COVER STORY
Winston-Salem keeps on rollin'
Life at the top can be very lonely.
Just ask coach Pete Richardson and
his Winston-Salem State Rams. They
know the feeling well.
How iumi"P
All they've been doing is winning. At
midseason, they were 5-0 and have been
the No. 1 ranked black college team
(Sheridan Poll, National Black Network
Poll) ^ince mid-September. They were
ranked sixth in the Division II polls.
"It's good for the school that we have
that ranking," Richardson says. 'But our
primary purpose is to win the conference
championship and then get to the play
offs."
The Rams are the two-time CIAA
champions who are working their way
towards a third straight league title. You'd
think that woufd be enough to satisfy the
most critical fan.
But in some people's minds, that's not
good enough.
There are voices of discontent among
Rams' followers. They point out that Win
ston has a soft schedule this year. They
will tell you that even though WSSU has
been winning, they haven't been overpow
ering in popping their undermanned oppo
sition.
For Richardson, dealing with such
talk is just part of the territory that comes
with being the head grid master at Win
ston-Salcm State.
"We've had a winning tradition for
quite a few years," Richardson says.
"When you win consistently, people
always expcct nothing but the best. But
what many folk forget, is that when teams
play us, it's a big game for them and they
really get up for us."
Last season WSSU finished the regu
lar season at 10-1 and made the Division
II playoffs in Richardson's first year as
head coach. Before that, when Bill Hayes
r
Clayton Suggs
Page 8 - October 1989 mBSSSSSSm
(North Carolina A & T coach) was the
head man, the Rams compiled a 90-42-2
record and bagged three CI A A champi
onship trophies along the way.
At this; jnnrti>rp^-4hniigh, it nppeftfS
ihat the Rams have been too tough, arid
too good, for too long. And it shows in
their 89 schedule.
By most standards, Winston has one
of their weakest schedules in several
years. That's because none of the top
C1AA teams seem to have an avid interest
in facing them during the regular season.
With the exception of Bowie State, no
contending team in^the C1AA North
appears on WSSU's schedule. And
according to reports around the league,
teams are ducking the Rams.
Why?
Primarily because Winston has a way
of beating you physically and mentally.
The rationale appears to be that if you
have to face them, it would be better to do
it in a post-season setting. At least that
way, some observers say, you don't have
to worry about going into the next game
of your regular season with a lot of key
people residing in hospital wards.
Richardson discards such notions. He
says that the schedule for '89 is a product
of other schools pulling out for other rea
sons and that Winston wasn't able to
rcplacc those schools with the quality of
opponents that they usually play.
When you take a look at who the
Rams have faced so far this year, you may
give credence \p the idea that Winston
hasn't played^team that has anywhere
near the same jqvcI of talent that they do,
man for man.
After all (and this isn't intended as a
put down), but Knoxville, A & T, Eliza
beth City, Livingstone, and Fayettevillc
State aren't exactly the most formidable
teams in the CIAA or Division II these
Donald Frank
, Photo by Max Dunhill
Kenny Jones has become the offen
sive leader for the Rams. His ability
to call the right audibles have made
him a more effective quarterback.
days. Deeper still, the Rams did have
problems exeriing their dominance in
those games, with the exception of the
Aggies (a 48-19 mauling) and Fayetteville
State (a 34-6 drubbing).
But while Winston's schedule hasn't
been as strong as it has been in the past,
Richardson doesn't view that as being
detrimental. His team, when healthy, is
among the best in the nation. But depth,
or the lack of it on both sides of the foot
ball, has been his major concern since
pre-scason practice started in August.
"I think the schedule has worked to
our advantage," the coach points out.
"We've had some injuries, so we've had to
play some youngsters in order to replace
Broderick Graves
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