OSG NAIA: Edward Waters Comes From 34 Down To Win

((HT: Joshua Jackson))

J-Jacks is a voice in Jacksonville with the Sharks and Edward Waters College- whom the HQ has seen play at Raines High School against Shorter in their NAIA days.

He was around in Pikeville, Kentucky a week and a half ago when EWC was down 48-14 with seven minutes to go in regulation.

What happened was amazing and really cool as they came back to win 49-48

Here's the highlights from the last seven minutes that include a TD pass with no time left on the clock in regulation and a really tough point after touchdown that followed


Admittedly, UPike is in a big transition period this year. Allan Holland, Junior was named interim head football coach in mid-August. Dudley Hilton had to step down for personal and health reasons. The Bears, with the loss, are now 1-3 with another loss this weekend to Lindsey Wilson.

EWC is 2-2 before this weekend's game with Point.

OSG NAIA: Southern Poly Is Still At It

One of the HQ's favorite movies is "The Replacements"- the football movie where Shane Falco and the Washington Sentinels

try to make the playoffs with a bunch of players pulled off the streets.

For their Thanksgiving night game with Dallas, some of the Ropers players crossed the picket line for the big game to play the squad of replacements.

Head Coach Jimmy McGinty is anything but a conventional coach and a conventional guy. Here was a bit of his last on-field speech:

"Listen up! This time tomorrow, the strike will be officially over. Now Dallas has made a big mistake out there tonight. They haven't been afraid of you, and they should be, because you have a powerful weapon working for you tonight: There is no tomorrow for you... and that makes you all VERY DANGEROUS PEOPLE!"

Southern Poly's baseball team is in that spot the Sentinels are in... no future after their last loss- whenever that is.

They went through the SSAC tournament in Montgomery last week- fighting weather in both extremes and now get to head to Regionals. The Hornets are making their seventh appearance in the last eight years at the NAIA national tournament.

With the win over top-five Faulkner (who was playing their second game of the day to get to the title tilt in the first place), SPSU captured its fourth SSAC Tournament crown in the last 11 seasons and third in the past eight.

The crowds...??? No, they weren't the biggest...

But that doesn't really matter... the crowds are supporting the teams they follow all through the year...

Those brackets come out Friday and gives the teams that head to the next step in the process a weekend to flock to wherever they need to go next. The HQ wonders if they get to travel all the way across town and play at Georgia Gwinnett College or around the world in any one of these places...

Kingsport, Tenn. Kingsport Bracket
Jackson, Miss. Jackson Bracket
Marion, Ind. Marion Bracket
Daytona Beach, Fla. Daytona Beach Bracket
Montgomery, Ala. Montgomery Bracket
Lawrenceville, Ga. Lawrenceville Bracket
Shawnee, Okla. Shawnee Bracket
Hutchinson, Kan. Hutchninson Bracket
Santa Clarita, Calif. Santa Clarita Bracket

And a lot of people are looking for an ending like this when it comes to Poly...
((HT: Warner Brothers Pictures))


And we'll keep you up to date when we know where they're heading...

OSG NAIA: Southern Poly's End Of The End...

The HQ does some television programming for the premier conference in the NAIA- the Southern States Athletic Conference...

And, as is the case these days, mergers and acquisitions can't even escape the land of colleges and universities...

The University System of Georgia had a round of mergers and dissolves within the past year that had an effect on two Atlanta-area universities: Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University. Southern Poly ranked highly in a lot of categories state-wide including enrollment increases, test scores, and all those academic-type things that keeps you desirable and profitable in a university system.

But, at the end of the day confusing a lot of people, Southern Poly was told THEY were the ones who were going to be merged with Kennesaw and not going to be left to their own devices as a technology university.

That meant one thing- a lot of people were going to lose their jobs...

And even more students were going to be displaced athletically in four sports...

The Hornets have a history: The baseball, soccer, and basketball teams have won conference titles and made plenty of post-season appearances in the NAIA tournaments. This season alone, the women's basketball team under LaQuanda Dawkins won the SSAC Eastern Division title and made an appearance in the NAIA tournament in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Here's that story about leaving a legacy in the "Southern States Showcase" TV program from early March
The segment airs at the 9:45 mark...
((HT: Workhorse Video Productions))


And the baseball team is ranked in the top-20 in the country...

The issue with the transition in the first place is always the "when..."

Initially, the thought was that SPSU players, coaches, and personnel would have another year to figure out their futures. But that idea got squashed and put the slow fade of the Hornets on a fast track. As a result, when teams would lose their last game of the 2013-2014 season, it would be their last loss ever.

Like the last home game for the men's basketball team...
((HT: Taylor McDonald))


And, this weekend, the last home game for regular-season baseball... a three-game, two-day series against the University of Mobile. The two teams split the Thursday double-header which led to Senior Day on Friday.

The outgoing president, Dr. Lisa Rossbacher, was there with her husband and pit bull mix- wearing a Southern Poly hat that was given out to all who wanted one. Her husband, a St. Louis Cardinals fan, had as a condition to them getting married that she had to learn how to score a baseball game.

She can do that, by the way...

The day had more of an Irish wake feel to it than a baseball game if you knew what was going on. People could have lunch, take their picture taken with the Hornets' mascot (who, from the looks of things, was well on his or her way to losing a good ten pounds in water weight), play side-show games, or watch the game itself. And, by the transitory nature of the crowd, it seemed like people would come by. They just couldn't stomach hanging around for the end.

Both literal and figurative...

After the last regular season game with the Rams, all that is left of a six-decade athletics program is the conference tournament and a possible trip to regionals-slash-nationals...

And that's it...

No more nothing... except alums and a Hall of Fame-to be...

And it also makes you wonder... do you claim your alma mater with a sense of pride or hide from it once your school is eaten up in today's view of colleges and universities...??? All the banners in the gym get rolled up. The floor gets put somewhere unless Kennesaw wants to use the facility for intramurals and the same goes for baseball...

All you're left with are memories because you're history...

As both an imperative and an adjective...

UPDATE: So you know, naturally, the last game on campus lasted a while... especially near the end...

Mobile broke out to a 6-0 lead, but Southern Poly scored three in the 7th and 10 in the 8th...

Southern Poly sent 15 hitters to the plate in the 8th inning, scoring 10 runs on six hits after the inning started with a walk, two hit-batsmen, a walk and a grand slam. There were 14 pitchers used in the game, including eight by SPSU. Mobile pitchers issued 18 walks and hit five batters in the game. Southern Poly left 15 runners on base and the Rams nine.

It was Senior Day for Southern Poly’s eight senior players - Chris Dykes, Forrest Garrett, Chad Livingston, Dalton Martinez, Reese Patten, Tyler Roach, Zach Smith and Khirus Ware

Southern Poly finishes their last regular season going 38-16 and will play Wednesday in the conference tournament in Montgomery.

OSG NAIA: Blind Hoopster Hits 3, Wins Food For A Year

((HT: NAIA/joeschmoe2011/Lost Lettermen))

Take you to College of the Ozarks...

Simple promotion... shoot a three and get free fast food from the Golden Arches for a year...

Michael Quin is blind...
You can see where this is going...
Evidence below...


Even if it is McDonald's, this is really cool...

OSG NAIA: Rome's Last Ride Was A Good One...

And, it was a good one...

The HQ has had its hands in the NAIA for a few years now, and we enjoy our time there...

It's towns like Williamsburg, Barbourville, Central, Pulaski, McKenzie and, at the same time, places like Jackson, Montgomery, New Orleans, Hattiesburg, and Georgetown (Kentucky, not DC)...

It's athletes that do really cool things on the field of play and, at the same time, have their priorities straight in their late

teens and early 20's...

It's kids who had nothing or, in some cases- less than nothing- and are making something of themselves. There are political prisoners, emigres, third-world families, and such that see something in this country and decide to make something of themselves...

And for the sixth, and last, time the football championship was in Rome, Georgia- about 90 minutes north of HQ. It's heading to Daytona Beach for a three-year gig next season...

Grand View started a football program only six years ago, but they made it to the title game. University of the Cumberlands (KY) is from that Williamsburg I mentioned earlier and made it through the eastern gauntlet to play for a title for head coach John Bland.

FOSG Courtney Lyle had the preview
((HT: WBIR-TV))
Cumberlands had 18 athletes on their roster from the HQ's perview... and we knew the schools and the talent pools of all of them. Grand View, from Des Moines, announced that it will be creating a football team in the fall of 2008 with the hiring of Mike Woodley in July 2007. Woodley was head coach at Pasadena-Sam Rayburn (TX) High School and had a lot of Texas influence in his roster- as any growing program should... Woodley stated when he took the job: “Anybody who’s been in this business long enough knows that the opportunity to start a program from scratch is very rare. There are so many exhilarating things happening on campus with the addition of athletic programs, new student housing, and new buildings. Grand View is headed in the right direction, and I want to be a part of it." The team went from 2-7 in year one, to 8-3 in year two, and they haven't looked back...

Cumberlands was the site of the first-round playoff game the HQ attended a few years ago, and John Bland has created a monster in the Mid-South Conference. Scholarships have to be doled out over a lot of kids on any given roster and UC is no different... "A lot of them have to pay for school on their own. These guys make sacrifices, tremendous sacrifices," says University of the Cumberlands head coach John Bland told WBIR-TV earlier this week. "A high percentage have work study jobs, well over 50%" "I mow yards, pressure washing, landscaping and stuff," said senior, linebacker Weston Hazelhurst. "My job is in my dorm, I work in the Rob Cooke computer labs." said junior, running back D'Angelo Jordan. "I think its kind of difficult for us to do school, work, work study, and football. I think we're some special guys to be able to do something like that," explained Hazelhurst. And that's what makes the NAIA special... There are tremendous athletes that, on rare occasions, make it to the NFL. But, in reality, these guys are playing on their last level of organized football... And that's what makes title games like these special... You find out about guys like Derek Fulton, Adam Craig, Jordan, Jason Gladfeldner, and Hazlehurst... You learn, through your time in the NAIA about talented QB's like Josh Hollingsworth at Faulkner- and hope he gets a chance to show his stuff... somewhere... And for the record, Grand View adds their name to Rome's title game history with the likes of USD, Carroll, Saint X, and Marion (IN) for wins in Barron Stadium. It will be interesting to see how football continues to grow from here... Here's the highlights... ((HT: Grand View their own selves))

OSG NAIA: Another Miracle In Montgomery... A Goal With :01 Left...

((HT: AUM Athletics))

Here's one way to get yourself to a national final...

The game-tying goal by Mathis Kroeger came off a set piece with :04 left in regulation to send the #11-seed Auburn University-Montgomery Warhawks into overtime against #2-seed (and 9-time NAIA national champ) Lindsey Wilson during the NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament in Montgomery, Alabama.

AUM was down 1-0 and only had 10-men. They went on to defeat Lindsey Wilson in overtime.

Here's the play...


AUM will take on Martin Methodist in an all-SSAC showdown for the second year in a row...

First-Timers On The Field: Mercer, Berry, and Reinhardt...

The HQ has always been one of those places where we like to hidden gems, stories that are cool, just off the trail, and a champion for those places that have their niches...

Is it "Nitch" or "Neesh," we digress...

And having been in the circles of a few places over the past few weeks, it's fun to see new shiny things as the HQ hopes the novelty doesn't quite wear off when the newness does...

First stop was Mercer University in Macon- the first time that football would be on campus in 70-plus years. They played Reinhardt University. Mercer is a developing Division I program coached by Bobby Lamb that is in the Pioneer League this year as they move forward into Division I-AA next year. Reinhardt is working their way in the NAIA ranks in the Mid-South Conference in football and the AAC in every other sport.

The Eagles brought in long time Georgia high school head coach Danny Cronic who went to Reinhardt when it was a junior college. He has a roster that is full of Georgia kids (only 6 are not from the state) in their roster of 130 athletes. The first game for both was a 40-37 shootout in front of a crowd of just under 13,000.

Here's their recap, thanks to FOSG Andy Stabell...
((HT: Mercer Bears))


Reinhardt moved on from there to have their home opener against Lindsay Wilson in Waleska.


So, if you look at Berry College, Reinhardt, and Mercer...

You see three schools in varying degrees of business (which is what athletics are these days) and hoping they all move their audiences to being around on a consistent basis.

They'll all be royal pains to their more experienced squads they have on their schedules this season- and all the coaching staffs are solid and know what will put people in the seats...

Home grown talent... something the HQ notices is lacking in their larger brotherhood...

Sometimes, it's guys like Lamb, Cronic, and Kunczewski that could teach Division I power conferences a thing a two about building their fan bases...

And that's the cool part- in addition to being entertaining...
See you on the field...

OSG NAIA: A Triple Play For Your Friday

((HT: Belhaven Athletics))

FOSG Kirk McDonnell let us know about this...
5-4-3 triple plays are cool to see...

So, here's one for you as Belhaven turned it against rival William Carey to end a rally in the first inning...


Enjoy your weekend...

OSG NAIA: Here's How You Win A Title

((HT: Tourbeau Sports/NAIA))

Shorter University and Oklahoma City University had to go to extra innings to figure out who would be the 2012 national champ.

Hawks center fielder Charlsie Broome made sure the game made it to the bottom of the ninth...


Shorter would score a run in the bottom of the inning for their University national championship, 1-0, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The Hawks are moving to Division II's Gulf South Conference, so the HQ is fairly certain that OCU is more than happy to see them leave...

OSG NAIA: Saint X Takes Out Carroll

((HT: KFBB-TV Helena))

Caoch Mike Feminis was on the platform accepting the NAIA Football Championship trophy in his 24-20 win over Carroll College Saturday night and he finished with the catch phrase of the year:

"One goal... Achieved!"

And it was... first time there, and a win...

Now, what does he do for an encore...??? That's the question...

His offense, led by QB and MVP Jimmy Coy, seemed to give the Saints defense fits early. There was no in-between for the zone read draw of Coy combined with the dink-and-dunk way of keeping the other guy off the field. Changing from a three to a four-man front slowed their offense down by the mid-point of the second quarter.

The defense looked like they were going to have Dane Broadhead beat them in the air as they sold out to the run and wouldn't let NAIA player of the year, RB Chance Demarais, run all day.

In a game that moved faster than the 10-7 Carroll win last year, it took a red-zone stand by Saint X to get it that far...

Here's the recap from our friends up north...


And from our friends at KXLH-TV in Helena...


When you're on the sidelines, as the HQ was, you run into folks...

We ran into the father of Carroll WR Matt Ritter... and it was funny and somewhat excruiating a the same time... to talk to him during that last Carroll drive as they moved right in front of him. Ritter has been a pain in the butt for a lot of NAIA schools over his four years. He had one TD catch earlier in the game, but you also see the father's anguish when the ball goes through his hands in the corner of the endzone on that last set of four downs trying to score late in the game.

Oh, the two pass interference calls on the last drive...???

The HQ knew close to half of the TV crew so we asked...

First down...??? Good defense...
Fourth down...??? Well, it was fourth down in a title game...

Another good crowd for year four- bring on year five...

OSG NAIA: Carroll and St. Xavier T-Minus 1

It's another year for Carroll ((MT)) College head coach Mike Van Diest to go ahead and chase the record for NAIA titles...

If he gets past St. Xavier ((IL)), as the Fighting Saints did last year in the playoffs, 27-5, it'll be another title for the kid raised in Helena...

He was, understandably, calm two days out... and, as most head coaches are in press conference situations, complimentary about his opponent. Saint X head coach Mike Feminis was the same way...

But the one thing you take away from the NAIA and their title games- they genuinely mean it. The whole hook for the national governing body is showcasing the schools and their "Champions of Character." There are kids who do blood drives, raise funds and materials for the less-fortunate, all those items that you think are cliches everywhere else...???

They're legit here...whether they're talking about their own kids... or someone else's...

Van Diest: "It's like our first time here. We have 25 players that weren't with us last year. They're a fun group to be around."

Feminis: "We try to emulate what they (Carroll) do. Don't get me wrong. We're going to try and beat their brains in Saturday, but there's no one we respect more."

Saint X has never made it to the final game- having lost three times in the semis. A lot of them (whoever the "them" actually is) thought the Cougars would be a little down this season, but Feminis admitted he felt in his heart that his team could make it this far. It took some freshmen stepping up and some second-stringers last year moving up to make it happen- that and getting a revenge win over Marion ((IN)) to get there.

What was it like for the Saints to get here...???
Check out the charter flights, thanks to our friends at KXLH-TV in Helena...

It's about kids like Saint X linebacker Michael Prosser...

Prosser is the only kid Coach Fem can recall that turned down a D1 scholarship to play at SXU. He's SGA president and looks like he could run a big busines flush out of college at 6-3, 235...

Saint X QB Jimmy Coy is at his third school after tours at Valdosta State and El Camino Junior. Has he found a home...?

The night before the title game was the Banquet of Champions at the Forum. It's where the two sides exchange gifts, pleasantries, and compliments one more time... and see Chance Demarais of Carroll get the Player of the Year award over Faulkner QB Josh Hollingsworth...

We all know Chance is taking his linemen out for a meal to celebrate this one...

The Carroll brigade gave matching pictures of Montana and an autographed book from the Governor to the president, AD, and head coach. The Saint X staff gave a really cool crystal skyline to the Carroll president, a Bears pullover for the Caroll AD, and a Jonathan Toews Blackhawks sweater and hat.

How cool is that...???

But the lines of the day...???

Apparently, Dr. Paula McNutt (the interim president at Carroll), had only two days on the job before she found out she was going to a title game. Robert Tenczar, SXU VP of Alumni Relations, subbing for university president Chris Wiseman relayed the quote that gave folks pause...

After finding out the Cougs were heading to a title game, she told Tenczar: "Maybe the Provost can handle graduation..."

Which is game day...

One last thing before tomorrow...

CEO of the NAIA Jim Carr isn't worried about any kind of social media policy on the sidelines. He knows his guys won't channel their inner Ocho-Cinco, but Coach Van took it one step further:

"My players can't do anything I don't do, and I just learned how to text."

But he did get emotional on the dais when thinking about his players that are taking the field Saturday... there are some that could play somewhere at the next level, but for most of the Fighting Saints it's over after tomorrow save the football banquet...

More after the game...

OSG NAIA: Another Title Game For Carroll

((HT: KFBB-TV Helena))

Mid-South Conference East Division winner Georgetown College (KY) lost to Carroll College and their Fighting Saints 35-3. The defending national champs will defend their title against St. Xavier ((IL)), who beat Marian ((IN)), in two weeks at Historic Barron Stadium in Rome Georgia.

TE Anthony Hogan said about the win: "We just stuck together as a team, and corrected our mistakes we made last week. We really hurt ourselves and this week we wanted to change that. We made the right corrections and we're just working as a team all the way down and putting up points."

Here's how Carroll got there...

OSG NAIA: Down To The Final 4

((HT: KFBB-TV Helena))

Carroll College is turning into a regular tenant of Rome, Georgia for the NAIA National title game. They might be there again this year with their win over Azusa Pacific...

Here's how that happened...


Carroll hosts Georgetown (KY) who won 26-14 against St. Francis
The highlights are at the end of the sportscast...
((HT: WKYT-TV Lexington))


Top-ranked Marian ((IN)), a five-year-old program in Indianapolis, gets St. Xavier-Chicago in a rematch from earlier this season in the other semi.

OSG NAIA: Faulkner and Union Combine For 184 Points

((HT: LightAdrenaline))

The football seasons for Faulkner University and Union College were going nowhere in the last week of the regular season in the Mid South Conference. So, as is the case in a lot of games that don't have much meaning- regardless of sport- defense was optional...

How optional...???

75-75 at the end of regulation and a 95-89 final...
Here's the last play...


The 184 total points blows out the previous NAIA mark of 141- set a year ago in Union's game against Bethel. Saturday's game even set a new record for a record in regulation with 150.

It was the second-highest scoring game in college football history, surpassed only by Georgia Tech's 222-0 win over Cumberland in 1916.

OSG NAIA: Sometimes, It's Just Meant To Be...

Okay, this one is from the OTHER weekend job members of the HQ have...

Your Shorter Hawks, transitioning from NAIA Division 1 to NCAA Division II after this season, scored nine points in 30 seconds to pull out a win against a feisty Pikeville University squad Saturday afternoon...

And while, yes, the HQ can add to its sunburned totals for the year, this win had Kardiac Kids written all over it... Heart-Stopping Hawks, maybe...???

Anyway, I digress...

It was the home opener for the nationally-ranked lot after their upset win over Webber International in Lake Wales, Florida last Saturday. Pikeville has had a lot of turnover in the last year. They hired a Kentucky high school football legend as their new coach. Dudley Hilton brings his 36 years, 3 state titles, and 345 wins over to the college side of things. His rep kept a lot of kids home for a change and 193 showed up for first practices...

I'm not kidding... 193 kids showed up...

And they had a relatively easy time of it so far with a 2-0 start in a win over Southern Virginia, 63-18, and a 24-17 win over NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan.

They're not as outmanned as they seemed in the past and will be a headache for the Mid-South Conference in the years to come...

They were down 20-0 at Barron Stadium but, scored to make it 20-7 at the break, ran back the opening 2nd half kickoff for another score and recovered the ensuing onside kick to scare the daylights out of the blue-and-black clad home fans...

Pikeville, and their new uniforms, scored again with a little under 11 minutes to go to take a 21-20 lead and Shorter had to try and get something going for a score with a little under two minutes to go after swapping what seemed like a shopping spree on punting...

Troy Postell had missed a field goal with four minutes to go, but thanks to a drive that took a little over a minute, he hit a 44-yarder with 30 seconds to go for a 23-21 lead. The one he missed...? Two yards shorter...

But Pikeville threw two passes in the last 30 seconds that set up a 33-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds on the clock.

That's where Daniel Hazard steps in to frame...

When you talk to Daniel, he's about as open and honest as a college senior can be- and he believes everything he says. You could be talking about religion, football, or traffic lights... and if he told you that the light turned an amazing shade of pink, he'd be convincing in his arguments if you didn't see it yourself.

He's the vocal and emotional leader on defense and some special teams situations and it came through again... he plowed through, found a hole, blocked the possible game-winner, scooped it up, and scored as the clock ran out... ((Thanks to Tracey Long for the amazing photo...))

Game, set, match... 29-21...

"When I saw the hole open up, I went right through it and was able to get my hands [on the kick]," he told Shorter SID Matt Green. "When I picked up the ball I just had my eyes focused on the goal line and once I got into the end zone, I just collapsed to my knees.

"I couldn't believe it -- God has blessed me."

He told me that he heard a little voice in his head that said for him to pick the ball up and not to worry about running with it. There were noises in his ears that were his teammates clearing the way down the field, and he just collapsed in the endzone after the score.

But there's another part to this...

His family is going through a lot right now...

His grandfather, at 85 years young and sporting a black Dartmouth cap in the stands in Rome, has to head back up to the northeast for surgery after a diagnosis of colon cancer. He came down for the game to see Daniel play.

The HQ doesn't want to hear anything negative about higher powers in play today... because, as you all know, Daniel Hazard will be more than happy to tell you otherwise...

The HQ's thoughts are with the Hazard family through all that they are set to face...

Oh, Shorter ((ranked #20)) heads to Georgetown ((KY)) next Saturday- just south of Satellite HQ...