November 1, 2003 – The Morehouse Maroon Tigers won their third straight football game Saturday, beating the Clark Atlanta University Panthers 48-33. The game, played before a huge crowd that packed B.T. Harvey Stadium for Homecoming 2003, was filmed by the Major Broadcasting Corporation and televised nationally, the following day.
School officials estimated the standing-room-only crowd at nearly 20,000 fans, who jammed the stadium and surrounding tailgate parties. The attendance was judged to be the largest home crowd since the 1997 game versus Howard University.
Quarterback Burton and his talented corps of receivers thrilled Morehouse fans and overwhelmed the Panther defense with their best passing game of the season. The sophomore signal caller, from Charlotte, NC, threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, Burton broke a Morehouse single-game passing record that stood since 1975. The previous record of 217 yards passing was set by Jerome Boger in a game against Fisk University.
The annual slugfest between cross-campus rivals was an offensive battle, with both teams accumulating nearly 1,000 yards of offensive. In spite of having an offensive line riddled by injuries, the Maroon Tigers amassed 463 yards, the largest offensive output this season.
On the other side of the ball, Morehouse surrendered more than 500 yards of offense – also a season high. Despite coming into the game at 0-8, the winless Panthers gave the 3-5 Maroon Tigers all they could handle through three quarters. The Panthers tied the score at 7, 14, 20 and 27. Using an option offense that seemed to confuse the Morehouse defender, the Panthers amassed more than 500 yards, most of them on the ground. Panther quarterback Adrian Johnson, the game’s leading rusher, ran for 195 yards on 27 carries and passed for 82 yards and a touchdown.
John David Washington gained 106 yards on 26 carries. His five-yard run to pay dirt early in the first quarter capped an 80-yard scoring drive that jump-started the Maroon Tigers scoring barrage. The sophomore running back, who leads the conference in rushing, now has more than 1,016 yards rushing and is only 104 yards shy of surpassing the Morehouse single-season rushing record of 1,119 set by Eddie Burt in 1988.
Burton, who also scored two rushing touchdowns, hit on 18 of 31 passing attempts. He spread the wealth around, completing passes to eight different receivers. Backup quarterback Ruben Dupree who spelled Burton briefly in the fourth quarter hit on his only passing attempt for a 17-yard completion.
Jeremiah Thompson caught six passes for 99 yards and a touchdown and Danny Pittman hauled in three passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Burton’s most exciting pass of the game was a 33-yarder to wider receiver Raymond Johnson. With the score tied 27-all late in the third quarter, Burton tossed a floater in the direction of a closely guarded Johnson. The 6-foot-one junior from Lithia Springs, GA, went high over his shorter defender to make a juggling one-handed grab in the right corner of the end zone. The touchdown make the score 34-27 and put the Fighting Maroon Tigers ahead for good.
With a per game average of 174.6 yards, Burton is the second leading passer in the SIAC behind Kentucky State University’s Joe McBride, who averages 194.6 yards per game.
Ravenell Dupree, the do-it-all freshman receiver, running back, and kick return specialist had 157 all-purpose yards against the Panthers. His 1,175 yards leads the conference in that category.
Place-kicker Byron Archibald, the Maroon Tigers all-time scoring leader, continued to add to his record. The senior from Tuscaloosa, AL, was a perfect six of six on points-after- touchdown.
The final Morehouse score came on a 95-yard fumble recovery by defensive back Chad Allen. With less than three minutes left in the game, the junior from Baltimore scooped up a Panther miscue and dashed to the end zone accompanied by a convoy of Maroon Tigers. His dramatic dive into the end zone brought the score to the 48-27 and drew a five-yard unnecessary celebration penalty. But on a Homecoming Saturday when the spirits and the temperature were high, no one seemed to care.
The win pushes the Morehouse record to 4-5 (3-3 SIAC). The Maroon Tigers will face Albany State University on Saturday in Albany, GA. Clark Atlanta drops to 0-9 (0-7 SIAC) and will play next against Tuskegee.
