Two major defensive stands in the fourth quarter allowed Clark Atlanta to preserve a 26-21 victory over the visiting Fort Valley State Wildcats Thursday night in Atlanta.
The Panthers had four days instead of the normal six to prepare after experiencing a weather delay on Saturday that pushed the kickoff 45 minutes. Unlike pro teams, college athletes have classes and study hours they must complete in addition to practice. Head Coach Teddy Keaton referred to Thursday’s contest as a “trap game”.
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“When you talk about a turnaround game, they had no off days,” said Keaton. “They were tired. You saw it in the game. A lot of players were cramping up. They hadn’t had a chance to restore their bodies fully, but my kids responded. They stood tall when they needed to, and I’m very proud of them.”
Fort Valley State jumped out to take the lead over the Panthers twice during the game. Wildcats quarterback Don Hudson capped a 14-play, 85-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to J.T. Pendleton. It was the first of two touchdown passes on the night for the true freshman from nearby Peach County High School. Hudson finished the night with 261 yards of total offense on 21-26-142 passing and 119 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Linebacker Eric Searcy and defensive end Kurtis Waye erased the goose egg for the Panthers, sacking Hudson in the end zone for a safety on first
down. Momentum is a fickle dance partner, especially when the bright lights are on.
The Clark Atlanta offense turned those two points into nine faster than fried catfish disappears at a tailgate. Despite two false start penalties, the Panthers kept the chains moving. McDonald rolled left on his fourth pass attempt and found local product and grad student Ronnie West in the back of the end zone.
A good defensive stand put the ball back into McDonald’s hands with five minutes remaining in the first half. The balanced (50|50) attack made its way a few yards outside of the red zone with less than two minutes remaining. Wide receiver David Martin (River Rouge High in Detroit, MI) stretched McDonald’s short pass into an 18-yard gain down to the six. Senior running back Alan Riggins did the rest, powering through a seam for the touchdown. Riggins finished the night with 92 yards on 18 carries.
The third quarter belonged to the Wildcats. Momentum is for the streets.
Fort Valley marched the opening drive 77 yards on seven plays. Hudson’s pinpoint laser strike to Pendleton cut the Panthers’ lead to 14-16. The Wildcats repeated the effort on their next drive, this time an 80-yard drive on 12 plays. Michael Cabellero pounded his way into the end zone from 2 yards out to give the Wildcats a four-point lead.
Two big defensive stands put Clark Atlanta in position to win after Carlos Lopez cut the lead in half with a 35-yard field goal to start the fourth. Grad transfer defensive back David Pope made his position coach, Dad (Kevin), smile by batting away Hudson’s pass on fourth down to turn the Wildcats over on downs. Pope almost had a pick-six.
The defensive stop gave the offense almost a full eight minutes to take back the lead. They didn’t squander a second. Former Panthers quarterback and current assistant David Wright helped his replacement down the stretch. “The whole time we were on the sideline, he (David) kept giving me words of encouragement,” said McDonald. “He was confident we were going to win this game. I was a little nervous, but he kept reassuring me.”
The encouragement paid dividends. McDonald scrambled twice for six yards and completed 4-5 passes, including a 6-yard touchdown to Armone Harris at the half-inch line. The score put the Panthers ahead 21-26 to force the Wildcats into a touchdown-only drive.
Fort Valley was blessed with an additional 15 yards on Braelen Morgan’s 33-yard return because of a personal foul on the Panthers’ special teams. The extra yardage gave the Wildcats a short field to work with. Alexander Wilson and Hudson split six consecutive runs to grind the clock down to 47 seconds. The Panthers’ backs were against the wall with 14 yards separating the Wildcats from the end zone. Linebacker Kirland Boone’s hit on Hudson redirected the ball’s flight path behind Cabellero, who was standing all alone at the six-yard line. The stop set up fourth and three.
Hudson called his own number as he had done several times during the game. This time, the elusive freshman was caught from behind by freshman defensive lineman Payton Bell. The stadium went quiet as the officials called for the chains. A first down meant another four downs and a possible go-ahead touchdown for the Wildcats. It was not to be, as the official correctly marked Hudson down where his hand first touched the turf.
A win for the Panthers as they move to 2-1 on the season. The Wildcats will return home in search of a win. They will face Delta State (2-0) a week from Saturday at Wildcat Stadium in Fort Valley, Georgia.
Clark Atlanta will travel to Columbia, SC, to face Allen University (0-2). Allen hosts Lane College on Saturday.