Albany State beats Clark Atlanta on Cameran Loyd’s last-minute touchdown

ATLANTA — Cameran Loyd reached with his right hand and pulled Albany State out of trouble.

His one-handed, 12-yard touchdown catch with 26.8 seconds remaining Saturday lifted the Golden Rams to a 21-17 victory over Clark Atlanta, turning a potential third consecutive loss into a finish worth savoring.

The sophomore receiver entered the afternoon with three catches all season. On the winning drive alone, he made three — each more consequential than the last.

A difficult sideline reception gained 24 yards. A diving catch on third down covered another 24. Then came the catch in the corner of the end zone that completed a 75-yard march and rewarded a team that had spent much of the afternoon surviving on defense and special teams.

Loyd finished with nine receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns. His first collegiate touchdown gave Albany State the lead in the second quarter. His second brought the Rams back when they were running out of chances.

“Cam Loyd has been an outstanding player all year, but he has been dealing with some nagging injuries,” coach David Bowser said in Albany State’s recap. “Cam and JD have a great relationship and confidence with each other and showed it today when making those big plays.”

That connection proved decisive after Clark Atlanta quarterback Xzavier Jackson scored on a 10-yard run with 2:34 remaining. The Panthers’ 13-play, 85-yard drive put them ahead 17-14 and left Albany State needing a touchdown.

Jeffery Davis, back after injuring his non-throwing shoulder against Benedict a week earlier, opened the possession with a 12-yard completion to Cardrece Mobley.

Then Loyd took over.

His first 24-yard reception moved ASU into Clark Atlanta territory. His second, on third-and-4, carried the Rams to the Panthers’ 9-yard line. When a running play lost three yards, Davis returned to the receiver who kept delivering.

Loyd needed only one hand to finish the job.

The celebration still had to wait. Clark Atlanta returned the ensuing kickoff to the ASU 47, giving the Panthers one last opportunity. Jayshaun Wanton ended it with an interception with six seconds remaining.

Davis took a knee, and the Golden Rams had their first victory in three weeks.

Albany State improved to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, earning its sixth consecutive victory over Clark Atlanta.

“I am really proud of our team in all three phases of the game,” Bowser said. “Special teams got this thing started again and that was awesome. Defense came out and did some things with forcing turnovers and then the offense was able to drive the ball down at the end of the game and close it out.”

Those contributions gave Davis and Loyd a chance to produce their late heroics.

Clark Atlanta scored on its opening possession and added a 42-yard field goal to lead 10-0 barely six minutes into the game. With ASU struggling to get started, its punt unit supplied the response.

Jonathan Rodriguez’s 53-yard punt helped pin the Panthers deep. After the defense forced a punt, Keymon Jefferson broke through, blocked the kick and recovered it in the end zone to cut the deficit to 10-7.

Cameron Watts delivered the next momentum swing, intercepting Jackson in the end zone and returning the ball 70 yards to the Clark Atlanta 30.

Four plays later, Loyd made a diving, 8-yard touchdown reception for a 14-10 lead.

That advantage lasted through a scoreless third quarter, although Albany State missed opportunities to make it more comfortable. Clark Atlanta blocked field-goal attempts of 35 and 27 yards, then finally reclaimed the lead with its lengthy fourth-quarter touchdown drive.

The Rams had one possession to make those missed chances matter less. Davis and Loyd made it count.

Davis completed 16 of 21 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns despite having his first attempt intercepted. Clark Atlanta outgained ASU 322-251 and ran 23 more offensive plays, but the Rams intercepted three passes, with Evan Wynn joining Watts and Wanton.

Elijah Watson led Albany State with eight tackles and four pass breakups. Rodriguez averaged 44.2 yards on four punts, with two downed inside the 20.

Next comes Fort Valley State in the Fountain City Classic at 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at A.J. McClung Stadium in Columbus.