CLARION HOSTS WEST CHESTER IN ANNUAL HOMECOMING GAME SATURDAY

After a tough, hard-fought 28-14 loss at IUP last Saturday, the Golden Eagles return to the gridiron this Saturday, October 12th to host a key PSAC and Regional game against West Chester at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2pm in a game that will also serve as the annual Homecoming Day Game and of course is also part of Autumn Leaf Festival Week in Clarion. The Annual ALF Parade is scheduled to start at Noon.

HEAR EAGLES ON WCCR-FM & REDZONE

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

CLARION ENTERS GAME WITH 3-2 RECORD

Ninth year Clarion head coach Malen Luke enters the game with a 3-2 overall record. Clarion opened the season with a quality showing in a 27-14 loss at #8 ranked and NCAA D-IAA power Youngstown State. The Eagles rattled off three straight wins against Millersville 24-3, Glenville State (59-38) and Kutztown (31-7). Last Saturday the Eagles went toe to toe against IUP before falling in the fourth quarter 28-14. Coach Luke enters the game with a 44-48 record at Clarion and a 15-year career collegiate record of 81-69.

WEST CHESTER IS 2-3 OVERALL UNDER RICK DANIELS

West Chester is coached by 14th year head coach Rick Daniels who enters the game with an 83-60-1 overall record with the Golden Rams. He has led the 2002 Rams to a deceiving 2-3 overall record. West Chester opened the season with a 28-19 loss to New Haven, then bounced back with a big 48-7 win at Glenville State. The Rams then lost two straight against I-AA power Delaware (31-10) and Shippensburg (41-27), before defeating Kutztown 31-24 last Saturday.

WEST CHESTER LEADS OVERALL SERIES 13-2 vs THE EAGLES

In 15 overall meetings between the two schools, West Chester has managed a remarkable 13-2 record versus Clarion. Clarion's wins came in 2000 and 1966. In 2000 the Eagles won 28-21 with a three td performance issued by tailback Tab Musser, along with 211 yards and 1 td amassed by tailback Robert Walker. In 1966 Clarion finished off a 10-0 season by defeating the Rams 28-26 in the PSAC Title game.

West Chester won last year's season finale 16-14 at Farrell Stadium when placekicker Dan Wilbourne booted a 26-yard field goal with 10:26 to play and then hung on for the win. The 1998 West Chester 44-40 win over Clarion at Memorial Field was certainly a memorable one. Clarion and West Chester combined for 1,121 yards of total offense (528 Clarion, 593 W.C.) And 84 points. Clarion qb Chris Weibel passed for 382 yards, while current receiver coach Alvin Slaughter grabbed a Clarion record 14 catches for 211 yards. West Chester qb Mike Mitros completed 23 of 38 passes for 489 yards and 5 td's, while wideout Kevin Ingram notched 13 catches for an NCAA record 401 receiving yards and 4 td's. West Chester won the game with 2:53 left on a Mitros 2-yard run... The play was set up on a Mitros to Ingram pass of 81 yards

CLARION RUSHING OFFENSE RANKS #3 IN DIVISION II

Clarion's offense is averaging 344.2 yards (# 7 in PSAC) and 28.4 points (#5 in PSAC) per game in 2002. The Eagles are #1 in rushing offense in the PSAC getting 283.8 yards per game (#3 in the nation), but last in the PSAC in passing offense with 60.4 yards per game.

Senior qb Adam Almashy directs the offense, but junior Frantz Charles will also see time. Almashy has 57-times for 163 yards and three td's, while completing 26 of 57 passes for 214 yards and 1 td. He has 989 career rushing yards and is only 11 shy of becoming Clarion's first qb to rush for 1,000 career yards. He has also completed 321 of 727 career passes for 4,325 yards and 37 td's. He is tied for 5th in career td passes with Pat Carbol (1982-85) and Doug Emminger (1984-87).

Charles meanwhile is a talented athlete who gives defenses fits on the option. Charles has toted the pigskin 29 times for 215 yards and 4 td's, plus completed 2 of 2 passes for 47 yards.

Clarion will likely use 6 running backs in the game. Tailback Robert Walker leads the team with 447 yards and 6 td's on 86 attempts. His 89.4 per game average is fifth in the PSAC. Walker has pushed his career rushing total to 1,585 yards (8th all-time) and has run for 21 td's (3rd all-time). He is backed up by Jason Warner who has rushed 13 times for 40 yards.

The Eagles will also use four halfbacks including Brandon Sweeney (42 rushes, 329 yards, 3 td's), Kareem Shelton (19 carries, 109 yards, 1 td), Glenn Lovelace (11 attempts, 46 yards) and Justin Sickeri.

Clarion's receiving corps will be led by wideouts Ben Culver (6 grabs, 58 yards) and Ed Rivers along with tight end Tom Pore (4 catches, 54 yards).

WEATHERSPOON NAMED PSAC-WEST DEFENSIVE "PLAYER OF THE WEEK"

BOWERS, HARGON & MCGRADY HELP LEAD EAGLE DEFENSE

Clarion's defense is yielding 313.6 yards (#7 in PSAC) and 20.6 points (#4 in PSAC) per game this season. The Eagles are giving up 143.4 rushing yards (# 5 in PSAC) and 170.2 passing yards (#6 in PSAC) per game.

Anchoring the defensive front will be noseguard Troy Bowers. Bowers leads the linemen with 27 tackles, 11 tfl's and 5 sacks. He is joined up front by Tim Connolly (21 hits, 5 tfl's, 2 sacks), George O'Brien (16 stops, 4 tfl's) and Ben Heisel (11 jolts, 3 tfl's, 1 sack).

The perimeters are guarded by Jabari Weatherspoon (30 tackles, 9 tfl's, 4 sacks, 1 int), Kevin Platz (2 sacks), Derek Puchalsky (3 tfl's) and Brock Luke (6 hits).

Weatherspoon had a geat game at IUP last Saturday and was named by the PSAC as the Western Division Defensive "Player of the Week". Jabari, a junior from Pensacola, Florida, posted 14 tackles (7 solo), 4 tfl's, 3 qb sacks for -19 yards, 2 fumbles caused that were recovered by the Eagles and an interception.

Inside linebackers Scott McGrady (35 tackles, 5 tfl's, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries), Shaun Saad (19 jolts) and Justin Conklin (1 tfl) anchor the middle.

The secondary s paced by veteran corner Myron Hargon. Hargon has 12 stops and 2 interceptions this season. Freshman Kerwin Cledanor has 3 interceptions to go with 13 tackles on the other side. Clarion's safeties include top hitter Bo Busch (43 tackles), Emil Johnson (17 jolts, 1 int), Steve Devennie (8 hits) and Korey Eppinette (9 stops).

The Eagles special teams have junior Ken Crawford averaging 42.6 yards per punt, including 10 punts downed inside the 20, and freshman placekicker Chris Carlton who has booted 3 of 4 field goals and 15 of 16 PAT's. Ben Culver is averaging 9.8 yards per punt return.

FINDORA LEADS BALANCED RAM OFFENSE

West Chester's offense enters the game averaging 397.8 yards per game (#3 in PSAC) and 27 points per game (#7 in PSAC). The Rams are getting 158.8 rushing yards (#6 in PSAC) and 239 passing yards (#3 in PSAC) per contest.

Directing the offense is quarterback Bob Findora. He has completed 95 of 165 passes for 1,158 yards and 11 td's with 6 interceptions.

His main target is talented wideout Cory DeForrest who has grabbed 25 passes for 365 yards and 7 td's. Also catching passes are Brian Bradley (17 catches, 243 yards, 1 td), Matt Chambers (11 grabs, 101 yards) and tight end Ryan Koch (10 receptions, 118 yars, 1 td).

The running game is led by junior Mike Eckmeyer. Eckmeyer ranks first in the entire PSAC averaging 137.8 yards per game. He has carried 122 times for 689 yards and 6 td's, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry and is moving up the West Chester all-time chart with 1,715 career rushing yards. Eckmeyer has now rushed for over 100 yards in 11 straight games and will present a daunting task for the Golden Eagle defense. Last week Eckmeyer rushed for 153 yards and 3 td's on 30 carries.

WEST CHESTER DEFENSE YIELDING 373.8 YARDS PER GAME

The West Chester defense is giving up 26.2 points per game (#12 in PSAC) and 373.8 yards per game (#11 in PSAC). The Rams are giving up 163.8 rushing yards (11th in PSAC) and 210 passing yards (#12 in PSAC) .

Leading the way up front are tackles Jim Dempsey (13 hits, 2 tfl's) and Eric Maynard (10 jolts, 2 tfl's), along with ends Graham Eggleston (17 hits, 5 tfl's, 3 sacks) and Jake Walker (4 tfl's, 2 sacks).

Linebacker Brandon Neely is the team's top tackler with 30 hits and 2 tfl's. Scott Linus (18 tackles) and Tim Garman (25 stops, 2 tfl's) also play on the second line.

The secondary will be led by corners Travis Blomgrem (10 hits, 1 int) and Calvin Braxton (21 stops), along with strong safety Chad Weaver (18 jolts) and free safety Jim McCullough (1 int).

CLARION NOTES: Clarion travels to Edinboro next week for a 1pm kickoff at Sox Harrison Stadium, then returns home for two consecutive home games versus Shippensburg on October 26th and California on November 2nd ... Both of those starting times are also at 1pm.