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by Hal Lamar Albany State gets bounced back to Ga. and out the Playoffs via CatawbaFor the fourth season in a row, the Albany State Ram elevens took a post-season trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs and for the third time in those four tries, they were knocked out in the first round. (In 2004, the Rams finished with a perfect 10-0 regular season mark, enjoyed home field advantage in the playoffs and survived the first round against Arkansas Tech only to lose 38-24 to Valdosta State. The Blazers, trailing 24-0 at the half, scored all 38 of their points in the second half). The host Catawba Indians of Salisbury, North Carolina poured it all over the visiting Rams (even engaging in a little fourth quarter overkill when the game was out of reach) and sent them bouncing back for a silent seven hour bus ride home, 66-35 . Those of us with shallow pockets who couldn’t travel to see the ballgame eyeball to eyeball got the next best thing courtesy of Albany Radio’s KISS 98.1 FM. The game was carried on-line with Fred Suttles handling play-by-play chores ( Fred is a second generation broadcaster, taking the reins from his late father, Fred “Doc” Suttles who was the voice of Ram football for 39 years.) To the credit of the Rams, they held fast and strong in the first half , evening tying the Indians at one point and going to the locker room at the break trailing by only 7. But much like the 2004 playoff game vs. Valdosta, the ASU team that left the field at the end of the first half wasn’t the same one that returned for the second stanza. The Rams did score with 11:04 to go in the third period to trim the Catawba lead to three. But then the bottom fell out the Ram boat as the Indians scored five times and controlled the third and most of the fourth period. By the time they got tired, it seemed, ASU was trailing 66-28. Valiantly, the Rams didn’t give up and even managed a final mercy score with four minutes to go. Suttles, with broadcast crewmembers Norman Newton and Jesse Massey, attempted to put a positive spin on the carnage. “Thing could have turned around had they had a better third quarter,” he said . Good try, little Doc but the truth is the Rams got their brains beat out in the second half, kept their defense on the field much too long and allowed Catawba to take full advantage, even leaving their first string in much too long (a seemingly foolish move considering they have to travel this weekend to Valdosta to play the powerful Blazers). But even Suttles had to surrender to the naked truth. “ We’ve seen the good, bad and ugly,” he lamented. We’ve been here before but never have we gotten here and this happened.” The biggest consolation that ASU head coach Mike White has is that he stands a good chance of making a fifth trip to the big dance in 2008. He will lose only a few players to graduation “They will return in 2008 with an experienced line,” offered Massey. Suttles wrapped things up by pointing out that ASU has lost to teams “ with a lot more money (for football) than we have.” He also suggested that schools like ASU and others who want to take their programs to another level have to put more resources in. “ Getting to the post season is not enough,” he said.” You got to advance.” OBSERVATIONS: The last time any team scored 60 points or better on Albany State was 1965 when the South Carolina State Bulldogs beat them 66-7. Of late, Tuskegee University beat the Rams 56-6 in 1991. HOW THE SIAC TEAMS FINISHED OUT IN 2007 Got an item or comment?
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