Week four of the HBCU football season kicked off with plenty of excitement Thursday night. In Durham, North Carolina the second-ranked Eagles of North Carolina Central started defense of their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship with a 33 to 28 come from behind win over South Carolina St. Coach Jerry Macks’ Eagles were led by three different quarterbacks. Starter Micah Zanders left the game with an apparent shoulder injury early in the first half; backups Chauncy Caldwell and Nail Ramadan played the rest of the game with Ramadan connecting on a key touchdown pass and Caldwell connected on the eventual game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Josh McCoy with 5:24 left in regulation.
Saturday the MEAC conference opening season action continues as Bethune Cookman pays a visit to the Nations Capital to take on the Howard Bison. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2014, where the Wildcats defeated the Bison 49-12 in Daytona Beach. Just up the highway in Baltimore, the Bears of Morgan State will host the Aggies of North Carolina A&T, Norfolk State takes a trip up I-95 to battle the Hornets of Delaware State, Florida A&M who is off to a 1-2 start this season will take on the winless Tigers of Savannah State in Georgia. Meanwhile in Virginia Hampton gets a visit from non-conference opponent Monmouth.
In the SWAC ( Southwestern Athletic Conference) the top-ranked Tigers of Grambling State pay a visit to Itta Bean, Mississippi to take on Mississippi Valley State. Coach Broderick Fobbs has led GSU to two consecutive unbeaten seasons in conference play and look to start their third run against the winless Delta Devils. Meanwhile, Alabama A&M takes on Texas Southern in the Louis Crew Classic and10th ranked Southern will battle Alcorn State. Staying in the state of Mississippi, Jackson State host Arkansas Pine-Bluff and in Alabama, the Hornets of Alabama State get a visit from Prairie View A&M.
In the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) The fifth-ranked Bull Dogs of Bowie State are 3-0 this season and open conference play hosting the Bears of Shaw. BSU is led by Quarterback Amir “Showtime” Hall, who has already passed for 888 yards and averages 296 yards per game.Meanwhile, the sixth-ranked Trojans of Virginia State are back in action after a week off and will host the Rams of Winston Salem State. In other CIAA conference play Elizabeth City State host Johnson C. Smith, Virginia Union gets a visit from Fayetteville State, St Augustine’s is at Lincoln (PA) and Chowan battles Livingstone.
In the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) the sixth-ranked Golden Rams of Albany State will play out of conference against West Georgia and The Golden Tigers of Tuskegee will do the same taking on Findley. Meanwhile in conference play, The Panthers of Clark-Atlanta look for their third win of the season taking on the Dragons of Lane and there will be a battle of cats as Fort Valley State takes on Benedict. There will also be a couple of classics taking place as Central State meets Kentucky State in the “Circle City Classic” in Indianapolis and Miles and Morehouse clash in the “Prince Hall Americanism Football Classic “ in Fairfield, Alabama.
And in HBCU independent action fourth-ranked Tennessee State, who currently tops in the Ohio Valley Conference is looking for its fourth consecutive win this season in a battle against conference foe UT-Martin. West Virginia State takes on Shepard, Virginia University Lynchburg battles the University of Faith, Cheyney will clash with Bloomsburg, Texas College faces Wayland Baptist and Edward Waters will be out to defeat the University of Cumberlands. The undefeated Langston Lions will look for their third win of the season in a battle with Bacone in the OKC Classic and the Blue Tigers of Lincoln of Missouri are celebrating an early homecoming as they host Truman State.
UMT Black College Football Payers Watch List (Week 4):
Amir “ShowTime” Hall 6’4” 180 Lb Junior Quarterback Bowie State :
– Hall has already completed 60 of 85 passing attempts in 3 games this season for 888 yards and 11 Touchdowns
– Ranked 5th nationally in NCAA D-2 Passing Efficiency. ( 201.0)
– Ranked 12th nationally in NCAA D-2 passing yards
Lamar Raynard 6’4” 200 Lb Junior Quarterback North Carolina A&T State :
-Ranked number two nationally in FCS passing Efficiency (211.7)
-Tied for third nationally in FCS football for points responsible for (62)
Darvin Kidsy 6’1” 180 Lb Senior Wide Receiver Texas Southern :
-Ranked number two nationally in FCS receiving yards per game (124.5)
Calil Wilkins 5’7” 201 Lb Freshman Running Back West Virginia State :
-Ranked 4th nationally in NCAA D-2 Football rushing yard (441)
Osband Thompson 6’0” 205 lb Senior Linebacker Tuskegee :
-Ranked 4th nationally in NCAA D-2 Football Total Tackles per game (13.7)
Make sure to check back for this weekends results and UMT Top Ten Poll.
Trevin A Jones
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