Just a reminder for college basketball fans to check out one of the most in-depth college basketball blogs out there, RushTheCourt.WordPress.com. I had the great fortune of posting season previews for the MEAC and SWAC conferences for the site, and will hopefully be maitaining regular updates on the conferences throughout the season.
If you are interested, here are the previews.
Here are the black college football players of the week from the CIAA, MEAC, SIAC, and SWAC.
CIAA Football Players of the Week- Week Two
Offensive Lineman of the Week:
Kynneth Moses, Virginia Union University
Position: OL Height: 6-2 Weight: 304 Class: Sr. Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Kynneth Moses anchored an offensive line that allowed the Panthers to post 430 yards of total offense; including a running back, Tarian Donaldson, that rushed for 196 yards.
Receiver of the Week:
Dexter Manley, Elizabeth City State University
Position: WR Height: 6-3 Weight: 190 Class: Jr Hometown: Chesapeake,VA
In Saturday’s game vs. Catawba, Manley caught 8 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was his longest reception of the day for 67 yards.
Offensive Back of the Week:
Leonard Johnson, Virginia State University
Position: QB Class: SO Weight: 190 Height: 6-0 Hometown: Florence, SC
Johnson, making his first start for the Trojans, connected on 21 of 29 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns as Virginia State beat Johnson C. Smith 43-16 on Sunday. Johnson’s 21 completions were the most for a Trojan QB since Michael Terry completed 24 passes against George Mason University one year ago.
Defensive Lineman of the Week:
Marcus Crump, Saint Augustine’s College
Position: DE Height: 6-6 Weight: 240 Class: Jr. Hometown: Pittsboro, NC
Crump led the Falcons with 11 total tackles, which tied a game-high. He also had 1 tackle for a loss of six yards and 0.5 sacks for four yards.
Linebacker of the Week:
Isaac Mitchell, Virginia State University
Position: LB Height: 6-0 Weight: 235 Class: Sr. Hometown: Long Beach, NY
Mitchell led all defenders with 15 tackles as VSU downed Johnson C. Smith, 43-16 on Sunday. Mitchell had eight solo and seven assisted tackles.
Defensive Back of the Week:
Rod Jones, Elizabeth City State University
Position: FS Height: 6-1 Weight: 185 Class: Sr. Hometown: Sussex, VA
Jones had a career day against Catawba where he led all defenders with a game high 12 tackles (career high- 7 solo, 5 assisted) including 1.5 for a loss of nine yards, a fumble recovery and his first career sack; which hit for a loss of 8 yards.
Rookie of the Week:
Taron Hampton, Virginia State University
Position: RB Height: 5-9 Weight: 185 Class: Fr. Hometown: Powhatan, VA
Hampton rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns as Virginia State downed Johnson C. Smith 43-16 on Sunday in Rogers Stadium. Hampton also had 54 yards receiving for 194 all-purpose yards. This is the second straight game this true freshman has rushed for more than 100 yards.
Specialty Player of the Week:
Reggie Smith, Elizabeth City State University
Position: WR Height: 5-11 Weight: 195 Class: Jr. Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN
Smith amassed 116 yards on kickoff returns against Catawba, including a 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also returned two punts for 30 yards, bringing his all-purpose yardage to 146 yards on the day.
Coach of the Week:
Greg Richardson, Virginia Union University
Richardson recorded his first win as the head coach of the Panthers with a convincing 35-14 win over West Virginia Wesleyan College.
MEAC Players of the Week
Quarterback Vashon Winton of Delaware State was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Football Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. Endor Cooper of Howard earned the Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
Willie Carter, also of Howard, and Alvis Graham of Florida A&M earned Co-Rookie of the Week accolades, while Johnny Culbreath of South Carolina State earned the Offensive Lineman of the Week honor. Nick Lochner of Delaware State and LeRoy Vann of Florida A&M also split conference honors as they were selected as Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors, respectively.
Winton (QB, 6-2, 200, r-Sr., Chicago, Ill.) accounted for all five of the DSU Hornets touchdowns to lead them to a 35-28 season opening victory over Florida A&M. Winton recorded a career-high four touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime. He carried the ball 14 times and amassed 73 yards. He also completed 21-of-33 passes for 178 yards including a touchdown by air in the team’s first defense of the conference title.
Cooper (LB, 6-4, 245, r-Sr., Woodbridge, Va.) tallied a career-high 18 tackles, including a career-best 13 solos in Howard’s loss to Georgetown. He defensive efforts led to 2.5 tackles for a loss of five yards in the Bison’s home opener.
Carter (WR, 6-0, 180, Fr., Denmark, SC) caught four passes including the team’s only touchdown of the Bison/Georgetown matchup. His five-yard catch for a touchdown in the first quarter was the game’s only score in the first half.
Graham (LB, 6-2, 225, r-Fr., Orlando, Fla.) finished the FAMU/Hornet’s matchup with a career high 11 tackles (5 solo, 6 asst) in just his second contest as a starter at the weak side linebacker position.
Culbreath (OT, 6-6, 310, So., Monroe, Ga.) anchored the Bulldogs offensive line that led to 412 total offensive yards including 188 on the ground. He also posted five pancake blocks, three knockdown blocks and seven cuts in SCSU’s 44-3 win over Benedict College.
Lochner (P, Jr., 6-1, 160, Webster, NY) recorded seven punts, averaging 40.1 yards per kick, including a 61-yarder on his first punt of the Hornets matchup against the Rattlers. He also pinned the Rattlers deep in their territory on each kick, placing the ball inside the 10 yard line four times.
Vann (DB, 5-9, 185, Jr., Tampa, Fla.) finished the game with six tackles, five solo, and had an 80-yard kickoff return for TD that tied the game at 28 to send it into overtime play.
SIAC Players of the Week
Co-Offensive Players of the Week
Jacary Atkinson – Tuskegee (Sr, QB, 6-3, 210, Valley, AL)
In three quarters of play, Atkinson completed 18 of 30 passes for 258 yards and one TD while rushing nine times for 139 yards and two touchdowns leading the Golden Tigers to a 34-0 shutout of Miles College.
Achille Hendje – Morehouse (Sr, WR, 6-2, 190, Silver Spring, MD)
Hendje caught eight passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns in a come-from-behind victory over Fort Valley State on ESPNU. His performance was the eighth best in Morehouse history.
Defensive Player of the Week
Joshua Ingram – Albany State (Soph, DL, 6-6, 305, Milledgeville, GA)
In a game that was called at the end of the first half, Ingram had six tackles (4 solo) a fumble recovery, one QB sack and a pass breakup.
Newcomer of the Week
Cedric Johnson – Clark Atlanta (Sr, QB, 5-11, 197, Americus, GA)
Johnson completed 11 of 19 passes for 187 yds and one TD and rushed eight times for 62 yards and another touchdown in CAU win over West Georgia.
Special Teams Players of the Week
Michah Streiff – Morehouse (Sr, K, 5-11, 175, Decatur, GA)
Streiff kicked a 24-yard FG with two seconds remaining to give Maroon Tigers a 38-35 win over FVSU. He had kicked two field goals earlier (20 and 33 yds) and punted four times for a 37.2 yard average.
Co-Offensive Linemen of the Week
Frank Wilson – Clark Atlanta (Sr, G, 5-10, 265, Ellenwood, GA)
Graded out at 98% with three pancake blocks while anchoring an offensive line that gained 463 total yards (220 passing, 243 rushing) without giving up a sack.
Zach Carr – Kentucky State (Sr, OL, 6-3, 330, Detroit, MI)
Graded out at 98% for an offensive line that produced 395 yards of total offense (285 passing, 164 rushing) and scored on three of three chances in the red zone.
SWAC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE – QB Bryant Lee, Southern; 6-2, 195; JR, Boutte, LA
Lee completed 30 of 40 passes for 305 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT and rushed nine times for 42 yards in a 34-32 loss at Tennessee State.
Lee threw touchdown passes of 39, 11, 20, and 13 yards, the final three scoring passes in the second half. He directed a Southern offense that gained 461 total yards.
DEFENSIVE – CB Jason Fobbs, Prairie View A&M; 5-10, 180; SR, Shreveport, LA
Fobbs made two interceptions in the Panthers’ 53-0 win over Texas College. Fobbs made his first pick in the first quarter that led to a PVAMU field goal and a 10-0 lead.
In the third quarter, Fobbs made his second interception and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 32-0. He helped the Panthers limit Texas College to only five of 17 completions for 17 net yards.
SPECIALIST – DB Jeffery Jack, Grambling State; 6-0, 208; SR, Houston,TX
In the second quarter, Jack came free over the right side of the Alcorn State protection to block a punt attempt, recovered the ball and ran 15 yards untouched into the end zone for GSU’s first score of the game as the Tigers won 29-0.
Jack, who also had five tackles on defense, helped limit Alcorn State to a 3.0 yard average on punt returns, and 19.0 yard avg. on kickoff returns.
NEWCOMER – QB J.P. Tillman, Grambling State; 6-3, 238; SO, Houston, TX
Tillman was instant offense off the Grambling State bench, leading the Tigers to a touchdown on his first offensive series in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Tillman directed three scoring drives (2 TDs, 1 FG) to open the second half as Grambling State went on to a 29-0 victory over Alcorn State.
For the game, Tillman completed 12 of 25 passes for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both scoring passes (4, 14 yards) went to TE Larry Donnell.
One of the things that plague black college sports is their lack of web presence. Hardcore fans want quick access to stats and features, while the casual fan just wants a place to find pictures and general info.
So it’s nice to see that the MEAC got itself together on the website tip. Flash technology and plenty of imagery make the conference’s web experience much more enjoyable and efficient for information gathering.
I’ve always ranked the conference websites like in the order of informational archives, and overall presentation. To that end, the CIAA and MEAC were in the top slots with the SIAC in a close third and the SWAC in a distant fourth.
Kudos to the MEAC administration for getting ahead of the other black college conferences on an appealing web presence. Now if only they could do the same for their commissioner…
