DOVER, Del. - Both Delaware State and South Carolina State were involved in Homecoming games this past weekend.

While the 12th-ranked Hornets send their fans home happy with a 25-17 win over Morgan State, the Bulldogs successfully played the role of spoiler with a come-from-behind 28-24 victory over Hampton.

This Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, the two teams will reverse roles as SCSU (4-3, 3-1) plays host to Delaware State (6-1, 5-0) for Homecoming. It's a challenge Hornets head coach Al Lavan both anticipates and approaches with caution given the recent history.

"It's a tremendous challenge to our coaches and our players to keep extending ourselves to be as good as we can be," he said. "Coupled with the opponent that we're playing, it's just added incentive to what's certainly the basis of our preparation regardless of who we're playing. Of course, we're playing an opponent in South Carolina State that's a real fine football team on both sides of the ball and are well-coached in Buddy Pough. We know that we're moving into formidable territory and we've got to show up with our best preparation and...whatever number of minutes they allow us to play, we've got to do that and play well."

Delaware State has not defeated SCSU in Orangeburg since 1995, with the last two meetings taking place during Homecoming. The 2005 contest played before 20,050 fans was a scoreless first half defensive struggle before SCSU erupted for 24 second-half points, including a 59-yard fumble return TD by Terrance Bennett.

"Homecoming will always be a problem anyplace in the country because there are so many things happening around you," Lavan said. "I know last week, we had to take our team away from the campus the night before the game. As far as going in, whether or not we're the Homecoming designee or not, honestly, I don't think about it. We know that we're going into enemy territory and unless we prepared well each day of this week to focus our energies in the proper direction, we're going to have a major problem. We're best able to focus that attention on the things that we have to get done, but we have to forge ahead and fight through those 25-30,000 people that's going to be at that game and convince our guys that they're cheering for us."

Lavan is hoping this is the game where his passing offense starts to show more consistency. Despite having an experienced leader in quarterback Vashon Winton (66-121 passing, 743 yards, 8 TDs, four INTs; 165 rushing yards, five TDs), the preseason MEAC Offensive Player of the Year in wide receiver Shaheer McBride (26 catches, 382 yards, six TDs), an experienced offensive line led by preseason first-team selection Jeremy Breath, the Hornets are ranked seventh out of nine teams in passing offense, rushing offense and total offense and are next to last in red zone offense ahead of SCSU.

Despite the offensive struggles, Lavan believes they are the team's best defense against the Bulldogs and quarterback Cleveland McCoy.

"I wish he was on our team and not on Buddy's team," he said. "That kid's a problem. He's an outstanding runner and he certainly can pass the ball adequate enough with that big, experienced offensive line that Buddy has and as always, it's a typical South Carolina State team. Excellent offensive line, zone blocking, a quarterback that can run and a running back Will Ford that scares you to death. If you can keep the ball out of their hands, you've got a little bit of a chance of slowing them down. But once they get the football, they're an experienced offensive line. They have variety enough with those skilled players that I mentioned, if we allow enough opportunities, they're going to cause a major problem for us. So we just need them not to have the ball very much."

Defensively, the Hornets are among the Football Championship Subdivision's most stingiest teams. They lead the MEAC in points allowed (10.2 per game) and turnover margin (+6). Against Morgan State, it was a 100-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown by defensive back Akeem Green which put Delaware State ahead and earned him Sports Network National Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Green leads the team with three interceptions and is third in tackles (42) behind fellow preseason MEAC first-team linebacker Russell Reeves (46 tackles) and defensive back Josh Pope (44). Senior defensive lineman Kelly Rouse leads the team in sacks (4) and has the daunting task of facing an offensive line which more than held its own against Hampton's front.

"It's a tremendous challenge," he said. "I looked at the tapes of South Carolina State's offensive line and the three years I've been in this conference, they all look the same. They're excellent blockers and it'll be a challenge to our defensive line."

Even with all of the conference title ramifications and the Homecoming setting, Lavan said the team will continue to maintain the same approach to Saturday's contest as it has for every other game.

"I just look at it as we've got to go to practice today and get better today," Lavan said. "I don't think about it like that. Sure, we're going to go to South Carolina State. We know it. But the more important thing for us is that we've got to practice today and get better. And then at some point, Friday will come and we'll get on a plane and we'll go to South Carolina and Saturday we'll play."

A MIRROR IMAGE

Not only are head coaches Al Lavan and Oliver "Buddy" Pough good friends, but their teams mimic each other from having dual threat quarterbacks to stingy defenses.

This is especially true in their hirings of defensive coordinators. Just after Rayford Petty was dismissed as Howard head football coach, Lavan hired him to become his defensive coordinator.

Shortly afterwards, Pough filled his vacancy at defensive coordinator by hiring former Benedict College head football coach John Hendrick.

The additions have paid dividends for both teams as they rank 1-2, respectively, in points allowed in the MEAC.

Ironically, Lavan once pursued Hendrick to join his team - as a player.

"John was a guy that I tried to recruit at Georgia Tech a hundred years ago," he said. "But now he's down there with Buddy trying to beat my brains out. John and Buddy have put together an excellent defensive unit. That's the challenge of playing a football team that's well-coached with good players and we've got to come out there and try to run the football with some degree of efficiency."

TAYLOR STANDS BY CALL

Along with Green's fumble return TD, South Carolina State BANDIT Rafael Bush's 58-yard touchdown off a botched fake field goal attempt by Hampton was one of Saturday's big plays in the MEAC.

On the play, Bush stepped in front of a no-look backward toss by holder Daniel Brooks to place-kicker Carlo Turavani, who was called upon to kick a 50-yard field goal, and sprinted the opposite way for the score.

When asked about the call Tuesday, Hampton head coach Joe Taylor acknowledged it may have been ill-advised, but stood by his decision based on his team's struggles on third and fourth-down conversions.

"If you call that and you make it, you're a genius," he said. "If you call it and don't get it, you're a goat. We were just trying to find a way to stay on the field and it went in South Carolina State's favor."

SCSU Extends Ticket Office Hours for Homecoming Week

South Carolina State has extended its Ticket Office hours throughout the week to accommodate persons wishing to purchase football tickets for Saturday's 1:30 p.m. Homecoming contest against Delaware State.

The office will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. through Friday of this week.

Advance tickets may also be purchased at the Campus Bookstore, Goldstein's in Orangeburg, and in the Upstate at the BMW plant in Greer.

Gameday tickets will be available Saturday at the Student Center on campus from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., and will be on sale after that time at the stadium ticket booth. All tickets for the Homecoming contest are $35.00 each.

Tickets for other Homecoming events may be purchased at the campus ticket booth throughout the week.

For additional ticket information, call 803-536-8579 or toll free at 800-298-9157.

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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