Inside Hotlanta and the SIAC

By Hal Lamar

Miles 41, Tuskegee 36…No Typo!!!!

ATLANTA- The hard core at Miles  College in Fairfield, Alabama just a stone’s throw south of downtown Birmingham might  scoff at my headline but they know that the odds were against them to beat  Willie Slater’s Goldens.  After all, they  were playing the game at Cleve Abbott Stadium on Tuskegee’s campus.  The old-timers call the place “Death Valley”  because the bones of so many ‘Skegee opponents are scattered all over the  non-lighted field. Tuskegee is defending the crown they won last year. Tuskegee  was also arguably the best team in the conference. They boast the best W-L in  the conference and until Miles, their only loss of this season was 35-13 to  Winston Salem on the road.

But  apparently Miles’ Reggie Ruffin paid no attention to that and  his “winning disease” became epidemic among  his Bear elevens. By halftime, Miles was leading 34-14 .. Tuskegee outscored  Miles 22-7 in the second half but turned the ball over twice which Miles took  advantage of.

David Thomas, the red-shirt senior, put on a  scoring clinic, accounting for all six of Miles’ touchdowns, five of them in  the air. In fact, the Bears were poised to score a seventh TD when time ran out.  Miles returns for the second time to the conference championship game in  Atlanta this Saturday and their opponents will be the team that they beat 20-17  in SIAC Championship one - Albany State. The Rams defeated Fort Valley 19-10  and also utilized the services of their now celebrated quarterback, junior  Frank Rivers who threw for two touchdowns, one a game-clinching  63 yarder to Adrian Alexander  I must say I was disappointed with the  lack  of  sportsmanship and discipline displayed by some Wildcats. It forced me to the  statistical chart which revealed that Donnie Pittman’s Wildcats were the most  penalized team in the conference. In nine games. FVSU was flagged 125 times for  1135 yards, which averages to 126.1 negative yards per game. That, to me, is a  sign of discipline meltdown. Pittman’s got to get a handle on that fast…..

ELSEWHERE IN THE CONFERENCE- The  Panthers of Clark-Atlanta University will wrap up their 2013 season and the  maiden voyage of head coach Kevin Weston this Saturday when they travel to  Baton Rouge Louisiana to face  Southern  University.

The Jaguars, first in the western  division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and with an overall  record of 6-4, are coached by Dawson Odums who once piloted CAU in 2004.

Clark-AU travels to Baton  Rouge after achieving their third victory of 2013 last weekend over visiting  Edward Waters College from Jacksonville Florida. As was the case against  Morehouse back in late September, Edward Waters played tough against the  Panthers , racking up 21 points in the fourth period after trailing 28-7 at the  break . It was too little, too late, however to overcome the CAU lead, much of  which was gathered in the first period.Robinson

Morehouse, meanwhile,  ended the 2013 grid campaign with a bang…..for their opponent. The Tigers were  shut out by hosts Kentucky State 44-0. It avenges last year’s 55-7 pasting  Morehouse handed the Thorobreds. Credit for the Morehouse whitewashing this  year goes to KSU junior quarterback Adam Robinson. The California native threw  for 323 yards and five touchdowns. Morehouse, racked by injuries to key  players, could only get 50 yards from quarterback Joshua Harris who was sacked  five times. The win was also the first for KSU’s Joshua Dean as head coach. He  had been serving in the capacity as interim since March.

The season-ending loss for Morehouse  leaves them at 2-8, their worst finish since a similar record in 1999. ……Central  State couldn’t hold on to a 24-6 lead at halftime over Johnson C Smith and  wound up losing to the Golden Bulls 26-24…..Stillman had no troubles defeating  the College of Faith 42-0. All of the Tigers’ points came in the first half…..

XTRA POINTS: WyattFormer Bethune-Cookman  head coach Alvin Wyatt is getting another shot at head coach. He was named  interim head coach at Jacksonville Florida’s Edward Waters College last week.  He got the job following the firing of Brad Bernard who ironically worked as a  position coach 11 of the 13 years of Wyatt’s tenure at BC. Wyatt says he would “absolutely”  accept the permanent post if offered. I believe he’ll get it if he can win the  team’s final game for the season at home against College of Faith this weekend……  God willing, INSIDE will be Louisiana for the next two weeks covering CAU and  Southern this weekend in Baton Rouge and staying over with family in nearby  Hammond until the November 30 Bayou Classic between Southern and Grambling in N’Orleans.  The so-called “G men” avoided a potentially winless season when they defeated  Mississippi Valley last week 47-40. Southern meanwhile, is two games away from  a trip to the SWAC championship game in Houston December 7. Returning to the  championship for the first time since 2004 would be a feather in the cap for  Dawson Odums, who once coached at Clark-AU in 2004. The Jags have been to the  big dance three times since they were one of the inaugural teams in 1999. Their  record is 2-1…..Speaking of New Orleans and the Bayou, I am reminded that  Harrah’s has an excellent buffet and veterans don’t have to wait until Veterans  Day to get a break. They offer us military types a 25% discount off the cost of  the food. You’re on your own with the gambling…..

THIS WEEK’S GAMES AND  PICKS

Southern over Clark-AU- Saturday,  6pm, Baton Rouge Louisiana

Miles over Albany State-Saturday,7pm,  Lakewood Stadium, Atlanta (SIAC Championship)

(Note: This is the second meeting  between these two schools for the conference crown. In championship game one,  Miles used a field goal to defeat ASU 20-17……

Got an item? Contact Hal -> hallamar at comcast.net