North Carolina Central Hosts Bethune-Cookman in Key MEAC Game; Preview/Schedule of ALL of Saturday's HBCU Football Action

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

North Carolina Central's conference opener couldn't be bigger.

When the Eagles (1-2, 0-0 MEAC) host Bethune-Cookman (3-1, 1-0 MEAC) today, two of the five Mid Eastern Athletic Conference teams who were co-MEAC champs last season will be squaring off. Which means every game between any of those teams this years is a big game.

Aside from a lopsided loss to ACC power Miami, Bethune-Cookman has looked solid. They are second in total offense, averaging nearly 400 yards a game.  On a defense full of new faces, they have been good, though not spectacular.

Head coach Terry Sims told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that he's happy with both.

"People talk about the defense being young and new, but I think it's a feather in their cap for them to play the way they do," he said.  "They only had three guys on the field that played last year, but I think they have done a great job executing our scheme, not being frazzled when sudden change happens, and not going in the dumps when a big play happens against them.

"We have developed a bend but not break attitude on that side of the ball this year, and I'm fine with it," Sims continued.  "You're going to make mistakes.  It's not common for a young defensive group to fight through things like that, but these guys fight and I'm happy with all of them."

It's been harder to see where North Carolina Central is in 2015 because in three games, they've faced FBS teams Duke and Florida International and overmatched Division II team, St. Augustine's.

But they sport one of the MEAC's top passers in Malcolm Bell, who threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.  Defensively, the Eagles shut out St. Augustine's but gave up a record amount of yardage against Duke and 490 yards against Florida International.  And the Eagles lost star defensive back Mike Jones for the season with a fractured ankle.

The Eagles also lost transfer receiver Khalil Stinson for the season after he suffered a hip fracture in the same game.

"This is very unfortunate for these two young men and their families," Mack said.  "Miks is obviously a key player for us and I was looking forward to watching Khalil continue to grow as we enter conference place.  We're sure they will be back in 2016 ready to go."

Since moving up to FCS, North Carolina Central has not beaten Bethune-Cookman in five meetings. But this kind of game is different, Sims said.

"They are always a tough opponent," Sims told the News-Journal. "They always play us hard, and they are going to play fast and execute in all three phases of the game."

Here is a look at the rest of today's HBCU football action:


SIAC

Lane at Stillman
Kentucky State at Benedict
Kentucky Wesleyan at Central State
Alderson Broaddus at Fort Valley State
Albany State at Miles
Clark Atlanta at Morehouse - Its the battle of the Atlanta University Center as only a street separates the two schools in this rivalry.
Tuskegee at UNC Pembroke - The nation's top Division II team will face a stiff challenge at Pembroke, a team that has had its way with CIAA opponents so far this season.

MEAC

North Carolina A&T at Hampton
Norfolk State at Howard - It's homecoming at Howard who is looking for their first win of the season. Norfolk State has been game during a tough schedule to begin the season and looked solid in defeating Hampton (who beat Howard) last week.
Morgan State at Delaware State
Bethune-Cookman at North Carolina Central
Furman at South Carolina State
Florida A&M at Savannah State - Both of these teams are trying to reverse their fortunes: Savannah State has lost 24 conference games in a row. Florida A&M is winless on the season.

CIAA

Virginia Union at Shaw
Elizabeth City State at Livingstone
Lincoln (Pa) at Fayetteville State - Lincoln (Pa) has rode their running game to win three of their first four while Fayetteville State defeated powerful Virginia State and looked solid against tough competition in three losses.
Chowan at Winston-Salem State - Big game in Winston-Salem as Chowan has looked good so far this season and WSSU is finally starting to gel.
St. Augustine's at Virginia State
Bowie State at Johnson C. Smith

SWAC

Mississippi Valley State at Jacksonville State - Mississippi Valley State may be in for a long day. They are visiting the nation's top FCS team in Jacksonville State who has already knocked off Tennessee State.
University of Faith at Prairie View A&M
Alabama A&M at Coastal Carolina - Tough game for Alabama A&M as they visit a Coastal Carolina team that's one of the FCS' best and has beaten a solid South Carolina State team already.
Grambling State at Jackson State


OTHERS

West Virginia State at Virginia College at Wise
Cheyney at Bloomsburg - Bloomsburg is one of the top 20 teams in Division II football while Cheyney, an NAIA team, is 0-4 this season.
McMurry at Lincoln (Mo)

Tuskegee and Alcorn State Top This Season's First ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT HBCU Football Top Ten FCS/Division II Polls

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Let's get this out of the way -- it's early and the big shake-out after the money games hasn't started yet.

But one thing is clear - Tuskegee is good.

The Golden Tigers, the defending Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champs, are off to a solid 4-0 start, highlighted by wins over Winston-Salem State and Albany State.  They sport the SIAC's top offense (led by SIAC Offensive Player of the Week in quarterback Kevin Lacey) and second-best defense (led by Jewell Ratliff and his 11.5 tackles per game to lead the conference.

In FCS football, Alcorn State has looked strong, minus a blowout at Georgia Tech, and is ranked No. 1 this week.  But the entire top six (North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State, South Carolina State, Bethune-Cookman and Southern) has looked good against everyone except FBS teams they've been soundly beaten by.

Here are the complete ADDS HBCU SPORTS REPORT HBCU FOOTBALL FCS/Division II Top Ten Polls for this week.

FCS 

1) Alcorn State
2) North Carolina A&T
3) Tennessee State
4) South Carolina State
5) Bethune-Cookman
6) Southern
7) Grambling
8) Prairie View
9) Hampton
10) Texas Southern

DIVISION II

1) Tuskegee
2) Virginia Union
3) Fort Valley State
4) Chowan
5) Bowie State
6) Morehouse
7) Winston-Salem State
8) Elizabeth City State
9) Lincoln (Pa)
10) Central State

Williams and Carter Lead Grambling's Big Play Win Over Prairie View; Recaps of ALL of Saturday's HBCU Football Action

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Martez Carter returns a kickoff for a touchdown, one of two he had during the game.  Carter also caught a TD pass and rushed for another score. (photo by Steve Hamm/Dallas Morning News)

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Defense was no issue in the State Farm Classic in Dallas Saturday.  It just didn't exist.

Grambling (2-2, 2-0 SWAC) and Prairie View (2-2, 2-1 SWAC), two teams who have struggled with stopping opposing offenses so far this season, remained on that same script as both teams combined for more than 1,300 yards of offense.

In the end, Grambling broke their single-game scoring record in defeating Prairie View 70-54.

"There were a lot of negatives," Grambling head coach Broaderick Fobbs said, according to the Grambling State athletic web site.  "When you look at the score, we've just got to play better.  In order for us to be where we want to be in the end, we've got to play better."

It's difficult for his offense to look better than they did.

Quarterback Johnathan Williams completed 20-of-33 passes for 429 yards and six touchdowns. including two each to receivers Chad Williams and Chester Rogers.  Williams also added a rushing touchdown.

Martez Carter also caught one of Williams' TD tosses, but he lit up the night with two kickoff returns for touchdowns - one for 88 yards in the first half and another for 100 yards late in the game.  Carter also added a rushing TD.

Still, Fobbs was not super happy after the win.

That was because Prairie View had an offensive field day themselves as their 580 yards of total offense was 14 more than Grambling. Trey Green threw for 414 yards and four teouchdowns and DeAnuntre Smiley rushed for two TDs and threw another. Running back Johnta Hebert rushed for 83 yards and caught nine passes for 74 yards.

"I tell you, it's probably the ugliest football game we've played," he told The Dallas Morning News. "It felt like we lost the game, but we're fortunate to get out of here with a victory."

Grambling visits Jackson State next week while Prairie View will have a much easier time next week when they take on University of Faith.

Here is a rundown of all the other HBCU action from Saturday:


MEAC

Norfolk State 24, Hampton 14 - Greg Hankerson threw a TD and Quintrell Chung rushed for another during a third quarter surge that gave Norfolk State (1-3, 1-0 MEAC) their first win of the season. Hampton's (2-2, 1-1 MEAC) David Waterford threw for a TD had three interceptions.

Tennessee State 30, Florida A&M 14 - FAMU (0-4) had a 14-7 early second half lead erased as Tennessee State 3-1) scored 23 unanswered second half points for the win. Ronald Butler threw for three TDs while Telvin Hooks rushed for 117 yards. Patrick Smith had 109 yards and two touchdowns receiving for TSU.
Bethune-Cookman 42, Savannah State 12 - Bethune-Cookman (3-1, 1-0 MEAC) rolled up nearly 600 yards of offense in defeating Savannah State (0-4, 0-1 MEAC). Quentin Williams threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards.
Morgan State 21, Howard 13 - Moses Skillon threw for 211 yards and two TDs as well as rushing for 64 yards to lead Morgan State (1-1, 1-0 MEAC) win over struggling Howard (0-4, 0-1 MEAC). Howard was led by Donnel Pleasant who rushed for 90 yards. Howard's only touchdown came on Craig Johnson's 27 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

SIAC

Kentucky State 21, Central State 17 - Alex Springs' 13-yard touchdown pass to Corey Slaughter with a little more than five minutes remaining lifted Kentucky State (1-3, 1-0 SIAC) to their first win of the season.  Central State (2-2, 2-1 SIAC) doubled-up KSU offensively, but couldn't get into the end zone in the second half.
Miles 13, Morehouse 10 - Miles (1-3, 1-0 SIAC) opened their conference schedule with a strong defensive effort against a good offensive Morehouse (2-2, 0-1 SIAC) team.  Lane controlled the game with a solid rushing effort and kept Morehouse to just 107 yards passing on the day. Two late Morehouse turnovers that could have lifted them to a win twarted the Maroon Tigers.  Lane's Brayon Jones had 11 tackles and 4.5 sacks.  James Woods had 15 tackles for Morehouse with Christopher Mambie adding 11.
Delta State 40, Albany State 0 - Delta State's Tyler Sullivan ran for a touchdown and passed for another as DSU remained undefeated. Nick Scott and Zavondric Shing combined for 24 tackles to lead the Albany State (1-3).
Tuskegee 41, Lane 14 - Kevin Lacey threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as Tuskegee (4-0, 1-0 SIAC) remains undefeated.  Lane (1-3, 0-1 SIAC) kept it close early before surrendering 28 second half points. Marcus Reynolds threw two TDs for Lane.
West Georgia 56, Clark Atlanta 0 - CAU struggled to get 100 yards of offense by a West Georgia team that used a balanced offense to easily defeat the Panthers.
Fort Valley State 44, Benedict 3 - Fort Valley State (3-1, 3-0 SIAC) stayed undefeated in the conference by keeping a struggling Benedict (0-4, 0-1 SIAC) offense off track. Benedict only had five yards passing.

SWAC

Georgia 48. Southern 6 - Southern (2-2) was no match for SEC powerhouse Georgia. Nick Chubb rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Lenard Tillery rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars.
Alabama A&M 28, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9 - Alabama A&M (1-2, 1-1 SWAC) got their first win of the season by scoring 29 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to erase and early 9-0 UAPB (1-3, 0-2 SWAC) lead. A&M's DeAngelo Ballard threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns while Harvey Harris rushed for 131 yards.
Alcorn State 47, Concordia 7 - Ragsdale Darry rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown and John Gibbs Jr. threw for two scores to leave Alcorn State (3-1, 2-0 SWAC) to an easy win. The Alcorn State defense only gave up 10 yards rushing the entire game.
Alabama State 45, Mississippi Valley State 15 - Ellis Richardson rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns to lead ASU (1-3, 1-2 SWAC) to an easy win.
Jackson State 34, Texas Southern 30 - La Montiez Ivey threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns as Jackson State (1-3, 1-1 SWAC) held off TSU (2-2, 1-2 SWAC). Devi Fosselman and Dan Williams each had more than 100 yards receiving and a touchdown.

CIAA

Winston-Salem State 17, Elizabeth City State 10 - Winston-Salem State (1-3, 1-1 CIAA) forced four second half punts and picked off a pass to shut down Elizabeth City State (2-1, 0-1 CIAA) to get their first win of the season. WSSU's Rahard Copper threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
Fayetteville State 33, Virginia State 20 - Derek Bryant threw for 430 yards and four touchdowns to lead Fayetteville State (1-3, 1-0 CIAA) over Virginia State (2-2, 0-1 CIAA). Tavon Gatlin and Chris Hubert each had more than 180 yards receiving and two TD catches.
Virginia Union 33, Johnson C. Smith 3 - Shawkeem Dowdy threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns to lead Virginia Union (3-1, 1-0 CIAA) to the win.  Johnson C. Smith (1-3, 0-1 CIAA) had -25 yards rushing.
Chowan 49, St. Augustine's 0 - Chowan (3-1, 1-0 CIAA) had an easy time with St. Aug's (0-4, 0-1 CIAA) as Tyree Lee rumbled for 233 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and caught another TD. Randall Dixon threw for three scores.
Lincoln (Pa) 20, Shaw 10 - Despite ten late Shaw (0-4, 0-1 CIAA) points, Lincoln (Pa) (3-1, 1-0 CIAA) grinded out a win.  Stephen Scott rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown to lead Lincoln (Pa).
Bowie State 45, Livingstone 17 - Matthew Coggans threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns to lead Bowie State (3-1, 1-0 CIAA) to the win.  Drew Powell threw for 224 yards and rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown for Livingstone.

OTHERS 

Charleston 34, West Virginia State 13 -
Langston 32, McMurry 29 -
Truman State 31, Lincoln (Mo) 14 -
Kutztown 34, Cheyney 0 -