Newspapers / Winston-Salem State University Student … / Oct. 27, 2009, edition 1 / Page 8
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diagram by b. cooley Sports I’agc H I'hc News Ar^us Tuesday, October 27, 2009 w\v'\v.lhciic\vsai>nis.c(>ni ^thk, OFFENSE Quarterback: In the spread formation, senior Jarrett Dunston will line up in the shotgun position, majority of the offensive plays. Dunston is a scrambler, and is the Rams leading rusher with 360 yards in six games and has one of the team’s two rushing touchdowns. ! He has thrown for five touchdowns and three interceptions. Dunston must protect the ball against Hampton's alert defense. The Pirates have eight interceptions on the season, as well as 26 deflected passes, 18 pass breakups and 18 quarterback hurries. Dunston must also have awareness in the pocket, as Hampton’s defense has dropped quarterbacks for 17 sacks with a loss of 102 total yards. Wide Receivers: Composed of Dominique Fitzgerald, Brian Wynn, Joiinathon Kinzer, and Omar Kizzie. The Rams’ speedy corps of versatile ball catchers can control the tempo of the game for WSSU because they know how to get open. This crew of possession wide receivers average four yards a catch, but they pick up an extra 6.5 yards after the catch. With six touchdowns on the season, two from the sophomore Fitzgerald, the Rams could add to that total as the Pirates have given up 11 touchdowns through the air and 178 passing yards a game this season. Fitzgerald is also a factor in special teams; gaining 224 punt and kick return yards. Running back: Junior Nathan Munford has yet to score for the Rams this season, but he has moved up the depth chart to take the starting role at tailback. Coming into this game against ihet Pirates off his third start this season, Muntord along with junior Cedric Hickman have Impro ecf the Rams ground game. Munford averages just shy of four yards per carry, while Hickman is coming off the Bethune-Cookman victory running for 97 yards and a touchdown. The Pirates give up an j average of 123 yards on the ground, and the opposition has scored nine rushing touchdowns. Offensive Line: Composed of Julian Gray (left tackle), Markus Law/rence (left guard), David Luckett (center), Travis Taylor (right guard) and J. Crav^ley (right tackle). The offensive line composed of freshmen and sophomores have helped stabilize the Rams time of possession to just under the halfway mark at 27:35 per game. This young unit has given up 21 sacks in seven games, and has a limited amount of flags thrown, as they have committed few penalties for holding and false starts. If the o-line can clear lanes for the rush ing attack, protect the quarterback and give him time to connect with the wide receivers, the Rams will have a slight advantage because Hampton gives up close to 17 first downs a game Offense: WSSU has a close to 80 percent conversion rate in the red zone, coming up short o only three other scoring opportunities. Leading for the Rams in scoring is freshman Landen Thayer, with 25 of WSSU's 73 points. Thayer is 6-9 in field goals and 7-8 on extra point kicks. Under the management of first-year offensive coordinator, Alan Hall, the offense averages 203 j yards per game. The Rams scored 10 points the first four games of the season, before putting up 14 points during their Oct. 17 contest against UC Davis and 16 points against Bethune- Cookman Oct. 24. The Rams need to jump on the board early only scoring three first quarter points this season, and take advantage of Hampton's surrendering of 22 points a game. TT This matchup features the (3-4) Hampton Pirates out of Washington D.C. against the {1-6) Winston-Salem State Rams. The Pirates enter the Oct. 31 contest coming off a 21-9 loss to S.C. State. The Rams recorded their first win of the season over Bethune-Cookman Oct. 24 v/ith a 16-10 victory on the road. The Pirates will | also be playing with a chip on their shoulder after suffering a 35-30 Homecoming loss to the Rams last November. Three of the Rams six losses were within a six point average. Secondary: Composed of Marvin Bohannon (left cornerback), Wayne Noble Jr. (free safety), Jaquin Sessoms (strong safety), and Alex Chandler (right cornerback). The Rams defensive backs and safeties have combined for 100 tackles. Bohannon and Nobie each have an interception, and average 13 yards per interception return. This experi enced quartet of defensive backs must be cautious of Hampton’s receivers and what they can do after catching the ball. The Pirates average 7.2 yards per pass, but gain an additional nine yards after the reception, converting their completions into first downs. The Rams’ secondary surrenders 190 yards a game, but the Pirates have averaged only 154 yards on 150 total attempts through the air this season. The Pirates have also thrown five interceptions. Linebackers: Composed of Marcus Coates (Rover-outside linebacker), Marlon Dawson (inside linebacker), Chedrick Marshall (inside linebacker) and Shawn Kearney (TED-outside linebacker). Lining up in the 3-4 defensive scheme, the WSSU linebackers must key in on the Pirates ^ ground attack if they take off into the second level of the defensive unit’s front seven. Hampton | runs the ball close to 39 times a game, averages 3.9 yards per carry, and rushes for 154 yards | per contest. The Pirates have six rushing touchdowns. This defensive corps of | upperclassmen has combined for 123 tackles, including 16 tackles for a loss of 52 total yards. Marshall leads the Rams linebackers in tackles with 45 and 3.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards. Defensive Line: Composed of Akeem Ward (left defensive end), Kevin Dorsey Jr. (nose tackle), and Joshua Newkirk (right defensive end). % Because the Pirates prefer to run the ball, the Rams defensive line must be aware of Hampton 4 running back, LaMarcus Coker, before he gets into the secondary. Coker averages 99 yards i per game and more than five yards per carry. The young defensive front for the Rams has 1 combined for 102 tackles. Ward has over one-third of those tackles, leading with 42, including ' 7.5 tackles for a loss of 45 yards. This trio has six of the defense's 13 sacks; Ward is the leader with 2.5 sacks for a loss of 19 yards. Defense: The Rams defense, under the direction of defensive coordinator, Mike Ketchum has transformed the defense into a solid unit since his arrival five years ago. This season WSSU has recovered eight fumbles and has allowed the opposition to convert 39 percent on third downs. The group has 476 total tackles, including 47 tackles for a loss of 171 yards The Pirates typically control the ball for 29:30 and average 304 yards, while the Rams give up 294 yards each match. The Rams defense also has eight quarterback hurries and 20 pass report by I. miles Always Watching
Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper
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Oct. 27, 2009, edition 1
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