Concordia, Clark-Atlanta look to jump-start sputtering offenses
Published 11:58 pm Friday, October 30, 2015
Concordia College Alabama (0-8) will play its last home football game of the season Saturday when the Hornets host Clark Atlanta (1-7).
Clark comes in with only one victory on the season — a 24-3 win over Benedict College on Oct. 17 — while Concordia is still in search of its first win of the year. Concordia led late last week against Edward Waters, but saw a late advantage slip away when the Blue Devils threw a game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes.
It was another close call for Concordia, who also saw late leads slip earlier this year against Lane College and Stillman.
“We played well for three quarters, but then seven minutes left in the game is when we had breakdowns,” said Concordia head coach Stanley Conner after last week’s game.
“They were able to score two touchdowns quickly. We were just unable to regroup.”
A fast start might be the key for Saturday’s game.
Neither team is known for scoring a lot of points, and Clark Atlanta has been outscored 70-7 in the first quarter this season.
The Panthers have only scored 90 points all year and average just over 11.2 points per game. Concordia’s offense has been even more lethargic, as the Hornets have scored only 83 points and averaged 10.3 points per game.
Each team’s defense has been the key to staying in games.
Clark has held its last four opponents to 23 points and under, including Albany State in last week’s 26-14 defeat.
Concordia hasn’t fared quite as well defensively, but the Hornets did bounce back from a 68-13 loss to Tiffin University by holding Edward Waters in check for over three quarters. The Hornets also held Ave Marie to only 11 points in a game in mid-October.
The teams share one common opponent in Stillman College, who beat both the Hornets and Panthers. The Tigers defeated Clark 22-14 and rallied to win against Concordia 18-15.
Following Saturday’s game, Concordia only has two games remaining in its season — road contests against Central State and Point University. Saturday’s game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but has been moved to 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.