The long hours of preseason preparation in the hot Orangeburg sun officially ended Thursday for the South Carolina State football team.

The Bulldogs held a final practice prior to today's departure to Orlando, Fla., for Sunday's MEAC/SWAC Challenge against Grambling. This marks the second straight year S.C. State will open the season in the "Magic City" after facing Central Florida in 2008.

"We didn't have any major problems that I can think of," head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough said.

Pough is hoping for a better result after last year's 17-0 shutout loss. At Thursday's Orangeburg Touchdown Club meeting, Pough reflected on preseason camp and provided a quick overall analysis of his team.

"It just seems like yesterday when I was here and was talking about Appalachian State and playoffs and all that kind of stuff," he said. "Now we're going through camp. Camp has gone pretty well. We've had some tough days. I guess the toughest was when we lost (linebacker) Marshall McFadden. We said on defense if there's one guy we can't afford to lose ... of course it's the guy we did lose. We're working to try to clean that up a little bit, but I think we'll be OK."

Overall, Pough described his team as 'pretty decent on offense, pretty decent on defense' and they have a decent kicking game. He called the Tigers a "great test" to open the season, from their personnel to the coaching staff.

Following practice, Pough headed to All-Star Cafe on Old St. Matthews Road for the debut of his weekly one-hour talk show on WQKI (102.9 FM). During the program, co-hosted by Steve Wannamaker, Pough previewed the game and took questions from those present and callers.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. and, once in Orlando, will attend the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff Banquet set for 8 p.m. tonight at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Pough said the Bulldogs will resume a game-type schedule on Saturday, visiting the Citrus Bowl for a walkthrough and holding team meetings.

Kickoff for Sunday's game is set for 2 p.m. at Citrus Bowl Stadium and the game will air on ESPN2 (Channel 27 on Time Warner Cable).

S.C. State's Middleton

wins Walter Payton Award

S.C. State defensive lineman Zachary Middleton and Grambling wide receiver Van Phillips are the recipients of this year's Walter Payton Achievement Award.

Middleton and Phillips will be honored at the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff Banquet.

Given annually to a player from each of the participating schools in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, the award is named after the late NFL and Jackson State running back great and given to student-athletes who are high achievers in the classroom and on the football field.

Other finalists were South Carolina State's McFadden and defensive lineman Otis Key and Grambling defensive back Gabriel Fleming and linebacker Stephen Tripp. The six finalists were selected by a committee that includes academic advisers and coaches, and this year marks the first time that the winners were determined by fans' votes.

Both head coaches were very complimentary of the award-winning players.

"A consummate professional and the most dependable and reliable football player I've been around during my career," S.C. State head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough said.

"Van is a great student who has grown tremendously in the last year," Grambling head coach Rod Broadway said. "We're expecting great things from him because he's a gifted athlete with size and speed."

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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