ATLANTA, Georgia -- Charles Stafford threw for 280 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 93 yards and a TD, but the Clark Atlanta Panthers fell just short in losing 28-27 to Miles College Saturday in Panther Stadium.Clark Atlanta (2-7, 1-4 SIAC) had seemingly put the game away on a Roger Thomas touchdown with 5:48 remaining and a Carlos Saldana field goal with 1:25 left to make it 27-21.
But Miles (3-6, 3-2 SIAC) took the ensuing kickoff and returned it to their 41-yard line with 57 seconds left in the game. Miles' Daniel Smith completed a 20-yard pass to Mikhail Jacobs, and two plays later hit Malik Campbell on an 8-yard pass play. That was followed by a Smith 3-yard run that put them at the CAU 28-yard line with 12 seconds left.
An incomplete pass took the clock down to seven seconds and Miles had no timeouts. On the game's final play in regulation, Smith threw a pass in the end zone that was tipped by a CAU defender and fell into Jacob's hands for the game-tying touchdown as the clock went to zero. Jackson Spradlin then hit the game-winning extra point to give Miles the win.
It ended a thrilling CAU comeback in which they were down 11 points early in the fourth quarter. Stafford had answered a Miles touchdown with a 2-yard TD run that pulled the Panthers to within four at 21-17.
On their next drive, Stafford completed passes of 12, 10, and 18 yards, two of those on big passes to Johnathan Sandersas the Panthers drove downfield. Roger Thomas also had 36 yards on five rushes, including his 8-yard TD to give Clark Atlanta the lead at 24-21 with just under six minutes remaining.
Clark Atlanta's Jeramie Tate then forced a Leonard Tyree fumble on Miles' next drive, giving the ball back to CAU with 4:27 left. CAU then melted a little over three minutes off the clock before getting Saldana's field goal with 1:25 left. But Miles followed with their game-winning drive.
Stafford finished 22-of-28 passing for 280 yards and touchdown. He also led CAU on the ground with 93 yards rushing, including a 25-yard run. Thomas finished with 46 yards and a TD on the ground. Josh Banks caught six passes for 81 yards, while Sanders had five receptions for 76 yards. Caleeb Roberson caught four passes for 76 yards, and Felix Joneshad five catches for 22 yards.
Tate led the CAU defense with ten tackles, 1.5 for losses, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Breante Glover had six stops, five of them solo tackles, while Jacquez Jackson and Kenneth Morgan both had six tackles. Ezekiel Edmonds had five tackles while Kameron Rogers finished with four tackles.
Miles was led by Justin Hardy, who rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Clark Atlanta finishes out the 2018 season next week when they host Morehouse College at 2 p.m. in Panther Stadium.
CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PANTHERS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
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