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WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- When the CIAA and its television partner were deciding on which games to broadcast they picked Saturday’s WSSU-Fayetteville State game in Fayetteville. It was a good call because the last three years the winner of that game, which has been WSSU each time, won the Southern Division.
Saturday’s game at 2 p.m. is scheduled for ASPIRE Network but the winner of the game won’t decide the division title.
The Rams, thanks to their 6-0 record in the conference, secured the division title with a win at Shaw on Saturday. The Broncos are 4-2 in the division so even if the Broncos win on Saturday the Rams would own the better conference record.
So while the Rams are in the CIAA championship game for the sixth straight year the division winner from the North is still up in the air. The CIAA championship game is scheduled for Nov. 12 in Salem, Va. and WSSU will be there but its opponent is unknown.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- 3 things worth talking about
Running start
Alabama State did all of its first-quarter damage without completing a single pass. Hornets running back Khalid Thomas turned a 55-yard punt return into a 16-yard touchdown run on the very next play. Hornets quarterback Quinterris Toppings went 73 yards on a touchdown run. The Hornets had 89 total yards in the first quarter.
Bentley got one, too
Alabama A&M running back Jordan Bentley did break through once on the ASU defense, going on a 22-yard run for a touchdown. It was Bentley’s longest rush of the day. Bentley came into Saturday’s game with 576 rushing yards, good for third in the SWAC.
LORMAN, Mississippi — Neither Southern’s football players nor their head coach, Dawson Odums, said Saturday’s win against Alcorn State held any extra significance.
That’s fine. It’s diplomatic. But, judging by the roar coming from the locker room after the hard-fought 41-33 win, it probably wasn’t entirely truthful, either.
Alcorn State has been the Jaguars’ bogeyman for a while now. They’ve struggled in Lorman in particular; Saturday’s game was their first win there in nearly a decade.
That this particular hole in Odums’ résumé has been filled should’ve meant something to Southern and players like Lenard Tillery and Willie Quinn, who took part in their first win against the Braves in their distinguished careers.
But if you’ve followed along with our Southern coverage this season, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the team’s mantra. The goal is to treat every little thing like a game, and to win all of those little things. The Jaguars want to win practice reps, film study and days of practice.
AUGUSTA, Georgia -- Quarterback Caleb Edmonds was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 Augusta City Classic after going 21-for-29 for 194 yards and three touchdowns and leading Albany State to a 34-7 victory over Benedict College. With the win, Albany State improves to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the SIAC. The Tigers fall to 4-5, 3-3.
ASU's triumph over Benedict also keeps the Golden Rams in first place in the SIAC East Division. Fort Valley State defeated Morehouse College 24-16 on Saturday to move to 2-1 in the division. Those two wins by the archrivals sets up a divisional championship game in this year's Fountain City Classic on Nov. 5.
Running back Mack Green started Albany State in the right direction with the first highlight of the first quarter. Green returned the opening kick 75 yards into Benedict territory to set up the Golden Rams' first scoring drive. Three plays, 17 yards and 1:52 later, Edmonds found Quadrey Simmons in the end zone for a touchdown. Emilio Maldonado added the PAT, and ASU led 7-0 with 13:08 left in the stanza.
The Golden Rams would find the end zone again less than 10 minutes later. McKinley Habersham's 5-yard touchdown ended a 12-play, 88-yard drive that used 5:43. Maldonado's extra point gave ASU a 14-0 edge at the 3:58 mark.
In the second quarter, Edmonds scored on a 4-yard with 8:40 left, and Maldonado added the PAT to give Albany State a 21-0 advantage. The drive went nine plays for 43 yards in 4:36.
Maldonado also helped the Golden Rams extend their lead in the second period. He connected on a 39-yard field goal at the 5:38 mark to give the visiting team a 24-0. Maldonado made another field goal, this time from 40 yards, and provided ASU with a 27-0 lead at halftime.
Benedict avoided a shutout when quarterback Phillip Brown found Okechi Ntiasagwe for a 30-yard touchdown to end the team's 5-play, 70-yard drive that used 2:06. Tory Mimbs made the PAT.
Edmonds completed the game scoring with 3:34 remaining in the third. He sprinted 38 yards for another touchdown to complete a 3-play, 47-yard drive that used 1:28 and give the Golden Rams a 34-7 lead.
Edmonds also finished the game with 10 rushes for 48 yards. Wide receiver Ta'Keevian Harris recorded five receptions for 40 yards for the Albany State "Gold Rush" Offense that used balance to tally a total of 360 yards.
Defensively, Emmauel Brown led the way with six solo tackles and a sack. Nick Scott and Zavondric Shingleton each added four solo tackles. The "Dirty Blue" Defense held the Tigers to only 185 yards for the game.
George Myers, Jr. led the Benedict offense with 81 yards on 12 rushes. Brown finished 9-of-20 for 91 yards.
The Tiger defense had two players who reached double digits in tackles. Edward Kirkland and Stephen Williams each had 10 tackles. Both players also had seven solo tackles.
Albany State will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 5 when it travels to Columbus, Ga. to face archrival Fort Valley State in the 27th Annual Fountain City Classic. The winner will win the SIAC East Division crown and earn a spot in the 2016 SIAC championship game. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at A.J. McClung Stadium.
Around The SIAC- Saturday, October 29th
Albany State 34, Benedict 7
Fort Valley State 24, Morehouse 16
Lane 35, Kentucky State 21
Tuskegee 42, Central State 14
Miles 34, Clark Atlanta 17
COURTESY ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
NEW ORLEANS — Regular-season champion Xavier University of Louisiana led all schools Friday with four student-athletes named to the 2016 All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball team. The Gold Nuggets' Juliana Tomasoni and Amanda Perry are first-team selections, and Tiffany Phillips and Hasani Salaam made the second team. The GCAC's seven head coaches selected the team. Tomasoni — a junior outside hitter/defensive specialist from Nova Trento, Brazil, and a graduate of Francisco Mazzola in her home country and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M — leads the Gold Nuggets through 27 matches with 267 kills and is second with a .236 hitting percentage, 333 digs and 20 aces. In her third XULA match she produced a school-record 25 kills Aug. 20 against Evangel. Perry, a freshman libero/defensive specialist from Bolingbrook High School and a graduate of Bolingbrook High School, has a school-record 438 digs and is third on the Nuggets with 17 aces. A three-time GCAC Defender of the Week, Perry also set school season records with 24 matches of double-figure digs and 18 matches in a row. Phillips, a freshman setter/defensive specialist from Gardena, Calif., and a graduate of Bishop Montgomery High School, leads XULA with 682 assists and 21 aces. She also has 202 digs, 65 kills and 19 blocks. Five times she has been chosen GCAC Setter of the Week; that ties the XULA record for most weekly awards in this sport. Her 11 assist-dig double-doubles are a XULA season record. Salaam, a freshman middle blocker/right side from New Orleans and a graduate of Lusher Charter School, leads the Nuggets with 47 blocks. She ranks third at XULA with 185 kills. XULA will conclude the regular season with GCAC matches at 1 p.m. Saturday at Talladega and 7 p.m. Monday at home against Tougaloo. The Gold Nuggets will play at 3 p.m. Friday in the semifinals of the GCAC Tournament at Dillard's Dent Hall.
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Charlene Goreau and Lyndsey Clark won women's consolation titles Saturday at the Big Easy Tennis Classic at the University of New Orleans. Goreau defeated Florida A&M's Olivia Rolle 6-4, 6-4 in the flight-1 consolation final. Clark won the flight-6 consolation title by default Saturday after defeating FAMU's Kiara Shaw 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (12-10) in the semifinals Friday. The Gold Nuggets produced a pair of consolation runners-up. Emma Kranendonk lost 6-3, 6-3, to William Carey's Gloria Kaufman in the flight-2 final, and Sha'Nel Bruins and Dasia Harris lost 6-2 in the doubles final to William Carey's Lorena Rouillon Jimenez and Daria Veretennikova. In the main draw of men's flight-1 singles, XULA's fourth-seeded Karan Salwan lost 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5) in the semifinals to top-seeded Chao-Yu Huang of Southern Miss. This was the last of three fall events for XULA, which will resume its schedule with dual matches in January. The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will take aim at a return trip to the NAIA National Championships at Mobile, Ala., in May. The ITA will announce NAIA player rankings in late November, and team rankings — the NAIA coaches polls — will be unveiled Jan. 24. Friday Results: Men • Women Saturday Results: Men • Women Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- When the CIAA and its television partner were deciding on which games to broadcast they picked Saturday’s WSSU-Fayetteville State game in Fayetteville. It was a good call because the last three years the winner of that game, which has been WSSU each time, won the Southern Division.
