CHARLOTTE VS. RICE · NOV. 12, 2016
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STAFF PICKS FINAL SCORE: CHAR 34 Rice 10 “49ers use momentum on the road to win at home. Kalif and Robert show-out in front of Jerry Richardson Stadium. Special teams and defense stay hot.”
FINAL SCORE: CHAR 28, Rice 13 “Charlotte is going to use the momentum from their past two wins to collect another win against Rice this Saturday. Klugh is on a roll and Kalif will rack up another 100-yard game.”
FINAL SCORE: CHAR 35, Rice 14 “Rice is dead last against the run in C-USA. Charlotte is the best at running in the conference. Simple stats tell a lot, Kalif Phillips and company should have a field day.”
FINAL SCORE: CHAR 30, Rice 21 “The backfield will put on another show, gain 200 yards and carry the Niners to their fifth win.”
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GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION
CHARLOTTE RETURNS TO JERRY RICHARDSON TO HOST RICE ANDY GUSTAFSON ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
Charlotte football is rolling. The 49ers are making a statement in the Conference USA, defeating Southern Miss in Hattiesburg to earn their second-straight victory. Unlike their previous two wins, Charlotte beat Southern Miss in convincing fashion, 38-27. Kalif Phillps carried the 49ers, running for a season-high 183 yards, breaking off a 72yard run in the process. Phillps didn’t find the endzone, but Charlotte managed to rush for three touchdowns against the Golden Eagle defense. Hassan Klugh had another impressive performance, passing and rushing for a touchdown. Now, Larry Ogunjobi shushes the crowd at Marshall. Photo by Kathleen Cook all of a sudden, Charlotte is beginning to look for real. “This is an unbelievable place three of the last four games. If Phillps had gained to come down here and play,” head coach Brad one more yard against FIU, then it would be a Lambert said on the win. “This is a good program four-game streak with 100 yards rushing. The and this is huge for us to come in here and get senior is on the way to his second 1,000 yard this win.” rushing year, sitting at 741 yards so far. Playing away from the Queen City has been But it’s not only Phillps. True freshman Robert sweet to Charlotte, but the 49ers return to Jerry Washington is keeping the engine rolling while Richardson to play Rice. Charlotte only has one Phillps rests. With Phillps injured earlier in the win at home, opposed to their three wins away. season, Washington had his number called. And Last season, Rice defeated Charlotte 27-7. the freshman responded. Washington ran for 120 Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday. It is the yards against Eastern Michigan and had two first early kickoff of the season for Charlotte. touchdowns against Elon. Since then, Washington playing time has been cut, but he remains ready EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE when his number is called. Last week agaisnt The Charlotte running game is taking over. Southern Miss, Washington had 94 yards and a That’s not to discredit the production Klugh has touchdown on six carries. That’s what you call given the Charlotte offense. It’s clear that running making the most of your opportunity. the ball has become the identity for the offense. Not only are the running backs tearing up In fact, Charlotte is first in rushing in the C-USA, defenses, but Klugh is an added dimesion in the averaging 198 yards a game. running game. Klugh has ran for a touchdown in Phillps is on a hot streak as of late, garnering each game he has started. When Klugh isn’t able 20-plus carries and rushing for over 100 yards to move the ball down the field through the air, CHARLOTTE VS. RICE · NOV. 12, 2016
he still makes defenses honest with his legs. For Charlotte, stick with what works. Running the ball is the simplest way to move the ball. The passing game has taken over football, but there is nothing wrong with a little ground and pound. RICE SCOUTING REPORT The Rice Owls, coached by David Bailiff, sit at 1-8 on the season. Their lone win of the season came against Prairie View A&M. That doesn’t mean Charlotte can take it easy though. While Rice doesn’t excel in any particular area, it’s games like this that can be labeled as a trap. Rice is led by redshirt senior Tyler Stehling at quarterback, who has 11 touchdowns on the season. But Stehling isn’t the safest with the ball, with six interceptions as well. Also, Rice has Samuel Stewart and two other players with at least three rushing touchdowns, so the Owls have options at running back. But defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, Charlotte’s best defensive player in program history, has been playing at an extremely high level this season, recently having the best run-stop percentage of any interior defensive lineman in college football. The good news is that Rice sits dead last in rushing defense in C-USA, giving up 223 yards a game. There could be a field day for Phillps and company at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Also, Rice gives up 40 points a game, a mark the 49ers have yet to reach this season. This is a winnable game for Charlotte. The 49ers have shown they can do it on the road, winning three in a row, and it’s time to show that they can defend home turf as well. With a win, Charlotte can move within one game from being bowl eligible.
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BRAD LAMBERT: FROM FARM FIELDS TO THE QUEEN CITY KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR
The first time I saw Brad Lambert’s abilities in action he was on the sidelines of the 2007 Orange Bowl after he helped a 15th-ranked Wake Forest team to their seventh bowl game in the team’s history and a program best 11-3 season. A few years later coach Lambert and I both decided that green pairs better with gold than black does and we both now call Charlotte home. Long before Lambert put on the headset and coached, he put on the pads and found his love for the game in the sixth grade. “As a kid I grew up watching the Steelers, they had a guy playing for them named Jack Lambert. He was a great player, we had the same last name and the Steelers were winning Super Bowls. Seeing that on TV and then playing the game I just fell in love with the game,” Lambert said. After harnessing a passion for the sport in sixth grade, Lambert stayed athletic, playing football and basketball while running track throughout his high school days. He went on to have a stellar career as a defensive back at Kansas State. After he graduated, Lambert initially thought that meant hanging up his cleats and following in his father’s footsteps. “When I got out of Kansas State I had a degree in finance and I thought ultimately I would get into the banking industry like my father,” Lambert said. Instead, Lambert took the advice of one of his coaches and stuck with the sport, becoming a graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma. There he formed a relationship with the offensive coordinator, Jim Donnan. A few years later Donnan left Oklahoma for Marshall, where he was named the head coach of the Thundering Herd. Following Donnan to Huntington was Lambert, who was given his
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first official coaching position. After a successful five-year stint at Marshall, Lambert and Donnan packed their bags and moved to Athens, Ga., where Donnan was asked to coach the Bulldogs. “Coach Donnan was really good to me from the stand point that he gave me my first job. He took me to a school like the University of Georgia where he probably could have hired anyone he wanted, but he brought me along,” Lambert said. After four years in Georgia, Lambert parted ways with Donnan and took a job at Wake Forest as a linebacker coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in time for the 2007 Orange Bowl run. During his time with the Demon Deacons, Lambert picked up the coaching style of head coach Jim Grobe. “I had a couple chances to leave Wake, but I never did because I liked the way he ran the office,” Lambert said. “I really liked his philosophy, the way he did things.” Part of his job with Wake Forest was recruiting in the Charlotte region. Being in the area, he heard rumors of the 49ers starting a football program. With a piqued interest, Lambert reached out to the university expressing his interest in the program and a job interview was set up. In the interview, Lambert was shown the plan that Judy Rose and the athletic department had drawn up and was impressed. After leaving the interview, Lambert was “really fired up” about the future of 49er football. In less than three weeks it was announced that Lambert would helm the football program at Charlotte and he began his first head coaching job in March 2011. “When you make the jump from assistant coach to head coach, you have to deal with a lot of things you never dealt with as an assistant. Then you throw in the aspect of
it being a start-up program, I was the only guy here for a month. We didn’t have pens, pads of paper or anything. The to-do list was overwhelming at first,” Lambert said. In addition to designing the stadium and picking out jersey styles, Lambert and his four-person staff had the task of piecing together the first recruiting class of Charlotte football. Believing in the ‘if you build it they will come’ mantra, the coaching staff kept working and sure enough, they welcomed their first class of players the summer of 2012. “It was a cool day when they finally got here and checked in for class. We got to issue them gear and we moved into the new facility. It was like we were here, we’re finally doing this,” Lambert said. Undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments for Lambert came a year later when Charlotte officially kicked off their football history against Campbell. “There were so many unknowns. We had never coached together, the guys had never played together, the school had never put on a game
before. The way that day went off was really one of the highlights of this whole thing. There’s nothing like the first game in school history,” Lambert said. “That day we were like ‘Okay, we can do this.’” Four years after the first wave of players reported to the 49ers, the program is hitting its stride. Charlotte is currently on a two-game winning streak and is two wins away from being bowl eligible in their second season in the FBS -- the first season they are even bowl-eligible. After such a quick and successful start, the only way is up for the 49er football program. “I would like to see our program in bowl games. You want to develop a program and a tradition where you’re consistently going to bowl games and winning games and you’re seeing the kids graduate,” Lambert said. From a farm in Kansas to the Queen City and all of his stops in between, Coach Lambert has been an asset to the 49ers from the beginning, and hopefully he will be on the sidelines to see the team to their first bowl game.
Brad Lambert watches a play unfold on the sidelines. Photo by Kathleen Cook
GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION
COVINGTON FOR PRESIDENT KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR
Jamal Covington is a name recognizable to members of Niner Nation not only for his accomplishments on the field, but also for the work he does in his community. Covington was recently recognized for his efforts off the field when he was nominated for the Wuerffel Trophy, an award presented by the All Sports Association in an effort to recognize the FBS player that showcases high marks in community service, athletics and academics. In addition, Covington was named to an NFL’s 16 in ‘16 “Who could run for President one day.” Covington has been named to the Athletic Director’s List in five of his eight semesters after recording a GPA of above 3.0. He also spent this past summer interning with the Charlotte Community Scholars. Through his internship he worked with the Charlotte Action Research Project and developed a geospatial app for the Enderly Park neighborhood. “I really saw how people who were less fortunate were disconnected from the resources they needed,” Covington said. “It’s something I have a strong passion for. I can use geographic information systems to better the community and better other people’s lives.”
Being a football player at Charlotte gives Covington the ability to reach a larger audience. “That Charlotte brand holds a lot of weight in the community. It makes people want to listen and it makes people really want to pay attention to what you’re trying to say,” Covington said. During his time as a 49er, Covington has joined with three other student-athletes to form the Student-Athlete Ambassador Program. The group formed the club after attending the 2015 Athletic Prevention Programming and Leadership Education conference in Washington D.C. After the Student-Athlete Ambassador Program found success on the Charlotte campus, the quartet went back the next year to the same conference and presented the details of their program. “It’s a very humbling opportunity,” Covington said. “It’s something that I feel like will be a part of my legacy. We feel like it’s been very effective in dealing with student-athletes. We create an atmosphere that student-athletes feel like they have someone to talk to other than an authoritative figure such as a coach or a teacher.” In addition to helping student-athletes succeed, Covington is also interested in helping a larger audience: the surrounding community. In light
of recent events in Charlotte, Covington attended an event in which young black men, the Mayor of Charlotte, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the national organization of law enforcement converged in an event set up by the White House. “I’m trying to facilitate action and facilitate change within the community,” Covington said. In addition to his community service and academic successes, Covington can be seen under the lights on Saturday nights making an impact as well. After joining Niner Nation with the inaugural class, the Fayetteville, Ga. native has started in 32 of the 33 games in which he has seen playing time in. Thanks to his blocking efforts, Charlotte was able to have the fifth leading rusher in Kalif Phillips last season. “It’s all about being the absolute best in whatever you do. I try to show people you can be a phenomenal student athlete as well as a phenomenal human being. A phenomenal teammate as well as a phenomenal person. I feel like it’s a direct reflection of the people I’m around,” Covington said. “Hats off to my coaches, to my teammates, they’ve really helped me grow and mold me into the young man I am today.”
2016 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
FRIDAY, OCT. 1
SATURDAY, NOV. 5
Louisville, Ky.
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Old Dominion
Southern Miss
6 p.m. L, 52-17
3:30 p.m. W, 38-27
SATURDAY, SEPT. 10
SATURDAY, OCT. 8
SATURDAY, NOV. 12
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Boca Raton, Fla.
#19/#23 Louisville 7 p.m. L, 70-14
Elon
6 p.m. W, 47-14
Florida Atlantic 3:30 p.m. W, 28-23
Rice
Jerry Richardson Stadium
2 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 17
SATURDAY, OCT. 15
SATURDAY, NOV. 19
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Jerry Richardson Stadium
6 p.m. L, 27-26
2 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24
SATURDAY, OCT. 22
SATURDAY, NOV. 26
Philadelphia, Pa.
Huntington, W.Va.
San Antonio, Texas
E. Michigan 6:00 p.m. L, 38-19
Temple Noon L, 48-20
FIU
Marshall 5:30 p.m. W, 27-24
CHARLOTTE VS. RICE · NOV. 12, 2016
Midd. Tennessee
UTSA 7 p.m.
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NINERS HALT EAGLES IN HATTIESBURG
ZACH TIMMONS STAFF WRITER
After a slow start to the 2016 football season, the Charlotte 49ers got another crucial win on the road and now find themselves needing only two wins to qualify for a bowl game. Once again, the Charlotte backfield did significant damage, and the Niners toppled the Southern Mississippi Eagles, 38-27, in their own stadium. Charlotte struck gold first, as dual threat quarterback Hasaan Klugh ran in a score from seven yards out on Charlotte’s opening drive. However, USM countered with quick scores-- both on plays created by quarterback Chris Mullens. The second touchdown, a 78-yard pass play, came with only 35 seconds remaining in the first frame. However, that would be the only points USM would score until the fourth quarter. At the 13:29 mark of the second quarter, Charlotte tailback Robert Washington broke free for a 58yard touchdown that tied the score at 14 apiece. Washington, a true freshman, finished the game with 94 yards rushing on only six carries. Then, at the tail end of the half, USM broke down. First, Charlotte’s Chris Montgomery got free for a nine yard touchdown run with 1:46 remaining. Then, with 35 ticks left on the clock, receiver TL Ford III scored on a 18-yard touchdown pass from Klugh. Ford’s score gave the Niners a commanding 28-14 lead going into
BY THE NUMBERS
intermission. Klugh only finished 11-24 for 127 yards, but he accounted for those two touchdowns and also rushed for 21 yards. Meanwhile, senior running back Kalif Phillips finished the game with 186 yards on 29 carries. Saturday marked Phillips’s sixth straight 100-yard game. “He’s really doing a nice job,” coach Brad Lambert said when asked about Klugh. “He gets a little bit better each week, and he’s just got to continue to work and grow and mature. He’s playing really well for us, and in two really tough environments, he’s come in on the road and held his composure and done a nice job.” Lambert also praised the backfield effort. “I thought that was one of the better defenses we’re gonna face, and they just have really played at a high level. So for our guys to come in here and run the ball like that is really, really big and something we can continue to build off of.” The third quarter was all Charlotte, and the defense was on full display. First, placekicker Blake Brewer knocked in a short 22-yard field goal. Then, Juwan Foggie got though the USM offensive line and blocked a punt, his second punt block of his career. Defensive back Ed Rolle recovered it in the end zone for another score, increasing the Charlotte lead to 38-14.
Defensively, linebacker Nick Cook led the team with 10 tackles; Ben DeLuca and Karrington King finished with nine and eight tackles, respectively. Meanwhile defensive backs Daquan Lucas and Terrence Winchester had a field day for Charlotte. Winchester picked off two passes and Lucas intercepted one, helping Charlotte win the turnover battle and change the momentum of the game. The Eagles managed to score two touchdowns in the final quarter while holding Charlotte scoreless, but they could get no closer. Ito Smith and Parker Adamson both scored on runs inside the redzone, but Charlotte was able to keep possession of the ball and left Hattiesburg with another win. “It shows that we’re working. We work Monday through Friday in all facets of the game-- special teams, offense and defense. So I’m just really proud of where we’re at,” Winchester said in his postgame presser. “It’s really a blessing. I just want to give a shoutout to my teammates and the coaches for trusting me and letting me make plays.” Charlotte returns home and will look for its fifth win next Saturday, Nov. 12, as they take on the Rice Owls at Jerry Richardson Stadium. The game kicks off at 2 p.m.
NICK COOK LINEBACKER
10 TACKLES, 1 SACK
KALIF PHILLIPS RUNNINGBACK
29 CARRIES, 186 YARDS
ROBERT WASHINGTON RUNNINGBACK
6 CARRIES, 94 YARDS 1 TOUCHDOWN
Charlotte is the first team to defeat both Marshall and Southern Miss on the road in C-USA history
Photos by Chris Crews and Leysha Caraballo
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GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION
CHARLOTTE VS. RICE · NOV. 12, 2016
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GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION