Clark Atlanta Hosts Allen University (2-1) at 5 p.m in Panther Stadium

ATLANTA, Georgia -- The Clark Atlanta University Panthers football team returns home today to host Allen University at 5 p.m. in Panther Stadium.

CAU (0-4, 0-1 SIAC) is coming off a defeat to one of FCS football's top teams, Kennesaw State, last week, and three close losses that given a play or two could have easily been wins.

Panther Head Coach Kevin Ramsey is tweaking his lineup for this game, giving the start at quarterback to Elijah Odom.  Odom, a junior transfer from Texas Southern, has been sharing time with Charles Stafford, who will also get a significant number of snaps today.

Odom is more of a dual threat at quarterback while Stafford has passed for 620 yards and four TDs this season, two of them against Mississippi College in the opener and two last week against Kennesaw State.    Their top target continues to be Johnathan Sanders, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's leader in receptions per game with 6.2.  Sanders has hauled in 25 passes for 230 yards and a TD this season. Running back Roger Thomas is the conference's fourth leading rusher with nearly 49 yards a game, 195 total yards this season.

The CAU defense is in the top half of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings and leads the conference in pass defense. 

Defensive back Ezekiel Edmonds leads CAU in tackles with 28 this season, followed by linebacker Justin Wade and his 25 stops, 20 of them solo.  Defensive back Kenneth Morgan, who didn't play last week against KSU, has 23 stops while defensive end Kameron Rogers has 24 tackles.

They take on an Allen program that is in its first year back in football after 13 years.  The NAIA Yellow Jackets are led by former Stillman College head coach Teddy Keaton, who has his young team at 2-1 this season.  The Yellow Jackets used a hard-nosed defense that only gave up 113 yards in total offense last week in defeating Middle Georgia State 29-6.   Allen opened the season with a huge 47-3 defeat of Columbus State before losing 19-0 to Livingstone.

They rely on their running game, led by Gary Tyner (19 rushes, 152 yards, four TDs), Trenquelle Holloway (23 rushes, 119 yards, one touchdown), and Michael Richardson (18 rushes, 112 yards).  Defensively, Joseph Moultrie and Richard Hayes (16 tackles each) lead a unit that has held two teams to no more than 113 yards of offense and only allowed Division II Livingstone 19 points.

Panther Notes: It will be a homecoming of sorts for a number of players on the Allen roster.  21 Allen players hail from metro Atlanta… Allen is playing an abbreviated schedule in which they are playing varsity, junior varsity and club sport teams.  They will be part of the NAIA's Appalachian Athletic Conference…. CAU's Roger Thomas has 195 yards rushing this season, fourth best among conference rushers… CAU is tied for the conference lead in sacks with six this season, along with Kentucky State…. 

CLARK ATLANTA PANTHERS (0-4, 0-1 SIAC)
Head Coach – Kevin Ramsey

Offensive Leaders 
Passing - #3 Charles Stafford (62-of-125 for 620 yards, 4 touchdowns, 7 interceptions)
                 #10 Elijah Odom (2-of-7 for 34 yards, two interceptions)
Rushing - #22 Roger Thomas (57 rushes, 195 yards, 3.4 yards per carry, long of 27 yards)
Receiving - #1 Johnathan Sanders (25 receptions, 230 yards, 9.2 yards per catch, long of 26 yards, 1 touchdowns)


Defensive Leaders
Tackles – #7 Ezekiel Edmonds (28 tackles, 24 solo, 4 assisted, 2.5 tackles for loss)
                 #5 Justin Wade (25 tackles, 20 solo, 5 assisted, 4 tackles for loss)
           #8 Kameron Rogers (24 tackles, 18 solo, 6 assisted, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery)
           #24 Kenneth Morgan (23 tackles, 16 solo, 7 assisted, 1.5 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery)
           #20 William Profit (21 tackles, 14 solo, 7 assisted, 5 tackles for loss)
           #23 Amon Crumpton (21 tackles, 15 solo, 6 assisted, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery)
Sacks – #7 Ezekiel Edmonds (1.5 sacks)
              #8 Kameron Rogers (1.5 sacks)
             #5 Justin Wade (1 sack)
             #9 Breante Glover (1 sack)
             #23 Amon Crumpton (1 sack)
Interceptions - #24 Kenneth Morgan (1 interception)


Special Teams 
Field Goals - #39 Carlos Saldana (3-of-3 field goals, long of 43 yards)
Punts - #38 Ty Woods (20 punts, 685 yards, 34.2 avg., long of 46 yards)
Kickoff Returns - #21 Jaha McCray (11 returns, 208 yards, 18.9 avg., long of 33 yards)
Punt Returns - #80 Jarel Henry (4 returns, 61 yards, 15.2 avg., long of 21 yards)
 
Allen Yellow Jackets (2-1) 
Head Coach – Teddy Keaton 

Offensive Leaders 
Passing – #5 Ashton Duncan (17-of-34 for 216 yards, three interceptions)
                 #4 Gary Tyner (13-of-22 for 215 yards, one interception)
Rushing - #4 Gary Tyner (19 rushes, 152 yards, four touchdowns, long run of 23 yards)
                #3 Trenquelle Holloway (23 rushes, 119 yards, one touchdown, long run of 20 yards)
                #12 Michael Richardson (18 rushes, 112 yards, long run of 51 yards)
Receiving - #9 Cedric Davenport (10 receptions, 140 yards, long of 30 yards)


Defensive Leaders 
Tackles - #42 Joseph Moultrie (16 tackles, 12 solo, 4 assisted)
                #10 Richard Hayes (16 tackles, 12 solo, 4 assisted)
Sacks - #10 Richard Hayes (3.5 sacks)
Interceptions - #7 Corey King (1 interception)
                        #1 Ricky Carter (1 interception)
                        #6 Johntavious Hill (1 interception)


Special Teams 
Kicking – #47 Casey Salter (1-of-1 field goals, long of 24 yards)
Punting - #47 Casey Salter (10 punts, 284 yards, 28.4 avg., long punt of 48 yards)
Kickoff Returns - #20 Myles White (3 returns, 49 yards, long return of 26 yards)
Punt Returns - #20 Myles White (3 returns, 23 yards, long return of 12 yards)

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PANTHERS SPORTS INFORMATION