Courtesy of Miles College Athletics
ATLANTA — Clark Atlanta’s HBCU football program has been all the rage of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) in 2024. It’s aerial attack on offense, a big win over Division I Bethune-Cookman, and an audacious, new red turf at Panther Stadium getting a lot of attention leading into its Homecoming contest with Miles College.
| Statistics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
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But since 2011, there have been no new outcomes in a series that – like Saturday’s game – has been dominated by the Golden Bears. Miles scored touchdowns on offense, defense, and special teams while scoring 35 consecutive points en route to a 49-28 romp over the Panthers. Miles (5-2 overall, 5-0 SIAC) has now won eight straight games against CAU (5-2-1, 3-2), five consecutive games this season, and has put itself in the driver’s seat to reach the SIAC Championship Game for the first time since 2021.
The numbers belie how Miles dominated the HBCU football contest. The Golden Bears gave up nearly 500 yards of offense – more than 300 of them in the air – and did not have a 100-yard rusher or receiver. But after allowing an opening-drive touchdown, CAU had very little success until the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Miles College got on the board thanks to its special teams play. After forcing a three-and-out, the Panthers’ first punt of the game was blocked by John Robinson. Tifton Dobbs recovered the ball in the end zone to help tie the game with 6:07 left in the opening quarter. Clark Atlanta would drive the ball downfield on its ensuing possession but safety Lashon Young picked off quarterback David Wright near the goal line for his fourth interception of the year. Young had another interception nullified by penalty but the Miles defense slowed the high-octane Clark Atlanta offense and continued to give the offense great field position.
It finally paid off midway through the second quarter when Miles had to drive just 39 yards to take the lead. Reserve quarterback Khalil Anglin, making his second consecutive start, hit Jaylin Peterson (four catches, 40 yards) for a 20-yard touchdown pass – his first of the season – for a 14-7 advantage the team would take into the half. But things got much worse for Clark Atlanta after its extended homecoming halftime break.
Miles came out and scored three touchdowns in less than six minutes to thin out the celebratory Clark Atlanta crowd. Javonta Leatherwood scored on a 27-yard run on the Golden Bears’ first possession of the third quarter to extend the lead. When CAU got the ball for the first time in the second half, it drove into the red zone before Young (four tackles) came up big again. He blasted Panthers receiver Jamal Jones, who lost the football. Jeremiah Hudson-Davis (seven tackles) scooped up the loose ball had flipped the field, nearly getting to the end zone. On the next play, Anglin (12-of-20, 122 yards passing) connected with Franck Pierre for a 14-yard score.
When Clark Atlanta got the ball again, Wright’s first pass was picked off by wide receiver-turned-defensive back Keidarris Griffin, who ran it back 32 yards for the pick-six. The Golden Bears led 35-7 with 5:44 left in the third quarter. The rout was on.
Miles College forced Wright, the reigning SIAC Offensive Player of the Year, to turn the ball over three times. He threw 308 yards and three touchdowns, but 210 of those yards and all of the touchdowns came after Miles had opened its four-touchdown advantage. In the fourth quarter, Edward Osley (39 yards, seven carries) got his second rushing touchdown of the season on a 16-yard run and Leatherwood (83 yards, six carries) got into the end zone for the seventh time this season on a 39-yard jaunt. Miles had 222 yards rushing and held the ball for nearly 32 minutes.
Freshman linebacker Matthew Yafondo had a team-high nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble and freshman defensive lineman Keith Green had three tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup to pace the defense for Miles, which travels to face Benedict on Oct. 26. The HBCU football kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.