When Fayetteville State hired Richard Hayes in December 2015,
he sounded like many head coaches who step to the microphone when they’re
announced. He wanted his new team to consistently compete for championships.
Eight seasons into his tenure, he’s accomplished the mission.
The Broncos have reached their sixth straight title game in the Central
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, this time as defending champs after winning
the crown last season. “Going six years in a row, I mean the proof’s in
the pudding that we’re doing something right around here,” Hayes said
Wednesday on “FSU Broncos Pigskin Press Talk.”
FSU (8-2 overall, 8-0 in the CIAA) goes for back-to-back rings Saturday when it faces Virginia Union at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia. The Panthers (9-1, 7-1) are seeking their first league championship since 2001; they lost in 2007, their most recent attempt.
The 2023 HBCU Week national conference took place in September,
near Washington National Airport (never Reagan National), with the theme of “Raising
the Bar: Forging Excellence Through Innovation and Leadership.” Activities included an address from U.S. Secretary of
Education Miguel Cardona, a college fair, step show and the Virginia State
University gospel choir.
But unofficially – at least in sports – HBCU Week was Monday
and Tuesday.
That’s when media stars Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe returned to their respective alma maters, Winston-Salem State and Savannah State, for live broadcasts of their popular TV show “First Take.” ESPN viewers were treated to a slice of HBCU culture in a packed gymnasium, with the band, cheerleaders, dancers, homecoming court, and the whole vibe.
Nothing in college football creates higher stakes than a season-ending rivalry game that dates to 1900, played between schools like Virginia Union and Virginia State, a mere 25 miles apart. A win in those conditions is priceless, regardless of either team’s success or failure.
Such matchups couldn’t be more meaningful, except when the foes vie for a division title in addition to the usual bragging rights. Virginia Union won both prizes Saturday in the L. Douglas Wilder Classic, defeating Virginia State, 30-20, before 15,000 fans at Hovey Stadium in Richmond. The Panthers improved to 9-1 overall and 7-1 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, winning the North Division crown and punching their ticket to the CIAA championship.
The record crowd was treated to a wild game that featured 802 yards of total offense, five interceptions, and a blocked PAT that Virginia Union sophomore Raylyn Manley returned 98 yards for 2 points shortly before the halftime show. That play caused a huge swing in momentum; Virginia State had just scored its second consecutive touchdown and otherwise would’ve tied the game at 14 apiece.
An old adage among lawyers suggests they should pound the facts
or pound the law – whichever works in their favor – and if neither is a
strength then pound the table.
Football coaches can revise that formula slightly when presenting
their case to the public. They can pound the record or pound the statistics; if
neither looks good, then pound the process.
“We’ve got an opportunity to finish this thing strong,” Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach Alonzo Hampton said Monday on a media call. “The guys are playing hard. We went into every game thinking we could win and it won’t be any different this week or any other week.”
The older we get, the more we realize a simple truth: Some of
the stuff our elders taught us is whack.
Sticks and bones break bones, but words never hurt? Please. Cheaters
never win and winners never cheat? Hardly. A watched pot never boils? Keep looking.
The world of sports is full of similarly questionable phrases and metaphors. There’s no “I” in team, but there’s a “me.” Don’t ever give up, but insert your subs when all hope is gone. Size doesn’t matter, but your heaviest players are linemen.
Generally
speaking, forcing ball carriers to fumble are positive plays for the defense.
Grambling State sustained a huge exception against visiting Bethune-Cookman on
Saturday. But the wacky play didn’t matter in the end.
Grambling
was suffocating on defense in a 28-14 victory that kept its hopes alive in the Southwestern
Athletic Conference. The Tigers gave up just 96 yards rushing and 81 yards
passings. Bethune might have been held scoreless, too, if not for two long
touchdowns after recovering fumbles – one its own.
Before a sparse crowd at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadum, the craziness began on the opening possession. With nothing to lose in a season going nowhere, Bethune attempted to convert on fourth-and-1, lining up in shotgun formation from its own 42-yard line.
Grambling
State’s outlook for this football season was much brighter as September ended.
The
Tigers had just snapped a five-game losing streak against Prairie View A&M
in the State Fair Classic. With the win, they remained undefeated in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference and seized control of their destiny in the
West division. The crown would be theirs if they could run the table.
Instead, Grambling suffered back-to-back SWAC losses before limping into last week’s bye at 3-4 overall, 2-2 in SWAC. Even if it resumes winning – starting Saturday against visiting Bethune-Cookman – Grambling has dimmer prospects for a title in head coach Hugh Jackson’s second season. He has encouraged his players to forget about watching the scoreboard and hoping teams ahead of them stumble.
Father Time is undefeated. Nothing’s gonna change that, and
no one can stop it. In the end, all he does is win, win, win.
But he’s gotta play the long game against LeBron James.
James hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down at 38-years-old as his 21st NBA season gets underway. He opened with a tidy 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Tuesday’s defeat against the Denver Nuggets. It wasn’t quite the age-defying performance of last season, when he averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, but it’s close enough.
For the Alcorn State football team, this was the definition of a trap game.
A “trap game, as defined by the Urban Dictionary, is “a game played against an opponent deemed to be easy to defeat. As a result, a person or team may not prepare as thoroughly as they would for a formidable opponent. Often this attitude and its attendant lack of preparation lead to a loss.”
Alcorn State didn’t fall for it on Saturday. There was little doubt and less suspense as the visiting Braves ran all over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 31-7, to spoil homecoming in front of 13,469 fans at Simmons Bank Field.
As they practice each week and prepare for the next opponent, first-year head coach Alonzo Hampton and his Arkansas-Pine Bluff football team can’t allow themselves to look at their games on paper, where rankings, statistics, and predictions rarely favor the Golden Lions.
If they ever needed a reminder, it was delivered during last week’s visit to previously winless Mississippi Valley State.
Pine Bluff was soundly defeated, 42-17, returning home without its first Southwestern Athletic Conference victory under Hampton. The Lions fell to 1-5 overall (0-3 in SWAC) and will try again on Saturday, the homecoming game.
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