Box Score October 1, 2016 – ATLANTA – Morehouse blew a 22-point lead and lost to the Clark Atlanta Panthers, 37-36, on a last-second field goal.
Morehouse jumped out to a 15-0 lead and appeared well on the way to an easy first quarter.
Alexis Gonzalez hit two 37-yard field goals, Voris Bryant tackled the punter in the end zone for a safety and Monqavious Johnson ran it in from 25 yards.
CAU bounced back early in the second quarter, on a five-yard touchdown pass.
A few minutes later, defensive end Voris Bryant recovered a CAU fumble and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. The "scoop and score" gave Morehouse a 22-17 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Johnson orchestrated a 13-play, 66-yard drive that extended the Morehouse lead. Johnson capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run.
Less than a minute later, the Panthers connected on a 35-yard scoring pass, which closed the gap to 29-14.
Soon after, the Tigers struck again, moving the ball 75 yards on four plays. Lake McGuffie broke free on the left side and Johnson hit him in stride with a 35-yard scoring pass.
But that was the end of the Morehouse scoring. The Panthers dominated the end of the third quarter and all of the fourth. They scored on passes of 48, 17 and nine yards and recovered an onside kick, which set up the winning field.
After their final touchdown, CAU attempted a two-point conversion that would have tied the score at 36-all, but freshman safety JaQuan Simpkins made a diving save to knock away the pass.
With no timeouts and the clock winding down, Carlos Saldana hit his only field goal attempt, with one second left on the clock.
The game was clearly a tale of two halves. Morehouse took the first, forcing fumbles, knocking down passes and putting up points. Clark Atlanta took the second, piling up massive passing yardage and moving the ball nearly at will.
Johnson connected on 11 of 18 passes. He was intercepted once, sacked four times and rushed for 42 yards, on nine carries. Kivon Taylor, who started at quarterback, completed one of five passes for 10 yards.
Clark Atlanta won the total yardage war, 402 to 244. The Panthers gained 456 yards through the air, but lost 54 yards rushing. Morehouse rushed for 122 yards, on 38 attempts.
Lake McGuffie caught four passes for 62 yards. Isaiah Hicks rushed for 44 yards on 16 carries.
For the fifth time in five games, David Smith led the Morehouse defense, which recorded 15 tackles for loss and four sacks. Smith, a sophomore linebacker, recorded seven solo tackles, including two tackles for loss. He also forced and recovered a fumble, which he returned 31 yards.
Joshua Burton made his presence felt on defense, with six tackles, including three tackles for loss, and two sacks. Rashay March also had six tackles and one-and-a-half tackles for loss. Kenneth Hagins made five tackles, forced a fumble and posted a sack.
With the third loss in a row, Morehouse fell to 2-3. Clark Atlanta rose to 3-2.
The Maroon Tigers travel to Columbus, Ga., Saturday, at 2 p.m., to face the Golden Tigers, in the 81st Annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic.
