Morgan State Starts Playoff Drive Against Richmond; Virginia State Visits Bloomsburg in D-2 Second Round; Southern and Grambling Play for a SWAC Title Appearance

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

(photo by Kenneth Lam/Baltimore Sun)

It's a huge football Saturday in New Orleans and Richmond, Va., as the post season looms for three teams.

In Richmond, co-MEAC champion Morgan State visits Richmond in the first round of the NCAA FCS Football National Playoffs. It's the first time the Bears have appeared in the playoffs after last week winning a share of their first MEAC title since 1979.

"I still think I'm dreaming and that somebody is going to wake me up and say that this has all been a cruel joke," said first-year Morgan State head coach Lee Hull to the Baltimore Sun. "But it's great. It's a great feeling."

Richmond (8-4) comes from the Colonial Athletic Association where they limped into the postseason by losing two of their last three after storming through most of the regular season.  They defeated William & Mary 34-20 last week, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA field.

"I think anytime you can finish your regular season with a win is big," said Richmond head coach Danny Rocco. "We have had kind of tough games the past two weeks and would have been just heartbreaking for this team to finish the season with a three-game losing streak. So we bounced back and did the things we had to do and positioned ourselves really well."

They are led by the two-headed quarterbacking duo of Michael Strauss (2,202 yards and 16 touchdowns) and Michael Rocco, who threw for 1,424 yards and four touchdowns after replacing an injured Strauss.

The Bears are led by running back Herb Walker Jr. who has rushed for 1,288 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. They also have a stiff defense that is among the nation's leaders in sacks this year.

The Trojans of Virginia State have a tall order this week as they visit 10-1 Bloomsburg. VSU is seeded third in their region while Bloomsburg is second.  

Virginia State head coach Latrell Scott told the Richmond Times Dispatch that Bloomsburg is “a good football team, a well-coached team. Tough, physical team on both sides of the ball. They’ve been in the top 10 the majority of the year, so it’s a tough task for us.”

Down South, one of the biggest HBCU football classics and probably most well known, the Bayou Classic, pits their traditional rivals, Grambling and Southern.  But this year's Classic is special as the winner claims the SWAC Western Division Championship and heads to the SWAC Championship Game next week against Alcorn State.

After turmoil over the last couple of years, Grambling turned it around this season, winning seven straight games after losing their first three.  The Tigers would have won the division title outright had they defeated Alabama State last week, but Tigers fell 37-23, setting up this epic Bayou Classic matchup.

Now both teams are 7-1 in the SWAC and looking to keep their seasons going.

The Grambling offense starts and ends with quarterback Jonathan Williams.  He has thrown for 1,719 yards and 13 touchdowns and has led the Tigers in rushing with 373 yards and seven TDs.

 

Southern relies on a strong rushing offense led by true freshman quarterback Austin Howard (1,924 yards, 14 touchdowns) and running back Lenard Tillery (973 yards, seven touchdowns) and a tough defense that is fifth in the SWAC.

It all sets up for a big game for a nationally-televised audience to see who heads to Houston next week.

"Anytime you win this football game and you have a chance to further on playing, I think it's good. It helps the off-season program. It helps you for the next season," Grambling head coach Broaderic Fobbs said to WAFB9 TV.

"[It's] business as usual," said Southern head coach Dawson Odums to WAFB9 TV. "We don't get too tight. Our guys are going to be relaxed. We're going to have fun. This is what it's supposed to be."

Weekend HBCU Division II Women's Basketball Scores

Weekend HBCU Division II Women's Basketball Scores

Nov. 22

CIAA

Virginia Union 71, Washington Adventist 34
Belmont Abbey 72, Winston-Salem State 63
Clark Atlanta 54, Elizabeth City State 53
Livingstone 71, Kentucky State 48
Clayton State 87, Shaw 71

SIAC

Claflin 77, Northwood (Fla) 55
Florida Tech 83, Fort Valley State 71
Lindenwood 83, Lane 65
Virginia State 74, Miles 64
North Georgia 82, Tuskegee 52

Nov. 23

SIAC

Arkansas Tech 84, Paine 55
West Florida 57, Spring Hill 53
West Alabama 66, Stillman 53

Virginia State Named ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT 2014 HBCU Division II Football Naitonal Champions

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Virginia State, which is headed to the second round of the NCAA Division II football playoffs this weekend, tops the final 2014 ADDS HBCU SPORTS REPORT HBCU Division II football poll and is named our 2014 HBCU Division II national champions.

The Trojans from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, finished the regular season 9-1 and undefeated at 7-0 in the CIAA, defeated third-ranked Winston-Salem State in the CIAA championship game and last weekend won their first round playoff game against LIU-Post 28-17.

Tuskegee, whose comeback bid in their first round Division II playoff game fell short last weekend when they lost to West Georgia 20-17, won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference crown and finishes second in the Division II poll.  Their loss Saturday was the first for the Golden Tigers in more than two months.

Here is the entire ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT HBCU Division II Football Top Ten Poll:

 DIVISION II

1) Virginia State (10-2)
2) Tuskegee (9-3)
3) Winston-Salem State (9-2)
4) Albany State (7-3)
5) Virginia Union (7-3)
6) Miles (6-4)
7) Morehouse (6-4)
8) Fayetteville State (5-5)
9) Fort Valley State (6-4)
10) Stillman (5-5)

Honorable mentions: Livingstone (5-5), Bowie State (5-5),

Morgan State is the Only HBCU in the NCAA FCS Playoffs; Visit Richmond Saturday

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Morgan State is the lone HBCU football squad that will be playing for a NCAA FCS national championship this season.

The Bears (7-5), who claimed a share of the MEAC championship yesterday and the conference's automatic bid to the 24-team NCAA playoff field, will visit Richmond (8-4) Saturday in a first round game broadcast on ESPN3 at 1 p.m. eastern.

Left out of the field are North Carolina A&T (9-3, 6-2 MEAC), Bethune-Cookman (9-3, 6-2 MEAC) and South Carolina State (8-4, 6-2 MEAC).  They were three of the MEAC co-champions who were hoping for an NCAA bid.  North Carolina Central (7-5, 6-2 MEAC) wasn't expected to be at at-large choice.

Also, none of the SWAC teams, such as Alcorn State (9-3, 7-2 SWAC), Southern (8-3, 7-1 SWAC), or Grambling (7-4, 7-1 SWAC) will be in the field since the SWAC regular season isn't complete and the SWAC Championship Game won't be played until Dec. 6, long after the NCAA FCS playoffs have begun.

Here is the full playoff bracket http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/football/fcs

Tuskegee Rally Falls Short as West Alabama Wins 20-17 in Division II Playoff First Round Game

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

UWG's Seth Hinsley runs through a Tuskegee tackle (photo by Albert Cesare/Montgomery Advertiser)

The Tuskegee Golden Tigers' second-ever NCAA Division II playoff appearance finished much like their first - a loss in a very close game.

In a tough, evenly matched football game, Tuskegee rallied late, but fell short as West Georgia defeated the Golden Tigers 20-17.  West Georgia (10-2) goes on to play second-seeded Delta State next weekend.

Tuskegee was down 13-0 at halftime in an evenly matched game, but pulled to within six, on a third-quarter, 2-yard touchdown run by Michael Thornton.  Trevor Wylie added an early fourth-quarter field goal to pull the Golden Tigers to within three, 13-10.

In a furious fourth quarter, West Georgia quarterback Dallas Dickey countered with a 27-yard touchdown toss to Shaq Hill with 9:20 left in the game, giving them a 20-10 lead.

Both defenses buckled down, but Tuskegee rallied again, with Thornton adding another touchdown with 2:37 left to again pull the Golden Tigers within three. But their onside kick was unsuccessful and West Georgia took the win.

"We made a lot of mistakes in the game," Tuskegee head coach Willie Slater told the Montgomery Advertiser. "I thought there were moments in the game that could have turned things around, but we didn't take advantage of them."

Tuskegee finishes the season 9-3. This was the Golden Tigers' second consecutive playoff appearance, which also have been their only two NCAA playoff games. Last season they lost another tight game, this one to 30-27 to North Alabama.

"We need to get past the first round," Slater told the Advertiser. "This program is good enough to do that. I've been on a lot of playoff teams, and I'm not used to losing this early. These kids fought very hard all season, and I'm very proud of our guys."

Morgan State Earns MEAC NCAA FCS Playoff Bid With Five-Team First Place Tie; Complete Look at ALL of Saturday's HBCU Football Action

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

(photo by Jamal Jackson/Delaware State)

Who would have predicted this at the beginning of the 2014 season?

Morgan State, a football program that has only had four winning seasons since winning the MEAC title in 1979, is now on its way to the NCAA FCS playoffs after finishing 2014 in a first place conference tie.

The Bears (7-5) powered past hapless Delaware State 69-7 Saturday to finish the MEAC season with a 6-2 conference mark.  They finish in first, tied with the same MEAC record as North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, South Carolina Stat and Bethune-Cookman. The Bears hadn't finished above .500 since 2009.

It's the third MEAC conference title for Morgan State, going with their 1979 title and their 1971 championship.

“When they hired me, they wanted to restore the greatness of the football program,” Morgan State head coach Lee Hull told the Baltimore Sun. “They had a great legacy in the ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, and that’s where they wanted to be. Our goal was to win the MEAC championship and return this program back to greatness. To get it in my first year, you always strive for that, but to get it in my first year is a great experience.”

It was just one piece of a puzzle on a crazy day in MEAC football.

The first domino fell when Morgan State destroyed the Hornets as quarterback Moses Skillon threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns and ran 64 yards and a sixth TD.

Then cross-town rivals North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T hooked up.  North Carolina A&T was alone in first place in the MEAC at the start of the day, already with a share of the MEAC title, only needing to defeat Central to win the MEAC outright and head to the NCAA FCS playoffs.

They didn't.

With 4:31 left and down 21-14, A&T was driving and got to the NCCU 20-yard line. But A&T's Tarik Cohen, who rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns on the day, got hit by the Eagle's Ty Brown, fumbling the ball and turning over to North Carolina Central who salted the game away.

Not long after that, South Carolina State, a team that seemed headed towards a title but lost a close game to Morgan State two weeks ago, came from behind to defeat Norfolk State 30-20.  The Spartans had led 10-9 early in the second quarter but were outscored the rest of the way 21-10. Jalen Simmons rushed for two touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who finish the regular season 9-3 overall.

And in a game that was scoreless at halftime, Bethune-Cookman's

After all that, five teams - North Carolina A&T, Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, South Carolina State and North Carolina Central - all finished with 6-2 records and a share of the MEAC title. Never have so many teams finished tied for first in the MEAC and been co-champions.Eefore this year, only twice has as many as three teams shard the MEAC title:  Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M and South Carolina State shared the title in 2010 and Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State and Florida A&M shared the title in 1988.   Three other times, two teams shared the conference title.

Morgan State will wait to see who they will play in the NCAA playoffs while North Carolina A&T and Bethune-Cookman, both with 9-3 records, hope for at-large bids to the playoffs.

“We just made our case,” said North Carolina A&T head coach Rod Broadway. “We had an opportunity to speak volumes and we just didn’t. We are going to let the committee do their job the best they can as we did the best we can today. We had a chance to get into the playoffs ourselves and we didn’t. We don’t have anyone to fault but ourselves.”

The playoff field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 11 a.m. EST.

MEAC

Howard 30, Hampton 29 (John Fleck kicked a 17-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to life Howard to a thrilling victory in the Battle of the REAL HU. Quarterback Greg McGhee and running back Aquanius Freeman had touchdowns that brought the Bison back from a 26-7 third quarter deficit. Freeman rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns while McGhee threw for 157 yards and rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown to end his Bison career as the MEAC total offense leader. He finishes with 10,168 rushing and passing yards.)

Brigham Young 64, Savannah State 0 (This game was a mismatch from the start. Savannah State, which had the worst defense in the MEAC and one of the worst offenses, finishes 2014 with no wins. Christian Stewart threw four touchdown passes and ran for another for BYU, which led 51-0 at halftime.  Nate Carter rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown. While BYU had 556 yards of total offense, SSU only had 76 - 28 passing and 38 rushing)


SWAC

Alabama State 30, Stillman 29 (

Jackson State 34, Alcorn State 31 (

Arkansas-Pine Bluff 20, Alabama A&M 19 (


OTHERS

Tennessee State 48, Murray State 33 (Tennessee State finishes the season 6-6, but after pulling away early, they made it interesting as Murray State whittled down an early big lead. But TSU quarterback Michael German threw for 463 yards and six touchdowns, with Ryan Mitchell catching 10 passes for 231 yards and three TDs.  Murray's KD Humphries was valiant in defeat, throwing for 467 yards and five touchdowns.  Murray scored 20 fourth-quarter points to make a blowout interesting. German finishes his TSU career as the school's all-time leading passer with 8,664 yards.)

Grand View (Iowa) 38, Langston 3 (In the first round of the NAIA playoffs, 16th seeded Langston was no match for No. 2 seed Grandview, a 9-1 team that hasn't lost to an NAIA team this season. The Vikings only gave up only 149 yards of offense to Langston on a cold, snowy day in which they dominated on offense and defense.  Langston ends the season with a 7-3 record)

Kavon Bellamy Rushes for 131 Yards and Two TDs While VSU Defense Contains Laurino to Defeat LIU-Post 28-17; Virginia State Advances to NCAA D-2 Playoff Second Round

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Kavon Bellamy scores his second TD (photo by Joe Mahoney/Richmond Times Dispatch)

Virginia State, appearing in their first-ever NCAA Division II football playoff game, defeated Long Island University-Post 28-17 Saturday.  The Trojans, now 10-12 and ranked third in the ?? region, move on to face second-ranked Bloomsburg (Pa) University (10-1) next week

"They're tough. They're resilient and they refuse to lose," Virginia State head coach Latrell Scott said, according to the Hopewell News Patriot. "I call them hard-headed ... We feel like we're a battle-tested team and we just do whatever we have to do as a coaching staff and as a team to come out on top."

Virginia State scored a touchdown in each quarter and withstood a 17-point second quarter outburst by the Pioneers to hold on for the win. 


“We’re proud of our kids,” Scott said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.“We’re extremely excited to be able to do this for our school, for our fans and for the community.”

The Trojans defense held one of the best Division II quarterbacks in the country, Steven Laurino, in check.  Laurino had been averaging more than 300 yards a game passing and 54 yards rushing this season for a team that averaged 35 points a game this season.  But the Pioneers got less than half of that as Laurino could only manage 260 yards and touchdown in the air along with eight rushes for seven yards and another TD.

Meanwhile, Kavon Bellamy led the VSU offense with 131 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Tarian Ayers, returning from a one-game suspension for a DUI arrest two weeks ago, solidly managed the Trojan offense, throwing for 131 yards and rushing for 45 yards and a touchdown.