Virginia Union Visits Bowie State in Battle for CIAA's Top Spot; Rundown of ALL of Today's HBCU Football Action

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

For the second week in a row, the CIAA will see a game that will go a long way in determining the conference's hiarchy this season.

Virginia Union (6-1, 4-0 CIAA) visits Bowie State (6-1, 4-0 CIAA) are two teams atop the CIAA's Northern Division standings as well as ranked as two of the best among the nation's HBCU football teams.

But they do it differently.

Virginia Union, which sports the CIAA's top offense, is a team that relies on the running game as they average a league best 245 yards a game and 5.2 yards a rush.  Freshman Hakeem Dowdy leads the running game with 805 rushing and seven TDs so far this season.

Bowie State isnt far behind as they are the CIAA's top passing team. led by quarterback Matthew Coggins' 1560 yards and 16 touchdowns so far this season.

Both teams have won four games in a row as they square off today at 1 p.m.

Here is the rest of today's HBCU football schedule

CIAA

Shaw at Johnson C. Smith
Winston-Salem State at Livingstone
Virginia State at Lincoln (Pa)
Elizabeth City State at Chowan
St. Augustine's at Fayetteville State

MEAC

Howard at North Carolina A&T
Morgan State at North Carolina Central
South Carolina State at Delaware State
Hampton at William & Mary
Norfolk State at Bethune-Cookman

SIAC

Tuskegee at Kentucky State
Benedict at Morehouse
Albany State at Clark Atlanta
Central State at Stillman
Lane at Miles

SWAC

Southern at Texas Southern
Mississippi Valley State at Grambling
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Jackson State

OTHERS

Tennessee State at Eastern Kentucky
Arizona Christian at Texas College
Shippensburg at Cheyney
Langston at Bacone
Indianapolis at Lincoln (Mo)
Glenville State at West Virginia State

North Carolina A&T Takes Over Top Spot in ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT FCS Football Poll; Tuskegee, Virginia Union 1 and 2 in the Division II Poll

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

North Carolina A&T's win over Bethune-Cookman and Grambling's defeat of Alcorn State leads to a big shake-up in this week's ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT FCS football top ten poll.

The Aggies (5-1, 3-0 MEAC) are now the nation's top team after defeating fourth-ranked Bethune-Cookman Saturday.  Grambling (5-2, 5-0 SWAC), ranked fourth last week, moves up to second this week after defeating the former No. 1 team, Alcorn State (4-2, 3-1 SWAC), Saturday.

Tuskegee (6-1, 5-0 SIAC) continues to rule over the Division II poll.  But they are closely followed by surging Virginia Union (6-1, 4-0 CIAA) and Bowie State (6-1, 4-0 CIAA).  Those two CIAA powers face each other Saturday.

Here is are both of the ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT FCS and Division II Top Ten football polls:

FCS

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


Division II

1) Tuskegee
2) Virginia Union
3) Bowie State
4) Chowan
5) Fort Valley State
6) Virginia State
7) Elizabeth City State
8) Fayetteville State
9) Albany State
10) Stillman

North Carolina A&T Takes MEAC Lead With Win Over Bethune-Cookman; Grambling Edges Top-Ranked Alcorn State; Recaps of ALL HBCU Football Games from Saturday

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

The one thing that Bethune-Cookman hoped they could do Saturday didn't quite work out - stopping North Carolina A&T running back Tarik Cohen.

Cohen, the MEAC's leading rusher, proved why as he he 116 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Aggies to a big 24-14 win over Bethune-Cookman (5-2, 3-1 MEAC).

The win ends Bethune-Cookman's five-game winning streak and give them their first conference loss and puts the Aggies (5-1, 3-0) on top of the MEAC standings.

"I think four out of the past five years they've been at the top of this league," said A&T head coach Rod Broadway.  "For us to compete and win against a team like that, I think says a lot about the effort our football team, our players and coaching staff, put in."

Bethune-Cookman was still in a position to win early in the fourth quarter, down only three points, 17-14 after Larry Brihm's 7-yard TD run.  But Cohen countered with his 33-yard touchdown jaunt to put the Aggies up by ten again.

Then the conference's top defense clamped down, shutting down the Bethune-Cookman offense on consecutive drives to secure the win.

"It was a hard fought game," said BCU head coach Terry Sims.  "We just didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had to win.  This was two team who are athletic and well-coached, and the team that made the big plays won the game."

Hampton's win at Morgan State allows North Carolina A&T to take sole possession of first place in the MEAC.  Bethune-Cookman falls into a three-way tie for second with Morgan State and  their opponent next week, Norfolk State.

"There's still a lot of football to be played," Sims said.  "We'll get back and start getting ready for Norfolk."

North Carolina A&T hosts Howard next Saturday.

Carter's Overtime TD Run Lifts Grambling to 35-34 Win Over Top-Ranked Alcorn State

Martez Carter's one-yard TD run in overtime lifted Grambling to a 35-34 win over top-ranked Alcorn State, their second consecutive win over the Braves.

Alcorn State (4-2, 4-1 SWAC) scored first in overtime on a John Gibbs Jr. touchdown, but Grambling blocked the extra point.  Carter, who rushed for 133 yards, followed up for Grambling.  And he kicked the extra point for the win.

"Just for us to get it to overtime, that says a lot about those kids," Grambling head coach Brandon Fobbs told the Natchez Democrat.  They could have hung their heads.  I'm just happy for them because they're understanding what winning is about."


MEAC

Hampton 20, Morgan State 10 -
Florida A&M 41, Delaware State 13 -
South Carolina State 49, Howard 10 -

SIAC

Tuskegee 49, Stillman 20 -
Albany State 38, Morehouse 0 -
Central State 21, Lane 0 -
Clark Atlanta 24, Benedict 3 -
Miles 16, Kentucky State 6 -
Florida Institute of Tech 34, Fort Valley State 7

SWAC

Texas Southern 49, Mississippi Valley State 21-
Alabama A&M 28, Jackson State 22 -
Prairie View 47, Southern 42 -

CIAA

Bowie State 22, Virginia State 19 -
Johnson C. Smith 37, Fayetteville State 20 -
Elizabeth City State 28, Lincoln (Pa) 10 -
Virginia Union 33, Chowan 14 -
Livingstone 41, Shaw 22 -
Winston-Salem State 36, St. Augustine's 19 -

OTHERS

(Photo by George Walker IV/The Tennessean)

Eastern Illinois 25, Tennessee State 22 (OT) - Quarterback Ronald Butler's interception at the goal line in overtime allowed a win to slip away for Tennessee State (3-3, 0-3 OVC).  Butler led TSU with 125 yards and a touchdown passing along with 104 yards and a TD rushing. EIU has defeated TSU four times in a row.
Texas College 21, Bacone 20 - Texas College (1-5, 1-2 CSFL) broke their 22-game losing streak by blocking an extra point in the third quarter and shutting down Bacone the rest of the way.  Robert Woodard threw two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Steers.
Langston 23, Southwestern Assemblies of God 20 - A day after the surprising decision by the school to remove and immediately reassign head football coach Dwone Sanders, Langston (3-3, 1-1 CSFL) defeated SAGU in their homecoming game.
Missouri S&T 40, Lincoln (Mo) 23 - Lamar Wilkes threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns and D'Luis West rushed for 82 yards and three TDs to lead Missouri S&T to the win. Lincoln (Mo) (1-6, 0-4) was led on offense by quarterback Owen Jordan with 255 yards and two TDs passing and 41 yards rushing.
Lock Haven 56, Cheyney 20 - Caleb Watson ran for four touchdowns and ran for another to lead Lock Haven over winless Cheyney (0-7, 0-4 PSAC).  Cheyney quarterback led the Wolves with 183 yards and a TD passing.
Shepherd 46, West Virginia State 17 - Shepherd broke open a two-point game by outscoring West Virginia State (4-3, 4-3 MEC) 37-10 over the last three quarters to remain undefeated so far this season. Jeff Ziemba threw for two touchdowns while both Allen Cross and Jabre Lolley each rushed for two TDs for Shepherd. WVSU was led by Matt Kinnick's 229 yards and one TD passing.