December 2006 - Benedict College

SPORTS
BC Tiger News - Page 8 December 2006
Charlie W. Johnson Football Stadium Dedicated
as New Home for Bendedict College Tigers
Pep Rally, Parade, and Speeches
highlight opening day activities
by Curtis Wilson
Copy Editor
Saturday, September 23, 2006
will go down in Benedict
College’s history as a remarkable
day in the College’s life because
it was the day all those who love
the Purple and Gold of Benedict
College had a reason to be more
than proud. It was the day on
which the formal opening of the
multi- million-dollar, brand new
Charlie W. Johnson Football Stadium
took place under a bright,
beautiful, and sunny sky.
The day began at the Dust
Bowl on campus, also known as
the HRC Activity Field, with a
Pep Rally, led by Ronald Davis
of Benedict College who got everyone
fired up for the dedication
of the new stadium and the
first game the Benedict Tigers
football team was scheduled to
play against Lenior-Rhyne of
North Carolina. During the pep
rally, Davis also recognized various
campus organizations, including
the Junior Class and the
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity as the
“Most Spirited” class and fraternity
respectively. He praised the
Benedict College Cheerleaders
and the Pep Squad for doing a
great job of firing up students
for the home team.
Following the pep rally, the
parade to the new stadium on
Two Notch Road was organized
and began moving from the main
campus on Harden Street
through the streets of Columbia,
and finally through Read Street
towards Two Notch Road.
The parade route was filled
with lots of smiling faces and
hand waving from those in the
parade and people watching the
processional as it made its way
through the local community towards
the new Charlie W.
Johnson Stadium. The parade,
comprised of several floats, faculty
members, cheerleaders, students,
and vehicles carrying dignitaries,
such as, Mr. and Mrs.
Charlie W. Johnson the stadium’s
namesake, Dr. and Mrs. David H.
Swinton (the President and First
Ladyof Benedict College), Dr.
Leroy T. Walker (for whom the
whole area around the stadium
was also named), and members
of the Board of Trustees, added
to the grandeur of the occasion.
The dedication ceremony,
held on a podium erected on the
field of the new stadium, was an
elaborate affair highlighted by
various speeches and the turnover
of the key of the stadium to
the Athlectics Director and the
coach of the football team, who
was preparing the Tigers for
the first game on their new football
field against Lenoir-Rhyne
College.
The whole ceremony was designed
to unite the Benedict College
Family with all of its many
supporters, including the local
community, the city, and the state.
It included a performance by a
Mass Choir, comprising of the
National Award-winning
Benedict College Gospel Choir
and various high school and
church choirs from the community,
all directed by Minister
Darryl Izzard, director of the
Benedict College Gospel Choir.
The mass choir rocked the stadium
with voices that truly
moved the hearts of many.
Several platform dignitaries,
including local and state officials,
were called by Dr. David H.
Swinton, president of Benedict
College, who served as master of
ceremony, to address the crowd,
and most did, bringing greetings
and paying tributes to Benedict
College.
Palmetto Capital City Classic
features ‘Battle of the Tigers’
bands during halftime show
by Sherell Watson
Entertainment Editor
The halftime show at this year’s
Palmetto Capital City Classic featured
the talents of Savannah
State University Marching Tigers
and Benedict College’s own
Marching Tigers who entertained
the crowd with their musical talents,
precision drills, and energetic
dancers.
The Savannah State
University’s band first performed
with such hits as “Shoulda Lean”
by Young Dro and Young Joc’s,
“It’s Goin Down,” giving the eyes
and ears of the audience plenty
of sound and motion to work with
as the hypnotic colors of the flag
team and the graceful moves of
their talented dancers were displayed.
Then the Benedict Marching
Tigers took the field, playing
their melodic renditions of Gap
Band’s classic, “Yearning for
your Love,” and Beyonce’s latest
chart topper, “Déjà vu.”
Reactions from the audience
indicated that they liked what
they saw.
Sheriee Watson, Benedict
College alumni called the show
“very entertaining and fun!”
John Stewart, a student of
Savannah State University, said,
“I like the different formations
and the moves of the female
dancers of both SSU and BC’s
band.”
Fred Walker, a Benedict College
supporter, said, “I really enjoyed
the Young Joc song because
the beat is catchy.”
The halftime program ended
with the introduction of Aliyah
Saulter, the winner of the Miss
Palmetto Capital City Classic
Pageant, along with her court.
Others introduced were Nadia J.
Muhammad, Miss Benedict College,
as well as her First Attendant,
J. Nichelle Wimbush, and
Second Attendant, Pamela Hall.
Tigers volleyball team faces
tough competition this season
by Kimberly Webber
Sports Editor
The volleyball season is well
underway and the Benedict College
Tigerettes have already
faced some tough competition,
with a record of 4-5 in October.
With this record, the Tigerettes
are ranked third in the (give name
of conference here) conference,
but they hope to fight their way
to the top of the ranks by the end
of the season, to place themselves
in a position to win the
conference championship.
Asked how she is preparing
the team to win a championship,
head coach Gwendolyn Rouse
Photo courtesy of Susan Dugan
President David H. Swinton (left), Dr. LeRoy T. Walker (center), and
Charlie W. Johnson (right) looked over the Dedication and Grand
Opening brochure during the press conference held at the new stadium.
Tigers beat Clark-Atlanta
Panthers in away game
by Marquita A. Watson
News Editor
Benedict College Tigers Football
team continued its winning
streak with a win against the Clark
Atlanta University Panthers in Atlanta
on Sept. 9, following their
victory against Savannah State
University at home on Sept. 2.
However, the streak ended a
shaky start for the Tigers who lost
their opening game to Morehouse
College at home on Aug. 26.
The Clark Atlanta game was surprisingly
packed with Benedict’s
fans who came out in large numbers
to support their team, packing
the visitors’ stands and
proudly wearing the school’s colors
of purple and gold.
The enthusiasm of the Benedict
fans was soon tested when Clark
Atlanta not only won the coin
toss but also scored the first touchdown
of the game, although they
missed the extra point. After that,
the Tiger’s offense struggled, but
was not able to complete its
passes or score any points.
When the Tigers’ defense came
on the field, they could not hold
back the Panthers, who dominated
the first half. However, luckily for
the Tigers, the first half ended with
the score 6-0, with the Panthers
ahead.
At half time, both bands gave
exciting performances that lifted
the spirit of fans from both
schools. Benedict’s band was up
first and played, “Ain’t No Stopping
Us Now” by McFadden and
Whitehead and the crowd sang
along. Benedict’s Sweet Sensation
dancers and Divine Silk color
guard team gave the crowd more
to cheer about. Clark Atlanta’s
band next performed, entertaining
the crowd with the latest hit,
“Morris Brown,” from Atlanta’s
own Outkast.
Despite the entertainment,
Benedict fans did not forget what
explained that her coaching techniques
are based on developing
discipline. She said, “Discipline
is the key to a winning team.”
She added that her team fights
for every point and every play.
Asked about the “rocky” start
of four wins and five losses,
coach Rouse said, “We could
have easily been 7-2 if we could
have cut out some of the mental
mistakes.”
Coach Rouse emphasized that
the team has a strong bond and
the players function with the belief
that they will win together
and lose together as a team.
She said this year’s team is being
built around five returning
players, four of whom are seniors.
The team also gained two
transferred students and a freshman
who, she said, “really mesh
well with the team structure.”
Talking about team leadership,
she said the team is led by two
team captains, Cylenia Noriss
and Cheryse Rolle. “They keep
the team together with their great
leadership,” she said.
Coach Rouse said Rolle has a
great impact on every game, and
the team’s success is centered on
her performance. She noted that
the team is also powered by its
great setter, Britney Rouse, along
with other key players such as
Aniska Rolle and Latesia Davis.
“When this team is playing at
their best they are a force to be
reckoned with,” she said. “They
play hard in every game and
never give up.”
seemed like an upsetting first half,
and many had already started to
lose hope. However, when the second
half began, the game suddenly
became a reverse of the first
half. Benedict’s Martin Degazon
kicked off to the Panthers to open
the third quarter, and it was a great
kick that landed in the end zone,
where the Clark Atlanta’s catcher
was tackled and he fumbled the
ball, giving the Tigers a chance to
recover it and score a touchdown.
The crowd went wild, the band
played loudly, and the kick for the
extra point was good. The Tigers
now had a one-point lead, 7-6.
However, the excitement did not
last for long as the Panthers next
had the ball and the Tigers defense
once again struggled to
hold them back, but could not, allowing
them to score another
touchdown. At the end of the
third quarter, the score was 12-6,
with the Panthers again leading.
With an upsetting first half, Tiger
fans started to lose hope. The
game suddenly reversed at the
beginning of the third quarter.
Martin Degazon kicked off to
Clark opening the second half with
a great kick into the end zone.
Clark’s catcher was tackled and
fumbled the ball giving Benedict
a chance to recover it and score a
touchdown.
The crowd went wild as the
band began to play and the kick
for the extra point was good. This
gave the Tigers a 1 point lead. Afterwards,
Benedict’s defense
once again struggled to hold the
Panthers back, allowing them to
score. The scoreboard showed
12-7, with the Panthers up.
The rest of the game was extremely
exciting and had fans sitting
on the edges of their seats
with anticipation. The Panthers
scored, and then the Tigers
scored, 18-14. Each team played
as hard as they could and made
see CAU GAME/ p. 4
The $13.6 million Tigers’ New
Home seats over 11,000 fans
by Nadia J. Muhammad
Editorial Page Editor
As the Benedict College family
assembled on Saturday, Sept. 26,
to dedicate its new Charlie W.
Johnson football Stadium, students
were pleased about the stadium
but had questions about the
complex called the LeRoy Walker
Health and Wellness Center, of
which the new stadium is one of
its premiere features. Because
the student body wants to know
more, here are some facts about
the complex that should allay the
students’ anxiety so that the new
facility can continue to be supported
by all.
The new football stadium was
not just opened for one game; it
is now our football stadium, our
own home field, moving us from
the Dust Bowl to an 11,000-seat
stadium. It is housed within the
LeRoy Walker Health and
Wellness Center complex, situated
on 61 acres of land. The
stadium, with the capacity to seat
a maximum of 17,000 fans, features
state-of-the-art accommodations
and amenities on three
levels, according to the official
Dedication brochure.
The first is comprised of a main
ticket office, four concession
stands, eight restrooms, three
ticket booths, an information
desk, a novelty room, a first-aid
room, a security room, and an
equipment storage area. A field
house at the south end of the
field also contains home and visitors’
lockers and showers, a separate
room for game officials, a
storage room, a laundry room,
and the home coach’s office.
The hospitality and presidential
suites are located on the second
level, including a catering
room with dumbwaiter and
restrooms. The third level has
classrooms and press suites.
One side contains a room each
for home coaches, communications
and home radio, while the
other side contains a room for
each official, visitor radio personalities,
and visiting coaches.
As we are known to say:
GO TIGERS!
New team gets bragging
rights during homecoming
alumni basketball game
by Kamilah Fabien
Editor-in-Chief
Coaches encourage football players to focus
on final exams despite poor season
by Jocelyn Young
Contributing Writer
Coaches of the Benedict College
Tigers football team have
told the players about the importance
of their academic study,
explaining that with final examinations
approaching, they
needed to start a time management
strategy to enable them to
study well and to be focused.
The coaches spoke during a
football meeting, held on Nov. 9,
in the school gym located in the
Benjamin E. Mays Human Resource
Center on campus.
Speaking about how many
people see football players, Assistant
football coachTrimmer
The alumni basketball game
culminated the events of
Homecoming Thursday with
much enthusiasm from students.
The game followed the Dutty
Wine Carnival which was held
earlier that evening and most
students present at the carnival
stayed on for the basketball
game.
The new lineup of basketball
players for the 2006 season took
on alumni players in a match
where bragging rights were at
stake.
The tipoff went to forward
guard Bennie Lewis, giving the
new team possession of the ball.
The baskets came quickly as
both teams fought to prove their
ability and by the end of the first
quarter the score was tied 28 to
28.
Several three pointers and
excellent two-point shots later
the enthusiasm of the crowd
KAMILAH FABIEN/TIGER NEWS
Homecoming basketball game featuring 2006 Benedict Tigers team
players against alumni players in Benjamin E. Mays Human Resources
Center arena gym.
said, “Outsiders think that athletic
players get away without
putting effort into school work,
when we know that’s not the
case.”
Coaches also talked about the
upcoming season, and what
changes needed to be made in
order to improve their games.
“Physicals will be given periodically
to insure that the players
remain in good shape,” said
Coach Trimmer. He added that
practicing harder will help the
players achieve a goal that they
will be proud of.
Meanwhile, Benedict College
President David H. Swinton held
a short meeting with the coaches
on November 4, to inform them
escalated even more when
alumni player Malick McCullogh
came on the court.
With eight minutes and eight
seconds left in the 2 nd and final
quarter (the game was only 2
quarters long) the score of the
close game was tied again at 41.
Both teams made use of their
available time outs coming
toward the end of the game, but
it was the new line up who
prospered and the final score
was 55 for the new lineup and 52
for the alumni team.
Basketball Coach Fred Watson
said that this year’s line up is
comprised of predominantly new
players, but also that this is
“probably the most talented
team” he has had. Watson feels
confident about the season
which began on Oct. 15. “I see
the potential, I see the promise,”
said Watson of the team judging
from their practices so far. The
team was picked to finish third
in the SIAC conference, “but
see ALUMNI/page 5
that the coaches were not living
up to the school standards as far
as games were concerned and
that the coaches may be released
from their positions.
President Swinton said, “Overall
we have had a losing season,
and only won three games, and
lost seven games, which is ridiculous.”
STOP THE PRESS!
Just before going to our
printers, we learned that
Mr. John Hendricks, head
football coach of the
Benedict Tigers has been
fired by President David
H. Swinton.
See full story in our next
issue!