SEPT. 7 SCHEDULE
Shorter at Charleston Southern, 11 a.m.
Clark Atlanta at West Alabama, noon
Lindsay Wilson at Reinhardt, noon
Edward Waters at Point, noon
West Georgia at Mars Hill, 1 p.m.
Atlanta Sports Academy at Georgia Military, 1 p.m.
Valdosta State vs. Fort Valley State (Macon), 2 p.m.
Morehouse vs. Howard (Washington), 3:30 p.m.
Birmingham Southern at LaGrange, 6 p.m.
St. Francis (Pa.) at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
Albany State at North Greenville, 7 p.m.
Savannah State at Troy, 7 p.m.
Kevin Weston has faith in the Wing-T offense.
He has witnessed it work and thinks it’s what Clark Atlanta needs to establish a “forceful” running game.
And besides …
“Nobody else does it, so it will give us a special identity, an uniqueness within our conference,” Weston said. “It’s not big on the college level, but I grew up in it, and I believe it’s what we need to run the football successfully.”
Weston, who was hired to replace Daryl McNeill in January, hopes the Wing-T will rejuvenate an offense that ranked last in the SIAC in total offense (209.1 yards), last in scoring (9.8 points) and next to last in rushing offense (59.2 yards) in 2012.
Clark Atlanta scored 20 points once in a 2-8 season and ended the season on a three-game losing streak.
The Panthers open at West Alabama at noon Saturday.
The Wing-T is a run-based offense that can consume the clock. It is predominantly used by high school programs, but variations can be found at the college level.
Weston has several experienced offensive linemen returning, including senior center/tackle Donald McIver, but said freshman Trent Earl (Stockbridge) and Aaron Heyward could share time at QB.
Heyward graduated from Rutgers, where he was a receiver, and enrolled at Clark Atlanta.
Freshmen Montavious Taylor (Carver-Atlanta) and Jordan Dooley (Duluth) likely will share time at running back.
“This is a special opportunity for us,” Weston said. “We have a hill to climb, but we believe we can accomplish something special here.”
Replacing Carter: David Carter (Sprayberry) ended his career with Morehouse records for most rushing yards in a game (357), season (1,495) and career (4,410).
Coach Rich Freeman’s task is to replace him.
It appears Shelton Hamilton, who rushed for 377 yards in five games last season, will start at running back, but junior Winston Bodrick (Mays), who sat out last season after transferring from Morehead State, also will receive carries.
Joshua Harris, who threw for 65 yards and two touchdowns in three games last season, will start at quarterback ahead of Jordan Tarver (Stephenson), according to the team’s depth chart.
Morehouse will play Howard in the AT&T Nation’s Football Classic at RFK Stadium in Washington.
Around the state: Augusta's Paine College, which is restarting its program after 51 years, will play its home games at nearby Laney Memorial Stadium. The Lions have four games this season and will join the SIAC in 2014. … Georgia Military College running back Jovon Robinson, a former Auburn signee, has 427 yards and four TDs on 43 carries in two games after rushing for 313 yards and two TDs in a win over Snow College. … West Georgia could have one of the better offensive lines in the Gulf South Conference with four returning experienced players, including all-conference tackle Brandon White and guard William Wright. … LaGrange linebacker Andre Carter (Alexander) was chosen as one of the nine "Impact Players" in the USA South Athletic Conference. Carter set the school record with 86 tackles last season and is on four preseason All-America teams (D3fooball.com, Beyond Sports Network, Lindy's Sports, USA Football Network). … Valdosta State, No. 1 in Division II, has won nine consecutive games against Fort Valley State. They open against one another in Macon. … Former Fulton High star and Auburn All-American David Rocker won his coaching debut at Point University, which defeated Bluefield College 57-28 on Saturday.
