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Ferris State head coach Tony Annese will miss his team's Division II playoff opener as he serves a one-game suspension he received after two of his players lit up celebratory cigars in the locker room after last year's national title victory.
The NCAA handed down the punishment in March. In addition to Annese's one-game ban, Ferris State had to pay a $2,500 fine along with $15,383 to the McKinney (Texas) Independent School District for cleaning and repairs to the locker room.
Beyond the cigar smoking, which occurred in a tobacco-free area, the Detroit News' Tony Paul reported at the time the NCAA also disciplined Annese and the school because some Bulldogs players had removed team stickers from the walls of the locker room.
"When I stopped feeling sorry for myself and start to put it into perspective, I know my team will be fighting for me on the sidelines," Annese said of his suspension to Alec Giannakopoulos of WOOD TV8. "... Self pity's the greatest form of self-destruction, so I just gotta suck it up, and be a big boy."
He joked that he could still attend Saturday's game if he purchased a ticket.
Ferris State will look to avenge its earlier loss to Grand Valley State in October. The Bulldogs fell behind by 35 points in the first half but got to within seven in the third quarter before allowing two touchdowns in the final frame.
Grand Valley State is seeded second in its quarter of the Division II playoff bracket.
Jada Byers and the Virginia Union Panthers put on a show in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday.
The fourth iteration of the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic saw Virginia Union take on Morehouse College and it was all Panthers.
Virginia Union put up a touchdown in each of the first three quarters and exploded for three more in the final quarter to take a 45-13 victory and start the season 1-0.
Byers was hyped up going into the matchup after an outstanding 2022 season and did not disappoint in the opener. He ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries and took home offensive MVP honors.
Quarterback Christian Reed was solid as well, going 11-15 for 153 yards and a touchdown. He also had five tackles and a pass breakup on the defensive side of the ball.
Jabrill Norman was named the defensive MVP for Virginia Union as he made six tackles, recorded a sack and had an interception that he returned 68 yards for a touchdown.
Morehouse struggled on offense, not scoring a touchdown until the fourth quarter, but the special teams unit produced a highlight-reel moment when Delvin Olawumi Jr. blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown in the third quarter to break the scoreless skid.
Virginia Union will take the big victory into a new season where they hope to improve on a 9-2 record and a first-round exit in the Division II NCAA Tournament. Morehouse will look to rebound after playing a difficult team and improve on a 1-9 record in 2022.
Morehouse is back in action next week when they take on Division I FCS opponent Howard University in Washington D.C. Virginia Union is also back in action next week, traveling to Raleigh, NC to face Shaw University.
A pair of Ferris State players may have taken things a bit too far during the team's Division II national championship celebration this past December, and now head coach Tony Annese is paying for it.
According to Josh VanDyke of MLive.com, the NCAA announced that Annese will be suspended for one future playoff game following a rules violation due to two Ferris State players being seen smoking cigars in the locker room following the Bulldogs' 41-14 win over Colorado School of Mines on Dec. 17.
Part of the issue is that the game was held at McKinney ISD Stadium, which is on a tobacco-free high school campus in McKinney, Texas. VanDyke noted that Ferris State had already incurred a fine for smoking cigars following the program's Division II national championship in 2021, so the school's administration and coaching staff "warned its players of potential disciplinary actions." Unfortunately, two of them ignored those words of caution.
Ferris State also received a fine after "several players" attempted to remove the team's temporary wall stickers in their locker room after the title game to keep as souvenirs.
The university reportedly applied for an appeal of Annese's suspension, "citing the belief that the sanction was disproportionate to the violation," but the NCAA denied it.
For his part, Annese appears to be willing to accept the punishment and he hopes the situation can provide a lesson for his players.
"As a coaching staff, each day leading up to the National Championship game, we had reminded our players that smoking cigars in celebration would not be allowed," Annese said in a statement. "My team was fully aware that the actions of the two players were inappropriate. No matter how minor the actions may seem, young people need to understand that there are consequences for their actions."
Albany State head football coach Quinn Gray issued an apology on Saturday for offering a scholarship to former Florida commit and 2023 4-star quarterback Marcus Stokes, though his statement didn't mention Stokes by name.
His apology read, in part:
Let me start with a humble apology. An apology for not honoring the tradition and history of ASU and for letting many of you down. I didn't uphold the Ramily standard that I know you expect. Please know that my decision to speak with a student that did not meet your expectations was unacceptable. I only wanted the best for our team, athletes, and institution when I invited the student to visit ASU. As I say to our players, "there is a consequence to every action." The consequences of my actions brought pain to our University. I was trying to help a student get back in competition, and in my haste, I did not consider the impact the decision would have on all of you. Frankly, it wasn't my place to use ASU as the platform for redemption in this case. I regret that I used flawed judgment. If given the opportunity, I will do better.
He added in his statement that "ASU expects excellence" and that school president Marion Ross Fedrick "made it clear that my actions did not meet that standard."
HBCU Gameday's Steven J. Gaither reported the scholarship offer has been rescinded.
On Jan. 24, Stokes tweeted that he had received an offer from Albany State, an HBCU:
Gray retweeted Stokes' announcement at the time.
Stokes, who is considered the No. 31 quarterback in the Class of 2023 and the No. 93 player from the state of Florida, per 247Sports.com's Composite Rankings, had his scholarship offer from Florida pulled in November after video surfaced online of him rapping an anti-Black slur along with a song. Stokes is white.
"I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet. "... I fully accept the consequences for my actions and I respect the University of Florida's decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football."
Stokes has since tweeted that he's received offers from Alabama A&M—also an HBCU—and the University of West Florida.
Ouachita Baptist football player Clark Yarbrough died Sunday after suddenly collapsing, the school announced:
The defensive lineman was 21 years old, per the Associated Press. No cause of death has been announced.
Yarbrough played Thursday in his team's season-opening win over Oklahoma Baptist, tallying two tackles. The senior was an All-Great American Conference honorable mention last season after totaling 27 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, while playing all 11 games for the squad.
He also played eight games as a freshman in 2019, while the 2020 campaign was canceled due to COVID-19.
The sports management major initially came to the Division II school in Arkansas from Sachse High School in Texas, which also released a statement.
Ouachita Baptist is scheduled to play its second game of the season on Saturday against Southern Nazarene.
The Central State Marauders defeated the Winston-Salem State Rams 41-21 in the 2022 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday.
Sunday's game was the third iteration of the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic. In 2019, Alabama A&M defeated Morehouse 35-30. In 2021, Grambling beat Tennessee State 16-10. The 2020 version of the game was not played due to COVID-19.
The annual event features two teams from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition to the game, the event features tailgating, music and other entertainment spread out across Labor Day weekend.
Sunday's game between the Marauders and Rams saw a turnover-filled first half, but it took Central State all of 31 seconds to grab an early 7-0 lead.
Following an 81-yard kickoff return from wide receiver Twon Hines, Central State got on the board first when quarterback Brandon Kyles found Hines for a seven-yard touchdown.
However, Central State followed up Hines' touchdown with back-to-back turnovers on their next two drives. The team's second touchdown of the day came when defensive back Anthony Mack picked off Winston-Salem State quarterback Richard Latimer for a 25-yard score, extending the Marauders' lead to 14-0.
Winston-Salem State finally got on the board when Kyles tossed an interception that defensive back Justin Fleming returned for a 25-yard score.
Latimer then connected with wide receiver R.J. Mobley for a 23-yard touchdown pass to get the game back to even at 14-14.
However, Central State regained the lead just before halftime when junior running back Kaz Dina scored on a three-yard run to put the Marauders back up by a touchdown.
Central State won the turnover battle in the first half with just one interception and one fumble compared to Winston-Salem State's three interceptions and three fumbles. It was a big reason why they entered halftime with a one-score lead.
The third quarter saw both teams trade possessions before Central State found the end zone on its second possession of the second half.
Linebacker Jalil Lenore set up a short field for the Marauders with a fumble recovery before Kyles found wide receiver Kenyadus Hollins for a 13-yard score to extend the Marauders' lead 27-14.
Winston-Salem State fought back when Latimer found Mobley again for a score, this time with a 43-yard touchdown pass to cut Central State's lead to 27-21.
However, Central State found paydirt again on their next drive when running back Aaron Kennebrew rushed in for a one-yard score to put the Marauders up 34-21 at the end of the third quarter.
The Marauders essentially put the game away when Kyles found receiver Micah Lowe for a 21-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 41-21.
For Central State, Kyles finished the game having completed 26-of-41 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions.
Hines led all receivers with seven catches for 104 yards and one touchdown, while Kennebrew led running backs with nine carries for 39 yards and one score.
For Winston-Salem State, Latimer completed 14-of-21 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions. Mobley led the Rams with four catches for 73 yards and two scores, while Barnes led running backs with 19 carries for 107 yards.
Central State will look to keep its winning season alive with a win against Lincoln University on Saturday, while Winston-Salem State will look for its first win of the year against North Carolina Central University.
Omari Alexander, a redshirt freshman who played football at Lenoir-Rhyne University, was found shot to death inside a car at the Civitan Court Apartment complex in Hickory, North Carolina, early Saturday morning.
Samantha Gilstrap and Marvin Beach of WCCB Charlotte provided more information:
Upon arrival, officers say the found a black 2015 Chevrolet Camaro with the engine running in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
When officers approached the car, they say they found an unresponsive 19-year-old Black man, Omari Alexander, sitting in the driver’s sear with multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers attempted to provide medical aid to Alexander until medics arrived at the scene, but Alexander was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lenoir-Rhyne confirmed the 19-year-old's death on Saturday:
Per Walter Hermann of Fox 46 Charlotte, no arrests have been made thus far. According to WBTV, no suspect information has been released.
Alexander is listed as a tight end on the Bears roster. He attended Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte before arriving at Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Bears played Saturday, losing in the first round of the Division II playoffs against Bowie State in Bowie, Maryland.
The family of Jermain Stephens, the Division II offensive lineman who died earlier this month, says he died of a blood clot to his heart after contracting COVID-19.
Stephens' mother, Kelly Allen, told Nikki Battiste of CBS Sports that she's worried about the young athletes who are returning to their campuses for fall sports.
"I'm very, very nervous for these young men and women. ... These kids, their lives are priceless. And it's just not worth it. It's not worth it," Allen said.
Stephens played football at California University of Pennsylvania, which suspended its fall sports calendar in July. It is unclear how he contracted COVID-19, which has killed more than 195,000 people and infected more than 6.6 million in the United States, but Allen said Stephens returned to campus to work out with his teammates. The school is not conducting official workouts.
Heart issues are among the many complications of the novel coronavirus, which can have long-lasting effects even in the event of non-fatal infections.
Stephens' family is offering a warning of the potential complications facing student-athletes, as the Big Ten and Pac-12 reconsider their decision to postpone the 2020 fall season and several other major conferences continue play. LSU coach Ed Orgeron told reporters Tuesday that he thinks that "most" of his team has had COVID-19.
"Sports give us a release. Right. You know, it gives us freedom from all of this drama...we are not in a state of mind with it all to make the right decision," Stephens' father, Jamain Stephens, said. "And as you know, we're sitting here right now talking about the loss of my son because we took the risk."
University of Central Oklahoma football player Derek Loccident lost his foot after being run over by a train Sunday morning.
"The only thing that matters right now is that Derek knows he has our full support," head football coach Nick Bobeck said in a statement. "We are here for him. It's important for his family to know that too. This isn't about him being a football player right now, it's about him being a young man that we are here for."
Police said Loccident had been attempting to crawl under a stopped train when it began moving, severing his foot, per Katrina Butcher of KFOR.
Loccident, 20, is expected to survive the accident. He was taken to a local hospital, where he is currently undergoing care for his injuries.
The railway company is investigating what led to the accident. It's unclear why Loccident was attempting to crawl under the train. He had played cornerback for Central Oklahoma and had 15 tackles through the first two games of the season.
