Morehouse, Benedict engage in Classic battle

Seven-year-old event picks up steam, adding more festivities, bigger venue

By PATRICK OBLEY - pobley@thestate.com

The opening salvo was lobbed by a man legendary for opening salvos.

Willie Jeffries heard about a 400-pound lineman at Morehouse College. He is eager to see that player and his teammates face Benedict at this year’s Palmetto Capital City Classic.

But, with Morehouse College coach Rich Freeman in the room Thursday at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium, Jeffries could not contain himself.

“I heard the young man just had his physical and the bloodwork done,” Jeffries said. “I heard the tests came back positive for fried chicken. Really, when you take a shower and your knees don’t get wet, it’s probably time to lose some weight.”

Jeffries, the Classic’s executive director, went on to guarantee the Tigers would win. A safe bet, considering both schools carry that nickname.

And so it went Thursday as Classic officials and Benedict College made their latest attempt to bring relevancy to their 7-year-old event.

Over the years, the Classic has picked up steam, adding more and more events to the week leading up to the game. This year’s festivities will include a large parade down Read Street and at least 10 high school bands from Columbia, Augusta and Charlotte, among other locales.

The most striking addition since the event’s inception: the venue itself. This is the second year for Johnson Stadium, an 11,026-seat venue that rivals the very best facilities in NCAA Division II.

Coincidentally, it also is the second year for Benedict coach Stan Conner, the former Alabama A&M offensive coordinator whose team is coming off a 2-9 season. With a virtually new coaching staff and his first true recruiting class in the fold, Conner said he’s optimistic about the team improving on last season.

“We now have a lot of experience on the coaching staff, guys who make no excuses,” Conner said. “Once the (players) get a hold of that, we’ll be on our way.”

Conner took the Benedict job days after Alabama A&M played for the Southwest Athletic Conference championship. What ensued at Benedict was eye-opening.

“Going 2-9 was very humbling for me. It gets you focused,” Conner said. “You need that sometimes. We’ll be much improved. I’ll be very, very, very disappointed if we didn’t show improvement.”

While Benedict president David Swinton cracked on Morehouse for its victory against Benedict in 2007 (“I think that’s the only game they won”), the Maroon Tigers are coming off a 7-3 season and return 17 starters.

The starting quarterback is Texas Tech transfer Christian Sterling and the defensive line boasts a pair of NFL prospects.

“We were very successful last year,” Freeman said. “I can’t guarantee victory but I can promise three things: We’ll play fast, play hard and play smart. We call that the Westview Philosophy, since that’s the name of the street the college is on.”

Whatever happens, Classic officials hope to call the entire week’s events a success.

“It takes time to build a Classic into a big-time event,” Conner said. “What people need to understand is most Classics have been around for 70 or 80 years. This one is seven. It time, it will take its place.”

Reach Obley at (803) 771-8473.