Prairie View A&M Panthers and Southern University Jaguars Fight it Out in the 2010 Shreveport Classic

Shreveport, LA -- The Prairie View A&M Panthers and Southern University Jaguars return to the Port City for the first time since 2003 in the inaugural Shreveport Classic on Saturday, Oct. 23 at Independence Stadium.

Kickoff between these two Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Western Division powers is set for 4 p.m.

This year’s matchup promises to be an exciting one as the Prairie View A&M Panthers are fresh off a SWAC Football Championship while Southern features a new head coach in Stump Mitchell. This will mark the second-ever meeting in the city between both teams as they played in Shreveport during the 2003 campaign.

From 1989 to 2005, Southern dominated the series with 16 consecutive wins. However, the tide has turned in Prairie View’s favor as head coach Henry Frazier III has a two-game winning streak over the Jaguars and wins in three of the past four meetings.

The Classic will take place on the site of the annual State Fair of Louisiana and will provide tons of entertainment on and off the field. This also marks the first of two games in Shreveport for the Panthers as they’re slated to take on Jackson State in the 2011 edition of the Shreveport Classic.

Tickets can be purchased at the following venues:
Southern University-Shreveport
3050 MLK Jr. Drive
318-670-6305
Prairie View Ticket Office
936-261-9100
Online
www.shreveportclassic.com
Southern University • Baton Rouge Ticket Office
225-359-9328
Independence Bowl Office
401 Market Street, Suite 120
Shreveport, LA 71101
318-221-0712
Ticket Prices:
Club Level: $52
General Admission: $25
Game ticket entitles you to enjoy the game, State Fair of Louisiana, and a FREE concert after the game.

Game day info is available at www.ShreveportClassic.com. Hotel and tourist information is available from the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, www.shreveport-bossier.org or by calling 888-45-VISIT.

Broadway, Grambling decide to get physical

Following last season, Rod Broadway knew he had to change something. Losing five games isn't quite the Grambling way. And, if it continued, Broadway, the school's fourth-year coach, might be looking for another job.

So, he instituted a more physical approach to practice. No more light practices with little or no tackling. Broadway made his players hit. "We are trying to change the way we play," he said. "I thought we were soft in some spots in the past." Through the first quarter of the 2010 season, Broadway has certainly proven one thing: his team isn't soft.

A&M hosts SWAC power for homecoming

Alabama A&M is not having the traditional cupcake for homecoming. Far from it. Instead of putting a lightweight opponent on the plate to ensure that the alums go home happy, A&M is facing the traditional power of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Grambling State.

When the Bulldogs take on Grambling at 3 p.m. Saturday in Huntsville, they will be playing a program that has won five of the past 10 SWAC championships and has a 13-3 all-time record against A&M.

Grounding Grambling

HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Under defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns, Alabama A&M has prided itself on stopping the run. Annually, the Bulldogs have been among the better teams against the run, not only in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, but in the nation and this season is no different.
Through four games, A&M is allowing just 76.5 yards rushing per game.

"We've played the run pretty well the whole season," Towns said. While the Bulldogs have been stingy against the run this season, they have yet to run across a team with...

Grambling game was 'start' for A&M's Mason

Alabama A&M quarterback Deaunte Mason got the most extensive playing time of his young career last season against Grambling and that performance propelled him into the starting lineup two weeks later.

Mason accounted for 229 yards in total offense and two touchdowns in A&M's 41-20 loss. He rushed for 122 yards on 11 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown jaunt in the first quarter that gave the Bulldogs an early 10-7 lead. Mason was 10-of-20 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown.

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Lane Dragons looking for first win in Burroughs era

The Lane football team received much-needed rest this past week with a bye, but the Dragons will likely need every day of their two-week preparation for No. 18 Albany State. The Dragons (0-4, 0-3) are winless in the first four games of the Derrick Burroughs era, and Burroughs hoped the bye week allowed the team to regain its early-season form.

"A bye week is great to heal some injuries, and we've had our fair share of those," Burroughs said. "The team was ahead of my expectations in the first two games ... but we've regressed in our last two games. "The bye week was about rediscovering our running game, verifying our blocking scheme and staying in our gaps on defense."

ASU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: ASU WR coach Conner 'pleased' with Rams

ALBANY, GA — Receivers and special teams coach Kenyan Conner is also an assistant baseball coach at Albany State, but he’s been more concerned with pigskin flying through the air than baseballs these days, despite the fact the baseball team is already prepping for the upcoming season.

But he hasn’t had to worry about the receivers too much this year; they’ve already racked up a combined 760 receiving yards and eight touchdowns through four games.

“I’m pleased with some of the things we worked on this summer, like catching the ball at its highest point,” Conner said. “We’ve dropped a (couple) touchdowns (in the end zone the other day), but the same guy caught one later. So we’re trying to work on a level of consistency and get better from where we are now.”

RADIO: 98.1 FM. (Albany)

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Albany native Wilson headed to FAMU Hall of Fame

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Add Ulysses Wilson’s name to the list that includes Andre Dawson, Vince Coleman and Hal McRae. Make a spot for the kid from Albany who ran like a rabbit and made playing shortstop look all too easy in a time when baseball was still the No. 1 sport in America.

He was there before Dawson or Coleman or McRae, an original FAMU Rattler who stung the ball all over the field, a smart hitter who made teams pay with his bat, his glove and his feet — the consummate No. 2 slugger who knew how to get on base and wreak havoc once he was there.

Tonight, they’ll honor Wilson at Florida A&M University, where he will be inducted into FAMU’s Sports Hall of Fame. Dawson will be there to speak and...

Hill to be enshrined into FAMU Hall of Fame »

A lot of what Florida A&M accomplished while Amos Hill was defensive line coach has been pushed into his rearview mirror in 30 years. Of course, he'll always remember major achievements such as winning a national championship and the 1979 upset of Miami.

But Hill found a reason to look back and bring into view some of the things that he hadn't been thinking about much. Back in the summer he received notice he would be among the five inductees who will be enshrined in the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame tonight at the Lawson Center.

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NSU report: Defense too eager, not too slow, coach says

After the loss Saturday to Bethune-Cookman, Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian said the Spartans looked slow. After watching film, he thinks he knows why. Rather than coming out flat, Adrian said NSU actually was overeager. The Spartans lacked discipline.

"We weren't any slower than they were," Adrian said. "It wasn't about speed. A couple times, from a linebacker standpoint, they thought it was going left, took two steps that way and the quarterback kept it and went the other way. If you're two steps behind, you look two steps too slow."

Adrian said the coaches were surprised the struggles came in the fourth game rather than earlier.

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Hampton rises to top of MEAC‎

Dover, Del. - Hampton moved into sole possession of first place in the MEAC on Thursday night with a 20-14 victory over Delaware State.

It took more than a half for Hampton to get its offense untracked, but the Pirates kicked into high gear. Antwon Chisholm ran for 157 yards on 15 carries, including a 57-yard touchdown that eventually provided the winning points. Quarterback David Legree scored on a 1-yard run and hooked up with Javaris Brown on a 37-yard touchdown pass.

Hampton handles soggy Hornets

DOVER, DE -- The torrential rain that pelted the region Thursday kept Delaware State and Hampton off the scoreboard -- at least until the third and fourth quarters.

Hampton's Javaris Brown and Antwon Chisholm struck for touchdowns in the fourth to help propel the Pirates to a 20-14 victory over the Hornets in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game in front of a couple of hundred hardy, rain-soaked fans at Alumni Stadium.

It is the first time DSU has started the season 0-4 since head coach Al Lavan's first season in 2004.

Hampton U. moves into sole possession of MEAC lead with soggy 20-14 ESPNU win ...

Hampton University moved into sole possession of first place and got nationwide ESPNU exposure Thursday night in its 20-14 football victory against Delaware State. But it wasn't easy to see the teams' uniforms through the driving rain in Dover, Del.

It took plenty of time for HU to get its offense untracked, but the Pirates got their Floridian speed in high gear in the second half. Antonio McCloude of Belle Glade, Fla., made key runs that set up HU's first touchdown, and Antwon Chisholm raced to another score.

ESPN3 Replay:

Hampton vs. Delaware State Delaware State Hornets quick hits

Getting some air time

Thursday night's ESPNU game marked the eighth time the Hornets had been featured on an ESPNtelevision network. The Hornets previously had gone 4-3 in games on ESPN, including a season-opening loss to Southern in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge this season.

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S.C. State extends contracts of Carter, Robertson

South Carolina State Bulldogs at Florida A&M Rattlers
Saturday, 6 p.m., LIVE: ESPN3 (Internet); Delayed TV Tape: 10:30 p.m. ESPNU.


Last March, South Carolina State came two wins shy of sending both its mens and womens basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament. With hopes of creating more "March Madness" the next three seasons, the school Board of Trustees approved contract extensions for both head coaches Tim Carter for the men and Doug Robertson for the women.

The three-year extensions would keep both men, whose contracts were due to expire after this season, on the Orangeburg sidelines through the 2013-14 school year.

Taylor, FAMU hope to get ground game going against SCSU

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - If Florida A&M was seeking a "model" to follow for Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference showdown against South Carolina State, it found one the hard way in Tennessee State.

Motivated by eight consecutive losses to the Rattlers, the Tigers roared to a 29-18 victory last Saturday at the Atlanta Football Classic. Now FAMU looks to emulate Tennessee State by attempting to end eight years of frustration by snapping a seven-game losing streak to the ninth-ranked Bulldogs.

"The last eight years, Florida A&M has not had a victory," Rattlers' head coach Joe Taylor said Tuesday. "There's no reason to deny it."

Ukpai stunned by slow start »

When Martin Ukpai made his first collegiate start in the Florida Classic last season and was named MVP of the annual season finale, the Florida A&M faithful raved over knowing that they had a solid quarterback for the future.

Four games into this season, Ukpai's rating in the poll of public opinion is questionable at best. Concerns mounted even more after the Rattlers suffered their first loss to a Division I-AA team when they fell 29-18 to Tennessee State University.

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