BOX SCORE

            (Clarion, Pa.): Clarion used a bend but not break defense and an opportunistic offense to lead #4 ranked California 7-3 at halftime, but the Vulcans rallied in the second half and then held off the Golden Eagles for a 24-9 win on Saturday night at Clarion's Memorial Stadium.

 

            Clarion dropped to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in the PSAC-Western Division, while Cal raised its record to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the PSAC-West.

 

            Clarion's defense came up with big play after big play in the first half – to keep the Vulcans off the board and limit the #1 scoring offense in the PSAC to only three points at halftime.

 

Clarion went three and out on its first possession, and Cal took the ball at its own 36 and drove to the Clarion 2 yard line. Cal tried three straight running plays, the last was a fourth and goal at the Clarion six inch line, and the Golden Eagles made the goal line stand, stopping Cal running back Lamont Smith inches from getting into the endzone. J.J. Eckels and Ryan Slack made the fourth down stop.

 

Cal got the ball after a short punt on the Eagle 27 and in two plays were back knocking on the door at the Clarion 4 yard line with second and goal from the 4. On the first play of the second quarter Clarion freshman defensive back Brandon Akins (Erie/Strong Vincent) intercepted a Josh Portis pass at the Clarion 2 yard line to stop another Vulcan drive to keep the score 0-0.

 

            Cal finally got on the scoreboard on Mark Domonkos' 21-yard field goal to give the Vulcans a 3-0 lead with 7:47 to go before halftime.

 

            Cal was back in Clarion territory at the Eagle 12, but a Josh Portis to Terrance Moore screen pass lost 13 yards when defensive end Ben Maund tackled the Cal receiver at the Clarion 25. Domonkos missed a 42-yard field goal hit that hit the left upright with 37-seconds left in the half leaving the score at 3-0.

 

            Clarion QB Eric Coxon engineered a 75-yard drive in only 6 plays and used all 37-seconds to give the Golden Eagles a 7-3 halftime lead.

Coxon connected with Jacques Robinson for 27 yards on first down to the Cal 48. Two plays later, Coxon hit Alfonso Hoggard for 27 yards to the Cal 15. Hoggard then took a draw handoff and scampered 14-yards to the 1 where a timeout was called with 4.8 seconds left in the half. On what proved to be the final play of the first half, Coxon lofted a fade pass to Robinson in the right corner of the endone and Robinson jumped over the defender to make the td catch. Clarion led 7-3.

 

            Cal opened the third quarter and drove 75-yards in 11 plays to take a 10-7 lead. The Vulcans scored on a Josh Portis 8 yard pass to Chedrick Cherry with 9:34 left in the third.

 

            After a Clarion punt pinned Cal at its own 1 yard line, Cal drove 99-yards in 20 plays and scored on a 1-yard run by Jordan Scott, giving the Vulcans a 17-7 lead with 11:53 to go in the fourth.

 

            The Clarion defense brought the game back within one score when the Golden eagles registered a safety at 8:32 of the fourth. On second and 14 at the Cal 2, Lamont Smith took a draw handoff in the endzone andAdam Bostic tackled Smith behind the goal line for an Eagle safety. Clarion now trailed 17-9 with 8:32 left.

 

            In what could have been the biggest play of the game, Clarion's Alfonso Hoggard took the free kick at the Clarion 38, came straight up the right hash mark, then veered left and went down the Cal sideline to the Vulcan 17 before he was tackled. The return was called back for holding, placing the pigskin at the Eagle 42. Coxon had a pass intercepted on the Clarion 47 two plays later, and the Vulcans ended up scoing on a Lamont Smith 6 yard run to end the scoring.

 

            Clarion had 133 yards of offense with Hoggard rushing for 24 yards and catching 3 passes for 36 yards. Jacques Robinson had 3 catches for 50 yards and 1 td. Eric Coxon completed 10 of 24 passes for 104 yards.

 

            Strong safety Nick Sipes led the Eagle defense with 17 tackles and 1 tfl.

 

            Cal had 430 yards of offense. Lamont Smith rushed 39 times for 185 yards and 1 td. Josh Portis completed 22 of 30 passes for 201 yards and 1 td, while Chedrick Cherry had 8 catches for 110 yards and 1 td and Terrance Moore grabbed 8 passes for 60 yards.

 

            Clarion returns to Memorial Stadium next Saturday at 2pm to take on Slippery Rock in the Homecoming Game.

 

CLARION NOTES: Hoggard entered the game with 99 career catches, so his 3 grabs for 36 yards brought him up to 102 catches for his career… Jacques Robinson now has 188 career catches and is 2^nd on the all-time Clarion list behind Alvin Slaughter (1995-98)… Slaughter had 195 grabs for the Eagles in his career.