Phillips, Fayetteville State soaring, looking for more
ROSCOE NANCE
BCSP Contributing Writer
Handicappers didn't pay a whole lot of attention to Fayetteville State as they sized up the CIAA before the season began.
Even though coach Kenny Phillips warned everyone, "We're on the verge if all the pieces fall into the right place."
People should
have listened.
The Broncos are atop the CIAA with an 8-1 record, their best since joining the conference in 1954, and they clinched the Western Division title with two games to play. It is their first division or conference title ever.
But Phillips doesn't think the Broncos, up to No. 19 in Division II, have had a Cinderella season after guiding them to 3-7 and 6-4 records in his first two seasons. He says the key to the season has been experience. He has a core group of seniors who have been with him since he took over.
One of those seniors is running back DeAngelo Bridges, who is No.2 in the CIAA in rushing with 740 yards. Bridges has scored 10 touchdowns and he averages 5.0 yards a carry.
Bridges rushed for 215 yards and scored three TDs as the Broncos defeated Johnson C. Smith, 30-6 on Oct. 26 to clinch the West title. They will play Bowie State or Virginia State in the CIAA Championship game Nov. 16 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"This year we were looking forward to having had guys for three years," he says. "It was time to break out and win some games that we lost last season. I wouldn't say it has been a Cinderella season. We're on schedule."
If anything, last year was a Cinderella season for the Broncos. The got off to a 6-2 start and had the division championship in their sights. But the clock struck midnight when they lost their last two games, and they didn't get to go to the ball.
"We didn't finish the season. The kids are more focused on finishing what we started this year."
Patience has been key for Phillips. He didn't come in trying to run athletes off and looking to bring in his own recruits.
"When we implemented our program, we knew we would be a success," Phillips says. "Those who believed stuck around. Others drifted. We recruited players that we thought could be the type of players we wanted. We got those players."
Phillips did two things that were significant. Rather than recruiting Division II caliber players, he went after athletes he thought could play at the Division I level.
"In the long run, if you get four or five you think are Division I, they can make an instant impact."
The other thing Phillips did was to upgrade the Broncos' schedule. He added Tennessee Tech, a I-AA program, in his second season and Division II power Catawba this year.
The Broncos lost both games, but Phillips says his team benefited from the contests.
"We used that as a measure of where we were," he says. "We showed if we get out and do what we're coached to do, we can play with anybody."
The highlight of the season was the Broncos' 30-26 quadruple overtime victory against former two-time defending CIAA champion Winston-Salem State.
"That was one of the games we had to win in order to get to where want to get," says Phillips.
The Broncos got to where they wanted to be, in the CIAA championship game, with their victory against Johnson C. Smith. Now they want more.
"Not only do we want to play in the CIAA championship game, we want to play n the Division II playoffs."
Phillips says the Broncos must defeat Virginia Union this weekend in their regular season finale and win the CIAA championship to have a shot at the playoffs.
"We have to win just about every game we play," he says. "At this point in the season you can't take a loss. If you take a loss you pretty much knock yourself out."
© 2002 Azeez Communications, Inc.