By Nick Bowton
nbowton@salisburypost.com
Keeping up with the Blue Bears …
Robert Massey-Brice could have left Livingstone two years ago when his father, Robert Massey, was fired as head football coach.
But Massey-Brice thought he owed something to a college that gave him a chance as a student. He decided to repay Livingstone by staying in Salisbury, and now he’s finally making a contribution on the football field.
In his first season of college football, Massey-Brice ranks fourth in the CIAA with 8.2 tackles per game. He’s one of several fresh faces starting for the Livingstone defense, although he’s been on campus since the fall of 2006.
“I would say our trust factor is a lot higher than normal,” said Massey-Brice, who had 14 tackles Saturday in a 15-10 loss to Bowie State. “Sometimes with older guys you have a lot of attitudes, a lot of egos, ‘I’ve done this‚ and I am this.’ But with the newer guys, everybody’s learning with each other.
“We gel a lot better because everyone has something to prove.”
Through four games, players like Massey-Brice and fellow linebacker Anthony Earles are asserting themselves as key fixtures in a defense trying to bounce back from a season in which the Blue Bears allowed more than 40 points per game.
Massey-Brice is just glad he’s playing football again, and he doesn’t regret his decision to keep his career going at Livingstone.
“I just felt like it was the place to be,” he said. “They felt like they could take a chance on me, so I felt like I owed the institution that much to show my appreciation to them. It’s good to be a Blue Bear.”
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TURNING IT AROUND? A last-second Hail Mary fell incomplete to leave Livingstone with a 15-10 loss against Bowie, but head coach Lamonte Massie felt optimistic despite the loss.
“We’re a little bit down on it, but I’ll say this, though: In my two years here, it’s the best football game we ever played,” Massie said. “It was a combination of some returners form last year, a higher confidence level by a lot of our newcomers. We were clicking.”
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PASSING GAME: Chris Peoples caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from Steve Williams on Saturday and leads the Blue Bears with two touchdown catches in four games.
Massie wouldn’t go as far as to say Peoples is the Blue Bears‚ top target, but he did say Peoples, who played at Mooresville High, has the potential to be a top-tier wideout.
“I don’t think he can be a deep threat consistently yet,” Massie said. “He’s had a couple of big plays, but it’s very sporadic. He’s got to prove himself to himself and his quarterback that he can consistently be a big threat.
“I told him all summer I thought he could be the best wide receiver in the conference. He hasn’t shown that yet. One of these days it will show up ó hopefully soon.”
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AFTER FURTHER REVIEW: The Blue Bears broke down the film of their most recent loss and found six key plays that led to the loss.
Aside from two interceptions, a blocked punt and a high snap that led to a safety were among the plays that hurt Livingstone’s chances.
“It’s some fine-tuning here and there, things that we can correct,” Massie said. “We worked hard on fixing every one of those errors.”