The rushing game made all the difference for the Clark Atlanta Panthers in their 21-12 win over the Savannah State Tigers as the perfect homecoming present to their alumni. The Panthers rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns, including 172 yards and one touchdown from Daquon Kincey.
Meanwhile, the Tigers only had 88 rushing yards as a team. Neither team has really been great at running the ball, but Clark Atlanta was able to run the ball effectively on Saturday. Of course, as I predicted, Panthers quarterback Shariif Brown was big in terms of rushing, as he had one touchdown in the second quarter.
In fact, the second quarter was pretty much where the game was won, as the Panthers scored two rushing touchdowns in the quarter to go up 14-0. The Panthers’ run game allowed them to possess the ball for 35 minutes compared to just 24 minutes for the Tigers. The Panthers also had 12 rushing first downs compared to just 4 for the Tigers.
With the win, Clark Atlanta moves to fourth place in the SIAC East, while Savannah State drops to fifth place. The schedule coming up for Clark Atlanta will be difficult as the Panthers have to play the two top teams in the conference, Benedict College and Fort Valley State. They will end the season with Morehouse, the worst team in the conference.
For Savannah State, they are in the same boat as they also must play two of the best SIAC East teams in Fort Valley State and Albany State. The good news for both of these teams is that two of their final three games will be at home.
