The 2003 Clarion football tam will look to rebound from a three game losing streak this Saturday as the Golden Eagles square off against Edinboro on Saturday, October 18. Kickoff at Clarion's Memorial Stadium is set for 1pm

The game can be heard on WCCR-FM, 92.7 and on the internet at Redzonemedia.com with Mike Kalinowski and Dave Katis describing the action.

EAGLES (1-5; 0-1)/LUKE 49-55 IN 10 YEARS AT CLARION

Clarion enters the game with a very deceiving 1-5 overall record in 2003 and an 0-1 mark in the PSAC-West. The Eagles have lost four of those games by a total of 18 points. Clarion opened the season with a 31-21 loss to East Stroudsburg, then lost a 13-10 overtime decision to Millersville. Bouncing back to defeat Glenville 23-20, the Eagles lost a gut-wrenching 20-19 game against Kutztown and two weeks ago lost in the final minutes to #4 ranked IUP 24-20. Last week the Eagles dropped a 35-17 decision at West Chester. Head coach Malen Luke has a ten year record of 49-55 at Clarion and is in his 16th year overall as a head coach with a record of 86-76. Clarion has won the PSAC-West in 1996 and 2000 under Luke, while the 1996 squad advanced to the NCAA semifinals.

EDINBORO (4-2; 1-1)/ LOU TEPPER 18-20 IN 4 YEARS AT EDINBORO

Edinboro enters Saturday's contest with an impressive 4-2 overall record and a 1-1 slate in the PSAC-West, coming off its big PSAC-West win at Indiana last Saturday 28-20. The Scots opened the season with a 35-11 loss at Div.I-AA Youngstown State, then bounced back with three straight wins against Ashland (12-6), Tiffin (39-14) and East Stroudsburg (31-20). After dropping a tough 40-34 decision to Shippensburg, the Scots bounced back to defeat IUP 28-20. Edinboro was down 20-7 in that game late in the third quarter before scoring 21 unanswered points. Head coach Lou Tepper is in his fourth season at Edinboro with a record of 18-20. Formerly the head coach at Big Ten Illinois, Tepper had a 25-31-2 record from the Sun Bowl Game in 1991 through the 1996 season.

CLARION LEADS OVERALL SERIES 38-33-2

In a series that dates back to 1926, Clarion leads the overall series 38-33-2. Clarion won last year's meeting 24-18, while Edinboro won 24-12 two years ago. In the last ten meetings both teams have won five games each. The Eagles posted wins in 1994 (24-20), 1997 (28-0), 1998 (33-20), 2000 (2-0) and 2002 (24-18). The Fighting Scots five victories came in 1993 (28-0), 1995 (28-6), 1996 (48-35), 1999 (30-29) and 2001 (24-12).

CLARION OFFENSE #3 IN RUSHING

Clarion's offense is getting 309.5 yards per game (#8 in PSAC) including 211.5 rushing yards (#3 in PSAC) and 98 passing yards (#14 in PSAC) per game.

Calling the signals will either be freshman Felton Woulard or senior Frantz Charles. Woulard has connected on 33 of 71 passes for 526 yards and 3 td's, while also leading the Eagles in rushing with 376 yards and 2 td's on 107 carries. Charles, who missed the West Chester game with a leg injury, has rushed for 147 yards on 39 carries this season.

The running game will be led by halfbacks Brandon Sweeney (46 carries, 285 yards, 4 td's; 6 catches, 56 yards, 1 td) and Glenn Lovelace (42 runs, 175 yards; 4 catches, 115 yards, 1 td) and fullback Jason Warner (45 rushes, 178 yards, 1 td).

The receiving corps has wideouts Ron Rivage (8 grabs, 160 yards), Pierre Odom (8 catches, 152 yards, 1 td) and Ed Rivers (6 receptions, 42 yards).

CLARION DEFENSE LED BY BOWERS

The Golden Eagle defense is yielding 339.5 yards per game (#8 in the PSAC) including 133.3 rushing yards (#7 in the PSAC) and 206.2 passing yards (#12 in PSAC) per game.

Leading the defense up front is 2002 PSAC-West Defensive "Player of the Year" Troy Bowers. The Eagle senior has 43 tackles this season and leads the PSAC in tackles for loss (18) and sacks (8). In his career he now has 187 hits, 71 tfl's and 32 sacks.

Also playing well up front are Tim Connolly (28 stops, 6 tfl's, 4 sacks), Ben Heisel (17 hits, 5 tfl's, 2 sacks) and Matt Niedbala (4 stops).

The linebacking corps will be led by Jabari Wetherspoon. The talented senior leads the team with 45 tackles and also has 1 interception for a td, 4 tfl's and 1 sack. Matt Morris, who missed the WC game butis expected to return this week, has 37 stops, 3 tfl's and 3 fumble recoveries, along with Brock Luke (10 tackles).

The Eagle secondary has Bo Busch (38 hits, 1 int, 3 fumbles caused) at free safety and Emil Johnson (31 jolts, 7 tfl's, 1 int) at strong safety, with Myron Hargon (14 stops, 2 tfl's), James Charles (15 stops, 1 int for a td) and Kerwin Cledanor (2 int's) at the corners.

EDINBORO OFFENSE LED BY BOUCH

Edinboro's offense is very balanced this season with the Scots getting 362 yards of total offense (#6 in PSAC) per game including 180.2 rushing yards (#7 in PSAC) and 181.8 passing yards (#8 in PSAC) per game.

Leading the offense is quarterback Justin Bouch. The Scot sophomore has completed 84 of 134 passes for 1,085 yards and 8 td's with only 5 interceptions. He was the PSAC-West "Player of the Week" while passing for 272 yards and 2 td's against IUP last Saturday. Bouch ranks #3 in the entire PSAC in passing efficiency at 141.7.

The running game will be led by fullback Matt Phillips (90 rushes, 394 yards, 7 td's) and tailbacks Brandon Munson (57 carries, 351 yards, 3 td's) and Dru Robinson (53 runs, 264 yards, 1 td).

The receiving corps is talented with wideouts Justin Lipscomb (19 grabs, 381 yards, 4 td's), Sean Hess (16 catches, 213 yards, 1 td), Jordan Bobitski (16 receptions, 152 yards) and Ryan Valasek (9 grabs, 120 yards, 1 td), plus tight end C.J. Trivisonno (10 catches, 116 yards, 1 td) all ready to catch passes.

EDINBORO #9 IN TOTAL DEFENSE IN THE PSAC

The Scots rank 9th in the PSAC in total defense giving up 343.5 yards per game including 175.2 rushing yards (#11 in PSAC) and 168.3 passing yards (#6 in PSAC) per game.

Up front Edinboro relies on noseguard Eugene Grooms (16 hits, 3.5 tfl's), tackle Eric Neavins (27 tackles) and end Greg MacAnn (15 stops, 2 tfl's).

Guarding the perimeters are outside linebackers Seth Fragale (46 stops, 2 tfl's) and Nick Roth (22 hits, 3 break-ups), while inside linebackers Jermaine Hughley (59 jolts, 5.5 tfl's, 2 sacks) and Brandon Banas (37 hits, 2 tfl's) anchor the middle.

The secondary features Raji El-Amin (36 tackles, 3 int's) at free safety and Thomas Wallace (25 jolts, 1 int) at strong safety. The corners will be Chris Avery (4 int's) and Matt Birkett (24 tackles, 5 beak-ups, 1 int).

CLARION NOTES: Clarion is looking for its first win on its new Sprinturf surface ... The next win for coach Luke will be his 50th at Clarion ... In last year's game Clarion bounced out to a 24-0 lead and then held on for a 24-18 win at Edinboro ... The Eagle final score was a 12 yard pass from Adam Almashy to Chad Thompson on a fake field goal early in the third quarter... Clarion rushed for 307 yards and passed for 31 ... Robert Walker had 116 on 14 carries, while Lovelace had 72 and 1 td on 7 tries (10.3 p/c)... Edinboro had 392 yards of offense including 184 rushing and 208 passing ... Alonzo Roebuck had 24 carries for 146 yards and 2 td's ... Justin Bouch completed 6 of 12 passes for 104 yards in relief of Cam Marsh (10 of 27 - 104 yards)... Sean Hess had 6 catches for 96 yards ... In 2001 Edinboro won 24-12 also at Sox Harrison Stadium ... Clarion's Demetric Garnder scored on a 19-yard run but the PAT was blocked and Clarion led 6-0... The Boro scored 17 unanswered points before halftime to lead 17-6 and went on to the win ... Clarion rushed for 195 and passed for 147 for 342 yards ... Edinboro rushed for 189 and passed for 155 for 344 yards ... Clarion travels to Shippensburg next Saturday for a 1pm start.