Early SIAC lead at stake in Tuskegee
Roscoe Nance
Special to the BCSP
Tuskegee or Albany State could be the odd man out in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference race following their showdown Saturday in Tuskegee, Ala. (1 p.m.).
Albany State (4-0), the defending SIAC champion ranked third in the latest BCSP ranking, Tuskegee (3-0), which won three consecutive SIAC titles before being dethroned last season and currently ranked fifth, and Fort Valley State (5-0) in at sixth, are all undefeated as they joust for the SIAC crown. The Tuskegee-Albany State loser won't have much wiggle room for the remainder of the season with Fort Valley looming on the horizon for both.
"Whoever wins this games stays in the driver's seat,'' Albany State
coach Mike White says, adding that even
though it's only the first weekend in October, the contest will have the feel of a
championship game.
"That's true. Definitely,'' White says. "We're looking at it as that type of game.''
Tuskegee coach Rick Comegy isn't attaching the same amount of importance to the game as White, but he recognizes that a win is critical to both teams' title hopes.
"I guess it appears to look like a championship game,'' Comegy says. "Both have undefeated records. But you've got some good teams out there. I'm still concerned about Fort Valley. I can only look at it as a game on the schedule. You can't overlook anyone. I don't want to focus on Albany and get upset down the road. I don't want Albany to become so big that they become the mountain. There are so many games to play.''
Both coaches expect a physical game which will be dominated by defenses.
"They're known as a physical team,'' Comegy says. "They're a good team. But I don't think they're anything exceptional. I'm sure some people are awed by them. They're well-balanced. They have a big line and a good quarterback. They're a good solid team. Mike has his hands on a good team. I think I have one too. I'm not sweating it. I'm going in feeling my team is going to get it.''
Albany State's strength has been it's ability to run the ball and defend the run. The Rams have outscored opponents 138-48 en route to a 4-0 record and a No.8 ranking in Division II. Running back Antonio Atkins leads Albany State's ground game, averaging 115 yards a game.
Tuskegee on the other hand has arguably the fastest team in the SIAC and excels at making big plays.
"Speed and skill in all areas,'' Comegy says. "The game is predicated on speed. You've got to have it. If you make a mistake, you can't recover if you're a slow team.''
White is aware of Tuskegee's speed, and the Golden Rams' No.1 priority will be to take away the Golden Tigers' big plays.
We have to play sound football for four quarters,'' White says, "and take care of the ball. If we play Ram ball we should be fine.''
Both teams enter the game well-rested. Albany State will be coming off a bye week. Tuskegee will have had a two-week layoff after the Golden Tigers' Sept. 18 contest against Benedict was postponed because of Hurricane Ivan. Comegy says he would have preferred not to have a two-week layoff, but he doesn't expect it to be a factor one way or another.
"We're using the two weeks off as a positive,'' Comegy says. "You can think about it anyway you want,'' he says. "It's not our fault we have it. It's the luck of nature. It means a little bit more rest, more weight time, film time, more time to prepare. We may be rusty. We may be this, and we may be that. We're not looking at the maybes.''
White says the only problem the layoff has posed for his squad is it has thrown the teams' film exchange off a little.
"After four tough games, it's a good opportunity to get everyone healed up no matter who it is you're playing,'' he says.
Other games
CIAA West Division leader North
Carolina Central (4-1, 2-0 W) travels Saturday to face
its closest pursuer, St. Augustine's (2-3, 1-1 W),
at Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C. (1:30 p.m.).
The Eagles, who broke into the BCSP Top Ten this week at No. 10, boast the league's second leading rusher in Greg Pruitt, Jr., (102.4 ypg.,) and passing and total offense leader in QB Adrian Warren (167.6 passing yards, 176 total yards). Torrey Ross tops CIAA receivers with 29 receptions in five games for 279 yards and four touchdowns. NCCU leads the CIAA scoring charts at 30.4 points per game.
NCCU is coming off a 28-20 win over Elizabeth City State last week.
Redshirt freshman Matthew Perry (27-62-3, 402 yds., 6 TDs) has taken over for injured QB Darrell Nesbitt in St. Aug's attack. Nesbitt was lost for the season after tearing ligaments in his throwing hand in the Mars Hill game.
Sophomore WR/KR Eddie Montgomery has been the big play guy for the Falcons, averaging 25 yards per reception while scoring five TDs and leading the conference in all-purpose yards (117.8 ypg.).
St. Aug's came back from a 20-0 halftime deficit to get within 20-16 against Virginia Union last week but had their final drive end at the VUU 2-yard line.
In other CIAA action, Shaw (3-2, 2-1 E) and Bowie State (3-2, 2-1 E) meet in Raleigh in a key East Division matchup while West Division rivals Winston-Salem State (1-4, 1-1) and Fayetteville State (3-2, 1-1) tangle at the WSSU homecoming.
The SWAC features a rematch from the 2003 Championship Game when Southern (2-2, 1-0 W) takes on BCSP No. 1 and SWAC East leader Alabama State (4-0, 2-0 E) in Montgomery, Ala. (4 p.m.)
The Hornets are coming off a big 41-8 win over Alcorn State Saturday while Southern dropped a 31-24 decision to South Dakota State. Southern defeated Alabama State twice in 2003, 35-10 in the regular season and 20-9 in the SWAC title game.
Also in the SWAC, Prairie View (2-1, 1-1 W) gets Grambling (1-2, 0-2 W) at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas at the State Fair Classic while Alabama A&M (2-2, 2-0 E) is at Texas Southern (0-4, 0-2 W).
In MEAC games, NC A&T (2-2, 0-0) is at Norfolk State (0-3, 0-1) for the Fish Bowl (4 p.m), conference leader Hampton (4-0, 2-0) visits Delaware State (0-4, 0-0) and Morgan State (1-3, 0-1) hosts Bethune-Cookman (2-1, 1-0) in a game to be carried on ISM/MEAC TV.
In inter-conference play, Florida A&M (1-3) hosts Virginia Union (1-4) while South Carolina State (2-1) meets Tennessee State (3-1) at the Circle City Classic (4 p.m.) at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis to be televised on tape by BET at 7 p.m.
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.