October 20, 2007 – ATLANTA – Winning any Homecoming game is sweet, but beating an arch rival makes the victory as sweet as honey.
On Saturday, in front on a crowd of more than 20,000 stadium and tail-gaiting fans, Morehouse tasted that sweetness for the first time in three years, with a 22-13 win over Clark Atlanta.
Looking only at the statistics, it would appear that the results were reversed, as CAU led in almost every category – total yards, offensive plays, first downs and time of possession. But stats don’t tell the whole story and Morehouse led in the only numbers that really count.
By winning, Morehouse regained bragging rights in the Atlanta University Center for a year and erased the nasty taste of losing two in a row to the cross-campus rivals.
At 6-2 (3-2 SIAC), and with two games remaining, Morehouse guarantees itself a winning season for the first time since 2002, when the team went 6-5.
Most of the credit goes to the Morehouse defense, which bent but didn’t break against a CAU offense that showed surprising strength, despite being ranked second-to-last in the SIAC.
The Morehouse defense, ranked sixth in the conference, put on its own surprising showing, with five sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. One of the fumbles was returned for a touchdown.
The best defensive stand came at the end of the second quarter, when the Panthers had first and goal on the Morehouse two-yard line. But the Maroon Tigers stiffened against four running plays and kept the Panthers out of the end zone.
In the fourth quarter, linebacker Earl “The Tiger” Thomas recovered a CAU fumble and ran it back 40 yards for a touchdown that broke open a close game. The 6’-2” 225-pound junior from Houston, TX, scooped up the loose ball, picked up a couple of blockers and weaved his way to pay dirt. Thomas completed his best effort of the season with seven tackles and two-and-a-half sacks.
The defense rose to the occasion several times, to rescue a struggling Morehouse offense that amassed a season-low 189 yards.
Quarterback Christian Sterling completed 4-of-15 passes for 98 yards and six Maroon Tigers running backs combined for 98 yards.
Myerick Thompson led the Maroon Tigers in rushing with 49 yards on 13 carries. His five-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter put Morehouse ahead for good.
Kelvin Moore had 36 yards on nine attempts.
Quarterback Carlos King, who has become Mr. All-Purpose in the Maroon Tiger offense, took only one snap under center, but he made that count, with a one-yard plunge into the end zone for the first Morehouse score. King also led Morehouse in receiving with 64 yards on two catches.
Late in the fourth quarter, free safety Randall Ward halted a CAU scoring threat with an interception in the end zone. The 5’-10” 170-pound junior from Southfield, MI, made a leaping catch over the CAU receiver to prevent an almost certain touchdown. The interception preserved the margin of victory and allowed the Maroon Tigers to run out the clock and end the game.
Defensive end Mario Lane recorded the other Morehouse interception in the third quarter, when he picked off an errant pass that was batted around twice and returned it seven yards to the CAU 16-yard line.
Kicker Micah Streiff helped keep CAU out of good field position, with seven punts that averaged 44.6 yards. Streiff added a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter and an extra point in the fourth.
Jeffrey Cargile, the Morehouse leading tackler added to that lead with a game-high 12 tackles. Cargile, a 5’-9” 190-pound sophomore from Cincinnati, OH, recorded a sack and a forced fumble.
Strong safety Derrick Scott collected 11 tackles and Gabriel Harper had eight.
Morehouse will travel to Albany, GA next week to face the Golden Rams in their Homecoming game at 3 p.m. The final home will be against Miles College, November 3, at 1:30 p.m., at B.T. Harvey Stadium.
