Thursday’s results
Delta State 48, Fort Valley State 7
Kennesaw State 56, East Tennessee State 16
Saturday’s games
Point at Bluefield, noon
Kentucky Christian at Reinhardt, noon
Berry at Maryville, 1:30 p.m.
Faith at Shorter, 1:30 p.m.
West Georgia at Catawba, 1:30 p.m.
Clark Atlanta at Tuskegee, 2 p.m.
Georgia Military at Kilgore, 2 p.m.
Savannah State at Colorado State, 4 p.m.
Mercer at Austin Peay, 5 p.m.
Birmingham-Southern at LaGrange, 6 p.m.
Edward Waters at Morehouse, 7 p.m.
Valdosta State at Albany State, 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern at West Virginia, 7:30 p.m.
Kevin Ramsey has been at his new job as coach at Clark Atlanta for less than a month.
Forget about installing complicated schemes. He’s still learning his players’ names.
“We’re keeping it simple and concise and having fun,” Ramsey said. “We’re looking forward to seeing our guys execute what’s been installed.”
Ramsey, who turns 54 on Saturday, was hired July 7, leaving his job as the defensive coordinator at Alabama State, a FCS program. He was the defensive coordinator at Georgia in 1999, has been an NFL assistant and was the interim coach at Texas Southern in 2011.
His birthday present is the opener at Tuskegee, the defending SIAC champion and Division II playoff team.
“What an opportunity for us,” Ramsey said. “We open with a good football program. We covet the opportunity to go in there and display what we have.”
Ramsey has brought in two quarterbacks — Matthew Vincent from Southern Illinois and DaShawn Blow from Alabama State — and moved Trenton Earl, last year’s starter to receiver.
He’s looking for grad student Jorden Paige, an end who transferred from Central State, to provide leadership for the defense.
“The kids have been appreciative, and they’re buying into what we’re doing,” Ramsey said.
Etc: Mercer returns 20 starters — nine on offense and 11 on defense — from a team that was 6-6 in its first season in the FCS. The Bears are 18-6 since restarting the football program two years ago. … Dale Jackson returns at quarterback for Berry after throwing for 2,083 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. … West Georgia is No. 3 in the D2football.com preseason poll and fourth in the AFCA Coaches poll after reaching the Division II semifinals last season in coach Will Hall's first year. Valdosta State also is ranked in both polls. … Shorter safety Jordan Shaw (Jasper County) has been selected to five Division II preseason All-American teams after he led the Gulf South Conference with eight interceptions.
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