Contenders tangle in MEAC, SWAC
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The first month of the 2004 black college football season comes to a close this weekend with a couple of crucial matchups to conference races, one in the SWAC and another in the MEAC.
In the SWAC, the favorites in the East
Division, Alabama State and Alcorn
State face off in Lorman, Ms., while MEAC contenders
Hampton and Morgan State meet Saturday in the Meadowlands in a game
to be carried on BET.
SWAC East Division Showdown
Defending SWAC East Division champ
Alabama State (2-0, 1-0 SWAC E) got an unexpected
week off when its game with Arkansas-Pine Bluff
was cancelled Saturday because of the effects of
Hurricane Ivan in Montgomery.
After losing power on campus and at the Cramton Bowl where the game was to be played, officials from Alabama Power could not guarantee when the electricity in the stadium would be turned on prompting the decision to cancel the game. SWAC officials said Monday the game will be rescheduled but a determination has not yet been made on the date.
Alcorn State (2-1, 1-0 SWAC E) had a power outage of its own facing Howard Saturday at Fed Ex Field in Landover, Md. The potent Braves offense was short circuited by two interceptions and two lost fumbles, one returned 80 yards for a game-turning touchdown, in losing its first game of the season, 17-10.
Last year, Alabama State scored six rushing touchdowns en route to posting a 49-28 win over Alcorn.
"We know they'll be hungry for a win," said Alabama State head coach Charles Coe, III. "Alcorn likes to throw the ball and they have an excellent quarterback (Donald Carrie). It'll be a challenge for our defense particularly for our secondary guys."
Alabama State currently leads the SWAC in total offense averaging 432.5 yards per game. Their rushing attack, led by 2003 SWAC rushing leader Keldrick Williams (84.3 ypg.) and big Robert Randolph (74 ypg.), is second in the conference at 215 yards per contest. QB Tavaris Jackson (28-48, 203 yds.) is among the SWAC's passing efficiency leaders with four TDs and only one interception.
"Everything concerns me about Alabama State," said Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas. "I don't see how we could be picked number one over Alabama State (by the media) to win the East Division championship when Alabama State is the reigning champion. We didn't defeat them last year and they went on to play in the championship game. I think you have to beat the champion to become the champion."
"If we play four quarters of sound football, I think we'll be okay. We just haven't done that yet."
Carrie has thrown for 647 yards in three games but has only two TDs and four picks.
MEAC Hopefuls
The matchup in the Meadowlands between
Hampton (3-0, 1-0 MEAC) and Morgan State (1-2, 0-0 MEAC) pits teams who fell just a little short of
defending champion North Carolina A&T in last
year's MEAC race.
In their 2003 matchup at the same venue, Morgan State snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as Hampton converted a 76-yard pass to Jerome Mathis and a two-point conversion to tie MSU at 18 in the final minutes. That was just before an apparent Morgan State touchdown pass to Tommy Manus was waved off. Hampton went on to win in overtime, 24-21.
Hampton is coming off perhaps its biggest win in recent years, a 40-20 blowout over nationally-ranked Western Illinois Saturday in Hampton. The Pirates are ranked 20th this week in the Sports Network I-AA poll, the only black college team currently ranked.
Pirate speedster Jerome Mathis scored on a kickoff return for the second week in a row, taking one back 99 yards for a TD to increase his national-best average to a whopping 46.2 yards per return. He also hauled in a 60-yard scoring pass in the win. Running back Alonzo Coleman, who had 88 rushing yards and two TDs against WIU, is currently fifth in I-AA rushing at 141 yards per game.
Morgan State played at Div. I San Jose State Saturday and battled the Spartans for nearly three quarters before falling 47-28 Saturday.
The Bears are paced by QB Bradshaw "The Big Show" Littlejohn, who leads the MEAC in total offense averaging 318 yards per game (81 rushing, 237 passing), but also has weapons in running back Craig Nelson (95 ypg., 6 TDs), and wide receivers Tommy Manus (14 rec., 2 TDs) and Kelvin Dickens (12 rec., 3 TDs).
Revelations
Among the first month's revelations has been the play
of North Carolina Central (3-1, 1-0 CIAA W) of the
CIAA who has split games with MEAC foes,
getting a win over Delaware State and a close loss to defending
champion North Carolina A&T. The Eagles also have wins over
CIAA East contenders Virginia State and
Bowie State.
If second-year head coach Rod Broadway's troops can avoid a letdown this week against Elizabeth City (1-3, 0-2 CIAA E) in Kinston, N.C., they'll have a showdown with upstart St. Augustine's (2-2, 1-0 CIAA W) next week in Durham. St. Aug's upset cross-town rival Shaw 34-6 Saturday. Also, Bowie State (2-2, 1-1 CIAA E) hosts Winston-Salem State (1-3, 0-1 CIAA W).
SIAC Fun
Undefeated Albany State (4-0), Fort Valley
State (4-0) and Tuskegee (3-0) still appear on a
collision course for SIAC honors. All three are now in the
BCSP Top Ten. The fun should start next week when
Albany State travels to Tuskegee.
This week FVSU hosts Benedict (1-2, 0-1 SIAC). Albany State and Tuskegee are idle.
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.