Miles College ended conference play the way it began, with a win. The Golden Bears dominated every phase of the game to defeat Clark Atlanta 53-25 in the SIAC title game Saturday afternoon at Albert J. Sloan Stadium.
Success at Miles began the day Dr. George T. French was named the 14th president of the college in March 2006. His name adorns the student center 20 yards from the field. Dr. French hired Reginald Ruffin away from Tuskegee in 2011. Ruffin was the defensive coordinator for the Golden Tigers squad that won three consecutive SIAC titles (2007, 2008, 2009). He brought those winning ways up I-65 winning four of the five SIAC title games he coached from 2011 to 2021.
In the Golden Bears’ last championship run in 2018, Miles posted a 50-23 win over Albany State. When Ruffin returned to Tuskegee, Birmingham native Sam Shade was hired to replace him. Shade played high school football four miles from Miles College before heading to Tuscaloosa where he helped the Crimson Tide win the 1992 national championship.
Three years into the job and Shade has a title of his own. Winning becomes a tradition.
The win over Clark Atlanta has a unique twist. The person who kick-started the winning at Miles became president at CAU in 2019. It has been 34 years since CAU last shared a piece of an SIAC football title. President French brought in Teddy Keaton from Allen University to lead the Panthers. Keaton came close to replicating Ruffin’s first-year success by reaching the title game.
Keaton nearly reached the title game in his first season as head coach of Stillman College. The team that beat him out – Miles College. Ruffin’s Golden Bears defeated Keaton’s Tigers 9-7 in Tuscaloosa. The win gave Miles the tiebreaker over Stillman.
The overlapping in this Venn Diagram is ridiculous.
Defense wins championships is not just a saying it is a rule.
Unlike their meeting four weeks ago, Miles scored first. Freshman defensive end Keith Green knocked the ball from David Wright’s hand into teammate William Hardy’s hand. Hardy raced 48 yards to the end zone for the Golden Bears’ first score.
Miles’ defense repeated the defensive pressure Saturday, resulting in the Golden Bears’ 49-28 victory in Atlanta. Defensive coordinator Chris Shelling sent the dogs after Wright, forcing him to throw into tight windows. Wright still finished with 356 yards passing but the Golden Bears sacked him three times and intercepted him four times.
Jeremiah Hudson-Davis and Cam Williams had two interceptions each. Williams’ picks came against Wright’s fourth-quarter replacement Heath Williams, Jr.
Clark Atlanta posted touchdowns on consecutive drives to close the gap 14-23. The Panthers were poised to score a third touchdown with first down at the Miles 24-yard line and two minutes to play in the half. Lashon Young put an end to those plans stepping in front of a pass to the end zone intended for running back Alan Riggins.
Miles turned the turnover into six 60 seconds later. Quarterback Kam Ivory came out firing dropping a 44-yard pass over the shoulder of Keidarris Griffin at the CAU 11. Griffin was tackled 2 yards shy of the end zone. Javonta Leatherwood picked up the slack with a two-yard dash.
The second half went much like the first. Miles’ offense scored another three touchdowns plus a field goal and CAU special teams added a pair of safeties to accompany their lone touchdown.
Next week, Miles will host the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoff. They will host SAC runner-up Carson-Newman next Saturday.
GAME PHOTOS
All photos by Jason McDonald, JM Photography for CORE360 Sports