Box Score

(SLIPPERY ROCK, PA): Mark Hofmeister's second field goal of the day, an 18-yarder with 10:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, boosted Clarion to a 19-17 win over Slippery Rock at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Clarion raised its record to 3-8 overall and 2-4 in the PSAC-West, while Slippery Rock dropped to 4-7 overall and 2-4 in the PSAC-West.

Clarion scored 12 unanswered points to mount its come-from-behind victory on Saturday. The comeback started with Hofmeister booting a school record tying 49-yard field goal with no time left before halftime narrowing the Rock lead to 17-10 at intermission.

Clarion's defense kept the Rockets bottled up in its own end the entire third quarter and turned the game in the Golden Eagles favor when Kerwin Cledanor blocked a Brent Freeburg punt at the Slippery Rock 10 and teammate Bo Busch scooped up the football at the 7-yard line and sprinted into the endzone for a Clarion touchdown. The PAT was blocked, and Slippery Rock held a slim 17-16 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter Busch broke through and blocked another Freeburg punt, this time at the SR 30 and the ball was recovered by Clarion's Marcus Lowe at the 30. The Golden Eagles traveled 29 yards and were faced with fourth and goal at the SR 1, when Hofmeister came on and booted his 18-yard, game-winning field goal with 10:47 remaining.

The Rockets drove to the Clarion 25 on its next possession, keyed by a 39-yard pass from qb Chad DeVore to Tim Arthurs. On fourth down at the 25, PSAC leading field goal kicker John Katsaouni came on to attempt a 43-yard field goal, but Clarion corner back Dwaon Woodard blocked the attempt with only 8:50 left in the game and Clarion hung on to a 19-17 lead.

The Golden Eagles defense stopped rockets on their next possession, and Clarion's offense ran off all but .08 seconds of the final 3:49 with two big rushing first downs.

In the first quarter the Eagles were poised to take the lead when Dando fumbled on third down into the endzone and Slippery Rock's A. Berarducci recovered for the Rockets.

SR took a 7-0 lead when Josh Kniess scored on a 1-yard run with 14:50 left in the second quarter.

Clarion bounced back to tie the game when the defense came up with a big fumble recovery. SR qb Chad DeVore was sacked by Dale McCall, fumbled the pigskin and Jabari Weatherspoon recovered at the SR 7. On third and goal at the 6, Dando went back to pass and hit Ed Rivers crossing at the goal line for the Eagle td. Hofmeister's PAT made it 7-7 at 10:10 of the second.

SR's Tim Arthurs grabbed a 45-yard bomb from DeVore on the next possession and the Rockets had a 14-7 lead with 9:39 left in the second.

Clarion punter Joe Farkas tried a fake punt late in the second quarter, but was sacked at the Clarion 39 and the Rockets capitalized with a 30-yard Katsaouni field goal with only 23-seconds left before intermission.

The Eagles took the kickoff and drove to the SR 32 in only 5 plays. Hofmeister came on and booted a 49-yard field goal on the last play of the half, cutting SR's lead to 17-10. His 49-yard field goal tied the school record set by John Desmond against Cheyney in 1985.

Clarion gained 251 yards in the game including 141 rushing yards and 110 passing yards. Freshman qb Brandon Dando, starting his third game, completed 14 of 25 passes for 110 yards and 1 td. He also rushed for 41 yards on 16 carries. Jason Warner gained 49 yards on 11 carries, while Pierre Odom grabbed 7 passes for 53 yards.

Slippery Rock qb Chad DeVore completed 8 of 27 passes for 161 yards and 1 td. Tim Arthurs grabbed 3 aerials for 107 yards and 1 td, while Josh Kniess rushed 20 times for 92 yards and 1 td.

Clarion's defense was led by Jabari Weatherspoon and Bo Busch. Weatherspoon collected 13 tackles, 3 tfl's, 1 sack and recovered a fumble that led to Clarion's first touchdown. Busch meanwhile had 8 tackles, blocked a field goal and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.

It was the final game for four Clarion seniors including All-America noseguard Troy Bowers, Weatherspoon, Ed Rivers and Emil Johnson.

Box Score (Final)

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score

----------------- -- -- -- -- -----

Clarion U........... 0 10 6 3 - 19 Record: (3-8,2-4)

Slippery Rock....... 0 17 0 0 - 17 Record: (4-7,2-4)

Scoring Summary:

2nd 14:50 ROCK - Josh Kniess 1 yd run (John Katsaouni kick), 12-64 4:58, CLAR 0 - ROCK 7

10:10 CLAR - Ed Rivers 6 yd pass from Brandon Dando (M. Hofmeister kick), 3-7 1:23, CLAR 7 - ROCK 7

09:39 ROCK - Tim Arthurs 45 yd pass from Chad DeVore (John Katsaouni kick), 3-78 0:23, CLAR 7 - ROCK 14

00:23 ROCK - John Katsaouni 30 yd field goal, 6-26 0:57, CLAR 7 - ROCK 17

00:00 CLAR - M. Hofmeister 49 yd field goal, 4-30 0:22, CLAR 10 - ROCK 17

3rd 03:53 CLAR - Bo Busch 7 yd blocked punt return (M. Hofmeister kick blockd), , CLAR 16 - ROCK 17

4th 10:47 CLAR - M. Hofmeister 18 yd field goal, 7-29 3:30, CLAR 19 - ROCK 17