Roger Thomas Rushes for 115 Yards and a TD As CAU Defeats Allen 31-6

CAU ATHLETICS

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Roger Thomas led a Clark Atlanta rushing game that picked up 201 yards on the ground as the Panthers defeated Allen University 31-6 at Panther Stadium Saturday night.

Thomas led CAU (1-4, 0-1 SIAC) with 115 yards rushing and was part of a three-touchdown, 1st quarter Clark Atlanta enslaught that put the game out of reach early. Allen, an NAIA school, falls to 2-2 this season.

Elijah Odom, getting his first start at quarterback this season, scampered 24 yards for a touchdown six minutes into the game. Thomas then followed with a 30-yard TD run with 4:12 left in the quarter, and then Ezekiel Edmonds picked off a Gary Tyner pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown, making it 21-0 with 55 seconds left before the end of the first quarter.

Not long after that, CAU's Darius Blackmon blocked an Allen punt and took it 13 yards into the end zone put Clark Atlanta up 28-0, a lead they held at halftime.

The CAU defense made things tough for the Yellow Jackets, holding them to only 74 yards of offense in the first half.

The second half wasn't much different as the Panther defense flirted with a shutout until allowing an Ashton Duncan to Diquan Brown TD pass with less than a minute remaining the in game. Carlos Saldana had already booted a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter for CAU.

Kirey Thompson led the CAU defense with nine tackles, five solo, while Tyrone Mixon had eight stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. Kameron Rogers had three tackles, 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Joseph Culpepper had four tackles, one for loss and a sack. William Profit had seven tackles, five solo, and 1.5 for losses.

BOX SCORE

On offense, Odom finished 5-of-10 for 56 yards in the air for CAU and rushed for 47 yards and a TD. He threw two interceptions. Tyler Rauls had seven rushes for 40 yards.
Jonathan Sanders caught two passes for 25 yards while Deondre McNeil caught one pass for 33 yards.

Allen's Richard Hayes led the Yellow Jackets with nine tackles, while Tyner passed for 78 yards.

Clark Atlanta heads back into Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action next week when they visit Fort Valley State. That game kicks off at 6 p.m.

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PANTHERS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS