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Colonels can Thomas
Posted November 20, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Filed Under FCS Football, Nicholls State, Southland Conference | Leave a Comment
Nicholls State has “relieved coach Jay Thomas of his duties” effective Nov. 27. The Colonels finished 27-35 in six years under Thomas, with the highlight being a Southland Conference championship in 2005.
Nicholls was 6-14 the past two seasons including a 3-8 finish this year. However, last season was thrown up in the air with the Colonels having two games canceled due to hurricanes and this year Thomas had to deal with teaching a young team the intricacies of learning the triple-option offense.
The Colonels actually came on strong at the end of the year, nearly upsetting Stephen F. Austin before winning their final two games against Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana.
Nicholls is starting its coaching search immediately, but it will be interesting to see who the school is able to bring in after a year of major budget cuts and whether that coach will scrap the option. In my opinion, it would be folly to do so, but it would also be a surprise if they brought in a new coach to run the exact same system.
Northern Colorado 101, McNeese 73
Posted November 14, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
By Brett Smith
Special to the American Press
HONOLULU — The McNeese State men’s basketball team ran out of gas in the second half Friday, leading to a blowout that put a damper on the first game of the season.
McNeese lost to Northern Colorado, 101-73, in the first game of the Hawaii Rainbow Classic.
“We just got worn out,” McNeese coach Dave Simmons said. “They had good size and they had good players.”
It was the first time the Cowboys gave up more than 100 points since a 2006 game against Texas-San Antonio.
Hampered by turnovers early, the Cowboys fell behind, 17-5, before clawing their way back into the game by stepping up the defensive pressure.
P.J. Alawoya eventually cut the deficit to 24-23 with a steal and layup under the Northern Colorado basket. And Stephan Martin, who provided an offensive spark off the bench for McNeese, gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game with a pair of free throws.
The teams then took turns with the lead. But Northern Colorado pulled away at the end of the half and went into the locker room with a 53-46 advantage at the break.
Martin’s five first-half three-pointers – he only missed on one of his attempts – kept the Cowboys in the game. He finished with a game-high 23 points, 19 of which came in the first half.
Northern Colorado pulled away in the second half with a 20-1 run that put the team ahead, 80-58. Martin finally snapped the scoring drought for McNeese with the team’s first field goal in more than 9 minutes.
“The second half they came out and jumped on us,” Martin said. “We couldn’t really find our rhythm and get into our offense.”
The Cowboys couldn’t get the lid off the basket in the second half, finishing 7-for-23 from the field. In the first half, the team shot 45.7 percent from the field.
Starting point guard C.J. Collins’ injured left ankle, which limited him to 20 minutes of playing time, played a part in the offensive woes.
“We lost our composure (with Collins out) and the game got away from us,” Simmons said.
McNeese did get a chance to see its three freshmen on the court. Brandon Regis led the group with 10 points.
“It seems like Brandon Regis is pretty much going to be a good player for us,” Simmons said. “He came out and played well and that’s the way he plays every day in practice.”
Diego Kapelan, McNeese’s leading scorer last season, finished with 11 points. Alawoya added 10 points and pulled down a team-best five rebounds.
A Normal Abnormality
Posted November 12, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Filed Under FCS Football | Leave a Comment
Most Cowboy fans would love nothing more than to see a team like Louisiana-Lafayette or La. Tech play a game in The Hole. Of course, this is a pipe dream since Bowl Subdivision teams never actually make trips to their Championship Subdivision counterparts. You can expect pigs to fly before getting a home game against an FBS team.
But up in Normal, Ill., the bacon is starting to grow wings.
Today FCS school Illinois State announced a home-and-home series with FBS member Ball State of the Mid-American Conference. The games will be played in 2013 and 2014. The Redbirds have no plans of moving up and playing in the FBS, so the game is exactly what it appears to be: an honest-to-goodness FBS school visiting an honest-to-goodness FCS school.
Of course, Illinois State does not exactly have McNeese’s track record of success, so Ball State probably isn’t too concerned about taking its lumps when it visits Normal. But it does look like this trend is starting to grow in college football. Earlier in the year, Michigan State announced it will play home-and-homes with in-state MAC rivals Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan in the future.
It may still be a dream for McNeese to bring any FBS team to Lake Charles. But at least someone has turned it into reality.
On Second Thought …
Posted November 10, 2009 at 12:20 am
Filed Under Football | Leave a Comment
Maybe that move to the Football Bowl Subdivision wasn’t such a good idea for Western Kentucky.
The Hilltoppers fired coach David Elson on Monday. WKU is 0-9 in its first year as a Sun Belt Conference member, including a loss to a Central Arkansas team which has unexpectedly struggled in the Southland Conference.
Western Kentucky once ruled the roost in Division I-AA, beating McNeese for the national championship in 2002 and eventually deciding to move up to the next level after the 2006 season.
Though it seems clear that the move up has worked out well for schools like Boise State and Troy, that’s not the case for everyone. Clearly, the jury is still out on how the experiment will work out in Bowling Green, Ky. But this cannot be the start anyone hoped for.
SLC Preseason Basketball Polls Released
Posted November 4, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Filed Under McNeese State, Men's Basketball, Southland Conference, Women's Basketball | Leave a Comment
The 2009-10 Southland Conference preseason polls have been released, and the expectations around the league are not very high for either the Cowboys or the Cowgirls.
The McNeese men were picked to finish fifth in the East Division by SLC coaches and fourth by sports information directors. Central Arkansas was picked below the Cowboys in both polls and Northwestern State and McNeese flip-flopped spots in the SID poll.
Overall, there appears to be just as much confusion over who will win the basketball title as there was heading into the football season. Three different teams received first-place votes, with Stephen F. Austin being the majority pick to win in the coaches’ poll and Nicholls State getting tabbed by SIDs for the top spot.
Sam Houston State was picked to win the West in both polls.
On the women’s side, the Cowgirls were picked to finish fourth in the division by both fellow coaches and SIDs. Stephen F. Austin is the overwhelming favorite to capture the East Division crown while Lamar is the pick in the West.
Neither McNeese basketball team had a player named preseason all-conference.
McNeese fans looking for a positive need only remember that these things don’t often turn out as predicted — for instance, Southeastern Louisiana was picked to finish last in football this season and sits tied for first place with three games left in the season.
Niners sign Keith Smith
Posted November 3, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Filed Under Football, Former Cowboys, McNeese State | Leave a Comment
Former McNeese State player Keith Smith was signed by the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday.
San Francisco made the move to replace injured cornerback Nate Clements, who will miss up to eight weeks with a shoulder injury. Smith played at MSU from 2000-03. He spent his entire NFL career with the Detroit Lions before being released prior to the beginning of this season.
Hoops Around The Corner
Posted November 3, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Filed Under McNeese State, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball | Leave a Comment
It seems hard to believe, but basketball season is rapidly sneaking upon us.
McNeese State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have both played in scrimmages that were closed to the public, a trend that has begun to pick up across the NCAA this season in lieu of the traditional pair of exhibition games that teams have played in the past.
The men worked out this weekend against the University of Houston. Cowboys coach Dave Simmons was happy to put his team up against an NCAA tournament hopeful, especially since much will change with McNeese will be a far more guard-heavy team than it was last season.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Simmons said. “The strengths are with our offense, we’re a better shooting basketball team. Defensively we have a lot more depth than the past, especially at the guard position.”
The Cowboys start the season at the University of Hawaii Rainbow Classic Nov. 13-16.
For the Cowgirls, things will be getting started even sooner. McNeese has scrimmaged against former Cowgirl Shante Perry and the Houston Jaguars exhibition team, and will play an exhibition game open to the public next Monday against East Texas Baptist. The regular season begins Nov. 14 against New Orleans.
Coach Brooks Donald Williams said her team has hit the weight room this offseason and it will be a lot tougher for teams to push the Cowgirls around.
“We’re a lot stronger and a lot bigger than last year,” she said.
Thomas should return
Posted October 27, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Filed Under Football, McNeese State | Leave a Comment
Coach Matt Viator said Tuesday that cornerback Seth Thomas is “probable” to return to the lineup against Nicholls State this weekend. Thomas was a late injury scratch from the lineup against Southeastern. He was replaced by Guy Morgan.
Thomas has been one of the most consistent and electric players in the McNeese secondary this season with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. He was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by the College Sporting News after picking off a pair of passes against Tulane.
Tors represented on Saturday
Posted October 27, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Filed Under Football, Southeastern Louisiana, Southland Conference | Leave a Comment
Because of limited newsprint space, this item didn’t make it into Sunday’s McNeese-Southeastern Louisiana game notebook, but it still seems worth mentioning:
The first two tackles of the game for Southeastern Louisiana were made by Sulphur High graduates. Ryan Godare stopped Javaris Murray on the opening kickoff return, and Nathan Clophus dropped Chad Davis for no gain on McNeese’s first running play.
“I think I was a little over-pumped up in the first half to tell you the truth,” Godare said. “But you’re going to have that emotion when you come home and play in front of these people and play pretty much in your hometown. A lot of adrenaline comes with that.”
Clophus also recovered a fumble by McNeese running back Champlain Babin in the first quarter.
“It was just the defense playing good, swarming around the football,” Clophus said. “It wasn’t like I did anything special, I was just the first one to fall on it.”
Chiefs Cut Lawrence
Posted October 26, 2009 at 12:39 am
Filed Under Football, Former Cowboys, McNeese State | Leave a Comment
Former Cowboy standout Quinten Lawrence was released by the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend before their game against San Diego.
Lawrence was picked by the Chiefs in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft, but according to the Kansas City Star he was unable to catch on in the role that the team had envisioned for him as a kick returner.
If Lawrence clears waivers, the Chiefs will be able to place him on their practice squad.
Lawrence did not catch a pass this season, but did have one carry for 16 yards in his time with Kansas City.
UPDATE: The Chiefs have not given up completely on Lawrence, placing him on their practice squad this week.
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