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Thursday, October 15, 1998
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THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 13
With each
game,
Tigers
improving
we ve come.
Hickson said the team has
come under unfair fire from
the students and the
newspaper, and stressed that
the campus-wide negative
By Joe Carlos
Sports Editor
Be patient. Better days
await the Maroon Tigers.
The team is coming off
two straight weekends of
strongly-contested losses to
Alcorn State and archrival,
Tuskegee.
The narrow margins of
defeat have injected a new
dose of optimism to the team
and Head Coach Frank
Hickson.
"Have you been to the
games? Then you can see the
improvement we are making
every week," said Hickson, in
an interview with The Maroon
Tiger. "We were two plays
away from making a national
statement [in the game against
Alcorn State]. By beating them
— a team in a higher division
— we would have shown all
of the critics just how far
sentiment regarding football
has to change.
"There needs to be an
attitudinal adjustment in
regards to football on this
campus." he said. "We're
experiencing growing pains,
which is natural for any team
that is rebuilding."
"You've got to realize that
we've got guys, young guys,
that in a regular program
would have been red shirted,"
Hickson added. "Instead, we
had 250 lb. freshmen linemen
playing IAA defensive
linemen who were
about 3251bs. And they were
fighting them and holding
them off all day."
The confidence oozing
into the team following their
recent performance is slowly
making a
difference on the
field, said
Hickson. All the
team needs now
is for the college
to rally behind
it.
"It's sad,"
said Hickson.
"Before the guys
go out on the
field, they say,
'Nobody
believes in us
but ourselves.
Let's do it for
us.'"
Hickson also cleared up
the rumors that began
circulating around campus
after students misinterpreted
a story that appeared in the
last issue of The Maroon Tiger.
He is here to stay, Hickson
said.
"I'm building a lifetime
career. I want to be at
Morehouse for the rest of my
life," he said. "I have moved
eight times in sixteen years.
back
to an
HBCU,
that's my heart, my roots. I'm
a guy who wants to make a
difference here."
When asked about
homecoming, Hickson
expressed confidence that the
Tigers will put up a good
fight.
"It's always good to come
home," he said. "It's an
exciting time. And with the
progress that we've been
making, hopefully we can pull
it off for Homecoming this
week."
K|ys to victory
The rapidly improving play of the offensive line
In the past couple of weeks, the offensive
line, led by center Jason Perry, has given
quarterback Chivalrik Daughtry the
necessary time to make reads, and has
opened up holes for the running backs. In
the Tuskegee game, running back Jason
Taylor ran very well in the second half behind the vaunted
Maroon Tiger line.
Consistency at quarterback
Sticking with freshman quarterback
Chivalrik Daughtry has
build a level of
within the offense. In the last
couple of weeks, Daughtry has
shown poise and skill at his position,
and has led his offense to numerous scores and near
victories against Alcorn and Tuskegee.
Cornerbacks
Opposing offenses have repeatedly gone to the
air to challenge the Maroon Tiger corners. *
Challenging the comers is to be expected with the
successful play of the defensive line. However, with
improved coverage at the wideouts and in the flats,
more first downs and deep plays will be prevented.
Special Teams
The Maroon Tigers enjoy a particular luxury in the fact that
place kicker Marcus Shaw is so consistent. Shaw
attributes for a great percentage of the Maroon
Tigers' offensive points, and is basically dead on
accurate from upwards of 30+ yards.
Fan support is so important. In order to win, it
takes mental preparation, execution of plays, and
support from the fans. Screaming, yelling chants and
cheers are invaluable psychologically for the team
as well as the fans.
Fan Support
Players hungry for
first win
By Levar Smith • Staff Writer
Through the taunts and criticism, they've been silent. Amidst
the doubts, they have stayed focused on the game, preparing
for the homecoming showdown against Virginia Union.
The Maroon Tigers' impressive showing against Alcorn State
and Tuskegee may have been just what the players needed.
The optimism and enthusiasm of the team are now apparent
on every face.
"We haven't given up yet. We still want to finish strong,"
said freshman business major Kent Davis.
"The team is taking the losses one game at a time, and I try
to get better every game and during practice," added Camy
Smith, a freshman business major.
The players admitted it takes time to get to know one
another's playing style, but said the unity and chemistry this
year was better than in the past.
"We're close-knit, but we're still trying to get to know each
other better," said junior mathematics major Patrick Carter.
Key to their success is increased student turnout and
support, the players stressed.
"The fans are important to team success" said Carter. "The
more fans we have, the more morale the team will have."
In defense of our
football team
By Keddrick Franks • Editorial Columnist
Let's face it; football is obviously not where Morehouse
excels as a school.
We're half-way through this season and we're
floundering at a pathetic 0 and 6. And in the past three
years, we've only been able to crack the win column a
meager 5 times.
But look at it this way: No matter how many times
our team has been ripped in half, they continue to get
up and go back for more.
This year, we practically have a new team, including a
new head coach. Different faces from different places and
backgrounds who've been thrown together without being
given enough time to learn to work together. Now, they are expected to
turn a team with a legacy of losing into champions. That takes time.
For many of the returning players, it is their second or third coach.
This means, these players constantly have to learn and re-learn how to
work under new leadership that they know has very little chance of
past two seasons. To put it plainly, our football program is unstable
at best, and we as students don't exactly make things easy for them.
Everyday, students, myself included, can be heard ridiculing our
football team. But if we were in their shoes, could we really do any better?
That's the question we should be asking ourselves.
Anyone can be a Monday-morning quarterback, but can you really
play the game? In the end, it's the team, not its critics, that is going out
there week after week doing the best it can to work cohesively and bring
home a win.
Sure, their best may fall short at the present, but given a chance, I
have confidence that this team can be a force on the field and bring the
glory back to our football program.
We can criticize all we want, but until we actually strap on the pads
and hit the field, what we say really doesn't matter.
— Joe Carlos
