EAGLES (2-8; 1-4)/LUKE 50-58 IN 10 YEARS AT CLARION

Clarion enters the game with a 2-8 overall record in 2003 and an 1-4 mark in the PSAC-West. 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 lost in the final minutes to #4 ranked IUP 24-20. The Eagles then dropped a 35-17 decision at West Chester, a 35-6 loss to Edinboro 35-6, a tough 13-0 decision at Shippensburg, a 13-7 loss at California and last week's 22-9 win over Lock Haven. Five of Clarion's eight losses are by a combined total of only 24-points. Head coach Malen Luke has a ten year record of 49-58 at Clarion and is in his 16th year overall as a head coach with a record of 86-79. Clarion has won the PSAC-West in 1996 and 2000 under Luke, while the 1996 squad advanced to the NCAA semifinals.

SLIPPERY ROCK (4-6; 2-3)/COACH MIHALIK IN 16TH SEASON

Slippery Rock is led by 16-year head coach Dr. George Mihalik. The veteran coach enters the game with a season record of 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the PSAC-West. This is the first losing season for the Rock in 13 years. The team posted 12-straight winning seasons prior to this year. Mihalik has a career record of 111-60-4. The 2003 started with a 45-12 loss at Youngstown State, then a 20-18 upset loss to Gannon. Bouncing back to defeat Fairmont State 35-14, the Rockets lost a 19-16 decision to Bloomsburg and a 22-19 overtime game at California. The team rallied for consecutive wins over Shippensburg 16-14 and Millersville 28-18, then lost at Edinboro 20-3, defeated Lock Haven 24-13 and lost at Indiana last Saturday 27-14.

SR LEADS SERIES 36-22-3 DATING BACK TO 1928

Slippery Rock leads the overall series between the two schools by a 36-22-3 margin dating back to 1928. In the last ten seasons Slippery Rock leads by an 8-2 margin and has won the last six straight meetings.

SR won last year 21-14, 2001 (33-24), 2000 (27-14), 1999 (45-7), 1998 (28-14), 1997 (28-7), 1995 (41-17) and 1994 (34-31). Clarion has wins in 1996 (54-28) and 1993 (29-24).

CLARION OFFENSE #7 IN RUSHING

Clarion's offense is getting 278.8 yards per game (#11 in PSAC) including 187.7 rushing yards (#7 in PSAC) and 91.1 passing yards (#14 in PSAC) per game.

A freshman will start at qb for Clarion this Saturday. Brandon Dando (New-Castle - Laurel) or Felton Woulard (Gainesville, Fla. - Eastside) will call the signals for the Golden Eagles offense. Expected to red-shirt this season, Dando started his first collegiate game at California two weeks ago and rushed 20 times for 80 yards, plus hit on 9 of 22 passes for 66 yards. Last week he started against LH, but split time with Woulard. In 2 games Dando has rushed for 124 yards on 37 carries, plus connected on 15 of 31 passes for 132 yards. Woulard leads the Eagles in rushing with 464 yards and 3 td's on 132 attempts. He has also hit 39 of 83 passes for 644 yards and 3 td's.

The running game will be led by halfbacks Brandon Sweeney (80 carries, 393 yards, 5 td's; 9 catches, 78 yards, 1 td) and Glenn Lovelace (60 runs, 255 yards; 6 catches, 144 yards, 1 td) and fullbacks Jason Warner (59 rushes, 234 yards, 1 td) and Marcus Lowe (62 carries, 255 yards, 1 td).

The receiving corps has wideouts Pierre Odom (22 grabs, 313 yards, 1 td), Ron Rivage (11 catches, 187 yards) and Ed Rivers (9 receptions, 70 yards).

CLARION DEFENSE LED BY BOWERS

The Golden Eagle defense is yielding 322.2 yards per game (#6 in the PSAC) including 131.0 rushing yards (#5 in the PSAC) and 191.2 passing yards (#10 in PSAC) per game.

Leading the defense up front is 2002 PSAC-West Defensive "Player of the Year" Troy Bowers. The Eagle senior has 64 tackles this season and leads the PSAC in tackles for loss (24) and is second in sacks with 9. In his career he now has 208 hits, 77 tfl's and 33 sacks. Last week he was named the PSAC-West "Defensive Player of the Week" for his 6 tackles, 3 tfl's, an interception returned 22-yards for a touchdown and 3 qb hurries which led to two interceptions.

Also playing well up front are Tim Connolly (40 stops, 10 tfl's, 4 sacks), Ben Heisel (33 hits, 11 tfl's, 5 sacks) and Matt Niedbala (13 stops).

The linebacking corps will be led by Jabari Weatherspoon. The talented senior leads the team with 75 tackles and 3 int's, including one returned for a touchdown. Weatherspoon also has 11 tfl's and 2 sacks. Matt Morris has 58 stops, 6 tfl's and 4 fumble recoveries, along with Dale McCall (29 hits, 10 tfl's, 4 sacks) and Brock Luke (10 tackles).

The Eagle secondary has Bo Busch (72 hits, 3 int's, 4 fumbles caused) at free safety and Emil Johnson (58 jolts, 9 tfl's, 1 int) at strong safety, with James Charles (35 stops, 1 int for a td), Kerwin Cledanor (29 jolts, 3 int's) and Dwaon Woodard (19 tackles, 1 int) at the corners.

SR OFFENSE LED BY DeVORE, MARKUS, KNEISS

Slippery Rock's offense is averaging 237.9 yards per game (#14 in PSAC) including 130.0 rushing yards (#11 in PSAC) and 107.9 passing yards (#13 in PSAC).

Senior qb Chad DeVore is expected to call the signals on Saturday. He has completed 47 of 111 passes for 633 yards and 6 td's with 9 interceptions. Also tossing passes could be freshman Luke McCaffrey who has hit on 38 of 108 aerials for 446 yards and 2 td's with 6 int's.

The running games features two quality running backs in Josh Kneiss and Brandon Markus. Kneiss leads the team with 539 yards and 3 td's on 106 tries, while Markus has gained 535 yards and 4 td's on 131 carries. Markus gained 104 yards against Indiana last Saturday.

The receiving corps will be paced by John Benca (16 grabs, 139 yards), Tim Arthurs (11 catches, 203 yards, 1 td), Matt Tack (11 receptions, 155 yards) and tight ends Brandon Richardson (9 catches, 149 yards, 1 td) and Brandon Rakszawski (9 grabs, 77 yards).

Placekicker John Katsaouni is also a scoring threat since he leads the PSAC with 13 field goals this seaosn. He is 13 of 17 on the year.

ROCKET "D" ANCHORED BY GODFREY

Slippery Rock's defense is giving up 351.9 yards per game (#10 in PSAC) including 137.1 rushing yards (#6 in PSAC) and 214.8 passing yards (#13 in PSAC) per game.

Up front noseguard Brian Godfrey (47 hits, 17 tfl's, 5 sacks), tackle Matt Mager (43 tackles, 10 tfl's, 5 sacks) and ends Mike Jennings (38 stops, 10 tfl's, 4 sacks) and Louis Jamison (45 jolts, 11 tfl's, 4 sacks) lead the way.

Linebackers Dan Woodard (78 hits, 9 tfl's), Jesse Kelley (42 tackles) and Mike Copper (41 stops, 4 sacks) anchor the middle.

The secondary features Kavin Banks (49 stops, 4 int's) and Dwayne Baldwin (27 jolts) at the corners with Kevin Johnston (57 hits, 3 int's) at strong safety and Corey Lemmon (55 tackles, 3 int's) at free safety.

CLARION NOTES: Last year Clarion lost a 21-14 game to Slippery Rock at Clarion's Memorial Stadium... The Rock jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead, then hung on to win... Clarion held SR to -18 rushing yards for the entire game on 34 carries ... In the second half Clarion outgained SR 137 to -3 yards, but Clarion just couldn't overcome the first period deficit... Robert Walker ran for 58 yards and 1 td on 17 carries and Brandon Sweeney gained 53 on 8 tries... Adam Almashy completed 8 of 16 passes for 66yards... Brandon Mrkus led the SR running game with 13 yards on 15 carries ... Chad DeVore completed 5 of 9 for 75 yards and 1 td ... Clarion NG Troy Bowers had 12 tackles, 5 tfl's and 2 sacks ... In 2001 Clarion lost 33-24 and the Golden Eagles outgained SR 455-267, had a 20-10 advantage in first downs and a time of possession advantage of 33:06 - 26:54... Clarion rushed for 318 yards including a single game Clarion record of 257 yards by Demetric Gardner ... Almashy hit on 8 of 19 passes for 137 yards and 1 td ... Slippery Rock got a big performance from Dorrian Glenn who gained 200 yards and 3 td's on 28 carries ... His 44 yard td to open the game and 25 yard td run on fourth down to close the game were huge plays ... Another big play was D.J. Flick's 97-yard kickof return for a td with 14 seconds left in the third quarter ... Clarion had scored with 3:57 left to draw within 26-24, but failed on the two-point conversion to try and tie the game ... Clarion's last win over Slippery Rock came at SRU in 1996 when the Eagles notched a 54-28 victory ... In that game the Eagles rushed for 407 yards ... Ron DeJidas ran for 231 yards and 2 td, plus caught a td pass ... Steve Witte also dashed for 143 yards and 2 td's, grabbed 4 passes for 70 yards, and returned a kickoff 43-yards late in the game for a td ... Clarion had 577 yards in that game and SR had 453 for a combined total of 1,030 yards of total offense ... The last win over Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium came back in 1993 by a 29-24 margin.