The idea of the Nation’s Football Classic is to pit Morehouse against Howard in a meeting of two prominent historically black colleges and universities.
By the time the game kicks off Saturday at RFK Stadium, there will have been plenty of activities surrounding the game. The schedule started Thursday with a symposium at Howard and continued with events that included student debates and step shows for fraternities and sororities.
But for the Morehouse football team, all the hoopla of the weekend boils down to a chance to make a statement against the Bison.
“Kids at a Division II school always have chip on their shoulders that they didn’t get a chance to get recruited by I-AA [now FCS],” Morehouse coach Rich Freeman said.
The Maroon Tigers may be fired up for an upset, but they will have a significant disadvantage in manpower. Freeman said his team has 22 scholarships compared to 55 for Howard, which plays at the FCS level.
Yet Morehouse showed off its talent during a season-opening victory over Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association-foe Miles at Birmingham’s Legion Field. The game was supposed to be competitive — Morehouse and Miles each was picked to finish third in their respective conference divisions — but the Maroon Tigers rolled to a 47-9 victory.
Morehouse had 427 yards of offense and 29 first downs while Miles managed just 123 yards. Freeman said special teams were the only negative for Morehouse, which muffed a punt return and suffered from short kickoffs.
Morehouse’s preparations for Howard were complicated because poor weather scuttled some of its practice plans this week. Freeman said the teams also weren’t able to exchange game videos. Howard has a new head coach, Gary Harrell, and opened with a 41-9 loss at FBS (formerly Division I-A) foe Eastern Michigan.
Howard and Morehouse last met in football in 1997. Howard leads the all-time series, which began in 1923, 20-10-2.
The Nation’s Football Classic, organized by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority and the United Negro College Fund, is scheduled to be played again in 2012 and 2013 with Morehouse vs. Howard.
“Our athletic director [Andre Pattillo] did a really good job of pushing for this game for quite some time and we were finally able to get it done,” Freeman said. “We are thankful to have it. It’s great exposure to be in the nation’s capital and play on a big stage.”
Jennings saves Albany State
Down 34-30 to Savannah State, Albany State needed to go 63 yards in 45 seconds.
Quarterback Stanley Jennings figured that was enough.
“That’s too much time they gave us,” Jennings told The Albany Herald. “I was just keeping composure. I always had faith.”
Jennings, a former Marietta High standout, ran for a 12-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left for a wild 37-34 victory over Savannah State on Saturday. It was the third lead change in the final 1:20 of the game.
Albany State took a 19-0 lead and was ahead 22-6 in the third quarter before Savannah State scored 21 consecutive points. Jennings completed a pair of passes before running for the winning score.
“I told them I would rather go back and correct our mistakes with a win than go back with a loss,” Rams coach Mike White told The Herald. “We will take the win and go further. As I have been saying all along, this team has a long way to go.”
Etc.
Georgia Southern’s Laron Scott returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to shift momentum to the Eagles in their 31-17 victory over Samford. It was the first time Georgia Southern scored on a kickoff return since Sept. 9, 2008, vs. Elon (Samir Baker). ... Albany State has signed Luke Jones, an Australian-rules player, to handle kicking and punting duties. The Rams had a field goal and punt blocked in their victory over Savannah State. Coach Mike White told the Albany Herald Jones probably wouldn’t arrive in time for Saturday’s game vs. Wingate. ... After beating Wingate on a last-second field goal in 2010, Valdosta State won Saturday’s rematch on Austen Roberts’ touchdown run in the second overtime. Valdosta State had blocked a Wingate field-goal attempt to set up the decisive score. ... Morehouse left tackle Jarvis Canty was named the SIAC offensive lineman of the week. ... Fort Valley State junior Christopher Slaughter was named the SIAC newcomer of the week after he had 10 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns against Florida A&M.
Quotable
“In this bottom-line business, it is still an ‘L’ in our book. We don’t want to pat ourselves on the back too much in terms of making the game close. We want to go with a message of success.” — Savannah State coach Steve Davenport on his team’s 37-34 loss to Albany State, its 20th in a row.
“Where can I start? Blocking, tackling, taking care of the football, catching the ball, assignments, effort. We’ve got tons of improvement to make.” — Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken on which areas his team needs to improve after its sloppy 31-17 victory over Samford.
By the numbers
195 Return yards for West Georgia’s Denarius Appling vs. Tusculum, including a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown.
5 Career highs set by Valdosta State quarterback Austen Roberts in a 34-28 double-overtime victory over Wingate. Roberts had two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, 88 rushing yards, 19 completions and 33 attempts.
Schedule
Saturday
Morehouse vs. Howard (Washington, D.C), 3:30 p.m.
Clark Atlanta vs. Lane, 6 p.m.
Fort Valley State vs. Delta State, 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern vs. Tusculum 6 p.m.
Albany State vs. Wingate, 7 p.m.
Valdosta State vs. Newberry, 7 p.m.
West Georgia vs. Miles, 7 p.m.
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