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[Weekend games should tell a lot]

Weekend games should tell a lot  
http://www.triangletribune.com/index.php?src=news&srctype=detail&category=Sports&refno=4149
  
Published Wednesday, September 1, 2010 7:00 am



by Bonitta Best>

Thanks, Winston-Salem State, for getting the CIAA football season off to a bang.

Many people weren't expecting the Rams to win last week. OK, maybe just me. After all, Virginia Union was coming off a tie for the Eastern Division title, and WSSU had more question marks than players. But coach Connell Maynor answered some of those, or did he?

Is WSSU that good, or are the Panthers that bad?

We'll know whether or not the Rams are for real in the next two weeks. They travel to N.C. A&T this weekend before coming to Durham the next. We'll also find out what N.C. Central is made of after it beats Johnson C. Smith, but that's another story.

Maynor's specialty is offense, which showed after the Rams racked up almost 400 total yards against Union. Now, whether they can do that against the Aggies is another matter.

• Northern Exposure. Bowie State's loss to Seton Hall was the most disappointing of all the games last weekend. Some fans actually thought the Bulldogs were going to go undefeated. Where did they get that dumb idea?

BSU was certainly better than Seton Hall - at least on paper. The Griffins didn't win a game last year. Maybe the team was looking ahead to this weekend's matchup against rival Morgan State. A possible 0-2 start is a rough way to begin the season.

At the top of the North, victories by Elizabeth City State and Virginia State still leave questions. The Vikings and Trojans were heavily favored over Smith and Livingstone, respectively. We'll know more after this weekend when ECSU takes on Central Arkansas and VSU plays West Virginia State.

• Spoiler Alert. St. Augustine's has a chance to play spoiler in the South. A good chance if the Falcons' kicking game is decent and the offensive line can protect quarterback Joaquin Green.

But Green needs someone to throw to. Right now, the Falcons don't have a big-play wide receiver like in years past. Somebody is going to have to step up 'cause what I saw in practice wasn't cutting it.

St. Aug's rarely has questions about its defense so, again, it's up to the offense to make things happen. If it can - dare I say it - the Falcons could win their first division title since reinstituting football in '02. But even if they don't, you won't see me writing about coach Michael Costa's job status. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, he is St. Aug's man.

• Going for 2. This weekend will tell a lot about Fayetteville State. The Broncos lost last year to rival UNC Pembroke in a game they should have won. But close only counts in horseshoes. FSU, like most of the CIAA teams, didn't win one non-conference game, and it showed during the playoffs. California (Pa.) beat them like they stole something.

Some teams are happy just to win the conference championship game, and for newbies that's understandable. But for veteran teams like FSU and Shaw, it's time to show the outside world that the CIAA is not a second-class league.

Right now, the case is pretty weak.

Ok back up....this is not good. If the school has a self imposed no TV ban. Then Lincoln may as well not show up for the CIAA tournament. This is the same thing that almost happened to the SIAC and Lane a few years ago. It will be interesting to see if this ban gets suddenly lifted before basketball season.

   You hit the nail on the head with "self imposed".

Come on.  He said it with a smile.  Just a little hype before the game.  Since NCCU does not have a game, I'm going up I40 to check this out.  He just filled the stands.  :lol:May the best team win.  NCA&T should be favored and WSSU has nothing to lose.   You Aggies better be ready. 

Surely somebody else in Columbia can announce for Benedict....Dude is the worst. That dang annoying growl  & voice gets on my **** nerves.

Ok back up....this is not good. If the school has a self imposed no TV ban. Then Lincoln may as well not show up for the CIAA tournament. This is the same thing that almost happened to the SIAC and Lane a few years ago. It will be interesting to see if this ban gets suddenly lifted before basketball season.

SSU Alumni kick off fund-raiser campaign

Posted: Sep 03, 2010 4:51 PM EDT Updated: Sep 03, 2010 5:47 PM EDT


SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - The Savannah State Alumni Association is stepping in to help bring more money to the university.

On Friday, a group of Alumni announced their kick off to the inagural Million Dollar Fundraising Campaign. For the next 6 months, the association will get out into the community to try and raise as much money to help the programs at SSU.

They said this is a tough economic time and they will try to do anything to help the students.

"We have great needs here at the university for funding at this time. As most everyone is aware the state has been cutting back on these universities and student enrollment is up so the result of that: there is a great pressure for the university to increase its external funding," SSU Alumni President Roy Jackson.

The fundraiser will take place from now until Dec. 31.

[2009]

2010 Albany State Golden Rams Football Preview by Jarrett Carter

by Jarrett Carter • Sep 2, 2010 10:30 AM EDT


The Albany State University Rams are a perennial contender for the SIAC championship, and are extra motivated to end Tuskegee’s streak of conference championships in 2010. While there are concerns at quarterback, they will have the talent on defense and offense to yield a championship-worthy finish to the year.
2009

The Golden Rams won all but two games in 2009, but their win-streak-busting loss against Tuskegee all but derailed ASU’s run to the championship. Senior quarterback A.J. McKenna was the SIAC’s Offensive Player of the Year, and the Rams go into 2010 as the favorite for the conference title.
The Good

Albany State is the SIAC’s most balanced and dominant team, leading the conference in scoring offense, rushing defense and interceptions in 2009. What they may miss on offense with A.J. McKenna, they will make up on defense with four seniors being named to the first team pre-season all-conference squad.
The Bad

One of the best quarterbacks in ASU history is gone, and the race to replace A.J. McKenna will be left to junior college transfer Stanley Jennings and 09’ backup Wayne Campbell, Jr.; neither of whom as emerged as the starter. Albany State has fallen short of beating Tuskegee University for the past three seasons, and they will have to exorcise the demons of those defeats if they want to win the 2010 conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

http://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/9/2/1660779/albany-state-golden-rams-football

Typical Winston 

[2009]

2010 Fort Valley State Wildcats Football Preview by Jarrett Carter

by Jarrett Carter • Aug 31, 2010 10:30 AM EDT


The Fort Valley State University Wildcats finished below expectations in 2009, but have the personnel, the coaching and the experience to challenge for the SIAC conference title in 2010. Anything outside of a top two finish for FVSU would be a surprise for this veteran group.
2009

Two early season losses did not make for a trend throughout the season, as the Wildcats won six of their last eight games to end the season. Save for a mid-season out-of-conference loss to Southern University, FVSU may have easily finished in second place in the conference.
The Good

Wildcat senior receive An’Thon Harris (566 yards, 37 rec., seven TDs in 09’) leads an FVSU team that was best in the SIAC in scoring, passing, and total offense. 

Defensively, the Wildcats’ secondary will look to improve upon a sixth-ranked pass defense that recorded 15 interceptions in 2009. Senior Ricky Johnson, sophomore Dajaun Williams and Darnell Burks are all-SIAC selections that will look to take advantage of teams that will have first- time starters at QB throughout the conference this season.
The Bad

Fort Valley State will look to maintain its air attack without departed all-SIAC quarterback Nathaniel Samas, who led the conference in passing efficiency and was second in touchdowns and yards per game in 2009. FVSU will have to improve its offensive line play, which produced the eighth-ranked rushing unit in the SIAC, and yielded 24 sacks in 2009.

http://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/8/31/1658781/2010-fort-valley-state-football

[2009]

2010 Morehouse College Maroon Tigers Football Preview by Jarrett Carter

by Jason Kirk • Aug 30, 2010 10:30 AM EDT


The 2010 edition of the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers will be all about replacements. The Tigers have never had a losing season in three years under head coach Rich Freeman, and have never lost more than four games in a season during his tenure.

But with significant departures among the SIAC’s elite teams, 2010 brings a “now-or-never” urgency to replace the Tigers’ complacency with championship contention. Fans should reasonably expect MC to challenge for its first SIAC football title since its share of the crown in 2001 with Fort Valley State and Tuskegee.
2009

Morehouse finished fourth in the overall conference standings and fourth in total defense. What they did not have in solid offense, they made up for in a turnover-creating pass defense that finished the year with 17 interceptions -- three returned for touchdowns.
The Good

MC returns much of its top-five defense from a season ago. They boast the conference’s best linebacker in junior Charlie Wilson (7.5 sacks, four INTs in '09) and one of the conference’s best running backs in sophomore David Carter (677 rushing yards, seven TDs).

They also feature the best special teams unit in the conference, returning all-conference place kicker and punter Ian Mullen (14-19 FGs in 09’) and a kickoff return unit that led the conference with an averaged 23.7 yards per return last year.
The Bad

Quarterback is still in question at the 'House. William Brack (Six passing TDs, 10 INTs in 09’) will likely be replaced by senior DaJuan Thigpen (371 yards, Four TDs, Two INTs), who has just 55 career snaps for MC but saw extended action in the second half of last season. Morehouse will also need to find replacements for NFL draftee and all-SIAC lineman Ramon Harewood and all-SIAC second team receiver Achille Hendje, whose six touchdown receptions accounted for more than half of the team’s scoring output in the category.

http://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/8/30/1658161/2010-morehouse-football-preview