The Clark Atlanta University Panthers forced Savannah State into overtime, but came up short, falling 22-15 on a rainy Saturday at CAU Panther Stadium.

On a homecoming Saturday that saw Tropical Storm Nestor bring rain, wind and chilly weather all day to Atlanta, the Clark Atlanta (0-7, 0-3 SIAC) forced Savannah State (4-3, 3-0 SIAC) to punt three times in the first quarter.  The CAU offense jumped on the scoreboard first as quarterback Charles Stafford scampered 13 yards for a touchdown to put the Panthers up 7-0 midway through the quarter.

On the one series that Savannah State didn't have to punt in the first quarter, Tigers quarterback D'Vonn Gibbons countered with a touchdown run of his own, a 60-yard TD run that pulled Savannah State to within one at 7-6 (Savannah State didn't convert the point after try).

Late in the second quarter, Gibbons added another TD run, a 2-yarder that capped a 13-play, 57-yard Savannah State drive that ate up just over seven minutes of time. The Tigers again failed to convert the point-after try and went into the half up 12-7. 

The Tigers opened up the third quarter with a drive that resulted in a field goal to extend their lead to 15-7 with 9:05 left in the quarter.

Meanwhile, Clark Atlanta struggled to move the ball in third quarter's driving rain with only 15 plays, two punts and a series that ended with them getting inside the Savannah State 20, but turning the ball over on downs after eight plays.

But in the fourth quarter, after both teams struggled to move the ball, Clark Atlanta's Tyrese Ross came up with a huge play when he blocked a Savannah State punt and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown with 11:48 left in the game.  Stafford completed a 2-point conversion pass to Andre Felder, tying the game at 15-15.

Savannah State took the next possession and drove 53 yards on 12 plays, mostly on the ground and churning more than eight minutes of time as they looked to drive for a game-winning score.  But CAU's Rodney Lewis forced a Gibbons fumble on a scramble, with
Terrance Harris recovering at the CAU 20 with 3:37 remaining.

Stafford drove the Panthers downfield, reaching the Savannah State 37 with 1:26 remaining before turning the ball over on downs.  SSU ran three plays before time ran out and the game headed to overtime.

Savannah State took the ball on the first overtime possession and took six plays before D'Angelo Durham ran a 9-yard touchdown.   On CAU's possession, a false start moved the ball back to the 30-yard line.  After not completing a pass in the end zone to Johnathan Sanders, Stafford hit Caleeb Roberson for a 5-yard completion.  A third-down pass fell incomplete. On fourth down, Stafford was sacked, ending the game.

The Clark Atlanta defense didn't allow any passing yards to Savannah State, who only tried two passes all day.  Harris led the CAU defense with a game-high 15 tackles, three for losses, and a fumble recovery.  Kenneth Morgan added 13 tackles, while Justin Wade and Lewis each had 12.

On offense, Stafford finished 12-of-34 for 193 yards and an interception. Roberson caught four passes for 78 yards, while Kendell Wimberly hauled in three passes for 48 yards.

Savannah State got all of their offense on the ground, rushing for 325 yards on 71 carries.  Gibbons led the Tigers with 115 yards and two touchdowns while Durham had 99 yards and a TD.

The Panthers close out the home portion of their schedule next Saturday when they host Fort Valley State at 1 p.m.