Box Score
(Clarion, PA.): Clarion All-America running back
Alfonso Hoggard rushed for 143 yards,
Matt Ward caught 12 passes and the Golden Eagles led 16-7 in the third quarter, but Fairmont State rallied with the game's final 20 points and defeated Clarion on Thursday night 27-16.
With Clarion ahead 16-7 late in the third and driving into FSU territory, Clarion sophomore qb
Eric Coxon's pass, intended for
Matt Ward, had the pass deflect off Ward and end up in Ryland Newman's hands for the Falcons at the FSU46, and Newman returned the interception 54-yards for an FSC td. The PATwas blocked, but Fairmont had narrowed Clarion's lead to 16-13 with 5:31 left in the third.
Fairmont drove 83 yards in 6 plays to take a 20-16 lead. The go-ahead score came on a 33 yard run by Cody Reed for the FSC td with 13:22 left in the game.
Falcon defensive back Brian Turner intercepted a Coxon pass at the Clarion 45 and returned it to the 31 wit 5:59 left in the game. Pat Pinchinat scored on a 1-yard run with 5:22 left and made it a 27-16 final score.
It was a frustrating night for the Golden Eagles, who outgained Fairmont 494-217, but lost the game.
“I thought overall we played a very good game. We put up 494 yards of offense and held them to 217, but we made too many mistakes tonight and those mistakes cost us the game,” said Clarion head coach
Jay Foster. “I thought the momentum really changed with the interception return for a td, but you have to give them credit – they made the big plays when they had to. If we eliminate our mistakes – I feel like we'll be okay.”
Clarion opened the scoring on its first drive going 65-yards on 9 plays. Hoggard rushed for 43-yards on the drive, including a 29-yard run to the 2-yard line, setting up
John Fuhrer's 2-yard td run on the next play.
Robert Mamula's kick put Clarion in front 7-0 at 9:10 of the first.
Clarion drove from its own 4 to the Fairmont 7 on its next possession. Hoggard ran for 20 yards on the drive, and Coxon completed 4 passes for 64 yards to get the Eagles near paydirt. But the drive stalled and Mamula came on to boot a 26-yard field goal and Clarion led 10-0 with 1:57 left in the first.
The Golden Eagles muffed a punt, which Fairmont recovered on the Eagle 8. Pat Pinchinat scored three plays later on a 2-yard run to pull within 10-7 at 6:40 of the second.
Clarion took a 13-7 lead with only 31-seconds left before intermission on Mamula's 47-yard field goal. It was the longest of his career.
Early in the third quarter Clarion drove from its own 16 to the FSU 9, but again the drive stalled and Mamula came on to kick a 26-yard field goal to put Clarion ahead 16-7 with 10:06 left in the third, setting up Fairmont's come from behind win.
Clarion's Hoggard rushed 36 times for 143 yards, plus caught 4 passes for 31 yards. QB
Eric Coxon completed 28 of 45 passes for 285 yards, while
Matt Ward caught a career high 12 passes for 118 yards. The 12 catches by Ward are the 3
rd best in a single game in Clarion history. Alvin Slaughter had 14 vs West Chester in 1998, and Don Hohman had 13 vs Edinboro in 1965… Other 12 catch games include Jim Becker (1967) vs Millersville and Jay Dellostretto (1976) vs Edinboro.
Clarion's
Jacques Robinson also 6 grabs for 66 yards. Robinson now has 169 career catches and ties him with former All-American Tim Brown (169 – 1990-93) for second place on the all-time list.
Fairmont's Pat Pinchinat had 43 rushes and 2 td's on 7 carries. QB Logan Moore completed 8 of 19 passes for 69 yards.
Clarion is back in action on September 11 when the Golden Eagles travel to Bloomsburg for a 1pm.
