling turned into points.

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Freshman QB Brihm leads Bethune-Cookman to 48-20 rout of Savannah State

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- There is little doubt Bethune-Cookman has its deepest team in Brian Jenkins’ five seasons as head coach.

On Saturday, it proved it.

B-CU emptied its bench while rolling up 543 yards of offense in a 48-20 rout at Savannah State.

The 16th-ranked Wildcats didn’t even play starting quarterback Quentin Williams or leading rusher Anthony Jordan.

Redshirt freshman Larry Brihm started under center and passed for 222 yards and three touchdowns, adding 33 yards and a score on the ground before leaving after the first drive of the third quarter.

Reserve running back Danny Dillard led a powerful running game (289 yards) with 87 yards and a score. And the defense held the Tigers to 202 total yards and forced five turnovers, including two interceptions by Thomas Finnie and one by Jameson Wright.


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Linebacker blazes a Trail at NSU

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- As he walks between an on-campus radio gig in the morning and a film session in the afternoon, Lynden Trail is greeted by casual acquaintances and strangers alike.

"Hey, Trail," his fellow Norfolk State students will say as they dish out dap in passing.

"What's up?" Trail, dressed in a carefully coordinated red-and-black outfit, replies before confiding, steps later, "I don't even know that dude."

Such is life for the Big Man On Campus. And, literally and figuratively, they don't get much bigger at NSU.

Trail, a 6-foot-7, 265-pound outside linebacker with the mobility and athleticism of a much smaller player, is a Spartans A-lister.

On campus, Trail is hard to miss. He stands a head or two taller than most of his peers, even on the football field, and his preseason mohawk of NSU gold has faded to take on an attention-grabbing orange-ish hue.

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Hampton falters in key spots during 21-13 loss to Norfolk State

HAMPTON, Virginia — To the Hampton players who were steamed at watching victorious Norfolk State Spartans celebrating on the midfield painted 'H' logo at Armstrong Stadium on Saturday, Pirates coach Connell Maynor had a simple reply:

Too late to complain about that now.

"Guys got mad, said they were disrespecting the 'H'," Maynor said after the Spartans prevailed 21-13 in the 52nd annual "Battle of the Bay." "We had 60 minutes to beat them so they couldn't disrespect the 'H'. So that's on us. If we beat them they can't disrespect the 'H'. We didn't, so hat's off to them."

The Pirates (1-6, 0-3 MEAC) were stung early by a surprisingly potent Norfolk State passing attack. The Spartans (3-5, 3-1), who came in ranked 120th of 121 FBS teams in total offense, singed Hampton for 335 passing yards — 25 more than they'd amassed through the air in their previous three games combined.

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