Club football earns first victory with win over Coppin State

Amir Vera
Staff Writer

While the weather was not ideal, it was still the perfect weekend for a victory for VCU club football. The Rams defeated the top-ranked Coppin State Eagles Saturday in overtime, 28-20.

This was the first victory for the club football team since the program started. They were the underdogs going into the game, and Coppin State was ranked No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association.

“This is the toughest team that is in our conference,” said VCU head coach Alfonso Bell. “I knew the whole season that we were just as good as or even better than this team, but we’ve just been falling short on mistakes and just guys believing in themselves. We finally got it all together and it came out today against the top team in the league.”

It was a hard-fought battle from beginning to end. Concentration and focus were needed in order for the team to come out victorious in overtime.

“I think we had good leadership and coaching,” running back Greyson Gilbert said. “We all rallied around our leaders, and we all calmed each other down.”

Bell and his staff’s veteran coaching skills helped the team win. According to Bell, there are about 40 years of coaching experience on the sidelines. As a result, each coach knew how to handle overtime situations.

“In overtime games, you just keep your kids calm, and when I called my plays into overtime, I knew that I always keep a set of plays that I haven’t used before, and I use it at the end of the games in overtime,” Bell said. “So I had some plays that I kept that I don’t run in the games just for situations like that. Those are the plays we used to get that touchdown. The defense also stepped up and shut (Coppin State) down in overtime.”

The Rams’ defense, not typically their strong point, played a major role in Saturday’s game. Not only did they stop a number of Coppin State third-down plays, they also stopped the most important pass of the game: the attempted fourth-down conversion at the end of overtime.

“Our defense has picked it up. The last three games that we had, it wasn’t where we needed to be. But we’re there now,” said quarterback Mike Jones.

While the defense was strong, VCU’s offense did just as well. Similar to their first game, Jones and receiver Adrian Thurston had chemistry. Jones and Thurston executed three of the most important plays of the game, all within the last 30 seconds of regulation and in overtime.

“It’s just concentration. You have to perform well when it’s your chance,” Thurston said. “The whole game I didn’t get an opportunity because we were running the ball. We passed the ball sometimes, but when the ball came to me, I had to make plays for my team.”

Gilbert also scored two touchdowns, as the Rams mostly showcased their running game. Gilbert and the other running backs marched up and down the field against Coppin State.

However, the game was not perfectfor VCU. The Rams had various sportsmanship and penalty calls due to talking back to the referees and Coppin State players. Coach Bell said he was unhappy with the calls because he wants to build a successful club program at VCU. Thurston also said that the team needs to be united in order to win.

“We still have to work on our chemistry. We had a lot of stupid penalties that we shouldn’t have had,” Thurston said. “I just think we need to come together a little bit more.”

Chemistry and staying focused are the keys to another victory for VCU. Saturday’s win was a good boost for the Rams as it came after three losses.

“I feel like this game is much needed for us,” Thurston said. “It got us over the hump, so we’re looking forward to Longwood.”

The Rams will travel to Longwood for their next game on Nov. 12.

Photos by Chris Conway