Tigerpride
THE Logical ONE
Cal Poly offense worries Alcorn
Braves can go over .500 with victory over independent Mustangs
By Mark Alexander
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
Alcorn State steps out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Saturday as it hosts Cal Poly at Jack Spinks Stadium.
Cal Poly?
"Yeah, we've got a lot of that around here this week," Alcorn athletic director Marino Casem said with a laugh. "Everybody wants to know how Cal Poly is. No one knows a lot about them."
Here's a few tidbits. Cal Poly- SLO (San Luis Obispo) is a I-AA independent in football. The university, with an enrollment of 17,000, is a member of the Big West Conference in all other sports except wrestling.
The Mustangs bring a 4-2 record into Saturday's game at Lorman after holding off Division II power UC-Davis 31-28 this past Saturday. They lost to No. 2 Montana State 31-17 in their season opener.
The offense is led by quarterback Seth Burford and receiver Adam Herzing. Cal Poly averages 30 points per game.
"We've got a couple of films on them; they've got a good football team," said Alcorn coach Johnny Thomas, whose team improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SWAC with a 48-20 win over Prairie View Saturday. "We're going to have to show up and play a good football game. We've got to be focused.
"They throw it very well, they've got an outstanding running attack and their defense is very quick."
It is the first ever meeting between the schools. Alcorn will play at Cal Poly next season in a return game.
So how did this game come about anyway?
"We had put our schedule out because we needed a game," Casem said. "They called us. We talked and we were able to work out a home and home deal. We signed the contracts in February."
Prairie View, aiming for an unheard of three-game winning streak, led Alcorn 14-13 at halftime. But the Braves struck for 28 points in the third quarter, highlighted by a pair of 58-yard touchdown passes from Donald Carrie to Kris Peters in a 35-second span.
Peters, the fastest player on the team, also plays center field for Rat McGowan's baseball team. He was the Braves' leading hitter last season.
"He's been doing an outstanding job all season, but he had a breakout game Saturday," Thomas said. "He made some phenomenal catches, the types of catches we haven't had since I've been here. That really gave our team a spark."
Valley's Weaver shines
Mississippi Valley State fell to 0-7 over the weekend with a 38-21 loss to Texas Southern at Itta Bena. But Delta Devil fans can point to one bright spot at least: the play of backup quarterback Carey Weaver.
Weaver, a Greenwood native, passed for 174 yards and led the offense to three scoring drives in relief of starter Rob Harding. Weaver started the season as a quarterback before being moved to receiver.
"We're leaning toward Carey this week," Valley coach LaTraia Jones said. "We're going to prepare he and Rob. Weaver can do a lot of things for us, and we're going to give him the opportunity to make some things happen."
Does A&M have more magic?
Alabama A&M knocked off Alabama State 34-27 in last year's Magic City Classic, sending the Hornets in a late-season tailspin. If the same thing were to happen again this year, it would leave the East Division even more up for grabs.
"If we can't go, we certainly don't want them to go," Alabama A&M defensive back Reggie Johnson said
Braves can go over .500 with victory over independent Mustangs
By Mark Alexander
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
Alcorn State steps out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Saturday as it hosts Cal Poly at Jack Spinks Stadium.
Cal Poly?
"Yeah, we've got a lot of that around here this week," Alcorn athletic director Marino Casem said with a laugh. "Everybody wants to know how Cal Poly is. No one knows a lot about them."
Here's a few tidbits. Cal Poly- SLO (San Luis Obispo) is a I-AA independent in football. The university, with an enrollment of 17,000, is a member of the Big West Conference in all other sports except wrestling.
The Mustangs bring a 4-2 record into Saturday's game at Lorman after holding off Division II power UC-Davis 31-28 this past Saturday. They lost to No. 2 Montana State 31-17 in their season opener.
The offense is led by quarterback Seth Burford and receiver Adam Herzing. Cal Poly averages 30 points per game.
"We've got a couple of films on them; they've got a good football team," said Alcorn coach Johnny Thomas, whose team improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SWAC with a 48-20 win over Prairie View Saturday. "We're going to have to show up and play a good football game. We've got to be focused.
"They throw it very well, they've got an outstanding running attack and their defense is very quick."
It is the first ever meeting between the schools. Alcorn will play at Cal Poly next season in a return game.
So how did this game come about anyway?
"We had put our schedule out because we needed a game," Casem said. "They called us. We talked and we were able to work out a home and home deal. We signed the contracts in February."
Prairie View, aiming for an unheard of three-game winning streak, led Alcorn 14-13 at halftime. But the Braves struck for 28 points in the third quarter, highlighted by a pair of 58-yard touchdown passes from Donald Carrie to Kris Peters in a 35-second span.
Peters, the fastest player on the team, also plays center field for Rat McGowan's baseball team. He was the Braves' leading hitter last season.
"He's been doing an outstanding job all season, but he had a breakout game Saturday," Thomas said. "He made some phenomenal catches, the types of catches we haven't had since I've been here. That really gave our team a spark."
Valley's Weaver shines
Mississippi Valley State fell to 0-7 over the weekend with a 38-21 loss to Texas Southern at Itta Bena. But Delta Devil fans can point to one bright spot at least: the play of backup quarterback Carey Weaver.
Weaver, a Greenwood native, passed for 174 yards and led the offense to three scoring drives in relief of starter Rob Harding. Weaver started the season as a quarterback before being moved to receiver.
"We're leaning toward Carey this week," Valley coach LaTraia Jones said. "We're going to prepare he and Rob. Weaver can do a lot of things for us, and we're going to give him the opportunity to make some things happen."
Does A&M have more magic?
Alabama A&M knocked off Alabama State 34-27 in last year's Magic City Classic, sending the Hornets in a late-season tailspin. If the same thing were to happen again this year, it would leave the East Division even more up for grabs.
"If we can't go, we certainly don't want them to go," Alabama A&M defensive back Reggie Johnson said
