BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

The Blue Bears made sure they took advantage of their unusual off week.

As soon as Livingstone and Virginia Union canceled Saturday’s game in response to the terrorist attacks, the coaching staff started focusing on this week’s opponent, Fayetteville State.

With the coaches hard at work, the players took it easy on Saturday at a time they should’ve been going helmet-to-helmet with the Panthers.

“I went home and relaxed,”linebacker Jason Ocean said. “That’s it.”

Quarterback Joel Ward echoed that sentiment. “We enjoyed ourselves, everybody had time to spend with their family,”he said. “We had a little free time to get rid of some of the nagging injuries we had.”

Livingstone head coach Greg Richardson was more than happy to allow his players some free time. As it was, the mid-week cancellation allowed the Blue Bears an extra two days of prep time for Saturday’s game against Fayetteville State.

“We practiced real hard Monday through Friday and felt like the guys needed a day off Saturday. I think it was good mentally and psychologically for them,”Richardson said. “It gave our young men a chance to heal up, rest up and reflect upon the season and the upcoming battles we have. I think it gives us some renewed vigor. We’ve come out and had several good days of practices.”

And with the decision not to play this weekend several days behind him, Richardson still thinks the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association made the correct decision.

“I felt like athletics took a back seat to the things that were happening,”Richardson said. “I felt very comfortable in terms of what the conference was doing.”

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Busy as bears: Livingstone won’t be able to make up the Virginia Union contest. Its schedule lacks an off date between now and the Nov. 10 CIAA Championship game.

“There’s just no room in there to make it up,”Richardson said.

To compensate for the missing conference game, Livingstone will change the designation of its Oct. 20 contest at Elizabeth City State from nonconference to a conference game in the standings.

When the CIAA went to its two-division format several years ago, not all the schools in the league were playing the same number of head-to-head games. The CIAA dictates that at least six conference games must be played, so the teams that choose to play more can decide at the beginning of the season not to count certain ones in the conference standings.

Luckily for this year, that allowed some latitude when it came to rescheduling.

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singing the blues: Not only do the Blue Bears get to play their first home game Saturday, they’re holding the first “Blues Classic”in the series with Fayetteville State.

From 5-7 p.m., various bands will entertain the fans at Livingstone in what’s being billed as a “Mardi Gras” style celebration. The main event — football — will kick off at 7.

“We’ve always played great games with Fayetteville. The football part of it will take care of itself,”Richardson said of the special day. “It’s something we’re developing and we hope our fans, and the community will buy into it and make it a great series.”

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Home sweet home: For the football players, no special celebration is needed to make Saturday night’s game special.

“It’s the first home game,”Ocean said. “That’s all that matters.”

With the cancellation of last week’s Virginia Union contest, the Blue Bears will play only three games this season at Alumni Stadium. Two other quasi-home games are on the calendar — the opener against Catawba, for which Livingstone was the actual host but the teams played on the Indians’ home field because of bigger seating capacity; and a Sept. 29 contest against Virginia State, to be played at Statesville High for the same reason.

With that in mind, Livingstone’s players are hoping to make the best of the situation.

“It’s a night game. We’ll feel like we’re back in high school under the lights again,”Ward said. “Everybody’s going to be out here cheering for us, supporting us.”

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Hello again: Ward, who’ll get the starting assignment against the Broncos on Saturday, is looking forward to playing them.

“I’m from Fayetteville, so I know a little bit about the program over there and feel like we need to beat these guys,”the sophomore said. “It’s a big game for me.”

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safe to play: The Virginia Department of Health announced earlier this week that Virginia Union’s football team was cleared to play following the recent meningitis outbreak on the campus.

The Panthers play host to Winston-Salem State on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s CIAA title game, won by the Rams.

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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com .