Thursday this weeks action kicked off with Prairie View A&M hosting Sam Houston State and Texas Southern getting a visit from Houston Baptist.
The Panthers lost to the Bearkats 44-31 after having their original season opener rescheduled due to the havoc that Hurricane Harvey delivered to Houston and surrounding areas last week. As a matter of fact, the theme for the battle against SHSU was ” Houston Strong.” Meanwhile, the Tigers who had already lost to FAMU in week one fell again this week to Houston Baptist 24-17.
This evening there is two games on the HBCU ( Historical Black Colleges and Universities) schedule. Alcorn State is set to take on Florida International in a game that was moved to Birmingham, Alabama as a result of the state of Florida preparing for Hurricane Irma to make land fall. There is also a game in Hampton, Virginia as the Hampton Pirates play host to the Hornets of Delaware State in an early Mid Eastern Athletic Conference clash. Keep your eye on the running games for each team in this one. Hampton features sophomore running back Yankee Johnson who is a MEAC preseason all conference selection. Johnson finished last season with over 700 yards rushing and has the potential to break off for a touchdown run at any time. The Hornets have two running backs that could cause damage in Brycen Alleyne and Mike Waters. The Pirates, by the way, have won the last four meetings between the two schools.
Saturday there are 35 games taking place, and all of the action kicks off at 12 pm Eastern as the Texas College plays Hardin Simmons, Livingstone pay Kentucky Wesleyan a visit, Defending SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) champs Kentucky State battles McKendree and Edward Waters plays Bluefield.
Some featured games in the early action include the Wolves of Cheyney University fresh off their win over Lincoln of PA taking on the Vulcans of California PA. Also, the Bears of Morgan State will host the Great Danes of Albany State University in Baltimore. Both teams are looking to rebound from losses last week. Look for Morgan State to be led by Senior defensive lineman Jai Franklin to anchor the Bears and redshirt senior running back Herb Walker Jr. to give the Great Danes Defense problems.
Later in the afternoon, the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M make the trip to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt, Savannah State battles Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, and Virginia State will face Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte. The Howard Bison who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football a week ago will pay the Golden Flash of Kent State a visit in Ohio. The Bisons’ freshman quarterback Cailyn Newton was the spark plug for the “Go-Go” offense passing for rushing for 190 yards and passing for 140 more in Howards’ opening season victory over UNLV.
The later games Saturday will be filled with even more excitement as Tennessee State takes on Jackson State in Memphis, Tennessee, In the Southern Heritage Classic. This battle of Tigers features Tennessee State all conference wide receiver Patrick Smith, and Jackson State will be led defensively by 6’4″ junior lineman Deion Pope. There will also be a couple of intrastate games taking place as Shaw battles North Carolina Central and Norfolk State host the Tribe of William and Mary. Meanwhile, in a couple of later games, Bethune Cookman takes on Southeastern Louisiana and Clark Atlanta host Central State.
Make sure to check back for results and recaps, to see how your favorite HBCU did this weekend.
Trevin A Jones
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