AN INSIDE LOOK Winston's offense passes first test in grand fashion Richard Huntley By CRAIG T. GREENLEE Chronicle Sports Editor Last month, Chronicle Sports fielded dozens of phone calls questioning the sanity of the CIAA coaches pre-season football poll that picked Winston-Salem State to repeat as league champions. For inquiring minds, it didn't make sense for the Rams to be ranked No. 1 because there was a ton of uncertainty about the offense, especially at running back where no experi enced players-retumedr-OK, so the Rams had ruled the league since the late 4 80s and they've continued to thrive with new faces replacing the old ones. But given the outlook before this season kicked off, callers won dered how the conference coaches could be so blind and off-base in their predictions. As it turned out ? for now at least ? the coaches proved that they know their stuff. Winston's 27-18 win over Elizabeth City State last Saturday provided the necessary proof. The Rams won by doing what they do best against a team that is known for regularly stuffing the most punishing of ground attacks. By game's end, Winston's offensive line . had cleared enough turf for the backs to gain an impressive 201 yards, something that few teams have accomplished against the Vikings in recent seasons. Let's nor forget that Liz City gave up a miserly 78.4 rushing yards per game in 491, or 2.4 yards per carry. So what? The Rams did things their way and averaged 3.8 yards per tote. t4I'm really proud of our offense," said Rams coach Pete Richardson during a post game interview. 4 Black College Football This Weekend ? i" <: ' SATURDAY All kickoff times are local Join State lOhio) at St. Francis (IN.) 1 :00 p.m. ?k>is _ JL. ?? ? ^ sviiie State at Elizabeth City State 1 :30 p.m .. State at Hampton University 130 pm , Norfolk State at Johnson C. Smith 1 :30 p.m. Livingstone College at West Georgia 1 :30 p.m. ? jhouse College at Fort Valley State 4:00 p.m m.*- - ?% "ft ** . ??/ . wmW 4 : W. ?-> This year marks the 100th anniversary for black cob lege football. The first black college game was played at Salisbury, NC on December 27, 1892 between Living' etone College and Blddle University, now known as Johnson C. Smith. Livingstone won that game 5-0 In a snowstorm. Savannah State vs. Tuskegee University 5:00 p.m. ; (at Ypsilanti, Mich.) Langston University at Northwest Oklahoma St . 6:00 p.m. - Virginia Union vs. Grambling 6:30 p.m. (Whitney Young Classic at East Rutherford, NJ) | * Miles College at Albany State 7:00 p.m. .1- *..4; "" ' Bethune-Cookman vs. Central Florida 7:00 p.m. (at Orlando, Fla.) South Carolina State at Florida A&M 7:00 p.m. Kentucky State at Wingate 7:00 p.m. Knoxville College at Austin Peay 7:00 p.m. ? Lane College at Mississippi Valley State 7:00 p.m. Morgan State at Liberty University 7:00 p.m. ? Virginia Sate at North Carolina Central 7:00 p.m. Alabama State at Southern University 7:00 pan. Jackson State vs. Tennessee State 7:00 p.m, (at Memphis, Tenn.) West Virginia State at Morehead State (Ky.) 7:00 p.m. Delaware State at Ybungstown State *7:30 p.m. Texas Southern at Southwest Texas State 730 p.m.