FRANKFORT, KY – In a game in which the Clark Atlanta University Panthers struggled, it ultimately was the Kentucky State University Thorobred’s inability to hold on to a 17 point lead that led to the Panthers to a 28-27 victory.

On a very pleasant, clear, warm, autumn like afternoon, where the game time temperature on the last weekend of the summer season was 87˚, the Panthers traveled to Alumni Stadium, on the campus of Kentucky State University, to take on the Thorobreds and struggled at the beginning, looking like the Panthers of old. But their head coach, Ted Bahhur, would have none of it.

In fact some would say the Panthers didn’t win the game, but that the Thorobreds lost it.
Others who saw the game might say that from the Panthers’ perspective, it’s better to lucky than good.
Though the game was won in an ugly fashion, the bottom line is this, the Panthers did win.
“One thing I do want to look is all of the mistakes we had made,” said Bahhur. “We made a lot of mistakes that Kentucky State didn’t take advantage of, but on the flip side we made those mistakes and we’re still able to come back and won it.”
The Panthers came into this game as the most penalized team in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), and in this game it seemed that they enjoyed that recognition.

After forcing the Thorobreds into punting, after their first five plays from scrimmage on the game’s opening drive, the Panthers proceeded, on their very first play from scrimmage, to commit the first of their 14 penalties, for a total of 109 yards. That penalty, for delay of game, set the Panthers back on their own two yard line.
And at that point it looked as though things would get no better for the Panthers, as they not only committed a game high in penalties, but they also lost the ball twice on turnovers, two fumbles that led to two Thorodred touchdowns.
The first of those touchdowns gave Kentucky State a 7-0 first quarter lead, en route being up by 10 points at the half, 20-10.
The second of those touchdowns gave Kentucky State a 27-10 lead at 11:38 of the third quarter, which turned out to be the last time they would score. At that point the Clark Atlanta defense buckled down and began putting the breaks on Kentucky State, as the Panther offense began to mount a very impressive comeback, a come back that seemed all but likely.

In the first half Panthers senior quarterback Cedric Johnson was sacked three times, totaling -2 yards on five carries, while completing only 6 of 14 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. But that was the first half. The second half was another story altogether.
With the improved play of the offensive line in the second half Johnson did better in leading the Panthers’ comeback, as he stayed on his feet to rush for 40 yards while methodically and systematically completing 7 of 12 passes for just 52 yards, and another touchdown.
“Cedric really makes this team click. He took leadership, and that’s something we’ve been missing the last few years, that team leadership,’ said Bahhur. “He knows what to do, he knows how to check off and I take my hat off to him. He did a hell of a job being out there. And, and, he’s on medication for a tooth he had pulled out, so that’s why he’s a little slow.”

The Panther running game picked up in the second half also.
After having gained only 55 yards on 16 carries, for an average of 3.44 yards per carry, in the first half, Clark Atlanta, in the second half, gained 135 yards on 21 carries for an average of 6.43 yards per carry. And leading the way was sophomore running back Winston Thompson.
Thomas scored a touchdown in the third quarter, as he finished the game with 139 rushing yards on 23 carries for an average of 6.0 yards per carry.
“He’s a great running back. We’ve got a great 1-2 punch with him and Cedric,” said Bahhur, when asked about Thompson’s game performance. “The most disappointing thing was looking at our defense, which is better that what you saw out there. I think something got them down and we’re going to get to the bottom of that and get this whole thing situated and straighten out.

The defense was sluggish, allowing the Thorobreds to score more points than their season average, and more points against them than they’ve allowed on average this season.
The 3-1 (2-1 SIAC) Panthers remain on the road, as they travel to Birmingham, Alabama to take on the 0-2 (0-2 SIAC) Bears of Miles College, this Saturday, at 7:00 p.m. eastern time/6:00 p.m. central time.