As a first-year head football coach whose program lost 18 of 22 games before he arrived, Raymond Woodie must lay a foundation at Bethune-Cookman before anything can rise. Discipline will form the base of his construction project, and shortcuts will only delay the production schedule.
“The standard is the standard,” Woodie said Monday during a call with reporters. “We want to do things the right way, but obviously the smart way. And whatever you do, it always has consequences.”
Results have been mixed for the Wildcats (1-3 overall, 0-1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference), coming off a bye week as they prepare to visit Alabama State for homecoming. Bethune has produced some of the most disciplined play in the Football Championship Series, ranked fifth nationally in fewest penalty yards per game (35.0) and 16th in fewest penalties per game (4.75).
Pick a sport – any sport – and consider which
athletes are lauded as the world’s best. Take a mental snapshot.
Now look through history’s lens and scroll
through past decades. The picture gets paler and paler the further back you go,
brown faces slowly disappearing like Marty McFly’s hand in “Back to the Future.”
That era is romanticized by those who desire its return, with some bad actors working earnestly to rewind time and reverse progress on a grand scale. Unfortunately for them, no one is lightening major team sports like football and basketball, where dominant Black athletes are plentiful and permitted to thrive. Even worse, colorization is happening in gymnastics, too, where a bevy of Black girls can see themselves in the GOAT, Simone Biles.
Every box for a desirable homecoming was checked on
Saturday when Alabama A&M hosted Tuskegee.
The weather cooperated with warmth and sunshine. Fans
converged to sell out Louis Crews Stadium for the first time ever. The Bulldogs
excelled on the field in every way. And their supporters never worried about
the outcome, a 58-3 rout
that pleased most folks in the crowd of 26,391.
The offense scored at least one touchdown in every quarter. The defense recorded a safety and yielded zero points after Tuskegee’s opening-drive field goal. Special teams contributed a blocked punt and several nice returns. There wasn’t much room for criticism from head coach Connell Maynor.
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