Atlanta, Ga.---One of the oldest football traditions among college football, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and the Atlanta University Center (AUC) will hit the gridiron this weekend as the Clark Atlanta University Panthers will face the Morehouse College Maroon Tigers in the 86th meeting between the two schools Saturday, Oct. 4th, at 2 p.m., in Panther Stadium (located on Clark Atlanta's campus).
"This rivalry is so unique because of each school's rich history and their close proximity to one another in the AUC ," said CAU Head Coach Kevin Weston. "While I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Clark Atlanta into this rivalry for the second time, I have made sure my players know how special this is to be a part of such a great event and a special legacy."
It is a tradition that dates back to their very first meeting in 1913 when the Maroon Tigers shut-out Clark University (now Clark Atlanta University) 48-0 and again in their next two subsequent meetings, 1916 (48-0) and 1923 (47-0). The Panthers edged Morehouse 7-6 in 1926 for their first win in the series. In 1934, a defensive battle ensued that resulted in a 0-0 tie which would be the first of two ties in the series history. The following year both defenses allowed only seven points in the game that also ended in a tie (7-7).
From 1942-1953, Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) dominated Morehouse with 12 consecutive wins which is the longest winning streak in school's history and this rivalry. During this time, Clark College outscored the Maroon Tigers 160-12 including 10 of the 12 games that the Panthers held them scoreless.
Clark Atlanta leads the head-to-head series (46-37-2) and holds the largest margin of victory which took place in 1966 with the Panthers claiming a 68-0 win. In the last ten years, however, Morehouse has won seven of the last ten games including four consecutive games from 2009-2012. In Weston's first season (2013), he led the Panthers to a 21-17 road victory which was their first win over the Maroon Tigers since 2008.
Morehouse (3-1 overall, SIAC 1-0) comes into Saturday's game owning a two-game winning streak including a 20-10 win over Paine College last weekend. Clark Atlanta (1-3 overall, SIAC 0-2) will look to snap a two-game losing streak after suffering a 42-2 loss to the University of West Georgia in its last game. In the current SIAC East Divisional standings, CAU ranks fourth while the Maroon Tigers hold the second place spot.
General Admission tickets for this Saturday's game are $10 and can be purchased prior to the game at the CAU bookstore located in the Henderson Student Center until 3 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3rd, and on game day at the ticket window which opens at 12:30 p.m. LIVE STATS with minute-by-minute updates can be viewed at http://www.sidearmstats.com/cau/football. This game is also the featured SIAC Digital Network Game of the Week which will be broadcasted online at http://thesiac.com/watch/?Live=8.
Though neighboring schools with a unique landscape, Clark Atlanta and Morehouse will battle on the football field this Saturday as strangers to determine who will reign supreme in the AUC at least for this season.
