GRAMBLING, La. —
Clark Atlanta football opened the 2026 season with a 49-7 setback against Grambling State on Saturday evening at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium. The Panthers (0-1) finished the night with 224 yards of total offense, including 130 through the air and 94 on the ground. Sophomore wide receiver
Chry'shawn Sellers led the Clark Atlanta receiving corps with four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Grambling State (1-0) opened the scoring just 14 seconds into the contest as Tony Phillips Jr. returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers an early 7-0 advantage.
The Clark Atlanta defense settled in following the opening score, holding Grambling scoreless for the remainder of the first quarter. The Panthers forced punts on each of the Tigers' next three possessions to keep the deficit at seven entering the second quarter.
Grambling extended its lead early in the second quarter when Phillips found the end zone for the second time, scoring on a 20-yard run with 14:54 remaining in the half to cap a seven-play, 87-yard drive.
The Tigers pushed the lead to 21-0 at the 7:47 mark after Reginald Johnson connected with Tyson George for an 11-yard touchdown. Grambling added another score just before halftime as Jacobe Robinson found Byron Eaton Jr. for a 7-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining, sending Clark Atlanta into the locker room trailing 28-0.
The Panthers responded quickly coming out of halftime.
On Clark Atlanta's opening possession of the third quarter, quarterback
Xzavier Jackson connected with Sellers for a 64-yard touchdown to put the Panthers on the board.
Dylan Dastejerdi converted the ensuing extra point to cut the deficit to 28-7 with 13:55 remaining in the third quarter. The touchdown capped a three-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 1:05.
Clark Atlanta's defense kept Grambling off the scoreboard throughout the third quarter, but the Tigers regained momentum in the fourth.
Clyde McClendon Jr. scored on a 21-yard run with 13:53 remaining to extend Grambling's advantage to 35-7. Zerrick Jones added a 4-yard rushing touchdown at the 8:53 mark before D'Shaun Ford capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run with 5:42 remaining.
Jackson completed six passes for 98 yards and one touchdown, while freshman
Dylan Reese went 2-for-5 for 32 yards.
Trayvon Pinder led Clark Atlanta on the ground with 38 yards on nine carries.
Joseph Wright added 19 yards on two attempts, while
Dae'Jeaun Dennis rushed nine times for 23 yards.
Sellers accounted for the majority of Clark Atlanta's production through the air, averaging 21.3 yards per reception.
Jeremiah Valdry added two catches for 25 yards, while
Derrick White and
Kevin Deceus recorded one reception apiece.
Defensively,
Dwight Jacobs Jr. and
Artellious Edmond led the Panthers with 11 total tackles each. Jacobs also contributed multiple tackles for loss.
Mikell Roberts finished with eight tackles, while
Eric Searcy added seven.
The Panthers finished with nine punts for 372 yards, with
Joseph Wright averaging 41.3 yards per punt and placing three inside the Grambling 20-yard line.
Grambling finished the night with 487 yards of total offense, including 264 passing yards and 223 rushing yards. The Tigers recorded 28 first downs and converted seven of 13 third-down attempts. Clark Atlanta totaled 10 first downs and went 1-for-13 on third down.
UP NEXT
Clark Atlanta returns to action on Saturday, September 5 as they take the short trip over to Morehouse College to face the Maroon Tigers in the 2026 ATL Labor Day Classic at B.T. Harvey Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and eight women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit
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