Chemistry test: Southern is using offensive line familiarity to its advantage during a dominant run in SWAC play

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern senior right guard Anthony Mosley knows he can trust senior center Terrell Lee, because he knows his grandmother makes the best “ooey gooey cakes.”

He knows he can count on junior right tackle Skyler Prol to have his back, because he has stayed the night at the Prol family home.

“It’s like I know these guys — I personally know them,” Mosley said. “You can play for somebody when you personally know them, you know their background and where they came from.”



Mosley, Lee and left guard Jamal Boulden, all fifth-year seniors, have been playing next to one another — and starting — for most of the past three years. Prol is in his second year as a starter and his fourth year with the program.

“We’ve played a lot of snaps together, so we have good chemistry,” Boulden said.

The bond they’ve formed is showing on the field this season.

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Road-tested Grambling begins stretch run

GRAMBLING, Louisiana — The home stretch is here for Grambling.

Sporting a 14-game win streak inside Southwestern Athletic Conference play, Grambling has four regular season games left in its quest to win a conference championship.

All four come away from home with two road games and a pair of neutral site games in Shreveport and New Orleans.

“We've played well on the road since we've been here at Grambling State University. I don't think this week is any different,” Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs. “You want to play flawless every week. That's the dream, that's the goal to do so.”



Grambling (5-1) is on the road this weekend at Alabama A&M to preserve its unblemished 5-0 mark in the SWAC.

The Tigers, who are coming off a 70-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, face their fourth SWAC East Division opponent this season.

Grambling is 10-5 on the road during the past three years under Fobbs, including a 6-2 mark since 2015. The lone loss this year came at Arizona in a game Grambling led 21-3 at halftime.

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JSU seeks revenge against Alabama State

JACKSON, Mississippi -- It’s easy to see there will be a lot on the line when Jackson State and Alabama State kick off a key SWAC East matchup Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama.

There’s positioning in the SWAC East, in which the Tigers (3-5, 3-3 SWAC) are currently tied for the lead with rival Alcorn State. At this point, a loss puts either team at a serious disadvantage in the race for a berth in the conference championship.

But perhaps the bigger factor for JSU is a shot at revenge for last year’s 17-12 loss at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“I remember that game as cold. Cold and sloppy,” sophomore linebacker Shawn Bishop said. “We would make a play on defense, then they’d come back and make a play. Then, we’d answer right back. In the end, it came down to us making one mistake.”

That one mistake was giving up a touchdown on a deflected pass from Ellis Richardson to DeMario Bell on fourth-and-11 early in the fourth quarter.

But Alabama State (2-6, 2-5) is a much different team this year. The Hornets have already lost as many games as they did all last year, with their only wins coming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State — two teams with a combined 1-15 record.



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North Carolina A&T Aggies Face S.C. State On Senior Day

S.C. State (3-4, 3-1 MEAC) at *No. 11/10 North Carolina A&T (7-1, 5-0 MEAC)
Date: Nov. 5, 2016
Time: 1 p.m.
Facility: Aggie Stadium (21,500)
Series: SCSU leads, 32-19-3
Radio: 1320 AM/93.7 FM WCOG; Play-by-play – Donal Ware, Analysts – Al Swann
*FCS media poll listed first/coaches’ poll listed next

LAST GAME’S OFFENSIVE STARTERS: WR Denzel Keyes (6-4, 215, Sr., led the team with 5 rec.);  LT Brandon Parker (6-7, 299, R-Jr., 4x MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week ); LG Joshua Mattocks (6-3, 332, R-Jr.); C Darriel Mack (6-2, 291, R-Jr.); RG Daquan Blake (6-3, 315, Jr.); RT Wes Cole (6-6, 335, Sr.); WR Michael Weaver, Jr. (5-7, 163, Sr.); RB Tarik Cohen (5-6, 179, Sr., had another 3-touchdown game); QB Lamar Raynard (6-4, 176, R-So., completed 20 of 27 passes for 230yds and a TD); WR Khris Gardin (5-7, 158, Jr.); WR Elijah Bell (6-2, 210, Fr., 25 TD rec.). 

LAST GAME’S DEFENSIVE STARTERS: DE Angelo Keyes (6-1, 270, R-Sr., 1TFL); DT Marquis Ragland (6-3, 277, R-Sr., 3 unassisted tackles); NG Julian McKnight (6-3, 291, R-So.); DE Kenneth Melton (6-2, 220, R-Jr., 1TFL); LB Deion Jones (5-11, 207, R-So.); LB Kiaundric Richardson (6-0, 207, So., all 3 tackles went for loss); LB Jeremy Taylor (5-11, 181, R-Jr., 5 unassisted tackles); ROV Marcus Albert (5-10, 207, R-Jr., led the Aggies with six tackles); CB  Zerius Lockhart (5-10, 175, R-Jr.); CB Timadre Abram (5-10, 164, R-So.); FS Tyree Andrews (6-1, 194, R-Sr., secured career-high six tackles).

The Game: N.C. A&T will play their home finale on Saturday as they welcome one of the conference’s best teams in South Carolina State. In fact, the Aggies play two of the top-three teams in the conference over the past three weeks of the season. The Bulldogs have dominated the series lately. Under head coach Buddy Pough, the Bulldogs are 13-2 against the Aggies. The only two losses Pough has endured to N.C. A&T came during the six-year Rod Broadway era at N.C. A&T. Even superstar running back Tarik Cohen has struggled against the Bulldogs, averaging 56.3 yards in three games against the Bulldogs, while averaging 141.5 yards against the rest of the league in 25 games played. He is also averaging 3.3 yards per carry against S.C. State.

The Aggies are coming off a 42-17 homecoming win over Florida A&M. The Aggies held their fifth straight opponent to under 100 yards rushing in winning its fifth straight game. Before the game the Aggies will honor 16 seniors including all-time great Cohen, all-time touchdown receptions leader Denzel Keyes, record-breaking kicker Cody Jones and All-MEAC defensive linemen Angelo Keyes and Marquis Ragland. The Bulldogs last trip to Aggie Stadium resulted in a 17-7 loss to the Aggies. The Bulldogs are coming off a 28-26 loss to Hampton, therefore, they need a win over N.C. A&T to remain in the MEAC title race. The Bulldogs played three FBS schools in the non-conference, but since playing conference games only, they are ranked No. 1 in scoring defense against MEAC foes. 

News & Notes

• Cohen fumbled at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter at N.C. Central on Nov. 22, 2014. Cohen hasn’t fumbled since. Cohen has now had 460 straight touches without a fumble.  
• Defensive end Angelo Keyes has 14 pass break ups in his career. That is more career pass break ups than any defensive back on the Aggies roster.  
• S.C. State coach Buddy Pough is the longest tenured coach in the MEAC. He is followed by Aggies coach Rod Broadway and Howard coach Gary Harrell who have each been at their respective institution for six seasons.
• Tarik Cohen has won MEAC Offensive Player of the Week five weeks in a row. He has won a weekly honor from the conference in 15 of the 42 weeks he has played in his career.
• N.C. A&T is the unanimous No. 1 black college football team in two polls. In eight of the nine polls the Sheridan Broadcast Network has released this season, the Aggies have garnered all 30 first-place votes. The Aggies also secured all the first-place votes in the BoxToRow Black College Football poll. Nationally, the Aggies reached the top-10 in the NCAA FCS Coaches’ poll.     

Opposing Point of View

“They’ve now started to, I believe, settle in at the quarterback position. They kind of went back and forth for a while between (Lamar Raynard) and (Oluwafemi) Bamiro. Both guys are big, strapping, tall kind of guys, but I think the young guy has kind of taken over. You can see they’ve settled in with his style of attack. I think with him settled in there, they have the entire package now. They’ve got tight ends. Their wide receivers are exceptionally good football players, so they look like a big-time college football program. I’ve got to do all I can to make sure we are prepared for A&T come this weekend.”

S.C. State coach Buddy Pough on the Aggies quarterback situation

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

SSU looks to continue home-field edge vs. Norfolk State

SAVANNAH, Georgia --  Savannah State will be looking forward to playing in T.A. Wright Stadium today. Maybe Norfolk State is, too.

The Tigers have clawed their way to two home victories in two tries this season. The Spartans have never lost in Savannah in seven previous contests.

So something has to give when the two schools meet here at 5 p.m.

“The most important thing is to protect your house,” Tigers defensive end Marquis Smith said. “You never want someone to come in and take something from you. You can’t allow that. That’s not what men allow.”

No doubt SSU is feeling a little frisky these days after tripping Howard 31-27 a week ago. Coming into the season, the Tigers had a total of five wins in six years. Now, they not only have a modest two-game winning streak at T.A. Wright Stadium, but they’ve won two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games in a season for the first time since joining the league in 2011.

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Gold Nuggets' 2016-17 roster includes 11 newcomers

NEW ORLEANS — The largest group of newcomers during the Bo Browder era — 11 student-athletes — is on the 2016-17 Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball roster.
     
Those 11 will join five returning letterwomen and open the season at 5:30 p.m. Friday against Florida Memorial at XULA's Convocation Center. Browder, whose 412-154 record makes him the winningest in the program's history, is back for his 18th season as head coach.
     
New Gold Nuggets this season are:

     •  Aliyah Bell, a 5-foot-8 guard/forward from Pass Christian, Miss., Pass Christian High School and Jones County (Miss.) Junior College. She's a pre-pharmacy major at Xavier.
     •  Jordan Coleman, a 5-8 guard from Kansas City, Mo., and a pair of California schools: San Juan Hills High School and Irvine Valley College. She is majoring in business with a minor in mass communications.
     •  Rosie Davis, a 5-5 guard from Lancaster, Texas, and Duncanville High School. Her XULA major is business management.
     •  Jalyn Hodge, a 5-8 guard from Plano, Texas, and Plano West High School. Hodge is a biology/pre-medical major, and she hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon.
     •  Rexesha Hollis, a 5-9 guard from Spring, Texas, and Klein Collins High School. Hollis is majoring in political science.
     •  Dasha Pitre, a 6-foot forward/center from Lake Charles, La., and St. Louis Catholic High School. Her XULA major is accounting.
     •  Terriel Ross, a 5-9 guard/forward from Baton Rouge, La., University Lab School and Baton Rouge Community College. Ross is majoring in mass communications.
     •  Angelle Simon, a 6-2 center from Marrero, La., Edna Karr High School and Texas A&M-Commerce. She's majoring in mass communications.
     •  Gina Smith, a 5-11 forward from Atlanta, Ga., and Mays High School. She is majoring in public health.
     •  Maya Trench, a 5-2 guard from Edgard, La., and West St. John High School. Her XULA major is pre-pharmacy.
     •  Essence Wells, a 5-10 guard from Irving, Texas, and MacArthur High School. Wells is a business major.
     
Bell averaged 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season as a starter at Jones County. As a freshman she helped the Lady Bobcats finish second in the region. In high school Bell was all-district three times in basketball and once in volleyball. She averaged 15 points a game as a prep senior and helped Pass Christian reach the 4A South state quarterfinals.
     
Coleman was All-Orange Empire Conference in both her seasons at Irvine Valley. She averaged 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and three assists as a freshman and 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists as a sophomore. As a prep senior she was co-MVP of her league and became the first San Juan Hills girl to record a triple double (15 points, 10 assists, 10 steals).
     
Davis was a part-time starter at point guard her final two years at Duncanville, which was 39-0 last season, won the Texas Class 6A championship and ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today newspaper. Three times she was academic all-district.
    
 Hodge averaged 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and two assists a game last season and helped Plano West reach the quarterfinals (regional runner-up) of the Texas 6A state playoffs. She was all-district and had a high game of 26 points. Hodge is a cousin of UConn men's basketball head coach Kevin Ollie and former NFL wide receiver Arnaz Battle.
     
Hollis averaged 10.9 points last season, 12.8 as a junior and finished her Klein Collins varsity career with 1,059 points. She helped the Lady Tigers qualify for the 6A state playoffs each of her final two seasons. She was district offensive MVP as a senior and was academic all-district four times.
    
Pitre was a three-sport standout at St. Louis. She was all-district in basketball, softball and volleyball and a team captain in all three. She was a member of four state-playoff basketball teams and reached the Class 3A second round in 2013 and 2015. As a senior she averaged 13.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and three blocks. As a softball third baseman she batted .654 her senior year and was all-state.
    
Ross averaged 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds last season for BRCC. She was Class 3A first-team all-state as a senior after averaging 14.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 steals and helping U-High win state and district championships.
     
Simon averaged 1.5 points and 1.7 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the floor for Texas A&M-Commerce as a sophomore. She averaged 3.1 points and 3.2 rebounds as a freshman at the College of Central Florida, a two-year school in Ocala, and had game highs of 11 points and eight rebounds.
     
Smith helped Mays finish second in Georgia's Class AAAAA state playoffs her junior season. She was chosen to the Atlanta City of Champions All Star Classic following her senior year. Her brother, Garrison Smith, is a defensive tackle with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
     
Trench averaged 19.2 points, six assists and three steals for West St. John last season and was second-team all-state in Class 2A. She scored more than 2,000 career points. As a junior she was the NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune Small Schools Player of the Year and first-team all-state in Class 1A. Trench was second-team all-state in 1A as a sophomore.
     
Wells made 91 3-pointers her final two seasons at Irving MacArthur, and as a junior she averaged 11.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals. She helped her team reach the 6A second round last season and the final 16 (regional semifinalist) her junior year. Wells' mother, Cassandra Lumpkins, was a standout basketball player at the University of New Orleans and was named to the Sun Belt Conference all-time team for its first 30 seasons. Wells' uncle, Tony Harris, was a conference player of the year at UNO and played in the NBA.
     
Returning Gold Nuggets are guards Mikayla Bates and Kelsey Joseph, center Kelsee Singleton, giuard/forward Ireyon Keith and forward/center Bianca Brown. Keith did not play in 2015-16 because of injury.
     
Friday's opener will be followed by a XULA men's game at 7:30 against Wayland Baptist. The Gold Nuggets will play host to Webber International at 3 p.m. Saturday.

2016-17 Xavier women's basketball signees
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.*	Hometown	High School (College)
Aliyah Bell	G/F	5-8	Jr.	Pass Christian, Miss.	Pass Christian (Jones County JC)
Jordan Coleman	G	5-8	Jr.	Kansas City, Mo.	San Juan Hills (Irvine Valley JC)
Rosie Davis	G	5-5	Fr.	Lancaster, Texas	Duncanville
Jalyn Hodge	G	5-8	Fr.	Plano, Texas	Plano West
Rexesha Hollis	G	5-9	Fr.	Spring, Texas	Klein Collins
Dasha Pitre	F/C	6-0	Fr.	Lake Charles, La.	St. Louis Catholic
Terriel Ross	G/F	5-9	Jr.	Baton Rouge, La.	University Lab (Baton Rouge CC)
Angelle Simon	C	6-2	Jr.	Marrero, La.	Karr (Texas A&M-Commerce)
Gina Smith	F	5-11	Fr.	Atlanta, Ga.	Mays
Maya Trench	G	5-2	Fr.	Edgard, La.	West St. John
Essence Wells	G	5-10	Fr.	Irving, Texas	MacArthur
* athletic classification at Xavier in 2016-17 Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

Grambling's shutout as rare as a 'purple unicorn'

GRAMBLING, Louisiana — Shutouts in college football are rare.

How rare? Ask Grambling, which, up until a few days ago, hadn't recorded a shutout against a Division I team since 2008 when the Tigers blanked Alcorn State, 29-0.

The Tigers were able to pull one off over the weekend with a 70-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a feat that prompted coach Broderick Fobbs to reach into his ever-growing bag of peculiar analogies.

"To get a shutout today, in 2016, in this day and age, it's almost like a purple unicorn. It's not done too often," Fobbs joked Monday.

It's not as rare as one would think, but it's still uncommon. A total of 47 games have been played by Southwestern Athletic Conference teams this year with five shutouts. That amounts to about 10 percent of games resulting in shutouts. Two have come in league play, and Grambling is responsible for one.

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