Box Score CLARION TOPS FAIRMONT 7-0 IN SEASON OPENER

                (Clarion, Pa.): Clarion defensive back Jason Peterson (Fr. Pgh. Woodland Hills) broke up a pass in the endzone with 9 seconds left in the game, capping a goal line stand, to preserve an exciting 7-0 win for the Golden Eagles over Fairmont State on Thursday night at Memorial Stadium.

                The Golden Eagles move to 1-0 on the season, while Fairmont State drops to 0-1. The win for Clarion was its first shutout on opening day sine defeating the Falcons 14-0 in 1986 and the first team shutout since Clarion defeated Lock Haven 24-0 on Sept. 19, 2009.

                Clarion had a chance to put the game away with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter, but placekicker Nathan Conway (Jr. Lock Haven/Central Mountain)  had his 30-yard field goal attempt blocked at the line of scrimmage.

                The opportunity to put the game away came when senior safety Andrew Paronish (Sr. Hastings/Northern Cambria) intercepted a Bobby Vega pass and returned it from the Clarion 28 to the 45. The Golden Eagles then drove to the Fairmont 12, where the drive stalled and Conway had his field goal attempt blocked.

                The Falcons drove from their own 20 to the Clarion 8 in seven plays, aided by two penalties. With first and goal at the Clarion 8 yard line the Eagle defense came up big. Vega threw an incompletion on first down, and on second down the Falcons were called for holding which put the ball back to the 18. Vega hit Mark Sampson for 10 yards back to the 8, but FSU was called for holding on third down – this time placing the ball on the Eagle 15. Vega threw an incomplete pass on third down, then tried on fourth down to get the ball into a crowd of personnel from both teams, but Peterson jumped up and knocked the pass to the turf to end the game.

                “Wow – what an exciting game,” said Clarion head coach Jay Foster. “They haven't always gone our way – but we made the big plays to win this one. Our defense was simply fantastic. We made big play after big play – Paronish and Bostick had really big games. It's the way we wanted to start.”

                The first half was scoreless. Fairmont had a chance to get on the board in the first quarter when Johnny Dearstine tried a field goal from 42-yards out – but the kick sailed wide right.

                The lone score of the game came in the third quarter on Clarion's first possession. Taking the ball on its own 16 yard line, Clarion drove 84 yards in only 8 plays to find paydirt. A pass interference call put the ball at the 32, then runs of 9 and 7 yards by tailback Bobby Thomas (So. Exeter Twp.) had the ball on the Clarion 48. Fiscus hit consecutive passes to Jon Reid (Jr. Stafford, Va.) and Mark Nicholas (Fr. Franklin Regional) to the Fairmont 40. Thomas again rushed for 7 and 6 yards to the Falcon 27, where junior quarterback Ben Fiscus hit a streaking Nicholas in stride for a 27-yard td pass and the 7-0 lead. Nathan Conway added the PAT at 7:27 and that's all the points the Golden Eagles needed for the win.

                “We had all fly route called on that play,” said Fiscus. “On my read, when I faked to Thomas and the safety bit on the fake, I saw Nicholas breaking open and just threw him the ball. He ran a great route,” added Fiscus.

                Clarion totaled 291 yards of offense on the night including 162 rushing and 132 passing Fiscus connected on 14 of 21 passes for 136 yards and 1 td, while also rushing for 77 yards on 15 carries. Tailback Bobby Thomas ran 20 times for 80 yards and caught 2 passes for 21 yards. Jon Reid led the receivers with 5 catches for 58 yards while Nicholas finished with 3 grabs for 34 yards and 1 d.

                Fairmont posted 321 yards of offense including only 34 yards rushing with 321 passingBobby Vega completed 27 of 47 passes for 321 yards. Chris St. Hilaire caught 8 passes for 108 yards, while Daniel Monroe was held to 37 rushing yards on 19 carries.

                Leading Clarion's defense was Anthony Stimac with 11 tackles, while Brian Palmiere had 10 hits and 1 fl. Na Sip[es posed 8 stops, while Andrew Paronish made 6 hits, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception. Adam Bostick also had a big game for the Golden Eagles with 4 tackles, 1 fumble caused and a big interception that stopped a key Fairmont second half drive.

                Clarion returns to action on September 8 when the Golden Eagles travel to LIU-Post for a 1pm kickoff.

                CLARION NOTES: The Golden Eagles won their home opener in a game that was shown live on ROOT Sports Across Pa. and West Virginia, and parts of Ohio and New York… Clarion also started a new Spirit Group on Campus called the “Eagles Nest” … Students were handed out free Eagles Nest T-Shirts prior to the game… The students received special seating in Section 1 … Over 600 students came out to get their free t-shirt and root the Golden Eagles on to victory… the new student section will be reserved for the remainder of the football season, plus have sections reserved for Volleyball, Men's and Women's Basketball and Wrestling during the 2012-13 season.