onthefieldandcourt
Round Up
FOOTBALL FOOTBALL SQUAD FINISHES 7-3 IN 2007 AND EXPECTS BIGGER THINGS IN 2008 SEASON Rich Freeman’s Morehouse football team had something to prove after a preseason Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches’ poll forecasted the Maroon Tigers to finish last in 2007 conference play. The team surprised everyone and finished with a 7-3 record. They jumped out to a 4-2 record—the team’s best start in school history—and finished by winning three of their last four games. It surprised everyone but Freeman, who was in his first year as head coach of the Maroon Tigers. “We came in and had a pretty good recruiting class and we were able to put together the first winning football season in a while,” Freeman said. “I’m proud of the kids.” A balanced squad sported an SIAC top-five, total defense and total offense. A stingy Maroon Tiger defense, led by 2nd team All-SIAC defenders Derrick Scott and DeJuan Payne, was tops in the SIAC in red
zone defense and second in scoring defense. Junior punter Micah Streiff was also a 2nd team All-SIAC performer. The offense was led by quarterbacks Carlos King, a senior, and sophomore Christian Sterling, both of whom finished among the SIAC’s top 10 players in total offense, and running back Kelvin Moore, who rushed for nearly 600 yards in 2007. Two offensive linemen, sophomore Ramon Harewood and junior Nate Nobles, were 2nd team All-SIAC picks. The 2008 season kicks off August 30 with a trip to Benedict College and will be highlighted by a Sept. 27 appearance in the Angel City Classic in Los Angeles against Prairie View A&M. The Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic will be played on Oct. 11 in Columbus, while Homecoming will be played Oct. 25 against Albany State. With eight starters returning on defense and seven on offense, Freeman is looking forward to next season. “I’m very enthusiastic, considering the fact that we have 24 seniors and 24 juniors coming back this year,” Freeman said. “So we feel very optimistic about this upcoming season. But everybody knows about us and the seven teams we beat will be playing twice as hard when we play them next season.”
2008 F O OT B A LL S C H E D U L E DATE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
TIME
AUGUST 30
BENEDICT COLLEGE*
COLUMBIA, SC
4 PM
SEPTEMBER 7
FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY*
FT. VALLEY, GA
1 PM
SEPTEMBER 13
LANE COLLEGE*
ATLANTA, GA
7 PM
SEPTEMBER 20
MILES COLLEGE*
BIRMINGHAM, AL
6 PM
SEPTEMBER 27
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M STATE UNIVERSITY (ANGEL CITY CLASSIC, LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM)
LOS ANGELES, CA
COLUMBUS, GA
2 PM
OCTOBER 18
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY* (73RD ANNUAL TUSKEGEEMOREHOUSE FOOTBALL CLASSIC) CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY*
ATLANTA, GA
2 PM
OCTOBER 25
ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY*
ATLANTA, GA (HOMECOMING)
2 PM
NOVEMBER 1
STILLMAN COLLEGE*
TUSCALOOSA, AL
5 PM
NOVEMBER 8
KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY*
ATLANTA, GA
1 PM
OCTOBER 11
ALL GAME TIMES ARE LOCAL TIMES * DENOTES SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE GAMES MAROON DENOTES HOME GAME
MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE
22
S P R I N G / S U M M E R
2 0 0 8
2 PM