SWAC title game set; NC Central begins playoffs
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Anthony Jones' Alabama A&M squad became the final team to qualify for a shot at a black college conference championship when they downed Alcorn State 28-21 Saturday to clinch the SWAC East Division title and a spot opposite West Division champ Grambling State in the Dec. 10 SWAC Championship Game in Birmingham.
With the other black college conference
champions already determined, the final weekend of
the regular season, which begins Friday night with
the Texas Southern/Arkansas Pine-Bluff game,
becomes primarily a battle for bragging rights.
But there are a few exceptions.
CIAA champ and No. 2 seed North Carolina Central (10-1) returns to action after a first round playoff bye as it hosts 9-2 North Alabama in a second round NCAA Div. II Southeast Region playoff game (1 p.m.) in Durham (N.C.). North Alabama, seeded sixth in the region, went into Valdosta, Ga. Saturday and dominated defending Div. II champ Valdosta State 40-13 to gain at shot at the Eagles. VSU had defeated North Alabama 26-23 four weeks earlier.
The Lions only other loss this season was a double-overtime 29-26 decision to another playoff participant, Central Arkansas, who defeated SIAC champ Albany State 28-20 in a first round game Saturday.
NCCU will have its hands full with a UNA offense that features wide receiver Anthony Merritt (62 rec., 7 TDs), a Harlon Hill candidate and first team Gulf South Conference selection at receiver and kick returner. QB Vinny Saylor (409-209-12 ints., 60.9%, 25 TDs) , a second team GSC pick, calls the signals for the Lions who also feature RB DeMarcus Blount (583 yards, 12 TDs).
QB Adrian Warren (257-132, 1,776 yards, 17 TDs) and the Eagle offense will have to put some points on the board against UNA, who averages 38 points per game and ranks in the top ten in Div. II in total, rushing and pass efficiency defense. NCCU coach Rod Broadway, who has gotten the Eagles their first 10-win season ever and first CIAA grid title in 25 years, has weapons in RB Greg Pruitt, Jr. (1,054 yards, 10 TDs) and WR Torrey Ross (61 rec., 757 yards, 7 TDs).
MEAC champ Hampton (10-0) looks to keep its' mark as the only undefeated team in NCAA Div. I-AA football when it hosts winless Savannah State (0-10) at 1 p.m. The Pirates, ranked second nationally in both the Sports Network and ESPN/USA Today polls, are already in the I-AA playoffs by virtue of the MEAC champions' automatic bid. Joe Taylor's squad can secure what should be a top-four seeding in the playoffs and at least one home playoff game with another win.
MEAC runner-up South Carolina State (8-2, 6-1) also has potentially more than bragging rights at stake when it takes on traditional season-ending rival North Carolina A&T (3-7, 2-5) Saturday (2 p.m.) in Charlotte, N.C. The Bulldogs are on the bubble for an at-large berth into the 16-team I-AA playoffs and need a win to keep their hopes alive. They are ranked 16th in both the I-AA polls.
A&M earned the SWAC title game berth when defending SWAC champion Alabama State failed in its' third try at putting away the East Division crown. The Hornets added a 38-36 loss Saturday to Mississippi Valley State to losses in consecutive weeks to Grambling State and Alabama A&M. In the title game, A&M (8-2, 6-2) will get its' second shot at Grambling, who dominated the Bulldogs in a 44-0 win on Sept. 10.
A&M finishes the regular season Saturday with a date at surprising Prairie View (4-5, 2-5). The Panthers, in their second year under head coach Henry Frazier, are accomplishing things they haven't done in decades. Last week's 27-9 win over Jackson State was the program's first over the Tigers since 1971, a span of 34 years. The previous week, Frazier's troops got their first SWAC road win since 1988 in a 34-7 pasting of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The two wins are also the Panthers' first back-to-back SWAC wins in 34 years. While Jones would like to keep the momentum of a five-game winning streak going, he says he'll be cautious with his starters.
The Florida Classic pitting Bethune-Cookman against Florida A&M at Orlando's Citrus Bowl (4 p.m.) has averaged over 70,000 fans for the past five years and has surpassed New Orleans' Bayou Classic as the largest attended game in black college football. The 26th edition of the classic rivalry has some spice this year as Alvin Wyatt's B-CC Wildcats (7-3, 4-3) and new FAMU coach Rubin Carter's Rattlers (5-5, 4-3) battle for fourth place in the MEAC.
The Jackson State/Alcorn State Capital City Classic matchup in Jackson would normally be one of the biggest draws but with JSU struggling at 2-8, attendance is almost as far down as the Tigers' program. JSU interim head coach Daryl Jones, who replaced James Bell who was fired three weeks ago, would like nothing better than to end the season on a winning note.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.