Panthers Headed To SIAC Championships after 46 years

 “The only pressure you're up against is you vs. you…what are you willing to give up to be successful?”

After securing a 27-17 rivalry win against Morehouse College in the “Battle of the Big Cats” this past Saturday, Clark Atlanta’s football team is now heading to Fairfield Alabama to compete in the 2024 SIAC championship game against Miles College, this Saturday November 16th. This is the first time the Panthers have advanced to the championships since 1977.

Coming back from the previous 2023 season record of 0-10, Newly appointed head coach Teddy Keaton has cultivated a tremendous turn around for the team. Keaton’s first season with the Panthers ending with a 8-2 record and championship game is nothing short of his dedication towards changing the culture of our football team.

Keaton expresses his remarks on what he feels shaped the turnaround of his program. “After we finished recruiting season, acquiring the pieces that we were able to put here and there while finishing spring ball, I believe I told everybody on the staff we’ve got a chance to be great here…we’ve got a chance to be special.”  He touches on what challenges he faced throughout the season, that “the hardest part was trying to change an athlete’s mindset after being in failure mode for a long time… I commend my coaching staff for re-training their minds”.  

When questioned with what he hopes this championship will mean for the future of the program, Keaton replies “I’ve already began to see the culture shift- everyone is now in a competitive mode of wanting to do better than the next team did, better than last game and the game before that”

Quarterback David Wright is also in his CAU debut season after transferring from Allen University. Wright touches on what his goals were as a transfer student coming to a team with an 0-10 record. “I wanted to show the team what it looks like to win, what it feels like…Playing Quarterback is the biggest leadership role there is with everyone having their eyes on you, I have good energy so the team will feed off that”. Wright describes the team’s preparation towards the big game as “anything that needed to be fixed from the first-time playing Miles will be fixed, while describing his role in the championship by stating “My role is just as big as anybody else’s on the team…do everything in our power to bring the ring home.”

Graduate Student & Defensive back Dahlil Wilkins shared his remarks on what he feels with the championship ahead. “This game personally means a lot because I’ve been to a championship game before and lost…I’m familiar with the feeling and don’t want to feel that again… This is a championship game but I’m treating it as if it were any other game... keep the main thing the same, and that’s executing”.

No matter the outcome of Saturday’s Championship game, it’s evident that the culture of the football team has been impacted for the better and touched us all as one university and one community.