Sparky Woods and Elon highlight midseason awards

Some of our state colleges hit the halfway point of the football season last week, and some got there this week.

But the time is always right for midseason awards, so here we go.

--The "Whatever Happened To Sparky Woods?" award — This goes to Coastal Carolina, which found out in a 47-20 loss to VMI last week.

Woods, the boss at South Carolina from 1989-93, is now the coach at VMI and has the Keydets off to a 3-3 start and a 1-0 record in the Big South. Running an option attack, VMI leads all FCS schools in rushing with 356 yards per game, just ahead of Wofford.

Hmmm ... Maybe it's a good thing that that The Citadel doesn't play VMI this season.

--The Willie Nelson "On the Road Again" award — Six of Charleston Southern's first eight games are on the road, thanks to the "tropical" storm that moved a Sept. 6 game to Wofford.

But take heart, Bucs faithful — three of four games in November are in the friendly confines of Buccaneer Field.

--The Temper, Temper award — This goes to whatever is in the water on the visitors' side of Johnson Hagood Stadium. Two years ago, we had the female VMI cheerleader who put a Citadel cadet in a headlock during a sideline fracas. Earlier this season, the Princeton band caught heck on the visitors' side after a run-in with cadets.

And last week, the Elon Fightin' (Amongst Themselves) Phoenix managed to beat the Bulldogs despite a full-on sideline scuffle between head coach and player.

It's just not safe over there.

--Working Overtime — Benedict needed four overtimes to beat Lane, 54-52, last week. The score was 24-24 after regulation, and the Tigers won despite getting outgained, 559-233.

--Making History — Coastal Carolina has absorbed both its worst loss ever (66-10 at Penn State) and worst Big South loss ever (47-20 at VMI) this season.

--The Emmy Goes To — Furman sophomore rover Max Lerner, who was one of the stars of MTV's "Two-A-Days" reality show featuring Hoover (Ala.) High School. Lerner, 5-11 and 188 pounds, can play football, too — he's fourth on the team with 45 tackles and has two sacks and two interceptions.

--Just Win, Baby — South Carolina State is 3-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs' wins coming by margins of nine, seven and one point. S.C. State has a week off to ponder a MEAC showdown with Hampton on Oct. 25 in Orangeburg.

--Tough Luck — Hanahan High School product John Carnell was off to a good start in his freshman season at Newberry, hitting 40 of 56 passes for 494 yards and two TDs in his first two college games. But Carnell injured his throwing shoulder against Midwestern State on Sept. 20 and has not played since. His brother, Ben, had his playing career at The Citadel cut short by a neck injury. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

--Quarterback of the midseason — The Citadel's Bart Blanchard and Furman's Jordan Sorrells are playing well, as are Tribble Reese at Charleston Southern and Tim Webb of Presbyterian (before he got hurt). But the choice here is Wofford QB Ben Widmyer, who is averaging 7.6 rushing yards per carry and 80.6 yards per game for the Terriers. He's also hit 26 of 40 passes for 470 yards with four TDs and no interceptions. His passing efficiency rating of 196.7 would lead the SoCon, if he'd thrown enough passes.

--Receiver — Andre Roberts, The Citadel. "Electric Socks" has 40 catches for 610 yards and eight touchdowns, and has run two punts back for TDs. Honorable mention goes to Furman's Adam Mims, Presbyterian's Terrace Butler and South Carolina State's Oliver Young.

--Running back — S.C. State's William Ford is averaging 113 yards per game and has scored eight touchdowns. Honorable mention goes to Furman's Mike Brown and Wofford's Dane Romero.

--Defender — Furman linebacker Brandon Williams has 61 tackles, eight tackles for loss and two sacks for the top total defense team in the SoCon.

-- Coach — Wofford's only played five games and has a long way to go, but coach Mike Ayers is doing it again. The Terriers nearly pulled the upset at Williams-Brice Stadium and should be 5-1 after beating Western Carolina this week. But the home stretch is tough, with games at Elon and at App State and against The Citadel and Furman left to play.

Reach Jeff Hartsell at jhartsell@postandcourier.com

Ranking the state's FCS and Division II football teams;

Team (Record) This week Comment

1. Wofford (4-1) W. Carolina QB Ben Widmyer having big season

2. Furman (5-2) The Citadel Not happy with tough win vs. WCU

3. S.C. State (5-2) idle Week off before Hampton showdown

4. The Citadel (3-3) at Furman Dogs try to avoid 3-game skid

5. CSU (3-3) at Stony Brook Stony Brook in Big South? Yes

6. Presbyterian (3-4) at Gardner-Webb G-W nearly beat Georgia Tech

7. C. Carolina (3-4) N.C. Central Sparky Woods said "Hi"

8. Newberry (3-3) Wingate Falls out of D-II rankings

9. Benedict (4-3) at Fort Valley State Four OTS in win over Lane

10. N. Greenville (1-6) at Shorter Had 3 punts blocked vs. N. Ala.