Wednesday, November 5, 2008

B-CU defense steps up

DAYTONA BEACH -- The bread and butter for Bethune-Cookman this season has been its rushing offense -- tops in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and 10th-best in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. But on Saturday at Municipal Stadium, the offense -- while it did produce enough points to hang a 24-14 defeat on North Carolina A&T -- had to let the defense take the most bows.

"I guess it was our turn," sophomore linebacker Josh Smiley said. "The offense has picked us up in some games, so maybe today we helped the offense and made their job a little easier." And how! Consider that B-CU defenders permitted the Aggies only eight first downs, only 2.9 yards per rushing attempt, only 163 total yards (103 rushing, 60 passing), only 47 offensive plays (22 less than B-CU), only 24 minutes of possession (about 11 less than B-CU), only two third-down conversions and only one "earned" touchdown.

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

SSU QB has sprained shoulder

X-rays taken Monday afternoon of Savannah State starting quarterback Kurvin Curry's right (throwing) shoulder revealed no major damage, coach Robby Wells said. Curry, a 6-foot, 198-pound freshman from Hartwell, separated his right shoulder when he was tackled during a running play with 14 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter of the Tigers' Homecoming game against Concordia-Selma.

"Nothing is broken. He's got a slight sprain," Wells said. "(The doctors and trainers) are telling me that he's going to be at least 80-85 percent this weekend. We're going to get him out there and let him do the mental reps in practice and just see how he progresses. I'll make a game-time decision."

SSU (4-5) will travel to Camden County on Saturday to play Edward Waters (2-7) at 5 p.m. at Gilman Stadium in Kingsland. If Curry is unable to start....

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Monday, November 3, 2008

S.C. State holds on for 23-17 victory over Delaware State

DOVER, Del. -– South Carolina State got a late last-minute stand from its defense to overcome two second-half turnovers and an overall lackluster performer to grab a 23-17 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win over Delaware State Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The game was broadcast on a taped-delay basis on ESPNU Saturday night at 10:30 p.m.

With the victory, the Bulldogs remained perfect in the MEAC at 5-0 and improved their overall record to 7-2. Coach Buddy Pough’s team remained in first place in the league race and kept alive its hopes for S.C. State’s first outright conference crown since 1994. The win gave Pough, who is in his seventh season, 54 career victories, tying him with the late Bill Davis for second place on the S.C. State all-time football win list.

Sophomore quarterback Malcolm Long completed 18 of 30 attempts for 246 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for the Bulldogs. He had scoring tosses of six yards and 48 yards, both to tight end Octavius Darby, who finished with four catches for 97 yards.

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Attendance: 3,012 (43%) @ Alumni Stadium, Dover, DE (Capacity: 7,000).


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WSSU Dunston scores three touchdowns as coach ties…

HAMPTON, Va. - Winston-Salem built a 25-point third-quarter lead and then held off Hampton for a 35-30 victory on Saturday. Jarrett Dunston scored three touchdowns and the Rams (2-6) nearly tripled their scoring average of 12 points to give coach Kermit Blount his 89th win, tying him for most in school history. The Pirates (5-3) lost their second straight game.

David Irizarry returned a missed 50-yard field goal attempt 100 yards for a 14-3 first-quarter lead, then sealed the win with a fourth-quarter interception of Herb Bynes, who threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns. Those two touchdowns, both to Justin Brown, came less than five minutes apart in the fourth quarter as Hampton cut a 25-point deficit to 35-30.

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Attendance: 14,877 (87.5%) @Armstrong Stadium, Hampton, VA (Capacity: 17,000).

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NSU snaps its losing streak with 49-12 win over Howard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After six weeks of futility, Norfolk State finally found a reason to celebrate, overwhelming Howard 49-12 on Saturday at Greene Stadium. Not only did the Spartans win their first game since Sept. 13, they halted a more miserable streak in producing their first victory over the Bison on the road since 1983.

Plenty of green and gold lined the visitors' bleachers on an unseasonably warm afternoon, and those fans enjoyed every kind of Spartans highlight imaginable. NSU (3-6, 2-4) scored on offense, defense and twice on special teams in breaking a five-game losing streak. The 49 points were the most by NSU this season. I'm going to keep this uniform on until next week," said revved-up Spartans quarterback Dennis Brown, who produced one touchdown with his legs and another with his arm. "We're a better team than our record shows. Now all we have to do is come out and run the table."

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Attendance: 2,086 (21%) at Wm. H. Greene Stadium, Washington, D.C. (Capacity: 10,000).

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Rattlers show their youth, but also show their future

Photo Galleries:
FAMU Homecoming game
FAMU Homecoming: first half
FAMU Homecoming Pregame
FAMU Inaugural Gala
FAMU homecoming parade

Just before leaving Bragg Stadium during the third quarter, Eddie Jackson spoke a few words that he might be repeating a few times this week. Used to be that Jackson had to explain a lot about athletics at FAMU when he was sports information director. Somewhere someone would ask him what happened on FAMU's homecoming. "I think over the next couple years," Jackson said. "you're going to see a great Rattler football team."

Morgan State Bears offensive line could not be stopped by the Rattlers defense--even with the Bears 2nd and 3rd String QBs playing the majority of the second half, spoiling FAMU's Homecoming with a 13-10 victory.

Quite a few folks might have gone home with the same feeling, sir. Watching FAMU play from behind then falling 13-10 wasn't what the 16,205 fans came to see. They sure weren't expecting to see James Meade kick a 39-yard field goal then leave just 12 seconds for FAMU to do something. But it's what they got on a night when the youth of the Rattlers showed. They had their opportunities.

If only they could have stood up.

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Attendance: 16,205 (63.5%) @ Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, FL (Capacity: 25,500).

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Saturday, November 1, 2008

Taylors getting accustomed to life in Rattler Country

Beverly Taylor wasn't properly dressed when she showed up at one of the early FAMU meet-and-greet events with her husband, head coach Joe Taylor. Nope, she wasn't wearing orange and green. A few folks politely let her know she has an obligation to show a little more Rattler pride in her attire. She came away "Rattlertized," she said. "Their passion, their love for the school, their eagerness to help — they are taking pride in the school," she said. "They wear their orange and green proudly. I don't care where it is, they let it be known that 'I'm a Rattler.'"

Today FAMU's first lady of football gets her first taste of homecoming, which she's come to realize is like none of the others that she's seen in six previous moves with her husband. The gathering at her home won't be as huge as some she's hosted for up to 150 family and friends. Many of the regulars couldn't get flights or find hotel rooms.

In the midst of all the preparations, Beverly Taylor is juggling her normal life — involvement at her church, teaching a middle school class, and of course, being the one to calm the coach's nerves as he takes his team through a pivotal stretch of games in pursuit of the MEAC title.

VIEW TODAY'S HOMECOMING GAME ON FAMCAST, CLICK HERE: http://www.famu.edu/famcast/famusports

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