26,273 fans packed the Georgia Dome to watch the start of what could be the birth of a regional rivalry between two schools with Panther mascots. While Georgia State and Clark Atlanta are two different schools, that play in two different leagues, and recruit totally different players they are still very close to each other geographically. I believe the rivalry will only go so far, because as we saw last Friday night, Georgia State is on another level as a football program and are looking for bigger and better things in the future. However, with that said the game was still a fun one to watch.
Georgia State took the field to begin their 2011 campaign and didn't leave any doubters with their on-field performance. Despite playing with what was their third string quarterback from 2010 and several new players at key positions, the Panthers would still score 41 points and barely allow Clark Atlanta time to breath let alone score. The biggest surprise was the ability of quarterback Bo Schlechter, who was filling in for last years starters Drew Little and Kelton Hill. However, this young man may have just shown he is the better of the two. Schlechter was mobile, accurate and showed great poise for his first ever collegiate start.
The running game finally emerged and the Panthers may have a two headed beast at running back with new comer Donald Russell being the thunder to Travis Evans lightning. In the passing game, Albert Wilson showed off his blazing speed and athletic ability. He made one of the best touchdown catches I've personally seen in a long time. The defense really impressed. Clark Atlanta could barely run the ball outside of their quarterback running for his survival. Their were some breakdowns in the pass coverage at times, but mainly our team strength (the secondary) proved to be just as strong as they were in 2010. Newcomer D'Mario Gunn looked especially good.
Highlights
As mentioned quarterback Bo Schlechter was extremely impressive not just with his game, but leadership skills. He would complete 13/18 passes for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Two of those touchdown passes landed in the hands of the talented wide receiver Albert Wilson, who would catch a total 3 passes for 85 yards.
The running backs dominated the game as a whole. Individually they were just as impressive. The top two rushers, Donald Russell (9 rushes 56 yards 2 TD) and Travis Evans (8 rushes 52 yards) combined for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The defense played lights-out, only giving up 7 points. It was truly a team effort as the team combined for 51 tackles 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Jake Muasau had 3 tackles (1 for loss) and a sack. The secondary was tremendous as a group and look to be just as dominant as they were in 2010.
The second best thing from the game in my opinion was the debut of freshman placekicker Christian Benvenuto. He made both of his field goals (44, 45 yards) and connected on all of extra point attempts (4/4) proving that the team has a good replacement for last years kicker, Iain Vance, who was 3rd-Team All-FCS.
Offensive Player of the Game: QB/P - Bo Schlechter - 196 yards passing, 3 TD, 2 punts inside 20
Defensive Player of the Game: DE - A.J. Portee - 4 tackles (team high)
Next Opponent: vs. Old Dominion (Sept. 10, 2011)
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