NC A&T, Cohen Go out On

For the Week of December 22 - 28, 2015 F I N A L B C S P F O O T B A L L T O P T E N

1. North Carolina A&T (10-2) - Rod Broadway's Aggies tral with 7-1 league mark. Only MEAC loss was at A&T, 24-14. Only other loss was tied for the MEAC title with N. C. Central and Bethune-Cook- to Miami (45-0) to start the season. man (7-1) and then, primarily thanks to RB Tarik Cohen's 295- 5. Grambling State (9-3) - After losses to Cal (63-14) and Bethune-Cookman yard, 3-TD rushing effort, beat then No. 1, SWAC champion 56-53) to open the season, ran off nine straight wins to take SWAC West Division Alcorn State, 41-34 in first Celebration Bowl. Only losses were title with 9-0 SWAC record. Fell to E. Div. champ Alcorn State 49-21 in SWAC title to UNC (53-14) in the second week of the season and to N. game after defeating the Braves 35-34 in the regular season. ™ C. Central (21-16) to close the regular season and deny them BROADWAY: Win 6. PRAIRIE VIEW A&M (8-2) - Finished second behind Grambling State in SWAC the outright MEAC crown. in final game gets West with 8-1 league record in first year under head coach Willie Simmons. Lost to 2. North Carolina Central (8-3) - Knocked off NC top spot for Aggies. Grambling 70-54 and Texas State 43-24. A&T 21-16 in the last week of the regular season to earn tie 7. South Carolina State (7-4) - Finished fourth behind MEAC tri-champions. with the Aggies and Bethune-Cookman for the MEAC crown with 7-1 records. Had Had close 3-point MEAC losses to Bethune-Cookman (17-14) and to NC A&T, 9-6. three straight losses to Duke (53-0), Florida International (39-14) and only MEAC Also had non-conference losses to Coastal Carolina (41-14) and Furman (17-3). 2015 Joe Daniels Photo loss to Bethune-Cookman (28-26) on a blocked 18-yard field goal. Jerry Mack's 8. Southern (6-5) - Finished third in SWAC West behind Grambling and Priairie GRID CHAMPS CROWNED: team finished with seven straight wins. View A&M with 5-3 mark. Lost SWAC games to Prairie View (47-42), Alcorn State North Carolina A&T gets 3. Alcorn State (9-4) - Won SWAC East Division championship with 7-2 league (48-7) and Grambling (34-23). Also lost to La. Tech (62-15) and Georgia (48-6). hard-fought 41-34 win mark and won second straight SWAC Championship Game with 49-21 win over 9. Tuskegee (10-3) - Finished behind Miles in SIAC West but won two NCAA Div. SEASON over Alcorn State in first West Division champ Grambling State. Late comeback fell just short, 41-34 in first II playoff games before bowing out in national quarterfinals (Super Region II final) to annual Celebration Bowl. CLOSING Celebration Bowl vs. N. C A&T. Also lost to Grambling State (35-34), Prairie View West Georgia (35-6). Lost to Miles (26-23), UNC Pembroke (29-17). N. C. A&T WINS CELEBRATION BOWL, A&M (40-34) and to open the season vs. Georgia Tech (69-6). 10. BOWIE STATE (9-3) - CIAA North champion lost to South champ Winston-Sa- 4. Bethune-Cookman (9-2) - Tied for MEAC title with N. C. A&T and N. C. Cen- lem State (17-14) in CIAA title game. Bowed out in first round of D2 playoffs to As- SITS ATOP FINAL BCSP NO. 1 RANKING

CELEBRATION BOWL RECAP North Carolina A&T 41, Alcorn State 34 NC A&T, Cohen go out on top

LUT WILLIAMS losses to Prairie View A&M and Grambling BCSP Editor State in the regular season to regain the top spot If there was any doubt about the 2015 with a win over Grambling in the SWAC Cham- "Baad Team" Black College Offensive Player of pionship Game. But Saturday's loss to A&T the Year, it was erased Saturday in Atlanta. leaves the 9-4 Braves in second. It was there that North Carolina A&T 5-6, When all is said and down, A&T's chief rival 170-pound running back Tarik Cohen ran thru, for the top spot may very well have been Jerry around and past Alcorn State defenders for 295 Mack's 8-3 Eagles of North Carolina Central, yards on just 22 carries, including scoring runs the only black college team to subdue the Ag- of 74, 83 and 73 yards, in the Aggies' thrilling gies this year. A blocked 18-yard field goal with 41-34 win over the Braves in the first annualAir :32 seconds left in a heartbreaking 28-26 home Force Reserve Celebration Bowl (See Celebra- loss to Bethune-Cookman in early October is tion Bowl recap). all that kept the Eagles and their second-year Joe Daniels Photo Cohen finishes the year with 1,543 rushing head coach from playing in the inaugural bowl ATLANTA, Ga. – Junior running back Tarik Cohen (#28 above) yards, an average of 138.3 yards per game and game in Atlanta. blitzed Alcorn State for 295 rushing yards and three long TD runs, 5.8 yards per carry with 15 touchdowns. It's the The Eagles finish at No. 3 the last one coming late in the fourth quarter, but North Carolina third straight 1,000-yard rushing season for the Former assistant Terry Sims took over at A&T needed a stop in the final seconds to preserve a 41-34 win over junior who is now less than a 1,000 yards from Bethune-Cookman from Brian Jenkins and the Braves in the first Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl between becoming the MEAC's all-time leading rusher Photo by Charles Watkins the Wildcats kept on rolling, winning a share of SWAC and MEAC champions here Saturday. with one year left to play. Cohen's 73-yard sprint to paydirt with 4:17 left gave A&T the 41- SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE: North Carollina its fourth consecutive MEAC title and fifth in Cohen's the runaway winner for the top in- 34 lead after Alcorn State had fought back from 24-6 second-quarter A&T head football coach Rod Broadway holds the last six years. They handed co-champ N. C. and 24-13 halftime deficits to tie the game twice in the fourth quarter. dividual offensive award. The rest will be an- the Celebration Bowl championship trophy from Central its only loss and posted an exciting 56- The Braves (9-4) started their final drive with 1:10 left and drove nounced next week. Saturday's 41-34 win over Alcorn State. With the 53 win over Grambling early in the season. win, the 10-2 Aggies are the 2015 BCSP national to the A&T 9 in the game's final half-minute. But from there Alcorn The win also cemented for 10-2 A&T and Tims and the 'Cats deserve a top five spot at quarterback Lenorris Footman threw four incompletions including head coach Rod Broadway the final No. 1 spot champs and are likely to sweep such awards. This is the third black college program Broadway No. 4 a fourth-down pass that sailed high over the head of wideout Tollete in the Black College Sports Page Top Ten has led to the national title. Rounding out the top five is second-year George in the end zone with six just ticks left on the clock. A&T (10- and the designation as the 2015 BCSP national head coach Roderick Fobbs and the 9-3 Gram- 2) needed one kneel down from quarterback Kwashaun Quick to champion. bling State Tigers. Fobbs continued the miracu- claim the win. And for as much as Cohen led them to the NCAA Div. II ranks. Khris Gardin returned the first punt of the game 74 yards to give lous turnaround he's engineered for the G-Men title, the defense of coordinator Sam Washing- You get all the way down to No. 9 Tuske- the Aggies an early 7-0 lead. Alcorn's Anthony Williams Jr. answered as they won the SWAC West Division title and gee before you encounter a Div. II program in Ghardin three minutes later by bringing an A&T punt back 84 yards ton has to get just as much of the credit. They earned a spot in the league's title game in Hous- but the Braves missed a 2-point conversion. Cohen scored on runs of shut down an Alcorn State offense that averaged this year's Top Ten. And the 10-3 Golden Tigers ton vs. Alcorn State, a team they defeated in the 74 and 83 yards before the first quarter was over. In the second quar- 473 yards per game including 309 rushing yards couldn't even win the SIAC West Division title. regular season. ter, Cody Jones hit on a 45-yard field goal for A&T and Footman hit per game to 260 total yards and just 104 on the That crown went to 7-5 Miles who went on to Right on the tail of Grambling at No. 6 is Arron Baker on a 10-yard scoring pass following an interception by ground Saturday. It was indicative of that unit's win the SIAC title over Albany State before another turnaround story engineered by former Williams. Alcorn trailed 24-13 at the break. performance all year that had just one slip-up vs. losing to a 6-5 Alabama State team out of the Alcorn State offensive coordinator Willie Sim- After Jones began the third quarter scoring on a 43-yard field rival North Carolina Central in the final regu- SWAC. What Willie Slater's Tuskegee troops mons, now the head man at Prairie View A&M. goal, Alcorn got the next two scores – a 9-yard pass from Footman lar season game. did do however is get two Div. II playoff wins to George with 6:35 left in the third period to pull within 27-20 and The Panthers finished 8-2, beat and leapfrogged It's the third national title for Broadway and make it to the national quarterfinals. George's pass off a reverse to Footman covering 11 yards to knot the Southern in the SWAC West and beat eventual Ditto in the CIAA. game at 27 with 12:57 left in the fourth quarter. who also finished with the final No. 1 team in league champion Alcorn State behind a prolfic The teams traded scores from there with Quick scoring on a 2006 while at North Carolina Central and at Bowie State was an impressive 9-1 while offense. 1-yard run and Brandon Campbell hauling in a 3-yard pass from 2008 while at Grambling State. winning the conference's North Division crown Buddy Pough's 8-3 South Carolina State Brandon Vessell off a fake field goal with 5:10 left to tie the score at But the Celebration Bowl pitting SWAC but couldn't beat 5-5 South Division champ Bulldogs were a step, or should I say, a field goal 34. Less than a minute after the kickoff, on second down, Cohen put and MEAC champions was and is not a guar- Winston-Salem State in that league's title away from making the MEAC a four-way tie. the finishing touches on his masterpiece. anteed national champion game in my book game. The Bulldogs, who hold down the 10th The 'Dawgs had three point losses to both A&T With 295 rushing yards (22 carries) and 53 yards on two recep- even though in the 22 years of the Black College and final spot, also came up short in a first round and Bethune-Cookman as they made another tions, Cohen totalled 348 yards, far surpassing the Braves 260 total Sports Page, this was perhaps the year with the D2 playoff game. yards of offense. Alcorn State came in averaging 473 yards of total run for the title. greatest separation between the top teams from Last year's final BCSP No. 1 Alcorn State, offense including 309 yards on the ground. Southern (6-5) had SWAC hiccups against started the season at No. 1 and almost ended Quick hit on 11 of 18 passes for 149 yards and rushed for 39 the FCS conferences, the SWAC and MEAC, Alcorn State, Prariie View and Grambling to fin- yards on nine carries. Free safety Jamaal Darden led the Aggie de- and those in the SIAC and CIAA from the there. Jay Hopson's Braves fought thru close ish eighth. fense with seven stops. Middle linebacker Denzel Jones, the defensive MVP, was credited with five tackles and one interception. Footman finished 14 of 36 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Darryan Ragsdale was held to 62 rushing yards on 15 carries while Footman was limited to 62 yards on 12 carries. Se- BCSP Notes nior defensive back Warren Gatewood led the Braves with eight solo tackles, had one pass break-up and blocked a 27-yard field goal at- Coleman in Washington Ring of Fame tempt. In addition to his punt return score and interception, Williams Former head coach Joe Gibbs enshrined current Arkansas-Pine had four tackles and recovered the blocked field goal. Bluff head football coach Monte Coleman as a member of the NFL's CELEBRATION BOWL - POSTGAME NOTES Washington team's Ring of Fame Sunday at halftime of its game vs. Buf- falo. North Carolina A&T Coleman played 16 years for the franchise and appeared in at least Gibbs and Coleman Murray Mr. CIAA • The victory secured North Carolina A&T its third 10-win season (11 wins in 1999 and 10 wins in 2003) 10 games in every year of his career with exception of the 1982 season. • The Aggies are now 10-1 in their last 11 games against FCS opponents away He also appeared in 21 career postseason games, including Super Bowl from home. Mark Sherrill – Sherrill played basketball at Johnson C. Smith and continues in • Head coach Rod Broadway improved to 34-1 in his career when leading at the appearances following the 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1991 seasons. his passion with his 21st season as the top assistant coach, helping the Golen Bulls half. For his career, Coleman registered 1,002 tackles (650 solo), 43.5 to three CIAA Tournament titles. Sherrill was a four-year letterman (1988-1992) and is Tarik Cohen sacks, 17 interceptions (three returned for touchdowns), 14 fumble re- JCSU’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,552 points and is currently ranked sixth • With 1,543 rushing yards this season, Cohen, a junior running back, has set the in all-time CIAA scoring. school’s single-season rushing record. coveries and two forced fumbles, all according to STATS, LLC. Arthur “Boo Boo” Gaskins – Gaskins joined the Elizabeth City State men’s • He has recorded seven straight 100-yard rushing games, including Saturday’s basketball team in 1977 and in 1978, averaged 26.1 points per game, tops in the 295-yard effort on 22 carries extending his school record with 21 100-yard rushing games in his career. CIAA and fifth nationally. Gaskins earned consecutive honors as CIAA Player of the • Saturday's game stood as Cohen’s fourth career 200-yard rushing game. Ten to be inducted into CIAA Hall of Fame Year in 1980 and in 1981. • His 295 yards rushing stands as the third-best single-game rushing effort in The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) will in- Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree (Coach) – Wicker-McCree, captured CIAA titles as school history. Maurice Hicks gained 437 yards versus Morgan State in 2001 the head volleyball and softball coach at North Carolina Central, won coach of the and Hicks also had 353 yards versus South Carolina State in 2000. duct ten honorees into the 2015-16 John B. McLendon, Jr., Hall of Fame. year awards. has achieved numerous accolades at the administrative level and as a • Cohen’s 83-yard touchdown run is tied for the fourth-longest rushing play in A formal induction ceremony will be held at the 2016 Hall of Fame two-sport coach). She is currently Director of Athletics (2008-present) at NCCU. school history, and the longest by an Aggie since 1996 – an 84-yard rush by Andre Springs – In 1976 while at Fayetteville State, Springs became the first- Michael Basnight vs. Florida A&M. Breakfast on Friday, February 26 at 9 a.m. at the Charlotte Convention ever freshman to win the CIAA Golf Championship and was also honored as a NAIA • That TD run is tied for the seventh-longest rush in the FCS this season and the Center during the week of the CIAA Basketball Tournament. All-American. His teams went on to win four CIAA championships. After graduation, longest in the MEAC. The inductees are: Khris Gardin he became head coach of Livingstone’s golf program, left to become General Man- • With 74 punt return yards in the game, Gardin broke the FCS record for punt Ronald “Flip” Murray – The single-season basketball record holder in ager of the Cleveland (OH) Golf Courses, but later returned to revamp Livingstone return yards in a season. He finished with 740 yards this season, breaking the points, steals, assists, points per game, and free throws made, Murray finished his golf. In 2012, he was appointed Director of Athletics and in 2015. previous record of 667 yards set by Montana’s Tuff Harris in 2006. senior year averaging 23.5 points a game and 6.2 assists a contest; ranking him Dianthia Ford-Kee – A Fayetteville State grad, Ford-Kee joined Shaw as the • Gardin's touchdown return was his third punt return for a touchdown this fourth in the nation in scoring and ninth for assists. As the 2002 CIAA Player of the Lady Bears’ head volleyball and softball coach and her teams won four CIAA Softball season. Year and Tournament MVP, Murray led the Bears to a NCAA Division II Final Four Championships. She was a two-time Volleyball Coach of the Year and four-time Soft- • It was his second-longest return of the season (82-yarder for a touchdown appearance on his way to being named the Division II Player of the Year. He was versus Howard). Gardin also had a 71-yard punt return for touchdown versus ball Coach of the Year. Ford-Kee served five years (2008-13) as the Director of Ath- drafted in the second round of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft as Hampton. letics at Lincoln (Pa.) and headed the transition from NCAA Division III to Division II the No. 42 overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks. Murray’s NBA career also included and its return to the CIAA. Ford-Kee currently serves as the Director of Athletics at Alcorn State stints with Seattle, Cleveland, Detroit, Charlotte and Chicago. Mississippi Valley State. • The Braves had not dropped a road/neutral site game since the opening week Tory Woodbury – Woodbury finished his collegiate career as Winston- Dr. Edward McLean – Dr. McLean, upon his retirement, was the CIAA’s lon- of the season – a loss at Georgia Tech on Sept. 3. Salem State's all-time leading passer, completing 287-of-648 attempts for 4,493 gest tenured Athletics Director with over twenty years of contributing leadership with Anthony Williams, Jr. yards and 38 touchdowns. He signed to play in the NFL with the New York Jets stints at Elizabeth City State and Fayetteville State. Prior to his retirement in 2015, • Williams’ 84-yard punt return for a touchdown was a season-long punt return and later with the Buffalo Bills and others. He played in NFL Europe, the Canadian for Alcorn. McLean was recognized for his outstanding service with the CIAA Jeanette E. Lee • That return was tied for the seventh-longest punt return in the FCS this season Football League (CFL), and the Arena Football League (AFL). Woodbury recently Award (2014). and the longest in the SWAC. completed his first season as Offensive Coordinator at Johnson C. Smith. Abraham “Mr. CIAA” Mitchell (Supporter) - Abraham Mitchell, a native of Suf- Darryan Ragsdale Earl “Air” Harvey – Harvey, quarterback at North Carolina Central, was a folk, Virginia, has been a fan favorite at the CIAA Basketball Tournament for over • Ragsdale ends the season 87 yards shy of Alcorn State’s single-season rushing four-time first-team All-CIAA Selection (1985-88) at quarterback. In 1985, Harvey three decades. His pageantry of self-made ensembles in the likeness of CIAA mem- record of 1,286 yards. He finished with 1,183 yards. became the first-ever rookie in NCAA history to throw for more than 3,000 yards. ber institutions has garnered him the title “Mr. CIAA”. Mitchell, who works at a funeral Warren Gatewood During his career, Harvey set NCCU, CIAA, and NCAA Division II records in career home in Suffolk, was recognized in 2012 by the conference for 33 continuous years • His blocked field goal in the third quarter was the first of his career and the third pass completions (690), passing yards (10,621), career total offense (10,667), and blocked kick by Alcorn State as a team this season. of modeling his fashionable threads to the approval of countless fans during the tona- career touchdown passes (86). ment.