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LU C/3 SPORTS 7 INSIDE MOREHOUSE, SEPTEMBER 2008 PLAYING FAST, HARD AND SMART Maroon Tigers Football Team Looks to Better Last Year's 7-3 Record By ADD SEYMOUR JR. Last year, a 7-3 record after pre dictions of a last-place finish in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) turned the Morehouse Maroon Tiger football team into the surprise squad of the conference. That won’t happen this year. Conference coaches picked the Maroon Tigers to finish fourth in the 10-team SIAC in 2008, so there will be no sneaking up on opponents this year, said head football coach Rich Freeman. The now-roaring Maroon Tigers are a known commodity and opposing teams have taken note. But Freeman isn’t losing sleep over that. “I just think a man pretty much controls his own destiny,” Freeman said. “If we lock down and play fast, hard and smart, then we can be suc cessful against anybody.” The fast, hard and smart mantra - along with heavy doses of disci pline - continues to be the theme for Freeman’s squad heading into his second year at Morehouse. It will be much more noticeable on offense, where offensive coordinator Leon Murray stalled a no-huddle scheme that will keep defenses on their heels. Christian Sterling returns as quar terback, but he will be pushed by transfers Gerald Cook from Ten nessee State and William Brack from Jackson State. They will be throwing to senior James Steadman, who leads the wide receiver corps. Junior Ra- mone Harewood and senior Nate Nobles lead an offensive line that re turns all of its starters. Head coach Rich Freeman and offensive coordinator Leon Murray have installed a no-huddle offense that will look to move the chains this season. On defense, pre-season Division II All-American linebacker Jeffrey Cargile leads a sting)' unit that yielded the second-fewest average points per game in the SIAC last season. “We’re returning nine of 11 starters on defense,” Freeman said. “And of those two new players, we feel like we have upgraded. We’re looking for our defense to get even better.” Senior punter Micah Streiff also returns to anchor the special teams. Streiff and Cargile were named to the SIAC pre-season All-Conference squad. Second-teamers included Steadman, Harewood, Nobles, senior defensive lineman Mario Lane and senior defensive back Derrick Scott. After kicking off the season with a 7-3 loss at Benedict, the Maroon Tigers start a tough September schedule with a visit to Fort Valley State on Sept. 6 followed a week later by the season’s first home game at B.T. Harvey Stadium against Lane. The Tigers visit Miles on Sept. 20 and then play Prairie View A&M in the Angel City Classic in Los Angeles on Sept. 27. ■ TIGER NOTES: Morehouse will play before a national television audience at least twice this season. ESPN-U will televise the Maroon Tigers game live at Fort Valley State on Sept. 7 and on taped-delay on Oct. 11 for the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic in Columbus, Ga. The Maroon Tigers will be playing in three "classic" football games this year: The Palmetto Capital City Classic on Aug. 30 at Benedict, the Angel City Classic in Los Angeles against Prairie View A&M and the Oct. 11 Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic in Columbus, Ga. w 00 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE AUGUST 30th Benedict College* (Palmetto Capital City Classic) Columbia, S.C. 4 p.m. SEPTEMBER 7th Fort Valley State University* Ft. Valley, Ga. 2 p.m. 13th Lane College* Atlanta, Ga. 7 p.m. 20th Miles College* Birmingham, Ala. 6 p.m. 27th Prairie View A&M University (3rd Annual Angel City Classic) Los Angeles, Calif. 2:30 p.m. OCTOBER nth Tuskegee University* (73rd Annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic) Columbus, Ga. 2 p.m. 18th Clark Atlanta University* Atlanta, Ga. 2 p.m. 25th Albany State University* (Homecoming) Atlanta, Ga. 2 p.m. NOVEMBER 1st Stillman College* Tuscaloosa, Ala. 5 p.m. 8th Kentucky State University* Atlanta, Ga. 1 p.m. BOLD denotes home games * denotes Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games