Winston Salem State Tabbed by CIAA Coaches to Win Conference in 2015; Virginia State Leads With Six Trojans Picked to Preseason All-CIAA Football Squad

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association head football coaches aren't expecting much different in 2015.

Winston-Salem State, who two years ago was named league champs, are this year expected to regain the CIAA crown over their familiar foe, Virginia State, last season's champions, according to league coaches.

Last season, Virginia State narrowly defeated WSSU to win the conference title and appear in the NCAA Division II playoffs.   VSU defeated LIU-Post in the first round but fell to ???? to end their season at 10-2.  Winston-Salem State finished the season 9-2.

WSSU head coach Kienus Boulware, in his second season, had three of his players on the preseason All-CIAA team - offenseive lineman Jac'que Polite, defensive lineman Michael Bloomfield, and punter/kicker William Johnson.

VSU dominated the preseason All-Conference squad as new head coach Byron Thweatt sees six Trojans, including running back Kavon Bellamy, receiving honors.

According to govsutrojans.com, Thweatt said his team would take things one game at a time in their quest for back-to-back CIAA titles.

Here is the CIAA football predicted order of finish and the preseason All-CIAA football squad

1st - Winston-Salem State University

2nd - Virginia State University

3rd - Virginia Union University

4th - Fayetteville State University

5th - Bowie State University

6th - Elizabeth City State University 

7th - Livingstone College

8th - Shaw University

9th - Chowan University

10th - Johnson C. Smith University

11th - Saint Augustine's University

12th - The Lincoln University

2015 Preseason All-CIAA Football Team

Offense

TE	#85	AJ Mundle	ECSU	6-1	230	Sr.	Fremont, NC
OL	#60	Addison Hayes*	VUU	6-2	314	Sr.	Savannah, GA
OL	#75	Jhamil Haley	VSU	6-3	280	Jr.	Portsmouth, VA
OL	#62	Jac'que Polite	WSSU	6-5	300	Jr.	Ridgeland, SC
OL	#75	Justin Nester	BSU	6-3	276	Jr.	Dayton, MD
OL	#72	Kristjan Brown	FSU	6-3	300	So.	Charlotte, NC
WR	#14	Jalen Hendricks*	LC	6-2	205	Sr.	Nashville, NC
WR	#80	Jaivon Smallwood*	VSU	6-2	175	Sr.	Virginia Beach, VA
QB	#2	Drew Powell*	LC	6-3	225	Sr.	Upper Marlboro, MD
RB	#24	Roderick Davenport II*	SAU	6-1	200	Sr.	Orangeburg, SC
RB	#28	Kavon Bellamy*	VSU	5-10	205	Jr.	Hampton, VA
PK	#47	William Johnson	WSSU	5-11	175	Jr.	High Point, NC
KR	#2	Antonio Huff	ECSU	5-9	160	Sr.	Washington, DC

Defense

DL	#10	Anthony McDaniel*	BSU	6-1	275	Sr.	Ft. Washington, MD
DL	#40	Michael Bloomfield	WSSU	6-3	245	Sr.	Jacksonville, NC
DL	#56	Ray Prosise	VSU	6-0	290	Sr.	Petersburg, VA
DL	#72	Kemaree Alcorn	CU	6-5	260	So.	Virginia Beach, VA
LB	#50	Austin Jacques*	JCSU	6-1	210	Sr.	Springdale, MD
LB	#2	Joseph Blanks	VUU	6-1	240	Sr.	Pembroke, NC
LB	#14	Brandon Lynch	VSU	6-1	200	So.	Norfolk, VA
DB	#7	Curtis Pumphrey*	BSU	5-8	158	Sr.	Laurel, MD
DB	#5	Darion Thomas*	VSU	6-0	160	Sr.	Virginia Beach, VA
DB	#1	Brion Robinson*	TLU	5-9	200	Sr.	Silver Spring, MD
DB	#21	Rodeshawn Joseph	VUU	6-1	185	Sr.	Pompano Beach, FL
P	#57	Christopher Palmer*	BSU	6-2	274	Sr.	St. Mary's, MD
PR	#2	Antonio Huff	ECSU	5-9	160	Sr.	Washington, DC

* = 2014 All-CIAA Team Members

SIAC Predictions: Albany State's Small and Washington Named SIAC's Top Players; Albany State and Tuskegee Tabbed to Win East and West

By ADD SEYMOUR JR. 

It’s not hard to see where Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches see where a lot of the league’s talent is coming from.

Last season’s top offensive player, Albany State running back Jarvis Small, and the the conference’s top tackler, teammate Tavaris Washington, were named the SIAC’s preseason offensive and defensive players of the year.

They lead an Albany State team that saw nine players picked for the preseason All-Conference team and was picked to win the SIAC West Division race this season.  

Small led the SIAC in rushing last season with 1,196 yards while running for 13 touchdowns.   Washington, a longtime defensive star for the Golden Rams, led the SIAC with 93 tackles, 17.5 behind the line of scrimmage.

Last year’s SIAC champs, Tuskegee, also placed nine players on the All-Conference team and were picked to win another SIAC East title in 2015. 

The SIAC's second best defense from last year has six players on the first or second All-Conference team, including the Golden Tigers leading returning tackler in Osband Thompson. Thompson had 80 tackles in a year he was named the SIAC Freshman of the Year. 

Central State, a team that won only three conference games in 2014, had nine players chosen for the preseason squad and was picked by coaches to finish fourth in the SIAC West. 

Here is the full All-SIAC Preseason All-Conference teams and the predicted order of finish:

2015 SIAC FOOTBALL PRE-SEASON ALL CONFERENCE
 
Pre-Season Offensive Player of the Year
Jarvis Small (Albany State)

Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year 
Tavarius Washington (Albany State)


OFFENSE

FIRST TEAM			SECOND TEAM
Josh Straughan	Stillman	QB	Monqavious Johnson	Morehouse
Jarvis Small	Albany State	RB	Otis Brown	Fort Valley State
Jonathan Clark	Miles	RB	Isaiah Grooms	Central State
Drelon Freeman	Fort Valley State	WR	Christopher Murray	Central State
Marquel Gardner	Tuskegee	WR	Devon Mann	Morehouse
Zach Thomas	Central State	TE	Leonard Walker	Albany State
D'Mon Tucker	Lane	OL	Kenneth Averhart	Albany State
Javoris Wilburn	Albany State	OL	Devin Radcliffe	Central State
Tyree Bell	Stillman	OL	Michael Brown	Fort Valley State
Kelvin Shelton	Tuskegee	OL	Justice Thomas	Morehouse
Terrence Owens	Miles	OL	Montell Collins	Miles
DEFENSE
Braysean Jones	Miles	DL	Darian Hall	Tuskegee
Artrell McMillan	Central State	DL	Grover Stewart	Albany State
Julian Morgan	Tuskegee	DL	Tayvin Ziegler	Central State
Jack Ndem	Albany State	DL	Gabriel Mass	Lane
Lydell Simon	Kentucky State	LB	Osband Thompson	Tuskegee
Jewell Ratliff	Tuskegee	LB	Gervell Morgan	Central State
Tavarius Washington	Albany State	LB	Trevon Spencer	Kentucky State
Will Lacy	Lane	DB	Okoye Bozeman	Central State
Brian Walker	Fort Valley State	DB	Dashad Tucker	Central State
Michael Robinson	Tuskegee	DB	Jermaine Graham	Kentucky State
Nick Scott	Albany State	DB	Cedric Cuff	Tuskegee
Juan Serna	Fort Valley State	K	Zachery Gayden-Holley	Albany State
Juan Serna	Fort Valley State	P	Temitayo Argoro	Morehouse
Corey Slaughter	Kentucky State	KR	Darrius Mitchell	Lane
Darius Mitchell	Lane	PR	Devozea Gaines	Tuskegee

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
EASTERN DIVISION                                           WESTERN DIVISION
Albany State University (6)                               Tuskegee University (10) **
Fort Valley State University (3)                         Miles College
Benedict College (2)                                          Stillman College
Morehouse College                                            Central State University
Clark Atlanta University                                    Kentucky State University
                                                                            Lane College

**2014 SIAC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS 

Rush, Nuggets will compete for GCAC and Red River titles in 2015

From Ed Cassiere
Xavier University Sports Information
     
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's men's and women's cross country teams will take shots at a pair of conference team championships this year.
     Joseph Moses, beginning his 11th season as head coach, announced Thursday the 2015 schedules of the Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets.
     Xavier recently announced its affiliation with the Red River Athletic Conference for cross country only in 2015. The Red River men's and women's champions will qualify automatically for the NAIA National Championships. But Xavier's longtime conference home, the Gulf Coast Athletic, still will offer a league meet, even though it is not an NAIA automatic-qualifying conference this season.
     The GCAC meet — which will be scored as part of the Choctaw Open in Clinton, Miss. — will be Oct. 17. The RRAC meet will be Nov. 6 in San Antonio, Texas.
     Xavier is the nine-time defending GCAC men's and women's team champion.
     For the second straight year, Xavier will begin the season at home in its Big Easy Opener Aug. 28 at nearby City Park. Xavier's other metro New Orleans competition will be Sept. 12 in the Louisiana Army National Guard / ROTC Wolf Pack Invitational in Metairie, La.
     Xavier will compete in two meets hosted by NCAA Division I schools: Sept. 4 in the Southern Miss Invitational and Sept. 19 in the LSU Invitational.
     Charlotte, N.C., will be the site of this year's NAIA national meet. Lawrence, Kan., was the site the previous two years.
     Xavier returns 2014 All-GCAC runners Christopher August and Brent Kitto from the men's team and Hannah Finnegan and Briana Simms from the women's. August and Finnegan were GCAC second-place finishers a year ago.

Gibbs, Berry Named SWAC Preseason Top Players; Alcorn State and Grambling Picked By Coaches to Top SWAC East and West

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

(photo from SWAC.org)

The Southwestern Athletic Conference's reigning preseason offensive and defensive players of the year were tabbed again as the league's best during today's SWAC Football Media Day.

Alcorn State quarterback John Gibbs Jr. and Alabama State linebacker Koutney Berry were named the SWAC's top players after both were named to both slots last season.

Last season, Gibbs led the league's top offense and threw for nearly 2,500 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also did it on the ground, rushing for 1,006 yards and another 12 TDs

Berry continued his stellar ASU career last season by the leading the SWAC with 128 tackles as a sophomore, along with recovering three fumbles.

Alcorn State, which was also picked by league coaches to win the SWAC East this season, had nine players picked on the All-SWAC' Preseason first or second team.

Don't put too much stock in those predictions, said Alcorn State head coach Jay Hopson.

"This league, I say it every year, there's a lot of parity," Hopson said Friday, according to The News Star.  "People know me know I speak what I feel.  Two years ago, we were ranked last.  I think the preseason rankings, they dont really  mean anything.  You take it with a grain of salt.  It's a competitive league."

Last year's surprise squad, Grambling, won't sneak up on SWAC foes this season as the Tigers were predicted by coaches to finish first in the SWAC West.

Grambling Quarterback Jonathan Williams, who came on mid-season last year to lead the SWAC with 272 yards passing a game, was named All Conference second team quarterback.  He was joined by Grambling defenders Javonte Williams, Jamison Goins and Henry Taylor as All-SWAC preseason second team picks.

"We're pleased with our program. We're please with how far we've come. We're pleased with the mindset of our student athletes," Grambling head coach Broaderick Fobbs said Friday, according to The News Star.  "We still live by the motto of the "WIN' philosophy -- what's important now.  For us, it's about taking the first step.

"[His players} understand what's at stake," he said. "Any time you lace up and play against these teams in this league, you gotta be prepared, you gotta be ready to perform.  There's a lot of great minds, and there's a lot of great players.  For us, I wouldn't have it any other way. For us, it's just seeing about who's the best."

Here is the complete list of All-SWAC first and second team picks, along with the league's predicted order of finish:

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: John Gibbs Jr. (QB) – Alcorn State
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Kourtney Berry (LB) - Alabama State

2015 Preseason All SWAC Football Team
First Team All SWAC Offense

QB – John Gibbs Jr	Alcorn State
RB – Lenard Tillery	Southern
RB – Johnta’ Hebert	Prairie View
OL – Marcus Cook	Jackson State
OL -  Damian Love	Alabama State
OL – Glen Haisley	Prairie View
OL -  Anthony Mosley	Southern
OL – Jylan Ware	Alabama State
WR – Daniel Williams	Jackson State
WR – Willie Quinn	Southern
TE – Jordan Payne	Alcorn State

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First Team All SWAC Defense

DL - Anthony Lanier	Alabama A&M
DL – Darien Moody	Alcorn State
DL – Demarcus Berry	Arkansas Pine Bluff
DL – Devohn Reed	Prairie View
LB – Damon Watkins	Alcorn State
LB – Willie Duncan	Arkansas Pine Bluff
LB – Kourtney Berry	Alabama State
DB – Danny Johnson	Southern
DB – Damond Jackson	Prairie View
DB - Warren Gatewood	Alcorn State
DB- Kevin Rucker	Arkansas Pine Bluff

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SPECIAL TEAMS – FIRST TEAM
Kicker Ryan Deising –Jackson State
Punter Corey Carter – Texas Southern
Return Specialist Johnta’ Hebert -Prairie View

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Second Team All SWAC Offense

QB – Johnathan Williams	Grambling State
QB – La Montiez Ivy	Jackson State
RB – Brian Handley	Arkansas Pine Bluff
RB – Arron Baker	Alcorn State
OL – Sean Brown	Mississippi Valley State
OL- Terrell Lee	Southern
OL – Jordan Johnson	Prairie View
OL – Glenn Jackson	Texas Southern
OL -  Courtney Brown	Alabama A&M
WR – DeMario Bell	Alabama State
WR – Willie Young	Arkansas Pine Bluff
TE – Natron Brooks	Mississippi Valley State

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Second Team All SWAC Defense

DL – Javonte Williams	Grambling State
DL – Jamison Goins	Grambling State
DL – Amir Bloom	Texas Southern
DL – Gabe Echols	Southern
LB – Daerius Washington	Alabama State
LB – Henry Taylor	Grambling State
LB – Javancy Jones	Jackson State
DB – Anthony Williams Jr.	Alcorn State
DB – Robert Porter	Jackson State
DB – Dionte McDuffy	Southern
DB –  Charles Moore	Mississippi Valley State

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SPECIAL TEAMS – SECOND TEAM

Kicker – Haiden McCraney – Alcorn State
Punter - Haiden McCraney – Alcorn State
Return Specialist Willie Quinn – Southern

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2015 Predicted Order of Finish

EAST
Alcorn State 95
Jackson State 83
Alabama A&M 66
Alabama State 50
Mississippi Valley State 31

West
Grambling State 93
Southern 91 
Prairie View 72
Texas Southern 40
Arkansas Pine Bluff 34