Zy McDonald rushed for one score and passed for another to lead Clark Atlanta to a 17-12 win over Florida Memorial on a soggy Saturday afternoon in the AUC.
Lightning strikes overhead after the coin toss delayed the start of the game by an hour and forty-five minutes. It was a reminder of their 2024 match-up in Miami Gardens, which resulted in the game being suspended, tied at 28-28. Weather forecasts for Saturday predicted that more lightning was on the way. To avoid a similar situation as last year, both programs agreed to play 8-minute quarters.
The reduction in time forced both coaching staffs to rework a week’s worth of offensive game-planning in under an hour. “We knew we were playing short quarters,” said Panther Head Coach Teddy Keaton. “Anytime you get in this situation here, you want to make sure you can control the clock and not give them more time, and hopefully you can bust a run here, do what you do, keep the ball out of the air, try to take it (the clock) down as much as you can, and that’s what we did. Both of us tried to, we just took advantage of it.”
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A combined 27 passes were thrown by both teams in the entire game. McDonald completed two of his 15 attempts on the opening drive. On third and three, the Jackson State transfer made the right read and broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown.
Florida Memorial responded with a bruising, 12-play, run-dominated 62-yard scoring drive. Nygel Osborne rushed for 30 of his 51yards and a touchdown on the drive. The Lions continued to trail after missing the extra point attempt.
True freshman defensive back Vaughn Mitchom came up big for the Panthers’ defense, picking off a deep ball inside the 20 that was intended for Lions wideout Arabia Bradford. His pick drew praise from Keaton. “That was a huge interception to get them off the field,” said Keaton. “They knew they couldn’t throw the ball. Our defense played well.”
Clark Atlanta’s offense capitalized on the play, marching 68 yards on five plays and a Carlos Lopez 31-yard field goal. More importantly, it ate up all but 34 seconds of the time remaining in the first half.
The Panthers got right back to business after halftime. Keaton called for an onside kick, and Jamari Parker made it happen for the Panthers. On the first play of the series, McDonald went up top and found Ronnie West streaking down the sideline for six.
“Coming out of the half, we knew we had to steal a possession back, so we went for the onside kick to get that possession back, got the score, and now we put them in a two-possession ball game, and they had to get out of what they were trying to do and hopefully get the win”.
Florida Memorial needed a spark, and they got it from their backfield tandem of Osborn and Jerodd Sims. Sims, a stout 215 lb transfer from Southern, ignited the Lions’ offense with 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. None of the carries were pretty. It was punishing, shoulder pads to rib cages, running all the way.
Rather than kick the extra point, Lions Head Coach Michael Jones went for the 2-point conversion to cut the Panthers’ lead to a field goal. It was the right decision had he run the ball. The offensive line was winning the battle of the trenches, and both Sims and Osborne were capable. And yet somehow, given all the evidence, the Lions rolled Buggs out for a pass. Clark Atlanta’s defense was not fooled, batting the pass away into this reporter’s hand.
The Panthers chewed up the rest of the quarter with a well-executed drive that required just one pass play to keep the chains and clock moving.
A replay of the game can be watched on the SIAC Network
All photos provided by Jason McDonald, JM Photography for CORE360 Sports