Box Score

INDIANA – Alfonso Hoggard ran for a season-high 179 yards and two long fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Clarion defense came up with a crucial fourth-down stop with under 1:30 to play to lead Clarion to a 21-14 win at IUP Saturday afternoon.

 

Hoggard's first touchdown came with 7:51 left from 49 yards out on a fourth-and-1 and broke a 7-all tie giving Clarion a 13-7 lead after a missed extra point.

 

The Golden Eagles defense then stopped Harvie Tuck cold on a fourth-and-1 play for IUP from the Clarion 31 with 1:28 to play.

 

Hoggard proceeded to give Clarion (2-5, 2-2 PSAC-West) a two-score lead 17 seconds later when he broke a second-and-10 play up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown.  The run, Hoggard's last of the game, gave him 1,911 career rushing yards, which ranks eighth in school history. He is 50 yards shy of tying Demetrius Gardner for seventh place (1,961) and needs 89 yards to become the seventh player at Clarion to rush for 2,000 career yards. Hoggard then ran in the two-point conversion to give the Golden Eagles a 21-14 lead with 1:11 to play.

 

IUP (4-3, 2-2) made things interesting when Bo Napoleon hit Ben Simmen with a 4-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds to play closing the gap to 21-14.

 

Clarion was called for a personal foul on the touchdown catch for a late hit meaning IUP kicked off from the its own 45.

 

The on-side kick hit a couple of players and bounced 18 yards before Hoggard recovered the ball at the Clarion 25 securing the win.

 

For the first three quarters the game was a defensive struggle with Clarion grabbing a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game when Ben Fiscus, playing in his hometown, scored on 2-yard run with 8:34 to play in the first quarter. The drive was an 11-play, 62-yard march that took 6:26 off the clock and featured 26 yards rushing and 19 yards passing by Fiscus, who finished the game 11 of 15 for 115 yards while rushing 34 times for 60 yards and the score.

 

Both teams had field-goal opportunities late in the first half blocked.

 

IUP drove to the Clarion 3 with just over a minute to play in the first half before settling for a 20-yard field goal attempt by Craig Burgess that Clarion's Ben Maund blocked and Andrew Paronish returned to the Clarion 33.

 

The Golden Eagles then drove to the IUP 17 where they attempted a 35-yard field goal by Robert Mamula that was blocked by Akeem Smith.

 

Clarion had a chance to add to its lead late in the third quarter, but Mamula had a 42-yard field goal blocked again by Smith.

 

IUP then drove 44 yards in 11 plays and tied the game on an 11-yard Napoleon to Pat Brewer touchdown pass with 11:11 left to play.

 

Clarion answered right back when Hoggard scored on the 49-yard run.

 

The Golden Eagles defense then came up with a takeaway when Barrington Morrison forced a Napoleon fumble that was recovered by Joseph Fox.

 

Napoleon was 16 of 26 for 169 yards and two touchdowns, while Tuck ran 21 times for 70 yards. Roy-al Edwards had six catches for 72 yards.

 

Jay Pettina and Nick Sipes led the Golden Eagle defense with 10 tackles each. Sipes had a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception. It was Sipes' fourth double-digit tackle game of the season.

 

Craig Bunney had five catches for 40 yards.

 

Clarion returns to action at 1 p..m. Saturday when it hosts Edinboro.