Thursday, November 27, 2014

Plenty of history in playoffs, Bayou showdown

NORFOLK, Virginia  -- Two teams making historic playoff runs and a showdown in perhaps the most celebrated game in black college football are the remaining story lines as the 2014 season marches on. Virginia State, who won its first CIAA championship since 1996 two weeks ago in an upset of two-time recent champion Winston-Salem State and is alive in the NCAA Div. II playoffs, and Morgan State, who Saturday captured a piece of the MEAC title for the first time in 35 yards and grabbed its first FCS playoff berth in history, will share the stage this week with Southern and Grambling State, two SWAC dynamos whose battle this week determines who plays in the Dec. 6 league championship game.

Virginia State
The Trojans (10-2), under second-year CIAA Coach of the Year, Latrell Scott, followed up their CIAA title game win with their first-ever Div. II playoff win as they downed LIU Post, 28-17 Saturday in a first round Super Region I home game (see related story). VSU, seeded third in the region, now travels to face No. 2 Bloomsburg (10-1) Saturday (12 noon) in a second round region semifinal. Bloomsburg was undefeated at 10-0, the region's top team and ranked fifth in the nation before losing its last game, a 28-26 decision to Slippery Rock in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Game. The Huskies received a bye in the first round by virtue of its No. 2 seeding.

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Grambling's Johnathan Williams has gone from third string to one of the best SWAC QBs

NEW ORLEANS -- Johnathan Williams was convinced during the summer that Grambling would be an improved team in 2014. The Tigers junior quarterback said during the Manning Passing Academy in July that new coach Broderick Fobbs had brought a new attitude to the squad, one where the team came before the individual player.

That, he said, would be the difference.

Williams truly bought into that philosophy as he went from starter at the end of the 2013 season to third string at the end of preseason camp in August.

But Williams, a 5-foot-11, 185-pounder from Tampa, Fla., never pouted about his plight and kept working to make the Tigers better.

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Hampton U.'s Maynor vows to improve on 'rough' first year

HAMPTON, Virginia — Intellectually, Connell Maynor knew that restoring Hampton University football required time and patience. That didn't make the experience any more palatable for a man with a room full of rings and championships.

The Pirates' 3-9 season was their worst as a Division I program and accounted for more losses in one year than Maynor had in his previous four years as a head coach, at Division II Winston-Salem State.

"It's very disappointing," said Maynor, who went 45-6 at WSSU, "but you've got to understand that it's a new coach, new program, new systems, new players that have got to familiarize themselves with you and what you want to do and what you won't put up with. Guys weren't used to winning and you have to teach them how to win. It's a process and we knew it was going to be a process."

Hampton tied for ninth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, two spots lower than its preseason pick. But Maynor was encouraged by his team's performance in most games.

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Ram Ramblings: WSSU waiting to hear from CIAA on punishments

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Last night’s Winston-Salem State-Barber Scotia game was one for the books.
The Rams easily won 105-64 but that wasn’t the interesting part.

It all started with the three game officials not showing up so Vierl Banks, who is a former official with the CIAA who was the neutral observer for the conference office, had to quickly spring into action. Banks was able to get three officials who live nearby to the game so it could get played.

According to Adrian Ferguson, an associate commissioner of media relations for the CIAA, the conference didn’t have the game on its master schedule. Therefore, there were no officials assigned to the game.

“On Winston-Salem State’s original schedule that they sent us it didn’t have the game on it,” Ferguson said.

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S.C. State Marching 101 at Medal of Honor Bowl

CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Medal of Honor Bowl Chairman Tommy McQueeney has announced that South Carolina State University’s famed “Marching 101” Band will again perform during halftime of the second annual game on Saturday, Jan. 10, at The Citadel’s Johnson Hagood Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

The Medal of Honor Bowl is a premier all-star game the features the nation’s top draft-eligible college football players as projected for the NFL Draft. The game honors the Medal of Honor recipients and the game’s beneficiaries, the Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, disabled veterans and wounded warriors.

“South Carolina State’s ‘Marching 101’ Band is among the top college performance bands in America and they did a terrific job for us last year,” McQueeney said. “We are fortunate that SCSU President Tom Elzey and Band Director Eddie Ellis have once again accepted our request and are again sending this state treasure to the Lowcountry. The ‘Marching 101’ is entertaining, well-choreographed and exudes in American Patriotism.”



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First-year coach Broderick Fobbs returns Grambling to traditional place as a winner

NEW ORLEANS -- Along with Grambling’s now infamous forfeiture, walkout and boycotts last season, Robert Bruno struck the biggest nerve with the venerable program.

Speaking to WWL-TV in June, Bruno — then the commissioner of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District — suggested separating Southern and Grambling’s annual rivalry in the Bayou Classic, wary that Grambling’s struggles in the previous two seasons would lead to decreased attendance and decreased interest.

“If Grambling has fallen off that bad, maybe Southern could take the lead, and it could be an earned-in game and bring in somebody else,” Bruno was quoted in the report. “I just don’t know if Grambling can carry the load.”

Five months later, Grambling is rejuvenated.

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TSU Lady Tigers Prepare for Thanksgiving Classic Opponents


GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

GAMEDAY
The Tennessee State University women’s basketball team will return to action after the holiday to host the Teresa Phillips Thanksgiving Classic. The four-team tournament will see TSU match up with Norfolk State on Saturday at 3 p.m. before facing Youngstown State on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Gentry Center.  

THE LADY TIGERS AT A GLANCE
Tennessee State (1-3) is coming off a, 97-46, road loss to #4 Tennessee on Monday. TSU’s only win of the season was a, 73-55, victory over Lipscomb.  

After four games, Chelsea Hudson is leading the team in scoring with 13.8 points and a team second-best 6.5 rpg. Briana Morrow is leading the team in rebounds per game with 7.5 while Rachel Allen (9.3 ppg) and Brianna Lawrence (6.8 ppg) round out the top three scorers. 
As a team, TSU is shooting 34.3 percent from the field while averaging 57.3 points per outing. The Lady Tigers have struggled shooting from the free-throw line, only connecting on 61.1 percent of their attempts to start the season.  
The Lady Tigers are led by third year head coach and Hall of Famer, Larry Joe Inman.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee State stunned #4 Tennessee and jumped out to a 6-0 start. The Lady Tigers led, 13-5, at one point and, 20-14, at another but the Lady Vols used a 23-0 run to take control of the game. Ultimately, TSU fell to the SEC opponent, 97-46, in Thompson-Boling Arena. Rachel Allen led TSU with 13 points while Briana Morrow pulled down 12 boards. Hudson, TSU’s leading scorer, was held to six points. 

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Norfolk State (0-4) is coming off of a, 64-47, loss to Hofstra. The Spartans were led in scoring by Rae Corbo (9) and Alvah Parham (9). NSU is averaging 56.8 points per game while shooting .319 from the field. Rae Corbo (18.5 ppg) and Kayla Roberts (9.3 ppg) are the top scorers for NSU.  

Youngstown State (4-0) has opened the season undefeated, including its most recent, 69-54, victory over Bucknell. Four YSU players scored in double-digits led by Heidi Schlegel’s 14 points. The Penguins average 72.5 points per game behind a 44.9 shooting percentage. Heidi Schlegel (14.0 ppg), Indiya Benjamin (12.8 ppg), Nikki Arnabaa (11.0 ppg) and Latisha Walker (10.5) are averaging double-digits in scoring for YSU.  

SERIES INFORMATION 
TSU vs. Norfolk State
Series Record:TSU 1-0
Last Meeting:1997-98, TSU W 91-70
Last TSU Win:1997-98, 91-70
Last NSU Win:  n/a 

TSU vs. Youngstown
Series Record: YSU St. 2-0
Last Meeting: 1987-88
Last TSU Win: n/a
Last YSU Win:.1987-88, 81-72  

COVERAGE
Updates on the game will be available throughout the game on the official twitter page via @TSU_Tigers. Live stats and video will also be available for the TSU games on OVCDigitalNework.com. Links can be found on tsutigers.com under the schedule. 
 
COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION