Fort Valley State University won the toss, choosing to receive the ball, putting their offense on the field first in the game. The defenses for both teams prevented the other from moving the ball down the field to try to get into scoring position. Fort Valley State Wildcats’ offense got rolling towards the end of the first quarter, with the Wildcats quarterback calling his number several times to rush the ball down the field, and was able to complete passes to the Wildcats receiver before throwing a touchdown pass to Alex Henton to score the first points of the game.
Clark Atlanta quarterback Zy McDonald and the Panthers’ offense hadn’t found their rhythm, going three and out, punting the ball back to Fort Valley State for another offensive possession. The Panthers had a slew of defensive players in on sacking Wildcats quarterback Don Hudson for a safety, making the score 7-2 in the second quarter.
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The Panthers’ safety of Hudson started the 16 unanswered points scored in the second quarter, with a passing touchdown from Zy McDonald to Ronnie West and an Alan Riggins rushing touchdown with a little less than a minute left in the half. Fort Valley’s quarterback Hudson was able to throw a pass to an open Wildcats receiver, moving the chains. On the ensuing play, Hudson rushed the ball and was stopped, leaving a little over 30 seconds left to go in the half. The Wildcats let an opportunity slip to move the ball down the field to get at least a field goal to close out the half. Fort Valley quarterback Don Hudson dropped back to throw a pass, was sacked by Carter Mason on a delayed blitz, forced the fumble, and recovered it for the Panthers.
The Panthers quarterback, Zy McDonald, threw a pass underneath for a short gain on the play. The clock didn’t start on the snap of the ball, but with 3 seconds left, the half with the score 16-7, the Panthers were on top.