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Today’s state capsules

By Staff Reports
Published: November 7, 2009

TODAY'S STATE CAPSULES

Towson at No.5 William and Mary

Where: Zable Stadium (cap. 12,259), Williamsburg
When: 1:30 p.m.

Radio: WTOX (1480), 1 p.m.

Tickets: $25 adult, $17 youth, sideline; $19 adult, $12 youth, end zone
Records: William and Mary 4-1 CAA, 7-1; Towson 1-4, 2-6
Players to watch: W&M - WR Chase Hill, 22 catches, 334 yards, 3 TDs in CAA play; RB Jonathan Grimes, averaging 99 yards rushing in conference play; LB Wes Steinman, 7 tackles for loss in past five games. Towson - LB Danzel White, 82 tackles, fourth in CAA; QB Tommy Chroniger, took over for Peter Athens after a season-ending injury in week six.
Notable: William and Mary leads the all-time series 6-0. .. The Tribe held Rhode Island to minus-46 yards rushing last week, a school record. .. Towson fell to Richmond last week 42-14. .. Tigers right tackle Dan Bridges is the only offensive lineman to start all eight games in the same position. .. Tribe TE Rob Varno has made at least four catches in five of the past six games. .. The Tribe has two home games before its season finale at Richmond. .. A victory would guarantee coach Jimmye Laycock's 10th eight-win season.

Maine at James Madison

Where: Bridgeforth Stadium (cap. 15,500), Harrisonburg
When: 3 p.m.

Radio: WREJ (1540)

Tickets: $22 sideline, $17 end zone
Records: Maine 3-2 CAA, 4-4; JMU 1-4, 3-5
Players to watch: Maine - QB Warren Smith, 134-218 passing, 1,517 yards, 11 TDs, 10 interceptions; WR Landis Williams, 44 catches, 484 yards, 5 TDs; LB Donte Dennis, 81 tackles, 4 INTs.; JMU - QB Justin Thorpe, 51-98, 748 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs, 450 yards rushing; WR Rockeed McCarter, 24-468, 3 TDs; DE Arthur Moats, 66 tackles, 9.5 sacks.
Notable: JMU snapped a four-game losing streak by beating No.16 Delaware last week. Redshirt freshman QB Justin Thorpe was named the CAA's offensive player of the week after accumulating 304 yards of offense. His TD run in the third quarter gave the Dukes their first offensive TD in 12 quarters. . . . End Arthur Moats leads Football Championship Subdivision with 20 tackles for a loss. . . . Maine dumped No.19 Massachusetts 19-9 last week. . . . Black Bears QB Warren Smith ranks second in the CAA in total offense (239.6 yards per game). . . . WR Landis Williams has had six games with at least six catches. JMU has won the past three meetings and leads the series 8-4.

VMI at Liberty

Where : Williams Stadium (cap. 12,000), Lynchburg
When : 7 p.m.

Radio : WLEE (990), 6

Records : VMI 1-4 Big South, 2-6; Liberty 3-0, 6-2
Notable : After winning two weeks ago at Presbyterian, the Keydets stumbled last week, 31-21 to Charleston Southern. . . . One of their few bright spots, again, was senior Howard Abegesah, who ran for 165 yards against Presbyterian and 160 against Charleston Southern - on 20 carries. In the first six games, Abegash ran for 366 yards and cracked 100 just once, with 106 in the season opener against Robert Morris. He entered the season with nine career 100-yard games, including five as a sophomore in 2007, when he ran for 1,121 yards. . . . Liberty is riding a four-game winning streak and is tied with Stony Brook atop the Big South. The Flames' only losses are to James Madison and West Virginia.

N.C. Central at ODU

Where: Foreman Field (cap. 19,782), Norfolk
When: 2 p.m.

Radio: WXEZ (94.1),Virginia Beach

Tickets: Sold out
Records: North Carolina Central 2-6, Old Dominion 7-2
Notable: Old Dominion ranks ninth in Football Championship Subdivision in rushing yards per game (206). . . . Redshirt sophomore QB Thomas DeMarco is averaging 68.8 yards rushing and 167.4 passing. . . . The Monarchs, in their first season, have sold out all seven of their home games.

Norfolk State at Morgan State

Where: Hughes Stadium (cap. 10,000), Baltimore.
When: 4 p.m.
Records: NSU 3-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, 4-4; Morgan State 3-2, 5-3
Notable: The Spartans try again for their first two-game winning streak of the season. They defeated Howard 41-6 last week and gained a season-high 520 yards in the process. . . . WR Chris Bell, a Penn State transfer, had four receptions for 138 yards and NSU held Howard to 19 rushing yards. . . . NSU has the MEAC's top defense in terms of yards allowed (259.9 ypg). . . . Morgan State is coming off an overtime loss to Florida A&M. . . . NSU's top job will be the contain Bears QB Carlton Jackson, who has rushed for 178 yards and passed for 1,042. . . . Morgan State linebacker George Howard leads the league with 100 tackles.

Randolph-Macon at Bridgewater

Where : Jopson Field (cap. 3,500), Bridgewater
When : 1 p.m.
Tickets : Adults $6, children $3
Internet : Audio and video streamed at http://www.pennatlantic.com and http://www.futuremediaworld.com; radio - 1360 (WHBG), Bridgewater, 12:30
Records : R-MC 3-1 ODAC, 5-3; Bridgewater 3-1,6-2
Notable : The Yellow Jackets must win today and next week against Hampden-Sydney if they have any hope of winning the ODAC title. If they win today and beat the Tigers next week, both teams will have 5-1 records and R-MC will win the ODAC by virtue of the tiebreaker. . . . The Yellow Jackets will have to stop Bridgewater's balanced offense, which averages 190 yards a game on the ground and 190 yards a game in the air. . . . The Eagles score a lot of points but also turn over the ball a lot - 21 times, while forcing only nine turnovers. . . . Bridgewater defeated Guilford 40-9. Guilford defeated R-MC 20-13 for the Yellow Jackets' only ODAC loss.

Salisbury at Hampden-Sydney

Where : Lewis C. Everett Stadium (cap. 2,500), Hampden-Sydney
When : 1 p.m.
Tickets : Free, parking $5
Internet : Audio and video streamed live at http://www.hsc.edu/athletics, 12:45; radio: 95.7 (WFLO), Farmville
Records : Salisbury 4-4; Hampden Sydney 8-0
Facts : These two teams haven't played each other since 1990. . . . H-SC enters the game ranked No.17 in the country by the American Football Coaches Association. The Tigers are 8-0 for the first time since 1971. . . . H-SC QB Corey Sedlar (Mills Godwin) is 462 yards from 10,000 career passing yards. . . . Salisbury lost 30-12 last week to Wesley, the No.3 team in the country. Salisbury is a run-first team, averaging 238 yards per game on the ground and only 100.8 in the air. . . . This is H-SC's last tuneup for its yearly showdown with Randolph-Macon next Saturday.