Page B2-The Chronicle, Thursday, May 3, 1984
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Sitting Down On The Job
The Ram's Keith Holland (94) came up with an i
ing to roll over and go for more yardage (photo
Black Coliege Sports
Bayou Classic 1
By BARRY COOPER
Syndicated Columnist
It is not official yet, but sources say the controversy
surrounding the date of the popular Bayou Classic foot
ball game has been settled. Grambling and Southern wil
again meei on 1 nanKsgiving weekend this year in whai
has become the biggest black college football game ever
More than 70,000 people are expected to attend when th<
schools square off on Nov. 24 at the New Orleans Super
dome.
The game will again be played on the same day th(
NCAA Division I-AA playoffs begin, and Gramblinj
and Southern will remain ineligible for those playoffs.
However, the good news is that the other Southwesterr
Athletic Conference teams will be free to participate. A
least, that's the word from highly-placed sources a
Grambling and Southern. According to the sources, thi
NCAA will soon push through a new rule that says a
least five members of a conference must have completec
their football schedules the week before the playoff
begin in order for the league champion - or another tean
in the league ? to be considered for the I-AA playoffs.
Last year, Jackson State, which won the SWAC title
was denied an automatic spot in playoffs because no
enough league teams had completed their regular seasoi
t ' scheduler io. t
gut this-year, that w-on't
. ?i uinoted; t>nr thhig'TyTcrtainT "though
n ^ > * _
Miumenes ooum
By ROBERT ELLER
Sports Editor
Winston-Salem State's young but talented softball
team claimed the school's first-ever women's sports
title last weekend by winning the CIAA Softball
Tournament in Charlotte.
And the Ramettes, none of whom are seniors, took
no prisoners en route to the crown, either, rolling
through the double-elimination event undefeated.
Coach Tim Grant's club, which entered the event
as the top seed in the Southern Division, won with
clutch hitting.
After a relatively easy 6-1 win over Elizabeth City,
the fourth-seeded team in the North, the Ramettes
faced St. Augustine's, the third seed in the South,
which knocked off Virginia State to advance.
The Ramettes won 5-4 in an 11-inning marathon as
Kenan Menefee knocked in the winning run.
In the semifinals, WSSU squeaked past Fayetteville
State 5-4 in nine innings on Faye Strothers'
home run. Fayetteville, which entered the event as
the South's second seed, had won the last two conference
tournament titles.
F ?
Sports
Scores, Standings,
EH! CIAA Football
J, Rams,
\A over al
sHRKfl
V By ROBERT ELLER
ILL^, Sports Editor
ft~\'W... Wi"ct(>ngnl>m gta^,f
spring practice Saturday nig
. beating a group of former R
In quite a contrast from la
contest, when the present-ds
on the scoreboard, they dom
^^ft' of the game this time.
^Kx- '
"The kids played well anc
ft lot of fun,'* Head Coach Bil
ft day. "I was pleased with the
our defense our
good also."
Hayes watched his team bi
I lead on a rainy night in Bowi
I as starting quarterback Mil
scoring passes to Bobby Clai
son, the latter covering 95 y;
IIIJ JVWIIU UI1IIO Ull UUlll VJI l(
the second half.
Hayes had praise for a nun
"Winbush played well. He e>
excellently. That is someth
working on this spring and
fumble," he said.?
The coach also liked wha
trio of running backs who
season. "(Ed) Byers, (Leo
(James) Johnson all ran wel
the offensive line was a p
Hayes said.
Due to injuries and gradu;
Artis of the starting offens
much game experience. But I
errant football before try- group blocked very well. "
by James Parker). Sampson from linebacker to
f . i
1 i t i
fuss: Is it nvpr?
ms/ JL 9
Grambling and Southern plan to continue playing onThanksgiving
weekend, and would rather split gate
, receipts of nearly $1 million than go on to the playoffs,
which pay little money.
I This year's Grambling-Southern game has been of,
ficially scheduled for Nov. 24.
A third SWAC team, Alabama State, also will play a
; game after the NCAA deadline. The Hornets, still working
toward full status as a member of 1-AA, plan to continue
their Thanksgiving Day game with Tuskegee,
: sources say.
However, if pushed through, the new NCAA rule
would still make the SWAC eligible for the playoffs, and
the league likely would regain its automatic invitation to
the playoffs.
?
t
1 Grambling To Play In Hoosier Dome
s
i Grambling and Mississippi Valley will become the first
black colleges to play in the brand-new, ^.OOO-seat
, Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis when they square off Oct.
t 13.
n Grambling will continue its globe-trotting acts this
football season, in addition playing, in New York. City,.
Sh~frVcporU-L^-l,)arras^and.New (Tflffanv .. ?
pe$a ?3?? ?
ze back to take CL
In the championship game, WSSU faced St.
Augustine's, the losers' bracket survivor, and won
ihe title in its final at-bat. Entering the bottom of the
? i -
sevenm inning witn tne game tied at 2, Strothers led
off with a single. Tammy McNair followed with
another single, and, after Beverly Bowden flicd out,
Neice Kemp loaded rthe bases with another single.
Annette Huntley then followed with a sacrifice fly
"The girls played with confidence and
poise. They played excellent defense and hit
well in the clutch. "
- Tim Grant
that scored Strothers with the winning run in the 3-2
game.
Grant, who saw his team knocked off in the
district tournament April 20 and 21, was extremely
pleased with the Ramettes* play.
"The girls played with confidence and poise. They
played excellent defense and hit well in the clutch,"
said Grant, whose team entered the district tourney
t
' V
I
Week
Columns, Features
fnrmofiAri nlinl/ in
ivi liiauun vnviv ill
umni squad that in
Holland from the defensive line to lei
and Cornelius Holmes from defensive
r j- a-i a a ^ght end and they all seem to have i
"r i ifli'
Hayes was even more pleased with tfi<
1 ^ y center Barry Turner, a freshman who i
ams . , shirted last year. "Barry played so well
st year s inaugural ~ w . ..
"L ? , may move Danny Moore (a two-time a
iy Rams won ?nly pick) to guard," he said. Rookie gut
mate every p ase nagjns aiso p|ayed well, said Hayes.
, . , , Part of the reason his team was able
t c a umni a a t^e sQ effectjve|y Hayes said, was
1 Hayes said Monaggressive
play of ????
on on offense was "The kids played well and the <
had a lot of fun. I was pleased w
iild a 21-7 halftime aggressive play of our defense a
nan Gray Stadium execution on offense was good c
:e Winbush thre^
k and James Wat- "" 1
irds. Then he used ??
rnse and defense in players and the coaching staff are mc
tortable with the wing-T offense than 1
nber of his players, when it was unveiled for the first time
(ecuted the offense "Mike (Winbush) has had a year j
ing we have been springs with the offense now and so I
we only had one other kids," he said. "And we coachi
? more about it now."
t he saw from his "We think we can move the ball now
were rookies last the air and on the ground," Hayes said
nardo) Horn and that the team passed for more than 2!
II, and the play of and rushed for 200 more,
leasant surprise," Hayes also saw bright spots at areas
felt might pose problems next seasor
ation, only Wayne defense was most impressive," h
live line had very "Linebackers Dwayne Smith, Angelo
-layes said the new John Coles and Derrick Beasley did a f
We moved Julius They showed good quickness and antic
right guard, Keith If they play like that (during the
m^tv
|M^^r.|k^K|^^
Open-Field Standoff
vi^ft?l^rBlsA^Ar/fi 7^, l>( till HIR^Lluy^ff! ^p^ka
-Parker).
4 A softball tourni
as the top seed but finished third.
And, ironically, Grant credited the district tournament
losses with helping the team in its quest for the
CIAA crown. "In the district tourney, we played well
on Friday but we were flat on Saturday and lost two
in a row," he said. "We may have been a little overconfident
after Friday's games."
In the district tournament, WSSU whiDDed St.
Augustine's 9-1 and Campbell 6-5 on Friday but was
beaten the next day 6-3 by second-seeded Pembroke
and eliminated 7-4 by third-seeded Catawba. Pembroke
topped Catawba for the title.
Both Grant and his team were disappointed by the
losses, but the third-year coach said there was a silver
lining.
"Pfeiffer Coach Jack Ingram told me after we lost
that the loss would help us as we went into the CIAA
tourney, and he was right," Grant said. "On the way
home, the girls started talking about the fact that
they should have won and I think they realized that
they must concentrate and remain intense for the entire
tournament. The district tournament was our
first tourney all year and our inexperience showed."
J
\
spring victory ,
tipresses Hayes
't tackle
, encj to season), it will take a lot of pressure off our
adjusted defensive line." ^ ^ TTTnpTT '
?pray of is notwh?p^&avw^f,iea^cmv\vh'0is returnwas
red- *ng to team a^ter s*u*n8 oul ^ast year?
that we p^ay* Pearson was the starting strong safety for
11-CIAA ^ams & a freshman but played in the offenird
Eric s*ve hackfield this spring.
"David really likes to play offense," Hayes
to move sa^* "He *s anc* he could give our starthat
the ixn& hacks a run f?r their money. We may still
move him back on defense but I think he
prefers offense."
alumni Hayes also was happy with the play of wide
'ith the receiver Terry Clarkson. A transfer from West
nd our Virginia State, Clarkson caught one pass for a
j/so. " 60-yard gain and Hayes said he has great hands.
Haves ^or a^umn^? Plfly ?f Harrison
Stokes brought a smile to his former coach's
face. Stokes was a standout linebacker during
>re com- his career with the Rams and spent time in the
ast year, Kansas City Chiefs' training camp. He moved
to fullback for the alumni contest and rushed
and two for nearly 100 yards.
have the "I started to wonder if I had used him at the
es know wrong position for four years," Hayes said,
laughing. Mike Ferguson also had a good game
' both in , for the alumni as did Sidney Wilkins, who
I, noting caught a 65-yard scoring pass from Allen Ward
50 yards against the Rams' second unit late in the game.
Overall, Hayes said, the spring drills went
that he well and, while not making any bold predic1.
"The tions for next season, the coach didn't tell a sob
e said, story, either. "We need a placekicker and we
Spruill, have a lot of work to do," he said, "but we
ine job. have some good material for next year and our
ipation. offense has developed to the point that we can
regular cause a lot of conflict for a defensive team."
;/nn ;, ^
If ^gfl
iment title
Though WSSU disposed of its over confidence, its
confidence remained intact.
"The girls had the district experience behind them
and they knew what it would take to win," Grant
m'.A ? 'TU-., ?I 1 1 1 1 1
saiu. i ucy piaycu naru anu consisiem in eacn game
and that's what I had told them it would take to
win."
Three members of the team were picked for alltournament
honors. First baseman Menefee batted
.500 for the event and hit extremely well under
pressure, said Grant. Pitcher Donna Johnson pitched
all four games, walking only five batters and hit .416.
Leftfielder Strothers hit .545 and, according to
Grant, made a number of spectacular defensive
plays.
Menefee had hit an amazing .777 in the district
tournament.
For the year, the Ramettes posted a 25-8 mark. In
Grant's first two seasons as coach, his teams went
21-8 and 17-13, finishing third and second in the
tournament, respectively. "We did it right on
schedule from third to second to first," Grant said.
Please see page B3