Blue Hens Gave Hornets a Reality Check

Last night, the Delaware State Hornets football team were ready to play the University of Delaware and hoping to give the Blue Hens a fight just like their first regular season meeting back in 2009. Instead, the Blue Hens were playing like it was November 2007 in a 45-0 victory over DSU.

All week long everyone thought that the Hornets and the Blue Hens will play a close game, however UD proved to DSU that they have a lot of work to do to be on UD's level.

Last night UD were heading into the game ranked #8 in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) Rankings came right out the gates and showed the Hornets no mercy whats so ever.

DSU were out the sync from the start. The offense wasn't clicking all night because Justin Wilson wasn't playing due to a bad ankle, Darruis Jackson, Travis Tarplay was a non-factor, the running game from Jasshawn Jones was held to nine yards rushing the entire game and Nick Elko making two of the Hornets three turnovers. Also the defense were getting gunned down all over the field giving over 500+ yards, almost half of those yards involved the running game played by UD's running backs Walter Davis (109 yards rushing) and Andrew Pierce (106 yards rushing). Not to mention taking the DSU crowd out of the game.

As I watch the game while the Blue Hens were piling up the points, it almost felt like the playoff game of November 2007 when Joe Flacco, Omar Cuff, and the rest of the Blue Hens ran DSU out of the building in the Al Lavan era. Last night was similar only DSU did not scored a touchdown.

I thought the Hornets were ready to play the Blue Hens, instead they played slow couldn't pressure the quarterback, creating hole in their run defense, miscommunication in the secondary, and the offense couldn't even get pass their own 40 yard line let alone the UD 40 yard. Also the special teams couldn't return their kicks pass their own 20 yard to start their drive.

The Hornets will learned from this game and say to themselves that they have a long way to go in order to get on UD's playing level. They will meet again next year and 2013. For head coach Kermmit Blount it will be a good experience and teach the Hornets the problems they will have to solve throughout the rest of the season. After all the Hornets are still trying to forget the three straight losing seasons full of frustration and adversary.

As for the now UD, has turned DSU from contenders to pretenders for their 1st lost of the season.

A Saturday Night Miracle

If you were at Alumni Stadium or listened to the game on 1290AM The Ticket, then you witnessed one of the greatest comeback in Delaware State football history. Ok, try second biggest comeback that I know of. (1st comeback November 2007 DSU's comeback win over Norfolk State).

On a bizarre Saturday night the Hornets were at their home opener versus Division II Shaw of the CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association). I had a feeling this will warm up game to prepared and gain momentum for their encounter with the University of Delaware on September 17.

As I listened to the game on the radio, DSU was in a whole lot of trouble for three quarters. Nick Elko was throwing three interceptions, wide receivers not making the plays they wanted, running game on thin ice, defense couldn't stop Shaw's offense attack down the field, and special teams not doing their jobs on coverage, missing field goals, and missing extra points.

All of sudden the defense woke by making sacks, causing Shaw to fumble and forcing the Bears to punt, make very dumb penalties, and lose control of the game.

Hornets started making first downs, driving the ball down the field and scoring touchdowns to get closer including a very key two point conversion . Then, with less than minute left the Hornets were hoping to tied the game or take the lead until rain started to fall down and winds were picking up 10-15 mph. The Hornets missed the 32 yard field goal and all hope seems lost. Fans were getting ready to head for the exits and sitting in my house saying to myself, "Man, I wish I was at the Hornets game then they will have a chance to win the game."

Shaw was getting ready to celebrate because all they need is make a couple of kneel downs and the game will be theirs. Instead Shaw decide to run the football to chew the time off the clock and lost the football in the progress.

The Hornets have the ball back and was getting ready for their final chance of winning the ball game and they accomplished that drive thanks to Darius Jackson's game winning touchdown catch. Hornets fans went crazy, the Hornets broadcasters were excited, I was at home screaming "YES!!!" from the top of my lungs as the Hornets came back from 24-6 deficit to win 31-27. It was a Saturday miracle that the Hornets will never forget and lesson to be learned that no matter how far get beat down, you never give up and achieve your ultimate goal to victory and that's what Coach Kermitt Blount and the Hornet did. One thing the Hornets will do is to learned from their mistakes, make up from those mistakes and Staying Alive (in my Bee Gees' voice).

Hornets Finished the Job When It Counts

Doing the Hornets 24-21 victory over VMI (Virginia Military Institution), DSU accomplished two goals: one, to make plays when it counts to score espically the red zone and second, to hold on to the lead to win the 4th quarter.

Lets start with the swarming defense of the Hornets, they kept the Keydets at bay swatting down balls left and right, stalling drives, and even forcing four turnovers. They very key play of the game came late in the 4th quarter when VMI went on a 4th and 10 from their own 20 yard and forced the Keydete to turn the ball over on downs. Despite only one sack, the defense was solid but need to clean up the defensive penalties and giving up over 300+ yards. Other than that, defensive coordinator Michael Ketuchum did a good job of not letting defense stay on the field for a very long time allowing the offense to score points.

On the offensive side of the ball, the game belong to the preseason MEAC Player of the Year Justin Wilson. He finished with six catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Just like in training camp and practice from last year, Nick Elko's chemistry with Wilson was clicking on all cylinders making plays including a 47 yard touchdown catch late in the 3rd quarter. Also I can't forget Travis Tarplay who also made a diving touchdown catch back in the 1st half to help out the scoring. Nick Elko made great throws without making a turnover (remember Anthony Galud's turnover problem from last season).  The running game was okay but made big 1st downs late in crunch time to run out the clock because VMI were out of timeouts.

The offense don't need to be pass happy, just balanced out the offense with running the football and then pass the football. Try over 100 yards running and 250-300 yards passing. Also catch the football because there more than five drop passes from our wide receivers. Secure the football or it will  come back will to bite you.

Special teams were average today because on the opening kickoff Tarplay fumbled the football and lost it. Punter Michael Kano first punt only went 11 yards and coach Kermit Blount gave Kano an earful. Since then, Kano calm down punted the football deep into VMI territory. My biggest concern was the field goal kickers. In the first quarter, the extra point was missed and I was saying to myself, "Oh no here we go again." After that DSU used two place kickers to get extra points and freshman Mitchell Ward made a huge 24 yard field goal early in the 4th quarter to extend the lead.

Overall Blount and the Hornets played very but remember its only the 1st game of the season and with a little stuff to clean up, expect some positive results coming from the Hornets football team.

Track & Field Finished in the Top 10

Even though Norfolk State has won the 2011 MEAC Track & Field Championships, the Delaware State Men's and Women's Track & Field was impressive finishing in the top ten on Mother's Day weekend. The ladies finished eighth and the men finished seventh during the three day event. 

On the ladies side, Kendra Myers finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 5.91 meters, her teammate Kristen Johnson finished sixth in the heptathlon. The highlight of the event belong to Tracey Fan Fan who set a career best of 1:00.63 in the 400 meter hurdles, good enough for a fourth place finish.


On the men's side the Hornet team of Tyquan Brown, Ryan Carter, Tarqi Devore, and Leslie Murrary won their third straight MEAC Title in the 1600 meter relay with a time of 3:08.42. Murray also capture the 400 meter title with a time of 50.29 seconds.

Now the that the MEAC season is over lets see how the Hornets will do individually in their respective meets between now and June. Also we are still keeping an eye out for the hornet men's track & field to move in the national rankings.

Men's Track & Field Moving Closer to the Top 10

For the first time, as far as I know in Delaware State sports history, the DSU men's track & field are ranked #13 in the mid-Atlantic Region of the NCAA Divison I Outdoor Track & Field. I must say I am pretty impress because Delaware State has been working hard everyday 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year including Leap Year.

This year besides Lesile Murray, Ryan Carter, Tyquan Brown, and Tariq Devore have helped the Hornets bring records this year and these are underclassmen. If this keeps up after this weekend's MEAC Championship, the Hornets might moved up to the top 10 before the they compete in the NCAA Championships.

Even if they don't make the top 10, they will be recognize throughout the nation as the best track and field team ever. Hampton, UMES, and Norfolk beware DSU is coming to make statement in the years to come.

March Madness Sports Wrap-Up

March has come and gone, however there were plenty of madness for Delaware State Sports Athletics. So without further or due lets recap the March Madness of DSU.

Men's and lady hornets basketball
It was one and done for the men's and lady hornets basketball as they both lost their respective games during the 1st round. One the women's side Brittany Washington had a double-double (12 points, 16 rebounds) but it wasn't enough as the lady hornets miss their last 13 shots, committed seven turnovers in a 52-44 lost to UMES.

On the men's side the free fall continued when the Hornet men lost to the same team that eliminated them from the MEAC last year, South Carolina State. During the Hornets 64-59 lost to the Bulldogs, Jay Threatt scored 20 points, to go along with four assists and five steals in a losing effort. Once again the Hornets were getting out rebounded by SC State 34-23, finished the season losing eight straight games. Both the men and lady hornets finished with the same record of 9-21 with a lot of rebuilding to do for the new season coming up in November.
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Lady Hornets Softball
Coach Fred Savage and the lady hornets softball team are on a roll finishing the month of March with a record of 13-8 batting .324 and averaging over six runs a game. They have been making a lot of hit and attempting to steal bases to try and score runs. Lets see if the lady hornets can keep up the momentum in the month of April as they prepared for the MEAC Tournament in May.
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Hornets Baseball
This was a baseball team that has some trouble fitting the right notes with a 10-9 record in March, the reasons pitching and defense. There were two home games that the Hornets blew the lead and lost: a winless Hartford team and University of Delaware. The Hornets need to calm down on errors and the pitchers need to have better command on their pitches so they can get the outs they need to win games.
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DSU Student wins her Boxing Debut
Congratulations to Melinda "The Gem" Levasseur for winning her Delaware boxing debut back on March 19. Levasseur is a accounting sophomore major made a TKO in the 1st round on Tisha Himes of York, PA. Melinda was going to play soccer here at Delaware State, but instead she chose boxing as her passion. No wonder her boxing record is 8-1 so far, and she's just getting started.

 

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Lady Hornets Bowling
The Lady Hornets bowling team were unable to defend their MEAC Title by losing to Morgan State in the semi-finals of the MEAC Bowling tournament. No worries though the lady hornets will be back better than ever.
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Equestrian
The lady hornets equestrian team are heading to the 2011 Varsity Equestrian National Championship later this month after competing against three tough school: Georgia, TCU, and South Dakota.
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Lady Hornets Tennis
The lady hornets tennis team are making impress start for the month of March and looking to do more in April as they prepared for the MEAC Tournament in May.
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Now that we are in the home stretch of April, Lets see if the DSU Spring Sports teams can continue to be on winning track as we head into the final month of the regular season.

Spring Football Practice Begins

Today maybe April Fools Day as we make safe jokes and pranks, but today the "new" Delaware State Hornets football team will begin spring practice as they prepared for their red/white spring game on April 16.

New hornet head Kermit Blount told dsuhornets.com that their coaching staff will introduce some new play systems to share with his players and everyone has a clean slate heading into spring camp.

I guarantee you that everyone on that football team will be fighting for their jobs because Coach Blount believes that this team will not only impress, but to make every minute count.

Here are the keys for the Hornets spring camp:
The Hornets will have four veteran wide recivers: Justin Wilson, Travis Tarplay, Donnell Dixon, and Darrius Jackson. Will they impress their coaching staff will good drills and make good catches with their speed?

Most of their defense will return including linebacker Brandon Harvey, Matt Spicer, and others but the defensive line will have a big gap to fill to replace Andre Caroll as leader of the defense. Can the defense improve better than last year?

The two headed monster: The Hornets might play with two running backs with Jaashawn Jones and James Rosseau, but who wants the job more to carry the load?

Quarterback Expectations?: Last season everyone expect Anthony Glaud to carry the Hornets to a winning season. Instead Glaud had a very tough season to begin the season but finished on a positive note. Now its up to Nick Elko to help the hornets offensive struggles. Are we going to expect good expectations or another struggling season for DSU quarterbacks.

Special Teams: Who will be the Hornets new kicker? Will it be be same kicker as last year or will it be someone else that can make extra points, field goals, and good kickoffs? Also can the Hornets special teams get good coverage and good kickoff returns?

Lets see how the two week spring camp will turnout. Also they will have summer camp before the real deal begins September 3 versus Virginia Military Institute (VMI).