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CLINTON, Mississippi -- Xavier University of Louisiana's men's cross country team began its 2016 season with a sixth-place finish out of 11 teams Friday in the Mississippi College Season Opener at Choctaw Trails.
The Gold Rush scored 186 points and finished ahead of two NCAA Division I schools, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alcorn State. It was the first time since the 2014 LSU Invitational that the XULA men beat an NCAA DI opponent.
Senior Christopher August was XULA's fastest runner for the sixth consecutive meet dating to the 2015 opener. He ran 5,000 meters in 17 minutes, 59.58 seconds to place 24th out of 74 runners.
The other Gold Rush finishers were Clydarius Everett, 31st in 18:32.81; Oji Wells, 37th in 18:54.31; Darrick Williams, 57th in 21:15.80; and Ammiel Williams, 61st in 21:27.59. It was the first collegiate cross country meet for Everett, Wells and Ammiel Williams.
Spring Hill's David Toups was first in 16:24.44. Mississippi College won the team scoring with 23 points. Xavier placed second out of six HBCU teams.
XULA's women did not compete. Both the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will compete next Saturday (Sept.10) in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Festival at Lafreniere Park in suburban Metairie, La. The men's 5K will start at 7:50 a.m., followed by the women's 5K at 8:25. Loyola (N.O.) is the meet host.
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Don't take their reactions to being named preseason All-MEAC as disingenuous. Ja-Quan Lumas and DeMarcus Womack are quite proud coaches thought highly enough of them to mention them among the conference's elite players.
For both former Orlando Jones High players, however, the preseason designations are simply signs of things to come as they get ready to start the season with Bethune-Cookman on Sunday. The Wildcats face Alcorn State in the SWAC/MEAC Challenge at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN.
"It's all right, but you still gotta play football games, so all that doesn't really matter," said Lumas, a redshirt junior tight end who had nine catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns last season. "It feels good, but at the same time, at the end of the day, we still gotta line up and play ball."
The same is true for Womack, a senior defensive tackle who recorded 20 tackles, 1.5 tackls for a loss and half a sack last season. Womack has taken quite a journey to reach B-CU. He graduated from Jones in 2009, but a brush with the law and subsequent meandering through the judicial process put his college football goals on hold for a while. CONTINUE READING
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Johnny Stanton was 10 of 12 for 217 yards and he threw three touchdown passes to Devonte Boyd to help UNLV beat Jackson State 63-13 on Thursday night.
It was the Rebels' first season-opening victory since 2009 when they beat Sacramento State.
On the third play from scrimmage, Boyd caught a pass over the middle and raced for a 56-yard touchdown. After Troy Hawthorne intercepted LaMontiez Ivy's pass on Jacksonville State's first offensive play, UNLV needed just two plays for Boyd to score from 32 yards out.
Jackson State answered with a 75-yard drive ending in a TD to pull to 14-7. But UNLV scored the next 28 points, including senior David Greene's first career TD, for a 42-10 lead at halftime.
Charles Williams ran for 96 yards and one touchdown, and Lexington Thomas added 68 yards and two TDs for UNLV (1-0). Boyd finished with 135 yards receiving.
Ivy threw for 134 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Jackson State (0-1).
NEWARK, Delaware -- Wes Hills made up for a lot of missed time Thursday night in the University of Delaware football team’s 2016 debut at Delaware Stadium. Hills, determined to make his return a big one after sitting out all but the 2015 opener while recovering from a broken foot, did just that as the junior running back ran for 212 yards and scored two touchdowns, one on a 59-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, to lead the Blue Hens to a 56-14 victory over in-state rival Delaware State before an appreciative crowd of 17,835.
The Blue Hens piled up 487 yards of total offense, including 395 on the ground, and a dominating UD defense forced six turnovers and held the Hornets to just 184 total yards in the complete victory.
Delaware downed Delaware State for the seventh time without a loss in this in-state rivalry and in the process captured the 300th victory in the history of 65-year old Delaware Stadium.
“This first game back meant a lot to me,” said Hills, who posted his fifth career 100-yard rushing game and recorded the ninth highest single game rushing effort in Delaware history. “Coach (Dave) Brock and my team put a lot of faith in me and I had no choice but to go out there and give it my all. Being back feels great, being in front of the Delaware fans is an incredible feeling. Nothing beats it.”
The Blue Hens (1-0) drove 74 yards on their first drive and scored on a Jalen Randolph two-yard run just five minutes in to take a quick 7-0. They then promptly got the ball back when defensive end John Nassib intercepted a pass on Delaware State’s second play from scrimmage. Eleven plays later Delaware sophomore quarterback Joe Walker scored on a one-yard dive to push the lead to 14-0.
Delaware never looked back as Hills scored on runs of 13 and 59 yards to push the lead to 28-0 at the break, Randolph scored his second touchdown of the game five minutes into the second half, and Walker added a 25-yard scoring toss to Diante Cherry 24 seconds later to push the advantage to 42-0.
UD backup quarterback Blake Rankin added a 10-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Charles Scarff on the final play of the third quarter and sophomore linebacker Troy Reeder (above left), a Delaware native playing his first game for the Blue Hens after transfering from Penn State, put the cherry on top with a 13-yard interception return for a touchdown 12 second into the final stanza.
“I told the players before the game that I was going to relax and coach and they should go out and just have fun,” said Brock, who evened his four-year mark at Delaware to 18-18. “We have a close-knit group of guys who work hard with and for each other. You could sense that they were going to bring a lot of energy tonight. I am thrilled for them that they did that. The takeaways were fantastic, I thought we played smothering defense, ran the ball the way we want to run the football, and I think our passing game is going to be explosive. I’m excited about building on this and getting ready to go play Lafayette (next Saturday). Wes is a year older and a year stronger. The things he does for this team are contagious. He helps us win in so many more ways than what you see.”
Delaware sophomore Thomas Jefferson, the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Rookie of the Year, added 70 yards rushing while Randolph, who missed all but the first three games of the 2015 season himself due to an injury, picked up 55 yards.
In addition to interceptions by Nassib and Reeder, junior linebacker Anthony Jackson picked off two passes. The Hens had just 12 combined interceptions over the last two seasons.
Delaware State (0-1), coming off a 1-10 season a year ago, managed just 35 yards rushing. Quarterback Daniel Epperson hit on 13 of 26 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted four times. Mason Rutherford caught six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Delaware’s 56 points were its most since a 59-56 five-overtime loss to Richmond in 2007 and the most on opening day since a 62-21 win over Lehigh in 1993
• The 395 yards rushing were the most by a Delaware team since gaining 443 against West Chester in 2000 and the 487 total yards were the most since a 500-yard effort against Rhode Island in 2013.
• Delaware forced six turnovers on four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. That matched the most takeaways for the Hens since forcing six against Southern Illinois in a 2003 NCAA Tournament first round win
• Delaware is now 300-100-4 all-time (.747 winning pct.) at Delaware Stadium since the facility opened in 1952
• Delaware travels to Lafayette next Saturday, Sept. 10, before a Sept. 17 meeting vs. Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest on Sept. 24. The Hens won’t return home until Oct. 8 vs. Maine
• Blue Hen freshman walk-on kicker Jake Roth had four touchbacks on kickoffs in his collegiate debut
• Delaware held a huge 22-minute advantage in time of possession
BOX SCORE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
LINCOLN, Pennsylvania – Jr. QB Dominick Trautz connected on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jr. Marcus Lyles in the first overtime, and Jr. Brendyn Van Demark converted the score to give Cheyney University a seven-point lead. The game was then in hands of a defense that dominated through most of the game, and when Marvin Easter III knocked down a pass in the endzone on a two-point conversion, the Cheyney Wolves ended a 43-game winless drought with a 21-20 victory in overti
The Wolves held a 21-14 lead in the first overtime when Lincoln quarterback Khari Nquzi connected on a nine-yard td pass to Larquise Hobbs, on fourth and goal from the 9, to extend the game for one more play. With an injured place-kicker, the Lions, who did not attempt a kick during the game, went for the win on the two point-conversion, but Easter III broke up the pass and CU players and fans stormed the field in celebration.
The last Cheyney victory also came on September 1, in 2012 a 34-21 win at Lincoln.
The Wolves got off to a fast start, after forcing a three and out from Lincoln on the opening possession of the game, Cheyney was able to begin its opening drive of the season at the Lions 34 yard line following an 8-yard punt. The Wolves took just six plays to take advantage of the field position and put up the first score of the season on a 6-yard dash to the corner from Brandon French.
Cheyney forced another punt and looked poised to extend it lead, when it marched deep into Lions territory, but the Wolves, could not convert a fourth and five at the Lincoln 20, and turned the ball over on downs.
Once again the defense stepped up and forced a quick punt. With a drive start at the Lincoln 42, the Wolves faced a third and two at the Lions 34 when R-Fr. James Madlock III, who led Cheyney with 92 yards rushing on 15 carries, electrified the crowd with a dazzling tackle-breaking, ankle-breaking run to put the Wolves ahead 14-0 and what looked like on their way to an easy victory.
The Lions had other thoughts, a 59-yard punt return set up Lincoln at the Cheyney 15 and three plays later All-CIAA running back Stephen Scott went in from the two. The Wolves, All-PSAC defensive end Joseph Bryant then stopped Scott on the two-point rush to keep it at a 14-6 Cheyney advantage..
Nzquzi then rumbled in from six-yards out, on the final play of the first half, and converted the two-point-attempt with a completion to Andre Price and the game was tied at 14-14 at the break.
Despite having the ball for over eight minutes on a 16-play opening drive, and for all but six plays in the third quarter, the Wolves could not put any points on the board and the contest remained deadlocked late into the fourth quarter.
It appeared that Cheyney was destined to fall in heart breaking fashion when William Reyes grabbed his second interception of the game off a tipped pass and was heading down the sideline for what looked like the deciding score, but great hustle by the Wolves and a penalty on the Lions gave Lincoln the ball at the Cheyney 29- yard line with 1:11 to play.
Lincoln converted a third and short to move the ball inside the Cheyney 20, but a bad snap on first down set the Lions back and led to overtime.
The Wolves had the first opportunity from the 25, but could not move the ball on the first three plays and face a fourth and 10 from the 25, when Trautz was able to find a seam in the Lions defense and scramble for twelve yards and a first down. Three plays later he put the Wolves ahead to stay with the TD pass to Lyles.
Madlock III rushed for a team-best 92 yards and a score on just 15 carries for a 6.1 yards per carry average, French powered his way to 73 yards and a score, Lyles led the receiving core with four catches for 48 yards and the winning TD reception, Nigel Wiley added 44 yards on three catches and Trautz threw for 108 yard,s a score and 2 int's.
Scott led all runners with 108 yards, but it took him 31 carries, he also had a team-high 48 yards on four reception.
Brendyn Van Demark was three-for-three on the all-important extra points in the contest.
Jr. Keyson Dingle led the Wolves with 10 tackles, Easter III added nine tackles a fourth quarter interception in the endzone and two pass break-ups. Jr. Jamiel Hines and Fr. Michai Beal recorded six stops each, Bryant added five tackles including a forced fumble and stuffing Scott on a fourth down play and a two-point conversion attempt and R-So. Jordan Richardson also made five stops for the Wolves.
The Wolves are next in action at O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium for the home opener on Saturday, September 10 for a 1:00 PM kick-off against PSAC West opponent California (Pa).
me in the "Battle of the First" at The Lincoln University Thursday night.
BOX SCORE CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri -- The 2016 Lincoln Football Media Guide, available by clicking on the below link, can now be viewed online.
This 104-page guide contains an enhanced opponent section, more detailed statistical information and even more history than all previous LU guides. This publication also is filled with photos of this year's players and position units and provides information on how the Blue Tigers did in GLVC play last year as well as a previews of the upcoming season.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern defensive back Bryan Anderson hasn’t played in a real football game since the Jaguars went to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in 2013.
That drought ends Saturday.
Anderson, who originally expected to miss Southern’s season opener at Louisiana-Monroe because of a knee injury, made a surprise recovery and was back on the field this week for practice.
“It feels good to be back out there knowing my knee is 100 percent,” Anderson said. “My job is to get everyone hyped up and amped up. It just feels good to be back with my knee feeling straight.”
Southern coach Dawson Odums said Anderson will not claim the starting spot against the Warhawks after missing the majority of preseason camp, but the junior will play about 15-20 plays.
GRAMBLING, Louisiana — As a graduate transfer with four years of college experience under his belt, Monroe native Blain Winston wasn't looking to rack up statistics during his final year of football. He just wanted to add another ring to his collection.
That's what the Richwood product plans on doing in 2016 at Grambling after transferring from UL Lafayette. Winston, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive tackle, is one of two transfers the Tigers brought in to beef up the line this year.
"I've never been this welcomed before in my life. It's like one big family here at Grambling," said Winston, who is reuniting with high school teammates Martez Carter and Trey Goins. "My whole goal with (defensive coordinator coach Everett) Todd was to come in and try and help them. I knew they already had a good d-line. I just wanted to help them get better."
Grambling lost four key linemen from 2015 — Jamison Goins, Michael Jolivet, Larry Stalling and Jevonta Williams. Collectively, they totaled 11 of the 38 sacks recorded. The Tigers have Samuel Reese, who notched three sacks last year, Donovan McCray and Deangelo Butler-Gaston return on the outside. CONTINUE READING
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- If there has been one constant in the lead up to Southern’s season opener against ULM this Saturday, it has been quarterback Austin Howard barking at someone.
Sometimes he does it with a grin, other times his brow is furrowed — but it happens all the same, and the key is the regularity with which it occurs.
Howard, entering his third year as Southern’s starting quarterback, has made it a point to be a vocal leader of his team this season. He sees it as a necessary duty of the starting quarterback. His coach, Dawson Odums, sees it as a natural progression for a natural leader.
“I always talk to him about taking the next step — in life, as a quarterback, as a leader,” Odums said. “Our life is broken down into a bunch of small steps. When you come in as a freshman, that light bulb is not as bright. You’re feeling your way around, learning unfamiliar territory.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern coach Dawson Odums has a very simple philosophy when it comes to deciding where his coaches are going to be on game day.
“My philosophy is that if you’re a high-energy coach and a passionate coach, go to the box,” Odums said. “If you’re low key … and calm demeanor, be on the sideline.”
It makes sense then that offensive coordinator Chennis Berry will take his exuberance to the press box Saturday against ULM, while the more reserved defensive coordinator Trei Oliver will be on the sidelines.
It may not always be that way, but that’s how Odums wants to try things for the opener.
“We’re going to try the first game one way, and if there’s some problems in communication, the next game you may flip it,” Odums said. “I think it’s a trial and error, I think it depends on the individuals you have, where they’re comfortable at, and it’s also about who is relaying the communication to the players.
HAMPTON, Virginia -- Jaylian Williamson writes daily in a journal that he talks about turning into a book. Suggested title: “Rollercoaster Ride: My College Football Story.”
“I’ve had so many ups and downs,” he says with an easy smile that turns to shaking of his head at the memories. “My mom was talking to me about it the other day. She said, ‘You can withstand anything. Anything.’ She’s right. You hit me; I can handle anything.”
The ride is headed up now – again. Winning the quarterback job at Hampton – again. Playing Saturday at Old Dominion – again. Playing in front of friends from his days as Oscar Smith’s state championship-winning quarterback – again.
“I have people calling me all the time, ‘You ready? You ready?’ I’m just soaking it all in,” he said. “I feel like this year is the most relaxed time I’ve had in five years, the most excited I’ve been.”
Hampton coach Connell Maynor named Williamson the starter early in fall camp, but competition for the job never stopped. It probably won’t. One reason is Williamson’s stature: an advertised 5-feet-10 that leaves doubters aplenty. CONTINUE READING
DURHAM, North Carolina -- North Carolina Central football has the chance to become the first team in program history to win three straight conference championships.
But while hoopla and high expectations surround the players and coaches, a small dark cloud hovers in the background.
It’s 2014: The Eagles were on the road at conference opponent Morgan State. On paper, the matchup was a no-brainer, but that’s why they play the game. NCCU lost 21-20 after leading 20-7 in the fourth quarter. NCCU wound up in a five-way tie for the title. Morgan won the tiebreaker and advanced to the NCAA Division I- FCS playoffs.
It’s 2015: The Eagles led two-time champion Bethune-Cookman by 19 points, but the Wildcats rallied to go ahead by two. On its last drive of the game, NCCU was within field goal range, but the kick was blocked. This time, there was a three-way tie for first, and bitter rival N.C. A&T got the tiebreaker and headed to the inaugural Air Force Celebration Bowl. CONTINUE READING
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida --The Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats have had at least a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship for the past four years; they are looking to extend that streak in 2016.
The Wildcats are now expected to compete for a conference title every season. “The bar has been set high, and we want to continue to reset it and succeed,” coach Terry Sims said. “It’s a pressure game, and you want to be able to react to pressure in a positive way.”
Sims was named MEAC Coach of the Year in 2015 in his first season as head coach of B-CU. He had spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach with the team and said being a head coach for the first time was “a little bit challenging, but I was up for the challenge.”
B-CU is replacing quarterback Quentin Williams, who graduated. The Wildcats led the conference in passing offense last season. CONTINUE READING
NEWARK, Delaware – No wonder Delaware and Delaware State so relish the start of the 2016 football season Thursday night.
Each is coming off a season in which victories were rare.
The Blue Hens’ four equaled their fewest since 1967. The Hornets managed just one win, tying for their worst performance in the last 17 years.
But both enter 2016 with high hopes.
Delaware expects to have the talent to take it to the NCAA FCS playoffs, once a frequent landing spot but now a place from which the Hens have been absent since 2010.
Likewise, Delaware State has not limited its aspirations as it takes aim for a spot in the Celebration Bowl, which matches the MEAC and SWAC champions.
Those objectives collide at UD’s Delaware Stadium, where the state’s two FCS teams kick off at 7 p.m.
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- It's always an event when Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M meet on the football field for the annual Labor Day Classic. Other than playing for a SWAC championship, this would be the most significant game for both teams.
This year's version has added importance when the rivals kick off at 5 p.m. Sunday in Prairie View. The Panthers will be showcasing their new $61 million, 15,000-seat football stadium, and the Tigers will begin anew under coach Michael Haywood.
"Our guys are going to be excited also because this is a new era for us," said Haywood, a former player at Notre Dame who last was a head coach in 2010 at Miami (Ohio). "It's an opportunity for us to show how much we've changed in a short period of time.
"We are thankful to open up versus Prairie View because they are one of the best teams in our conference. It will set a landmark on where we are as we start the 2016 season. It will be a physical contest for 60 minutes. The physicality of the game will be something that you've never seen before between TSU and Prairie View.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- The odds are not in Jackson State’s favor of having fun in Las Vegas.
The Tigers face UNLV at 9 p.m. Thursday in the season opener for both teams.
Jackson State, under first-year coach Tony Hughes, has never beaten an FBS school in its 12 previous tries. The Tigers are also 0-2 against teams in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels beat Jackson State 39-2 in 1975 in their previous meeting.
“We’ve prepared for this moment,” Hughes said in a SWAC teleconference call. “It’s not like this just snuck up on us and, ‘Oh, wow, we have to fly out to Las Vegas.’ I think our guys will be ready to play.”
Quarterback LaMontiez Ivy leads a high-powered Tigers offense with a deep receiving corps.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern has become accustomed to being a championship program, which is what made the 2015 season so difficult to digest.
A 6-5 record and a third-place finish in the SWAC's Western Division does not cut it, not after the previous two seasons ended in Houston and the SWAC Championship Game.
So, Southern made sweeping changes — many of which were difficult for coach Dawson Odums — in an effort to recapture some championship mojo.
Gone is the entire defensive staff, as well as last season's offensive coordinator, Chad Germany. Odums, who was his own defensive coordinator in his first three full seasons, relinquished that role to his former college teammate, Trei Oliver. Chennis Berry was promoted from within the ranks to take over as offensive coordinator.
"We had been therCe for three years, didn’t like the direction, and I wanted to remove myself from it," Odums said.
MIAMI, Florida -- Florida A&M was slow out of the gates in 2015 in coach Alex Wood’s first season.
The Rattlers were slow to end the season, as well. A 1-10 season was not what he envisioned, but now Wood has a glimpse of where his team needs to improve.
And with Florida A&M on a streak of four consecutive losing seasons — a combined 11-35 record — Wood is eyeing a quick turnaround in his second season.
“People are anxious,” Wood said. “They’re always asking ‘When are you going to get back?’ because they want us in these games. … That’s our job: To get us back into the competition so it’s exciting football for the MEAC and for FAMU football.”
But after last season, it looks like the Rattlers might still be at least another year away from being in the thick of the competition.
NORFOLK, Virginia -- There is no sugarcoating the state of HBCUs: Our institutions are hurting. Nationwide, state funding continues to decline, and our athletic programs are under tremendous financial strain to balance their budgets.
I know most HBCUs have strong alumni support. I see them at games and hear from them throughout the year. They are vocal and full of pride. I applaud this. But our institutions need more than a vocal and proud alumni base to survive, they need consistent financial support. If you venture to an institution’s development office and ask for a list of alumni who have given $1,000 or more, you’d be hard-pressed to find more than 5,000 alumni who have done so. That’s hard to hear, but it’s fact. Despite the lack of donors at that level, our alumni – the same ones who are proud and love their schools – are prone to criticize, even though they have not earned the right to do so. Which is why I have accepted the opportunity by The Undefeated to set the record straight – and to educate.
Let me be clear: We need more alumni to be financially active at their respective institutions. I certainly don’t mean to lump all alumni in the same bucket. I know we have thousands of alumni nationwide who consistently support the affairs of their alma mater. But we have a small number carrying the larger load, and frankly, it’s gotten too heavy for the faithful few to carry.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Dover, Delaware is a very friendly place for Delaware State.
Their lone win in 2015 happened at home in a one point win against Howard University. The Hornets will be looking to avenge a FAMU Homecoming loss with a homecoming win of their own. You would think that the teams should be about even because they both had one win seasons last year.
Expect FAMU to run and pass well against these Hornets and unless the Hornets play better defense this will be a another long season for them. This is another game that FAMU should win. CONTINUE READING
Hampton @ FAMU Football Game Eight Preseason Pick
Hampton trampled a weary FAMU Rattlers near the end of last season in Hampton, Virginia. This time it will be an improving Rattler team at home.
Expect this game to be about defense. The team that is able to make that one key stand will win this game. It may come down to a field goal.
FAMU’s passing game will remains it strength as the running game shows marked improvement over last year. Hampton will rely mostly on running. I’m giving FAMU the homecoming edge.
If the Pirate’s band shows up they’ll have to face the Marching 100 and Joe Bullard. That’s an unbeatable combination.
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana has been picked to repeat as Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball champion, and the Gold Nuggets' Juliana Tomasoniis on the preseason All-GCAC team. The conference's seven head coaches made the selections, which the GCAC announced Monday. XULA, which seeks sixth consecutive GCAC regular-season and tournament championships, received 5-of-7 first-place votes and 47 points in the poll. SUNO is second with 42 points, and Dillard is third with 32. SUNO and Dillard received one first-place vote apiece. The Gold Nuggets have won 72 of their last 73 matches against GCAC opponents. The lone loss was in five sets last year at SUNO, which earned a shared of the 2015 regular-season title. Tomasoni, a junior outside hitter/defensive specialist from Nova Trento, Brazil, and a former Northeastern Oklahoma A&M standout, was one of seven named preseason All-GCAC. In her first season at XULA, Tomasoni ranks second in the GCAC with 4.18 digs per set, third with a .237 hitting percentage and fourth with 3.0 kills per set. After opening the season with out-of-state tournaments each of the past two weekends, XULA (1-7) will play five times this week in its home city. The Gold Nuggets will visit Loyola Tuesday for matches at 5 p.m. against St. Thomas (Texas) and 7 p.m. against Loyola, then play host to the second annual Big Easy Blastoff at the Convocation Center. XULA will play Friday at 11 a.m. against Pikeville and 5 p.m. against William Carey and Saturday against Southwest (N.M.) at 11 a.m.
NEW ORLEANS — Juliana Tomasoni had 15 kills, hit .371 and served three aces Tuesday to help Xavier University of Louisiana rally for a 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 27-25 volleyball victory against Loyola at the Wolf Pack's First NBC Court. The Gold Nuggets (2-8) snapped a five-match losing streak, their longest in six seasons. XULA played twice at Loyola. In their first match, the Gold Nuggets lost 25-18, 25-17, 26-24 to St. Thomas (Texas). Tomasoni also had four assists, five digs and two blocks. She reached double figures in kills for the fifth time this season. Against Loyola, Hasani Salaam had nine kills, and Monet Fontaine and Terri Drake had eight apiece.Amanda Perry had 16 digs and reached double figures for the ninth consecutive match to tie a XULA record. Taylor Ducros and Kayla Jones had 10 digs apiece. The Gold Nuggets' .248 hitting percentage and nine blocks were season highs. XULA recorded back-to-back wins against Loyola at the Wolf Pack's home court for the first time. The Gold Nuggets won in five sets last season. Loyola leads the series 12-6, but the Gold Nuggets won six of the last seven meetings. Against St. Thomas, Salaam had 10 kills and hit a career-high .556 with no errors in 18 attacks. Adili Rikondja had eight kills and hit .438, both career bests, and Perry had 10 digs and two aces. XULA will play its home opener Friday in its Big Easy Opener at the Convocation Center. The Gold Nuggets will play Pikeville at 11 a.m. and William Carey at 5 p.m. SUNO and Southwest (N.M.) also are in the tournament; they'll meet at 9 a.m. Friday to open the five-team, nine-match, two-day event.
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State's Tony Hughes spent his 31-year coaching career as an assistant waiting for an opportunity to be a head coach, something he’ll achieve Thursday night against UNLV.
Although the enormity of the moment hasn’t hit him yet, he believes his 10 years in the Southeastern Conference will help him through any nerves.
“I’m prepared mentally, physically, spiritually, because I’ve coached in tough environments for the last 10 years,” Hughes said. “Some of those environments, I would go out there on a Saturday and say, ‘What the hell am I doing here? Oh, my God.’”
The challenge for road teams playing in UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium isn’t as much as it is in Alabama’s Bryant Denny Stadium or LSU’s Tiger Stadium, two venues Hughes is familiar with during his time at Ole Miss (three seasons) and Mississippi State (seven seasons).
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Alabama State senior offensive lineman Jylan Ware doesn’t have many long road trips left in his Hornet career.
The 6-foot-8, 295-pound redshirt senior is a three-year starter on a line that has produced three consecutive seasons of more than 2,000 rushing yards while twice leading the SWAC in rushing (2013, 2014).
Ware, a native of Valley, Alabama, will once again be an important piece of an experienced line that hopes to once again carve out enough holes for a running game that has become the staple of the Alabama State attack.
“You can’t do anything if you can’t run the ball,” Ware said. “You can’t pass. You can’t set up screens. We’ve made the run a huge part of our offense and we have to be able to do it consistently.”
Valley might be a smaller town compared to Montgomery in terms of population, but Ware says Alabama State football has a very strong presence in the community.
MIAMI, Florida -- The Hurricanes defense – already reeling after this weekend’s dismissal of two top players – will have to deal with another challenge now that one of its projected starters is hurt.
Junior Trent Harris, listed as one of the Miami’s starters at defensive end, broke his hand and went to see a doctor for the issue on Tuesday, his mother Betsy Harris told the Orlando Sentinel. She also said the expectation, though, is that Harris will be able to play Saturday when the Hurricanes open their season against FAMU on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
That would be a positive development for Miami, which will be without defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and linebacker Jermaine Grace for the season after the school determined the pair committed NCAA violations in their dealings with a local luxury car rental agency.
Muhammad was projected to start at defensive end ahead of Harris after leading the Hurricanes with five sacks last year. Grace, meanwhile, was Miami’s leading tackler with 79 stops in 2015.
