The new Sprinturf has been installed. The new lights have been tested. Let the new season begin!

Clarion's 2003 football team is ready to open the season this Saturday, September 6th, when the Golden Eagles host East Stroudsburg at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff for the inaugural night game at Memorial Stadium is set for 6pm.

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.


Clarion returns 30 lettermen and 13 starters from last year's team which compiled a 7-4 overall record and ranked #1 in the PSAC in rushing offense and #1 in the PSAC in tackles for loss (113) and sacks (41) on defense. Tenth year coach Malen Luke has a 48-50 record at Clarion and begins his 16th year in college football with an overall record of 85-71. Clarion has won the PSAC-West in 1996 and 2000 under Luke, while the 1996 squad advanced to the NCAA semifinals.


East Stroudsburg, under 30th year head coach Denny Douds, returns 15 starters and 28 lettermen in 2003. Last Saturday the Warriors dealt an impressive 58-0 shellacking to Lenoir-Rhyne to raise their record to 1-0. The Warriors led 51-0 at halftime and cruised to their first win of the season. Last year East Stroudsburg posted a strong 8-2 record and were PSAC-EAST Co-Champs with a 5-1 record. Douds has a career record at ESU of 171-122-3.

LUKE QUOTES ON EAST STROUDSBURG

"East Stroudsburg tied for first in the East last year, finished the season as a ranked team and have a veteran team returning so we know we have our hands full this Saturday," praised Clarion's coach Luke. "Offensively they are very balanced with a strong running and passing attack, led by a very experienced line. On defense they play a physical 4-4 style and concentrate on stopping the running game. They have a very talented group of linebackers that pursue very well. They are a very well coached team that we have a great deal of respect for. We know this will be a strong test for us in the opener and we're looking forward to the challenge.

CLARION - EAST STROUDSBURG SERIES TIED 3-3

Clarion and East Stroudsburg have played some important and entertaining games through the years. Their first meeting for the PSAC title saw East Stroudsburg win at Clarion 49-4 in 1978. Clarion returned the favor in 1983 when the Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat ESU 27-14 and win the PSAC title in the first neutral site title game at Hershey Stadium. In 1986 the Eagles posted a 37-34 win over the Warriors in a game that saw Clarion's defense mount a goal line stand in the final seconds to preserve the win. Clarion won again in 1987 by a 25-3 margin, while the Warriors defeated Clarion 37-33 in 2000 and 33-27 in 2001 in games that also came right down to the wire.

CLARION'S OFFENSE RETURNS ONLY 5 STARTERS FROM #6 RANKED RUSHING OFFENSE

Clarion's offense only returns 5 starters from a group that averaged 27.1 points per game and 356.5 yards per game in 2002. Clarion ranked 6th in Division II with 273 rushing yards per game, while also collecting 83.5 passing yards. The Eagles rolled up a school record 519 rushing yards against Glenville a year ago, but that was before graduating four of its top 6 offensive linemen.

Returning to lead the backfield is part-time playing signal-caller Frantz Charles, who backed up starter Adam Almashy last season. Charles, an athletic qb, ran for 293 yards and 4 td's on 56 carries, plus completed two of three passes forf 47 yards. He will be backed up by either red-shirt freshmen Brad Reifsnyder, Grant Gourley or true freshman Felton Woulard, who are truly battling for the backup spot.

The running backs are solid with junior Glenn Lovelace and sophomore Brandon Sweeney back at halfback, and sophomore Jason Warner at tailback. Lovelace gained 358 yards and 4 td's on only 40 carries last

year and has an impressive 810 yards and 7 td's on 122 carries in his career. Sweeney had a strong freshman year with 504 yards and 4 td's on 82 tries in 2003. Warner, a backup last year, gained 57 yards on 16 carries. Also seeking running time will be halfback Marcus Lowe and tailback David Coyne.

The receiving corps seems solid with senior Ed Rivers and red-shirt freshman Pierre Odom catching passes. Rivers grabbed 5 passes for 112 yards and 1 td a year ago and is a good blocker. Odom has excellent speed. Also seeking time will be Brandon Devennie and junior Ron Rivage.

The offensive line graduated current NFL lineman Reggie Wells (Arizona Cardinals), All-America guard Ryan Duchon and all-conference tackle Brandon Price. Returning to the line are part-time starting guard Sean Finnerty and Eric Deliere, with letterman Adam Shaffer returning to anchor the center spot. The tackles will be new with red-shirt freshman Zach Snyder and sophomore Steve McCarthy ready for action.

EAGLE DEFENSE LED BY ALL-AMERICA NOSEGUARD TROY BOWERS

The Clarion defense will be asked to step up early this season and the talent on the defensive side is plentiful with 8 starters and 18 lettermen returning. Clarion yielded only 295.7 yards per game last year including 119.9 rushing and 175.8 passing.

The defensive front is led by consensus All-American Troy Bowers at noseguard. Bowers, the 2002 PSAC-West "Defensive Player of the Year", collected 70 tackles, 12 sacks and 27 tfl's a year ago. In his three season he has collected 144 tackles, 24 sacks and 53 tfl's.

Joining Bowers up front will be Tim Connolly, Ben Heisel and Corey Shaner. Connolly posted 46 hits, 4 sacks and 11 tfl's, while Heisel had 4 tfl's and Shaner 2 tfl's.

The perimeters will be guarded by All-Region outside linebacker Jabari Weatherspoon and freshman Colin Brubaker. Weatherspoon notched 57 tackles, 6 sacks and 15 tfl's last year and is prepared for his best season. Brubaker has had a very good fall camp.

The inside linebacker play will be anchored by junior Shaun Saad and sophomore Brock Luke, son of head coach Malen Luke. Saad had 41 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 tfl's and 2 fumbles caused last year, while Luke earned a letter at outside linebacker. Also ready for time will be Dale McCall, Kyle Brubaker and Matt Morris.

The secondary expects to be strong with senior Myron Hargon starting at corner. Hargon, who begins his fourth year as a starter, notched 13 break-ups and 3 interceptions last year. In his career he has 73 tackles, 8 int's and 29 break-ups. Also playing at the corners will be James Charles (1 int), Kerwin Cledanor (3 int's) and Dwaon Woodard. Free safety Bo Busch (78 tackles, 1 int) and strong safety Emil Johnson (47 hits, 3 tfl's) return to start.

WARRIOR OFFENSE BALANCED & STRONG

East Stroudsburg's offense racked up 477 yards of total offense last Saturday against Lenoir-Rhyne, getting 193 rushing yards and 284 through the air. Last year ESU averaged 388.3 yards per game including 146.2 rushing and 242.1 passing.

Calling the signals will be freshman quarterback Jim Terwilliger, son of ESU offensive coordinator Mike Terwilliger. Last week the freshman hit 14 of 18 passes for 251 yards and 4 td's.

The backfield has veterans Greg Vaughn at tailback and Anthony Carfagno at fullback. Vaughn ran for 49 yards and 1 td on 9 carries, while Carfagno had 1 carry for 5 yards, and led the team with 7 catches for 140 yards and 2 td's. Last year Vaughn led the team with 755 rushing yards and 4 td's on 158 carries, while Carfagno was next with 279 yards and 6 td's on 48 tries. Carfagno grabbed 32 passes for 484 yards and 5 td's, accounting for 11 total touchdowns in 2002.

The receiving corps is strong with top pass catcher John Jeffries and Tim Strenfel also returning. Jeffries had 6 catches for 60 yards and 1 td last week, while in 2002 Jeffries grabbed a team-leading 46 aerials for 616 yards and 4 td's. Strenfel also caught a 20-yard td pass last week, while in 2002 he sported 15 catches for 364 yards and 3 td's.

TALENTED ESU DEFENSE RETURNS 8 STARTERS

The East Stroudsburg defense returns 8 starters from last year's team that ranked third in Division II in turnover margin. Against Lenoir-Rhyne the Warriors limited LR to only 100 yards of total offense including 17 rushing yards and 83 passing yards. Last year's defense held opponents to 353 yards of offense per game including 155.1 rushing and 197.9 passing.

Up front ESU will be led by tackle David Dean (29 hits, 7 tfl's) and Mike Motsko . The ends include Greg Thoman (43 tackles, 11 tfl's) and Zach Toomey (6 tfl's).

The heart of the 4-4 defense is in the linebackers with Phil DeCecco (70 stops, 6 tfl's) and Ryan Vermillion (86 hits, 5 tfl's) returning as the team's top two tacklers on the inside. The outside linebackers feature Matt Rapa (54 tackles, 8 tfl's) and Noel Nation guarding the perimeters. Nation posted 3 sacks against Lenoir-Rhyne last Saturday.

The secondary returns corners Michael Glover (5 int's) and Tyree Townes, along with James Plowden at safety. Townes picked off an LR pass last week.

CLARION NOTES: East Stroudsburg finished last season ranked 21st by Football Gazette and 24th in the final AFCA poll... Douds has posted 8 PSAC-Eastern Division titles in his career, 3 PSAC titles and tied once... Douds currently ranks fifth in career wins in D-II with 171... He has a career record of 171-122-3, over a 58% winning rate ... The Golden Eagles will return home on September 13th to host Millersville at 6pm at Memorial Stadium ... That game will also serve as the annual "Family Day" game.