By Jim O'Hara
ROME, Ga. – The two teams are near mirror images of each other.
Both run offenses that are ground-oriented and operate out of a wing formation; the defenses share traits that involve speed, strength and physicality; and each program is hungry for a victory in a season that hasn't had a lot of them – and that is where the similarities end.
When Shorter heads to Atlanta on Saturday for its first-ever meeting with Clark-Atlanta, a non-conference Division II matchup involving Gulf South and Southern Intercollegiate members, the Hawks will be out to do something they haven't done all year – win a game.
"Our kids are still hungry – make that starving," Shorter head coach Phil Jones said as the Hawks (0-8 overall) prepared to take on the CAU Panthers (2-5) for a 6 p.m. kick-off at Panther Stadium. "They want to be successful on the scoreboard and I feel certain they'll continue to seek that.
"It's not easy," the coach added, "but we know it's there."
Coming off a 38-17 GSC defeat a week ago, Shorter's fifth conference setback and one in which they saw three turnovers lead to touchdowns, the Hawks are certainly not taking the Panthers for granted, especially with the memory of what happened two weeks ago when they saw a 17-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate in a road loss to Gulf South newcomer Florida Tech.
From what Jones and his coaching staff have seen, Clark-Atlanta is very capable of defending their home turf at the 6,000-seat stadium that was built to serve as the field hockey venue for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
"They are a legitimate Delaware Wing-T offense and they do a good job with it," Jones said of what the Panthers run, noting that it differs from the double-slot wing option the Hawks employ. "You have to do things different defensively as opposed to defending against the spread offenses we usually see."
"They want to control the clock running the ball," he said, "and also use the play-action pass."
Freshman slotback Montavious Taylor is the tip of the CAU offensive iceberg as he enters the game leading the Panthers having rushed for 534 yards and seven touchdowns this season, while freshman quarterback Trenton Earl has become an additional threat having thrown for 279 yards and a touchdown.
It's the ground game, however, which the Panthers relied on as of the 297 yards a game the average, 251 of those yards have come via the run, numbers that took a hit in CAU's SIAC game last week when Albany State held them to just 54 total yards in a 30-7 decision.
Defensively, the Panthers operate from a 3-5 base set that relies on a corps of active linebackers and led by junior middle linebacker Brenard Williams, who leads the team with 50 total tackles, has seven tackles for losses, a sack and two 2 interceptions.
"They adjust out of that (3-5) because they can handle anything because of the personnel they have," Jones said about what the defense, which allows foes just over 300 yards a game, the Hawks will face. "Their linebackers have the speed and the strength to play the run or the pass."
The Hawks will counter with an offense that has developed into a ground-air combination that averages 328 yards a game, 215 via the rush and 113 off of the pass. Senior fullback Bradley Moon and junior quarterback Eric Dodson have combined to rush for 994 yards so far this season, while Dodson has passed for 906 yards.
Even better news is the return of senior slotbacks Roderick Jones and Kirk Wilson, now back at full speed after injuries kept them sidelined for three games, and the Hawks' leading receiver in red-shirt freshman Darius Turner is also slated to return after missing the past two games with an injury.
The Hawks, however, can ill-afford to make any mistakes against the Panthers and are determined to eliminate the turnovers that have been so costly this season, as was the case last week against Delta State.
"We know we have to eliminate the turnovers," said Jones. "We know too well what happens when we do that.
"But what is the big key for us this week," the coach said, "is that it's real important to get off on the right foot early in the game. We want to get that confidence early, keep playing hard as we've been doing and not let up until it's over."
