Your weekly news from around the MEAC!
Sydne Vigille | The FAMUAN
This week in the MEAC a stream of disappointment and excitement flowed through the conference. With the momentum of a conference Championship from the Howard women’s volleyball team, they were confident heading into the national tournaments to redeem themselves against Penn State after a 2017 loss to the Nittany Lions in the Championship tournament.
This year, Penn State dominated the game and swept the Bison (3-0) to advance. Penn State had seven service aces and almost hit for 50 percent as the steamed past the Bison.
In women’s Basketball, Howard fans have been able to find some joy in their program after a disappointing end to the volleyball season. So far, the Lady Bison are atop the division with a record of 5-2 and are riding a three-game win streak after a hard-fought victory over Niagara (68-61).
Considering this is the early part of the season, this is not the time for Howard to get complacent as Bethune-Cookman sits in second, just one game behind the Bison. Florida A&M finally had something to cheer about this week as well, as they finally won their first game of the season, (70-64) to Edward Waters College.
On the Men’s side, the highlight of the week comes from Daytona and B-CU. Led by No. 1 Malik Maitland, he took over the game in the final minutes and scored eight of his 11 points in the last three minutes of the game. His biggest shot came with 2:41 left as he hit a go-ahead jumper to propel the Wildcats to a close 72-70 victory.
In the standings, Howard continues to show the MEAC they are a force to be reckoned with. They also lead the Men’s standings with a record of 5-2, while B-CU comes in at second with a record of 4-4.
However, after a three-game win streak North Carolina Central is making some noise in the conference. They are third in the conference with a record of 4-5.
In the Final football game of the season, Norfolk State embarrassingly fell to Liberty University. After a hard fought defensive first quarter, Liberty went on to score 35 unanswered points. This loss was primarily due to three turnovers from Norfolk. The blowout was kicked off by an 18-yard touchdown throw to WR Michael Bollinger with 52 seconds left in the first quarter. Four plays later after a fumbled kick-off, Liberty recovered the fumble and scored a 5-yard touchdown by running back Frankie Hickson. After the first quarter, the Spartans scored to cut down the lead but were never able to close the gap, thus losing 52-17.
This past week The Black College Football Hall of Fame revealed their four finalists for the Black College Football Player of the Year Award. The finalist includes; QB Amir Hall (Bowie State), DL Darryl Johnson (North Carolina A&T), QB Noah Johnson (Alcorn State) and QB Caylin Newton (Howard).
This season Johnson (NCAT) led the MEAC in sacks with 10.5 and tackles for loss with 18.5. He is also a nominee for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is awarded to the best defensive player in the FCS.
Howard standout Caylin Newton was named to this years All MEAC First Team and leads the conference in passing yard (2,629), passing touchdowns (22) and total offense (3,133). He improved on an impressive rookie season and led the Bison in being one of the top offensively rated teams in the MEAC. He is also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award for FCS Offensive Player of the Year.