CIAA Week in Review
Shaw wins conference championship for second-straight year
BY LUT WILLIAMS
SPtClAL TO THt CHRONICLE
Shaw's high-scoring
offense woke up in the sec
ond half and its nationally
ranked defense held
Elizabeth City State in
check as the Bears won their
first-ever back-to-back
C1AA titles in a 36-7 drub
bing of the Vikings in the
conference's Championship
Game before 7,542 fans in
Durham last Saturday.
Up just 13-7 to start the
second half, the Bears (8-3),
who came in averaging 41.1
points per game, struck early
on a 48-yard touchdown
pass from quarterback
Travis Robinson to wideout
Lenell King two plays into
the third quarter. The Bears
led 19-7 after Caleb Reid's
PAT was blocked.
After forcing ECSU (7
4) to punt after one first
down, the Bears went 69
yards in 12 plays, nine of
those plays and 68 yards via
the ground, en route to
Reid's 27-yard field goal
with 6:29 left for a 22-7
lead, After another ECSU
three-and-out and a partially
blocked 10-yard Daniel
Mendez punt, Shaw needed
just five plays to cover 41
yards with running b ack
Aaron Ellison taking it in on
a 2-yard run. The third quar
ter ended with the Bears
leading 29-7 and the contest
Photo by Steve Worthy
Shaw players celebrate their ClAA football championship
after their 36-7 win over ECSU last Saturday.
all but decided. Shaw added
a fourth quarter TD via a
Robinson pass of 21 yards to
James Pettway.
"I told them we needed
to play as a team, no indi
vidual plays, but play as a
team," said victorious coach
Darrell Asberry of his half
time speech that helped his
team shake its first-half dol
drums. "We just stepped it
up."
For the game, Shaw pro
duced 410 yards of total
offense including 201 on the
ground. Raymon Williams,
who led the ground attack
with 96 yards on 16 carries.
was named Shaw's MVP.
Robinson finished with 16
completions in 33 attempts
for 209 yards and 3 TDs.
Shaw's defense, which came
in ranked first in total
defense in the nation giving
up just 213 yards per game,
held the Vikings to 238
yards and the one score.
They sacked Rich four
times. Rod Jones, who led
ECSU with nine tackles, was
chosen as the Vikings' MVP.
If anything could be
called a turning point in the
game it was likely a special
teams' play by the Bears.
After exchanging punts on
their first four possessions,
Shaw's Tyrone Bolton broke
through to block a punt by
Daniel Mendez late in the
first quarter to put the Bears
in business, after LaMichael
Howell's recovery, at the
ECSU 3.
But the Vikings staged a
goal-line stand, forcing
Shaw to settle for Caleb
Reid's 21 -yard field goal
and a 3-0 lead with 2:48 left
in the first quarter. On
Shaw's fourth play from
scrimmage. Robinson hit
Bolden down the seam for a
24-yard score. Reid's PAT
put the Bears up 10-0.
Following a Reggie
Smith 43-yard kickoff return
that put them in Bears' terri
tory at the 43. the Vikings
needed just four plays to
cover the distance. Dexter
Manley reached over a
defender on the right side
line to pull in a 28-yard pass
for the score. Mendez's PAT
left the Vikings trailing 10-7
at the 14:02 mark of the sec
ond quarter. Problem was, it
would be ECSU's only score
in the game.
Shaw added a late field
goal just before halftime
with Lincoln Shepherd con
necting from 43 yards out
five seconds before the
break for the 13-7 lead.
Note: Lut Williams is the
editor of The Black College
Sports Page.
Tabor
from page Bl
move into scoring position.
West Forsyth's Cody
Wooten dropped the two
point conversion attempt.
Mt. Tabor was able to
score one more time before
halftime. The Spartans
scored in spectacular fash
ion ? going 88 yards in
three plays. Zyrale Jeter
started the drive with a 42
yard run. Then? Blyre Stokes
ran a short distance: Mt.
Tabor capped the drive when
Kent hit one of his receivers
for a 46-yard touchdown
connection. On the play,
Kent rolled right to get away
from two Titans before
launching the touchdown
pass with 32 seconds to go
before halftime.
"Collin has done a good
job of leading the team all
year," Marazita said. "It's
impressive because he didn't
get much playing time last
year. He backed up Brad
Morton, who's our varsity
quarterback. So. he might've
logged five minutes of total
playing time. But he led this
team all year. He got better
each week ? as did a num
ber of players."
West Forsyth seemingly
took control of the game in
the second half. The
Spartans didn't seem to have
an answer for Brown. He
jumped over and around
most of the Spartan defen
sive backs. Brown finished
with 12 receptions for 118
yards and two touchdowns.
Brown's second score of thec
game occurred with 3:38 to
go in the game.
He caught the 15-yard
pass over Seth Spencer to
make the score 16-12. Ryan
Vestal connected with the
PAT to pull West to within
three points (16-13). West
was able to do more than
simply get closer to the
Spartans on that drive. The
Titans were also able to melt
most of the second half
clock with time consuming
plays from the end of the
third quarter well into the
fourth quarter.
Mt. Tabor and the talent
ed Corey Parker Jr., didn't
need but one play to seal the
victory for the Spartans and
preserve the perfect season.
Parker took a routine power
play off right tackle 65 yards
for the winning touchdown
with 3:25 to go in the game.
"That was a big play,"
said West head JV coach
Brian Bowman. "Big plays
happen all the time. We were
just on the wrong end of that
one. But I'm proud of the
way my guys fought back.
We made a great stand.
We've fought hard this
entire season. We just came
up a little short. I'm still
proud of all the kids.
They've had a good season.
The sophomores are now 15
5. I'm proud of them. I love
-them all."
Some of the standout
players for Mt. Tabor were
Kent, Jeter. Parker.
Eldridge. Montana Dawson.
Ian Anderson, Mike Conner.
Stokes and Nick Plummer
? to name a few. West was
led by Brown, Wade?Gasser
Sheta. Nick Lee, Chandler
White, Jeff Carlton,
Daashaun Westmoreland,
Jermaine Lewis, Jaleel
Franks. Austin Martinez an^
Dominique Bouyer ?
among others.
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Johnson named to
Wooden preseason list
CHRONICLE STAH RKPORT
Wake Forest sophomore
forward James Johnson has
been named a preseason
candidate for the John R
Wooden Award, which goes
annually to college basket
ball's top player.
The preseason list is
comprised of 50 players.
including eight
from the Atlantic
Coast
Conference.
Johnson is Wake
Forest's first
Wooden Award
candidate since
Justin Gray and
Eric Williams ii>
2005-06. Demon
Deacon All
American Tim
Duncan won the
Wooden Award in 1997.
Johnson is the Deacons'
leading returning scorer and
rebounder this season. The
Cheyenne, Wyo. native was
named third team All-ACC
and was runner-up in ballot
ing for the ACC Rookie of
the Year Award in 2007-08.
He also was a unanimous
selection to the ACC All
Freshman Team and was
named a Freshman All
American by multiple publi
cations.
Created in 1976, the John
R. Wooden Award is the
most prestigious individual
honor in college basketball.
Johnson
It is bestowed upon the
nation's best player at an
institution of higher educa
tion who has proven to his or
her university that he or she
is making progress toward
graduation and maintaining
a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
In mid-January, the
Wooden Award Committee
will release the Midseason
Top 30 list, fol
lowed in March
by the National
Ballot, consisting
of approximately
20 top players
who have proven
to their universi
ties that they are
also making
progress toward
graduation and
maintaining a
cumulative 2.0
GPA. The Wooden Award
Ail-American Team will be
announced the week of the
"Elite Eight" round during
the NCAA Tournament.
The 33rd annual Wooden
Award ceremony, which will
include the announcement of
the Men's and Women's
Wooden Award, and the
presentation of the Wooden
Award Ail-American Teams
and the Legends of
Couching Award to Rick
Barnes from The University ?
of Texas, will be held at The
Los Angeles Athletic Club in
April, 2009.
Photo by Charlie
Ptalf
fMt. Tabor's
Z y r a I e
Jeter fol
lows Blyre
Stokes for
yards.
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