October 2007 – Newsletter

As we near the halfway point of the college football season, Triangle teams have had their ups and downs and a few big surprises along the way. Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina, and Shaw University have all managed to average out their schedules—whereas Saint Augustine’s College is searching to find their rhythm, and North Carolina Central University has dominated all but one game.

UNC erupted with cheers during the first game of the season against James Madison University. The Tar Heels dominated against the JMU Dukes, showing their fans that they are not the same team as before. In their next two games the Heels suffered two close losses, to East Carolina University and to Virginia. The Heels have defensive end Hilee Taylor, who is ranked sixth in the nation in defensive tackles for loss of yards and is having his best season yet. He is also ranked 12th in the nation for number of sacks per game.

A new addition to the UNC family is head coach Butch Davis, who has an open-door policy with his players. “I think it’s important to be accessible to your players. The best players I had at Dallas and Miami were the ones who would be sitting in my office waiting for me when I came in,” Davis said. Their season rounds out with three in-state games against N.C. State, Wake Forest and Duke.

N.C. State is looking to new head coach Tom O’Brien to help turn its program around. Coach O’Brien’s game winning view: “They (players) have to go out and win the game, of course; but if they are fundamentally sound, believe in what they are doing and have faith in the person next to them, they are going to have a chance to win every time.” The team used this saying to dominate in their game against Wofford, with a score of 38-17. The Wolfpack has used three different receivers, and each one has accumulated more than 150 yards in the past five games. They will continue their schedule against Maryland, Wake Forest, and Louisville to try to earn a spot in a bowl game.

Duke’s season started off rough, losing the first two games to Connecticut and Virginia, but they were able to bounce back against Northwestern with a 20-14 victory to end a 22-game losing streak. Junior Eron Riley is making history this season with the Blue Devils. Riley became the sixth player in Duke's history to record over 200 receiving yards in one game. During the Navy game earlier this year Riley caught six passes for 235 yards, and four touchdowns. Riley is now tied with Corey Thomas for a school record of most single-game touchdown receptions. Thomas and Riley have each had four touchdowns in one game, 10 years apart. After the Blue Devils’ win over Northwestern, Duke head coach Ted Roof said, “I hope this will be a springboard for us and we will understand what it feels like to win and the reward that goes along with hard work.”

Shaw opened its season against Miles College, with an easy 24-7 victory. They continued on through the season, and gained a three-point win over a fellow North Carolina school, Elizabeth City State University. Ryne Powell, place kicker for the Bears, has been vital to their success this year. Powell connected on a 37-yard field goal in overtime to capture a win over ECSU. In the same game, Monte Coleman took control of the game with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. From the start of the season, head coach Darrell Asberry has had confidence in his team. “Shaw University won’t be second to anybody as long as I’m coach,” Asberry said. The Bears will end their season against a Triangle area rival, Saint Augustine’s College.

Saint Augustine’s has had several players who have been selected for CIAA honors this season. Linebacker Andrade Olliver was chosen as the CIAA rookie of the week for Sept. 15. Defensive tackle Marcus Kennedy and punter Richard Boone were named to the 2007 All-CIAA Preseason Football Team. While the Falcons have struggled early in the season, they still have time to get back on track. They face several conference opponents and round out their season with Livingstone College, which has been unable to score more than seven points in a game so far this season.

N.C. Central University has dominated their first few games of the season, scoring more than 75 points in the first five games and obtaining two shut outs. Though it may seem like the Eagles have had it easy, they actually started the season with a loss to Albany State. They were able to turn their season around, though, gathering wins over a few in-state schools including Saint Augustine’s College and Fayetteville State. “A goal of our program is to bring competitive goals and knowledge to the table and mold it into a shape that is uniquely NCCU and then take the field every Saturday with the purpose of winning,” said head coach Mose Rison. N.C. Central, formerly an NCAA Division II school and member of the CIAA, has made the jump to Division I this year. The Eagles have applied to join the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) but will play as an independent school until a decision is made.

Though the Durham Bulls began the 2007 season 11-14, they slowly turned their season around. The introduction of a new mascot and setting several new attendance records, helped get the Triangle ready for baseball season. Over 565,000 fans turned out at the Durham Athletic Ball Park throughout the 2007 season—a higher attendance record than 23 NFL teams this past year.

April was not the best month for the Bulls. They started the season with two losses to the Syracuse Chiefs and were scored on more than 120 times in April alone. But the Bulls came out of April with a four-game winning streak against in-state rival the Charlotte Knights. The Bulls pushed through May and ended the month 15-14, with an overall record of 26-28. Throughout the 29 games in May, the Bulls had two four-game winning streaks against the Norfolk Tides and the Chiefs.

The next three months of the season proved to be a very different story for the Bulls. They pulled together as a team to have an overall record of 52-34. In the first half of the season the team was seven games below .500 and was able to come back and finish 23 games over. The second half of the season helped put the Bulls in first place in the South division, beating out the Richmond Braves by three wins. The Braves, however, won the wild-card spot for the playoffs. The Bulls ended their regular season with an overall record of 80-63.

As the Bulls entered the playoffs against the Toledo Mudhens, many were apprehensive. During regular season play the Bulls were 5-8 against the Mudhens. However, the Bulls quickly took charge of the post-season series with scores 11-8, 9-5, and 5-2, to sweep the Mudhens in three games. The Bulls then faced the Richmond Braves, which defeated the Scranton Yankees in game four to advance to the next level of the playoffs.

The Bulls came out with an overall record of 8-8 against Richmond this season. The two teams are division rivals, as the Bulls beat the Braves for the South Division title. The Braves dominated the first game of the series winning 4-2. As the series continued, the Bulls showed the Braves that there would be more games to come. Right-handed pitcher Jeff Niemann struck out nine batters in eight innings, helping secure the 5-1 victory in game two of the series. The Bulls won the third game with a score of 3-2, to lead the series 2-1. Game four of the series was a nail biter, with the score tied at 1-1 until the Braves scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh and went on to win the game 6-2. With the series tied at two games each, the Braves dominated game five, with back-to-back home runs in the first inning. The Braves won the Governors Cup with a final score of 7-2.

The Bulls treated their fans to an outstanding season full of talented players. Left fielder Justin Ruggiano was called up to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and played seven games with them. He got up to bat 14 times and had 3 RBIs. Infielder Evan Longoria was also honored this season when he was named to the USA Baseball 2007 World Cup Roster.

The organization is already looking forward to the 2008 season. Durham Bulls license plates will soon be available, and the 20th anniversary of “Bull Durham” is on the horizon.

Soccer players like Mia Hamm, David Beckham, and Freddy Adu are household names to people all over the world who admire what these athletes are able to accomplish on the field. However, in the Raleigh area, names like Chris McClellan, Connally Edozien, and Kupuno Low are known, thanks to the Carolina RailHawks, a new United Soccer League franchise.

The Carolina RailHawks’ inaugural season opened April 21 in front of 6,327 fans at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. They won their first game, 2-0, played in an exhibition match against Chivas USA on May 8, and went on to win their next two games.

Overall this season has been a break out one for soccer in the Raleigh area. For a new franchise, the team held its own in the league. They scored more than 35 goals this season, obtained 17 shut outs, and ended the season with an overall record of 13-14-8, and a division record of 8-12-8.

The RailHawks came away with their first franchise trophy this season. The team won the Southern Derby Cup, which is a fan-based competition created to enhance rivalries between soccer teams based in the South. Only teams from the South-Atlantic Region, which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama, are allowed to compete for the cup. By defeating the Charleston Battery 3-0, the RailHawks claimed the Southern Derby and were able to bring the cup back home to the Triangle. The score of the game also marked a milestone for the franchise. Connally Edozien achieved the first hat trick, scoring all three goals for the RailHawks.

Throughout the season, the RailHawks also competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. This is an annual competition that is open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The RailHawks beat RWB Adria in the first round with a score of 4-1. They went on to beat the Bavarian SC 4-0, the Chicago Fire 1-0, and the Richmond Kickers 1-0, to get to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the RailHawks took on the Major League Soccer club the New England Revolution. The game was very physical and had a total of three ejections, 11 cards and 37 fouls. The RailHawks took an early lead in this game with a goal by Anthony Maher. Each team played the final minutes of the first half with 10 men instead of 11 because of an ejection on both teams. The Revolution were able to score and tie the game. The game stayed tied until the 93rd minute of the game when the Revolution sneaked one by RailHawks keeper Chris McClellan. The Revolution went on to beat FC Dallas in the championship and win the cup.

In the last game of the regular season, the RailHawks beat the California Victory in San Francisco to catapult them into the playoffs. The RailHawks started the playoffs in the eighth seed, pitted against the Seattle Sounders. The Sounders and the RailHawks had met twice previous to the playoffs. Seattle won both regular-season games with a margin of 1-0 and has made the championship game four times since 1995. In its four appearances, Seattle has pulled out a win in three of the games, so the RailHawks knew the game would be tough.

The RailHawks fell to the Sounders in a two-game match of the quarterfinals. A heavy rain storm delayed the first game played at home in Cary. When the game began, the field was soggy, and the ball was almost uncontrollable. The Sounders took the lead by scoring three minutes into the second half. After that, Seattle seemed to control the game, and secured the win with another goal in the 82nd minute. In order for the RailHawks to move forward in the playoffs, they needed to score three goals against the Sounders. In the second game the RailHawks put up a good fight against the Sounders and managed to keep the game scoreless into injury time. Joey Worthen made a challenge close to goal, giving the Sounders a penalty kick. The Sounders capitalized on the penalty and scored the only goal of the game, leading Seattle to the finals with a 1-0 win.

“This was a great accomplishment for an expansion team. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys. They fought all the way until the final whistle and have nothing to regret. We will continue our journey next year, improving on what we started and obtaining even better results,” said RailHawks head coach Scott Schweitzer on the team’s inaugural season. Despite the loss in the semifinals, RailHawks fans pleased by the team’s performance in its first year and anxiously await the start of the 2008 season.

The fifth annual Greater Raleigh Sports Council Evening of Champions presented by SunTrust, in partnership with 850 The Buzz & 620 The Bull, will honor the Triangle’s top athletes, teams and sports moments of the year. It is a celebration that Triangle sports fans look forward to every year. The event includes a silent auction featuring incredible sports memorabilia, followed by dinner and the awards program. Additionally, two outstanding area student athletes will receive the CARQUEST Scholar Athlete of the Year Award for their academic and athletic achievements. A highlight of the evening will be the Trangle's Top Ten Sports Moments for 2007.

Nominations will be accepted soon, so be sure to log on to www.thesportscouncil.org and nominate someone you know who has made a difference this past year in the local sports community.

This event is one you don’t want to miss, so mark your calendars for Feb. 7, 2008, and plan to join fellow sports enthusiasts at the Embassy Suites in Cary. Your company can score with your customers, vendors, clients and employees by purchasing a table sponsorship. For more information or to purchase a table, contact Casey Verburg at 664-7033 or cverburg@raleighchamber.org

Casey Verburg has joined the Greater Raleigh Sports Council staff as its program assistant. She will focus on member communication and program development. Casey is a recent graduate of East Carolina University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Science in Communications. She is originally from Maryland, but now calls Raleigh home. Be sure to reach out and say "hello" to her as you see her at upcoming events.

The Greater Raleigh Sports Council would like to welcomes our new members (as of 10.1.07).

Individual Members:
4ourFans, Inc.
Livis Freeman

Corporate Facility Services
John Ferguson

DEC Appraisal Service
Art Dec

General Sports Venue
Doug Whitmer

Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, LLP
Brian Fork

Lifetime Fitness
Derek Nereu

McClatchy Interactive
Fraser Van Asch
Howard Sadel

Mid-Atlantic Associates, Inc.
Darin McClure

Millennium Hotel Durham
Jeff Brickman

Time Warner Telecom
Keith Jurney

For a complete listing of members, visit our member listing.