Saturday, October 15, 2016

CAU Homecoming Sees Panthers Victorious Over Benedict; 27-14

ATLANTA, Georgia -- In the 25th meeting between Clark Atlanta and Benedict on the football field it was the home team wining on Homecoming; 27-14. The victory is the twelfth in the series for the Panthers in 25 games. The Panther win streak has now extended to four in-a-row, including a pair versus SIAC opponents.

THE GAME
Score: Clark Atlanta 27, Benedict 14
Records: Clark Atlanta (5-2; 3-2 SIAC), Benedict (3-4; 2-2 SIAC)
Date: Oct. 15, 2016 | 2:00 pm Kickoff
Location: CAU Panther Stadium | Atlanta, Ga.
Series: 25th Meeting | CAU leads series 12-11-2

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game opened with Clark Atlanta winning the toss and driving 63 yards in seven plays ending with Johnathon McCrary finding Trenton Earl from 30 yards out. The scoring pass was the twelfth passing touchdown for McCrary and fifth receiving score for Earl. The Saldana kick was good and gave the Panthers the early 7-0 lead.

After forcing Benedict to fail to convert on fourth down, McCrary found Earl on the first play on the short route before the senior outran the defense on his way to his second touchdown in as many plays. Saldana's kick made the advantage 14-0 in the opening quarter.

After Jaquatin Victrum intercepted the Tiger pass, Carlos Saldana had his 36 yard FG missed. On the opening play of the Benedict drive, George Myers ran 80 yards for the first BC score. The PAT was good cutting the CAU advantage to 14-6 with 4:22 left in the first half.

Clark Atlanta responded by traveling 41 yards in seven plays ending with a 40 yards FG from Saldana to give the Panthers the 17-7 advantage into halftime.

After starting the second half on defense and forcing the punt by Benedict. Saldana capped a 20 play drive that covered 71 yards with a 30-yard FG.

Benedict picked up a touchdown early in the fourth quarter after returning the Jaha McCray fumble for a defensive score with the PAT making the score 20-14 with 13:08 remaining in the game.

CAU responded with another touchdown from McCrary, this time he rushed for 13 yards into the end zone before Saldana added another PAT. The Panthers led 27-14 with 10:47 remaining in the game.

Benedict would punt on the next drive and after the shorter kick CAU was unable to take advantage and was hit for a loss on a bad snap on a FG attempt resulting in a loss of 16 yards. Benedict turned the ball over on fourth down for the second time in the game on the ensuing drive before CAU had to punt for the lone tie in the game with 22 seconds remaining. BC covered 34 yards in two plays before the game ended.

OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
McCrary went 21-for-31 passing for 302 yards and the two scores.

Earl tied his career-best with seven receptions and set a new high with 152 yards receiving - the third time this season he has recorded 100 yards receiving.

Dre Martin hauled in four receptions for 90 yards and Wade Barlow had two grabs for 24 yards.

McCrary led the team in rushing with 42 yards on 10 carries while McCray had 27 yards on 14 carries.

DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
Jacob Mitchell led the defense with eight tackles while Victrum added seven. While Victrum, Chavious Burns, Mekiye Kingston each registered a sack of the Benedict passer.

TEAM NUMBERS
CAU held the advantage in first downs (20-11), passing yards (302-68), and time of possession (34:51-25:09).

The Panthers went 9-for-14 on third down attempts while holding the Tigers to 5-for-11.

UP NEXT
The Panthers head to Albany State on Oct. 22 for the final division game within the SIAC East. The Panthers trail the series with the Golden Rams, 6-38, having las
t picked up a victory on 2001.

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

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