AAMU Bulldogs' tenacious D helps send seniors out on a winning note

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Bulldogs sent their seniors off on a winning note Saturday with a 21-13 win over Kentucky State.

The Bulldogs held a pregame ceremony to recognize the 19 seniors who wore the Maroon and White for the final time.

For Alabama A&M (4-7 overall), the defense, as it has been all year, was the story. The Bulldogs, the SWAC's number 2 defense, held the Thorobreds (3-8) to just 135 yards in total offense.

Kenneth Davis, in his final game in a Bulldogs uniform, recorded 13 tackles (5 solo, 8 assists) along with a sack and 1½ tackles for loss.

Yurik Bethune contributed six tackles (five solo, one assist), 2 1/2 tackles for loss and one sack and Vernon Moland had five tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for loss and a sack.

Senior punter Nick Carden, like Davis, a preseason All-SWAC selection, had one of his strongest games with six punts for a 45.5-yard average.

With A&M trailing 7-0 late in the second quarter, Jordan Bentley scored on a one-yard dive and Carden's point-after tied the score.

The Bulldogs then used a pair of 90-plus yard, clock-eating drives to take the lead and ensure the win.

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With 1:50 to go in the third quarter and A&M down 13-7, Roderick Randolph caught a 10-yard pass from Dylan Smith and barreled through three defenders for the touchdown. Carden's PAT put the Bulldogs up 14-13.

The score capped a 14-play, 91-yard drive that took 6:56 off the clock.

The Bulldogs offense did a near-replay of that drive early in the fourth-quarter.

Smith engineered a 96-yard, 12-play march over 6:08 that culminated with Isaiah Bailey catching an 11-yard fade pass in the endzone with 7:19 left in the game. Carden again was good on the PAT for the final 21-13 score.

Smith came off the bench and was 6-of-8 passing for 85 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

No. 7 Langsron Falls to No. 10 Northwestern in NAIA Playoffs

LANGSTON, Oklahoma -- The No. 7 Langston Lions perfect season came to a close on Saturday as they fell to the No. 10 Northwestern Red Raiders 55-7 in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series.

The loss puts a cap on a remarkable season for the Langston Lions and second-year head coach Quinton Morgan as they clinched the Central States Football League title, hosted the first home playoff game in school history and became the first team since 1973 to finish the regular season undefeated.

"I told our team to keep their heads up, we accomplished a huge milestone here at Langston University," Morgan said. "These kids are now a part of history at Langston. It's not how we wanted to finish the season but I'm very proud with what they've done throughout the season."

The Lions were making their seventh postseason appearance in the NAIA and fall to 2-7 overall in NAIA championship series history; the Red Raiders were making their 19th NAIA championship appearance and improve to 21-16 all-time in the playoffs.

From the outset, the Red Raiders set the tempo by scoring on their first two drives of the game which ended with a three-yard run by Tyson Kooima and a 14-yard scoring run by Jacob Kalogonis to give Northwestern a 14-0 advantage at the 3:40 mark in the first quarter.

Red Raiders head coach Matt McCarty emphasized throughout the week the need for a quick start.

"We were able to get Jacob (Kalogonis) going early and he was able to bust some big runs early," McCarty noted. "That was big for him and that was big for our confidence, we got that early lead with the wind so we were able to let our defense play fast and attack."

The Red Raiders tacked on one more touchdown prior to halftime when Kooima hooked up with Kalogonis for a 42-yard scoring strike to cap a seven-play, 81-yard drive.

Northwestern built a 45-0 advantage before the Lions hit pay dirt following a 14-yard touchdown run by Timothy Whitfield at the 9:43 mark in the fourth quarter.

Kooima finished 16-for-22 for 196 yards with two touchdown tosses; he picked up 18 yards on the ground with two touchdowns as well.

Lowe led the Langston aerial attack and finished 13-for-22 for 73 yards with one interception; he picked up 47 yards on 14 carries.

Kalogonis led Northwestern with 140 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown; Whitfield finished with 64 yards on eight carries and one score.

Northwestern (10-1) advances to the second of the NAIA Football Championship Series.

Langston (10-1) concludes their season at 10-1 overall.

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LANGSTON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Capital City Classic: BOTB Jackson State vs. Alcorn State

#5 Delta State Slips By #4 Bowie State Football 45-35 to Advance in NCAA Playoffs

BOWIE, Maryland -- The #4 seed Bulldogs left it all on the field in Saturday's (11/18) NCAA Super Region 2 – First Round contest against the visiting #5 Delta State Statesmen, falling short in the end by a score of 45-35 to conclude the Bowie State football season at 9-2. This was Bowie State's first time hosting an NCAA football playoff game.

Junior Amir Hall (Bowie, Md.) led Bowie State in passing (332 yards) and rushing (66 yards) while redshirt freshman Montez Clay (Baltimore, Md.) paced the Bulldogs with 80 reception yards. Senior Daivon Nixon (Laurel, Md.) and junior Derrick Tate (Baltimore, Md.) were Bowie State's top tacklers with seven each in the loss.

Delta State opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal from Vince Sciorrotta at the 8:28 mark of the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. Bowie State responded with a 10-play, 87-yard drive that Hall capped with a two-yard touchdown pass to Lansana Sesay (Bowie, Md.) as the Bulldogs grabbed a 7-3 lead.

The Statesmen answered the call by rattling off 28 straight points on their next four drives as Delta State took a 31-7 lead with 2:54 to go in the first half of play.

The Statesmen's Breck Ruddick's first touchdown of the afternoon gave Delta State the lead back at 10-7 with 2:15 to play in the first quarter, and after the defense forced a three-and-out, Kam Myers hauled in one of only four completed passes by DSU in the game for a 15-yard touchdown that gave the visitors a 17-7 lead after one quarter.

Delta State (9-3) kept their foot on the gas pedal to open the second stanza, as a 41-yard touchdown scamper by Ruddick and a 32-yard touchdown rush from Chris Robinson put the Statesmen on top 31-7 with 2:54 left in the half.

The Bulldogs took the ensuing kickoff and covered 59 yards in 11 plays, and Hall found redshirt senior Brandon Britton from 13 yards out to cut the lead down to 17 (31-14), where it would remain as the first half ended.

The third quarter belonged to the homestanding Bulldogs, who put up 21 unanswered third quarter points to storm back and take a 35-31 lead as the two teams headed to the final stanza.

Bowie State's Hall rushed for a score from two-yards out at the 9:28 mark of the third quarter to trim the deficit to 31-21, and forced a Statesmen fumble on the ensuing kickoff to set up a Robert Chesson (Annapolis, Md.) one-yard touchdown run just 24 seconds later to pull within three points at 31-28. Chesson was held to a season-low 18 rushing yards.

Just over four minutes later, Hall led a 6-play, 71-yard drive that he punctuated himself on a 14-yard touchdown rush, his second of the game, and the Bulldogs carried the 35-31 lead into the final quarter of action.

Delta State leaned on Chris Robinson in the final quarter of play as he responded with a pair of 3-yard touchdown runs as the Statesmen outscored the Bulldogs 14-0 in the fourth to secure the win. Robinson scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:58 left in the fourth, and then helped ice the game away as the Statesmen drove 97 yards on just six plays to take a 45-35 lead that proved to be the final score.

Like BSU's Hall, Ruddick led Delta State in rushing (164 yards) and passing (61 yards). Landry Tullo garnered a game-high nine tackles for the Statesmen and Dante Will
iams recorded eight tackles.

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BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

UAPB falls in season finale to Texas Southern, 24-10

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas -- Just as predicted at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day prior to the start of the season, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions (2-9, 1-6) will finish in last place in the SWAC Western division for the fourth straight season.

The Texas Southern University Tigers (2-8, 2-5) waltzed out of a near-empty War Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon with a 24-10 win over the Golden Lions in the season finale.



UAPB redshirt sophomore quarterback Roger Totten II got the start for the Golden Lions, making him the fourth to take on the role this year. Along with three quarterbacks, the Golden Lions were missing a host of former starters, and the most notable of that group is running back KeShawn Williams. Entering the game fourth in the SWAC in total rushing yards, Williams didn’t make an appearance at all.

Totten led the Golden Lions down the field on their first possession of the game to draw first blood. Freshman running back Christian Jordan got the start at running back, and he was effective early on. With heavy wind in the air, senior place kicker Jamie Gillan was able to connect on a 30-yard field goal to give UAPB their only lead of the game at 3-0.

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Bayou The Numbers: A look at Grambling State, Southern offenses before Bayou Classic

GRAMBLING, Louisiana – Postseason implications packs an added punch for the 44th annual Bayou Classic in the yearly regular season finale showdown between rivals Grambling State and Southern next Saturday.

For the second straight season, the SWAC Western Divisional title is up for grabs inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The Tigers beat the Jaguars, 52-30, to earn the conference championship game berth in 2016. A league title game spot on the line etches the storyline, and similarly, the offenses could provide the ink.



Over the last three years, Grambling and Southern have combined to score 236 total points, setting an average of 78 points scored per meeting. This year could be much of the same as both offenses enter the rivalry matchup ranking in the top-five in every major offensive category in the SWAC.

Behind seniors DeVante Kincade at quarterback and Martez Carter at running back, Grambling State (9-1, 6-0) owns the league’s second-best scoring offense, putting up 32.2 points per game. Kincade paces the SWAC with 18 passing touchdowns, 2,238 passing yards, a 61.2 completion percentage and in total yards with 2,454. In nine games played,

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Lawmaker calls for FAMU head coach's firing

ORLANDO, Florida -- State Rep. Ramon Alexander, a Florida A&M University graduate, wasn't a happy fan Saturday. 

Alexander went to Twitter following FAMU's 29-24 loss to Bethune-Cookman to call for head coach Alex Wood’s immediate firing.

Wood's contract is up next month.

“It is extremely rare that I will make this type of public comment...,” Alexander wrote after the game.

“Coach Alex Wood MUST be fired immediately for the fake punt call in the 4th Quarter of the Florida Classic....and I mean immediately.”

The Rattlers blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in the game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

At one point in the fourth quarter, ahead 24-17, the Rattlers tried a fake punt, which was stuffed.

Bethune-Cookman scored a touchdown on the next possession, though FAMU held on to its lead.

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