Week 3 SIAC by  Sofistakat Sept. 7-9, 2006

Thursday, September 7 (all times local)

Lane Dragons vs Morehouse Maroon Tigers, 8 p.m., Morehouse Stadium, Atlanta, GA - Broadcast: CSTV (Live)

The Dragons (2-0, 0-0), apparently tired from slithering to Missouri and then to North Carolina, slept thru the 1st half and trailed 16-3. Finally opening their eyes in the 4th quarter, the Lizards rallied to score 14 points to get their 1st conference win and 2nd win on the road. The 'House men (1-1, 1-1), on the other hand, went down I-75 to Ft. Valley and got smacked around by the Wildkitties for their first conference loss. This game is nationally televised so anything can happen. Expect the Lizards' defense to be the difference. Jackson Lizards over Maroon Kats

Saturday, September 9

Miles Golden Bears vs Tuskegee Golden Tigers, 1 p.m., Cleve Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium, Tuskegee, AL

The Bama Bearcubs (0-1, 0-0) stumble down from Jefferson County to Macon County to visit their downstate nemesis. The Golden Tigers (1-0, 1-0) are coming off a bye week after a victory over Stillman while the Golden Bears are recovering from the chompdown from crosstown Samford. This game is usually close for a half so look for Tuskegee to knuckle down late. Golden Cubbies over Bama Bearcubs

Stillman Tigers vs Concordia Hornets (Coach: Shepherd Skanes), 5 p.m., Memorial Stadium, Selma, AL

The Bama Tigers (0-1, 0-1) take a ride down the road to Selma to visit the Green Hornets (stop snickering please - their colors are green/gold, not to be confused with the black/gold Gump Hornets). Stillman, coming off a bye week after losing home opener to Tuskegee, should not look past this team (which nearly got swatted to death by W. Alabama 65-0) to next week's game vs Albany St. Even with Cato, Batman and Robin, the Hornets should lose this game. Bama Tigers over Green Hornets

Albany St. Golden Rams vs Kentucky St. Thorobreds, 6 p.m., Alumni Stadium, Frankfort, KY
The Rams (0-2, 0-0) go to the top of the conference to meet the Ponies 1-1, 0-0) in their first conference games. Both teams lost non-conference home games this past weekend. Albany St. kicked a field goal to take the lead with just over 4 minutes left, only to see Valdosta drive 70 yards to score with 23 seconds left in the game. The Rams gave up 454 yards of offense. The Ponies got dehooved by Ferris St. The Rams are sorely aggravated, having already lost two games this season. Look for a swift recovery this weekend. GA Goats over KY Horses

Benedict Tigers vs Clark Atlanta Panthers, 7 p.m., Panther Stadium, Atlanta, GA
The SC Cats (1-1, 0-1) strut down I-85, fresh off a win over Savannah State. Coach Hendrick was probably slitting his paws over the number of turnovers committed by the Tigers after jumping out to at 21-0 halftime lead. In a penalty-filled game (228 yds.), the ATL Cats (1-1, 0-1) had a 23-6 lead going into the 4th quarter, only to have to hold on after Cheney stormed back with 2 TDs late. The Panthers play their 3rd straight home game but Benedict's defense will win the game. SC Tigers over ATL Black Cats

Fort Valley St. Wildcats vs Valdosta St. Blazers, 7 p.m., Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, Valdosta, GA Webcast: NCAA Sports/CSTV - cstv.com

The Wildcats (2-0, 1-0) scamper downstate to play the Blazers in their second non-conference game (more on this later). Ft. Valley amassed 369 yards of offense (274 rushing) against Morehouse in a 31-14 victory. Mr. Copeland, Ft. Valley's QB in 2005, is now Valdosta's QB and threw for 346 yards in the Blazers win over Albany St. This should give the Wildcats a slight advantage. Look for a close game with the nod going to the Valley. Wildkitties over Blazers


Savannah St. Tigers vs. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 4 p.m., Municipal Stadium, Daytona Beach, FL

Benedict tried to keep the GA cousins on life support with numerous turnovers. Unfortunately, the Orange Tigers (0-1) were unable to convert. The SC cousins bared their fangs and kept them at bay each time. Don't expect that the Wildcats (0-1, 0-0) will have much mercy on SSU after their one point loss to the Jags. FL Wildcats over Orange Tigers

Short shot: Two schools have held continuous membership in the SIAC since its inception in 1913 - Clark Atlanta and Tuskegee.

Long pour: Offensive Player of the Week: Elijah Clark - Benedict (Jr, RB, 5-10, 175, Hawkinville, GA); Defensive Player of the Week: Ivan Diggs - Fort Valley St (Jr, DB, 6-1, 190, Newport News, VA); Newcomer of the Week: Ralph Warner - Kentucky State (So, DB, 5-10, 180, Dayton, OH); Special Teams Player of the Week: Jake Grubbs - Fort Valley State (So, K, 5-9, 180, Warner Robins, GA) 

Last call: Perhaps you are wondering why the Ft. Valley-Morehouse game was a conference game for Morehouse but not for Ft. Valley. Once again, the Immaculate One's scheme to widen the conference boundaries to Oklahoma is responsible. Instead of mandating that all teams had to schedule Langston and/or Lincoln and allowing the ADs to do what they've done for years, somehow the conference got involved in scheduling, hence a 7-game conference schedule. Once the scheme collapsed, teams were left scrambling trying to replace games and fill dates and of course the conference was doing its usual - hiding in a hole in the ground. Several traditional dates got screwed up in the process including a couple of rivalry games - the Morehouse-Tuskegee and Albany St.- Ft. Valley games in Columbus - and some games that have normally counted in conference standings don't. And there is no rhyme or reason to it. The situation is ridiculous and yet another disservice to the student athletes, fans, alumni and supporters of the conference.