Both teams arrived home early Sunday after long trips and tough games and they will have just three days to prepare for the next one.
Bodies are sore and minds are tired but motivation shouldn't be a problem: It's rivalry week for Morehouse and Clark Atlanta, who will play for the 83rd time on Thursday night.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved to accommodate a cable television broadcast.
“It's a quick turnaround, but any time you can play a TV game to give your school, your department, your team more exposure, that's something that we want to do,” Clark Atlanta coach Daryl McNeill said. “Of course it's a selling point, a recruiting tool.”
The game will be played at Morehouse but it's effectively a neutral site since the schools border each other in Atlanta's West End. The series started in 1905, with Clark holding a 48-32-2 edge.
“In my opinion this is a championship-caliber game during the regular season,” Morehouse coach Rich Freeman said. “The schools are separated by yards, and it's an intense pride game.”
More than bragging rights are at stake. Both teams are in the East division of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The winner would remain undefeated in league play and stay on track to play in the first conference championship game on Nov. 12 at Lakewood Stadium.
Neither team has faced Albany State (3-1, 1-0), the preseason favorite to to win the division. Clark Atlanta owns a victory over Fort Valley, which was picked to finish second in the East, while Morehouse pulled out a victory at Lane College on Saturday.
The Maroon Tigers trailed Lane for most of the game. Quarterback Byron Ingram, the former Redan High standout, threw a 20-yard touchdown to Derrick Hector with two minutes left for the 25-21 victory.
“To be honest, I was just happy to get out of there,” Freeman said. “Since I've been head coach we have always struggled in Jackson [Tenn.]. That's a tough place to play because those kids really take pride playing well at home.”
Now Freeman is hoping a handful of players with nagging injuries will be effective on Thursday. Among them are guards Drew Wilkins (toe) and Mike Wilkins (knee) and defensive tackles Chigbo Anunoby (knee) and Chris Bailey (knee).
Clark Atlanta lost 9-7 to Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Saturday in St. Louis. The Panthers missed field goals of 46 and 47 yards in the third quarter and scored their touchdown with seven minutes to play.
As an FCS program Arkansas Pine-Bluff has about 40 more scholarships than Clark Atlanta. McNeill said he was pleased the Panthers gave a better effort than in their 41-7 loss to Georgia State in the season opener.
“That's exactly what I wanted to see in the Georgia State game,” McNeill said. “It's like we've taken their best punch and now time to show we can punch back. It was a great football game. I'm proud of my kids, proud of my coaching staff.”
Arkansas Pine-Bluff's offense managed to cross midfield just twice after halftime, resulting in an interception and a field goal. In spite of the big loss to Georgia State, the Panthers rank No. 18 in Division II with 16 points per game.
Morehouse has scored 37 points per game to rank No. 19 in Division II but Freeman said Clark Atlanta's defense will be a test.
“They are very strong,” he said. “We go into the game knowing they are possibly going to give us a hard time.”
