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Winston-Salem Stale grabbed a huge win over Hampton over the weekend.
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WSSU spoils Hampton homecoming
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It may have been Homecoming for the
Pirates of Hampton University, yet Virginia
native Kermit Blount felt right at home back in
the Commonwealth as he led the Winston
Salem State Rams to a 35-30 victory over HU
lasat Saturday en route to tying Bill Hayes as
the winningest coach in WSSU history with a
school-record 89 victories.
The Rams (2-6, 0-0 MEAC) handed the
Pirates their second consecutive loss and rele
gated Hampton to 5-3 overall (4-1 MEAC) as
WSSU used a complete effort on both sides of
the ball to spoil the HU Homecoming for the
14.877 fans in attendance at Armstrong
Stadium.
The Pirates struck first in the contest as a
Carlo Turavani 32-yard field goal broke a
scoreless tie less than three minutes into the
first quarter of play as Hampton jumped out to
a 3-0 lead.
Undaunted, the Rams responded with back
to-tack scores as Roderick Fluellen powered
over right guard for a 16-yard score to move
WSSU ahead 7-3. and David Irizarry turned in
one of the most spectacular plays in WSSU his
tory to move the Rams in front 14-3 midway
through the first quarter.
With HU attempting a 50-yard field goal,
Irizarry lined up deep in his own endzone for a
possible missed kick return. Following an HU
kick that was three yards short of its intended
target Irizarry fielded the kick seven yards deep
in the endzone After a pause that seemed like
an eternity, a respite that was long enough for
Irizarry and nearly 15,000 fans to contemplate
his next course of action, the senior defensive
back acted on instinct.
In what could have been the most ill
advised decision of his career. Irizarry sprinted
from his own endzone in an attempt to make a
spectacular play out of a sure touchback as he
took the missed kick 107 yards for the longest
play in WSSU history and handed the Rams an
11 -point advantage in the process.
The Rams would tally another pair of scores
before the half came to a close as WSSU used a
power running game to pound the MEAC's
third-ranked run defense into submission as
Wisnton-Salem State headed to the locker room
with a comfortable 28-10 lead. The Pirates,
playing in front of a raucous home crowd,
mounted what was nearly a comeback for the
ages as they scored 20 unanswered points in an
attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of
defeat.
The win improved the Rams to 2-6 overall
while Hampton fell to 5-3 overall with the loss.
WSSU returns to action on this weekend as they
play their second of three straight road games
when they travel to Dover, Del. to face defend
ing MEAC Champion Delaware State
University.
Hill
from pan* B1
have Pop Warner patches on
some pants a couple years
ago.
People were quick to
point out the rules when it
dealt with the Falcons. Yet,
it's a laughable matter when
dealing with the Oak Ridge
Colts and their coach. I
don't have anything against
their coach. I actually like
the guy. But I don't agree
with how things went,
though.
I also don't like how he
was quick to try to turn
things around on other teams
that were fighting to make
sure he was punished just
like any other coach or team
that may have broken a rule.
1*1*1 not going to mention his
name either. I will say that
he's got some connections,
though. This guy was trying
to. put heat on people that
may have compiled personal
dirt from just about every
team in N.W. Midget.
Coach ready to flip
script
The Oak Ridge coach
was prepared to release
information about some peo
ple from other organizations
that was as old as 10 years
ago. Please believe things
were getting ready to get bad
last week when he
announced some of the
things he knew, and his
intentions if he were to go
down. (I'm smiling as I type
this.) The Oak Ridge coach
had to have a police escort
last Thursday. It was no
longer an issue with the kids
after those cards were
pulled. t
We all know that it's per
sonal when you dig into
someone's past and threaten
to tell things that people
would rather forget. After
all, most of us have done or
said things in the past we'd
rather forget or not mention.
That's just the way it is. It's
a shame that things got that
bad. I personally don't think
it's a big deal to allow a
player that DIDN'T play a
game of JV or varsity foot
ball on a Pop Warner field. I
have no problem with that.
But is is a rule, and I do have
a problem with one team
being held accountable for
breaking a rule, while anoth
er is allowed to go free
High school kids
shouldn't play Pop
Warner ball
Another thing that
should be addressed is stu
dents in high school playing
Pop Warner football in the
first place. That's just sad.
Play for a high school if you
attend a high school.
Pop Warner is for kids.
You can't earn a college
scholarship on the Pop
Warner Field. If you think
about it, there's probably a
reason why a groyp of kids
may not be on a high school
team ? whether it's grades,
lack of discipline or some
thing. Sometimes kids lack
heart. So, they play Pop
Warner one year too long.
It's always something.
Despite my disappoint
ment or gripe, I still wish the
kids on that Oak Ridge team
the best of luck. I also wish
that coach the best of luck.
Most importantly, I wish
everyone went by the same
rules in Pop Warner.
No All-Pop Warner Squad
I'm sad to announce that
I will not be putting out an
All-Pop Warner team, which
I planned on releasing next
Thursday. I simply felt like
we should explore this idea
for another year. I think I'm
going to do it next year with
the Midget Division.
I was talking with a col
league of mine at the Wake
game this past weekend and
we both agreed that young
kids can be negatively
affected by not making a
special team like that. I
thought about that to start
with, but I still thought it
would be a good idea to give
some of the young standouts
some recognition.
Bui it's probably best to
only award the older kids
My colleague then told me
that we'd probably have to
deal with recruiting alter
bringing out an All-Pop
Warner team for the Midget
Division players. 1 told him
that 1 wasn't concerned with
that. Coaches don't really
have to recruit. Kids are the
best recruiters. That s why
college coaches allow their
players to take out high
school recruits.
Another reason why 1
decided to hold off on this
special team was because of
the difficulties I was having
getting SOME teams to sub
mit players. I mean, some
coaches were talking about
how they were a team and
didn't have any standouts
That's fine, but come on
now. .
If I were to bring the
team out and leave off some
of their guys I wouldn t hear
the end of it. I would like to
say thank you to everyone
that was very helpful in my
efforts to compile the team.
Guys like Lawrence "Ferg
Ferguson with the
Grayhounds, Ken Mackovic
with the Oak Ridge Colts -
as well as several Indian,
Falcon, Viking and Packer
coaches, j
I honestly appreciate the
assistance. I apologize for
not being able to honor some
of your standout players this
year. I would also like to
thank Northwest Midget for
their help in this matter.
We'll get it right next year.
Our annual All-County
JV football team will be
released on Nov. 20. I m
definitely looking forward
to that special team, as I do
every year. Be on the look
for that in a couple of weeks.
Anthony Hill is the sports
editor for The Chronicle. He
can be reached at 722-8624
(ext. Ill) or ahill@wschron
icle.com
n?o!ob^nS!<w^!i!T
? he Winston-Salem Prep varsity basketball squad may be stronger on the court this season.
W-S Prep
from pane B /
the way with 18 points, five
rebounds. Michael Spease fol
lowed with 16 points, eight
assists and three steals.
Krishawn Noble contributed
with 9 points and 1 1 rebounds.
"We played hard." Gould
said. "We still had a number of
mental lapses And we were
outsized in the post. But we
fought hard. I saw that we're a
scrappy bunch. I'm excited
about that. My motto is tough
guys win games. We're show
ing some toughness already
I'm really excited about this
team."
Seni<ir guard Corey Gantt
(12 points against Oak Hill)
added: "I'm excited about this
team. I think we're going to be
ready. We have the best back
court in the state. We're not a
big team. We have to find a
way to rebound. But coach
always says that tough players
win. So we're going to play
hard and tough."
Team Chemistry
Despite the new additions.
Winston-Salem Prep already
seems to have great chemistry
amongst each other.
"The chemistry is coming
V ?
along." said senior shooting
guard Justin Parham, who fin
ished with 1 1 points against
Oak Hill. "I think we're bond
ing really well. We just need to
stay focused on the goal and
maintain what we started last
year. We know what we can
do. We just need to get it done.
We're trying to repeat.','
The Phoenix will test itself
again when they host River
Mills Academy on Friday
(7:30 p.m.). Winston-Salem
Prep will also host talented
teams like Cherish Prep,
Northern Guilford, Atkins.
Durham School of the Arts.
Parkland. Glenn and Reidsville
this season.
"I know that we can make
another run this year," Gould
said. "The guys from last year
have to step up. And, the new
comers have to be ready for the
rivalries and competition that
we face. They're adjusting to
that. I'm sure we'll be ready.
That's what we're preparing
for."
Gantt added: "Everybody
is working hand. I think we've
got a better team this year. We
just don't have Big Reggie and
a go-to-guy in Marcus. But the
whole team are go-to- guys. We
all can contribute. We've all
worked hard. I know I have.
I've even been lifting a lot of
weights. I know you can't real
ly tell , but I have. We just have
to get it done."
Winston-Salem Prep home
games
All games, but Cherish Prep
(6 pm.) begin at 7:30 pm.
Nov. 7
River Mills
Nov. 15
Cherish Prep (@ Joel)
Nov. 18
Atkins
Dec. 2
North
Dec. 6
Carver
Dec. 16
Durham School of the Arts
Dec. 18
West
Dec. 26
Frank Spencer
Jan. 2
East
Jan. 10
Cherokee
Jan. 14
Parkland
Jan. 30
Mt. Airy
Feb. 4
Glenn
Feb. 12
Reidsville
$37 Championship
$25 Reynolds (ind
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