Game 9 // Clarion Golden Eagles (3-6, 2-4 PSAC West) vs. Gannon Golden Knights (4-5, 1-5 PSAC West)
Saturday, Nov. 5 // 12 p.m. // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium (5,000)

Radio: WCCR 92.7 FM (Clarion), WKQW 96.3 FM (Oil City)

Game Notes | Live Audio | Live Stats

Two-Minute Drill

• The Clarion Golden Eagles will play their second home game in as many weeks when they host the Gannon Golden Knights at Memorial Stadium
• Clarion is 5-3 all-time against Gannon, a series that just began in the 2008 season
• The Golden Eagles won the last meeting between the two teams, a 47-31 shootout in Erie last season
• Clarion is coming off a 27-23 victory over Slippery Rock, the first win against The Rock since the 2010 season
• Senior punter Scott Ayers was named the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week last week, averaging 46.6 yards per punt and pinning one inside the 20
• Senior quarterback Connor Simmons returned to action last week and threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns against Slippery Rock
• Simmons became just the second player in program history to record 7,000 career passing yards and 60 career touchdown passes in the process
• Junior running back Delrece Williams became the 10th player in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards last week
• Senior wide receiver Kevin Genevro had a monster day against The Rock, recording 12 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner
• Senior wide receiver Matt Lehman surpassed Pierre Odom for fourth on the career receiving yards list at Clarion last week, and needs two more receiving touchdowns to break the program's career record
• Sophomore defensive end Tyrone Archie went off for six tackles and a sack against Slippery Rock a week ago, and now leads the team with 5.0 total sacks on the year
• Freshman defensive lineman Saif Khan blocked a Slippery Rock extra point attempt in the second half, the second blocked kick for the Golden Eagles this year

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles continue their stretch of three straight home games to close the season when they host the Gannon Golden Knights on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff time is scheduled for noon.

Mike Kalinowski and Joe Lodanosky will have the radio call for the game on 92.9 WCCR-FM and  96.3 WKQW-FM an hour before kickoff.  Live audio streaming will be available on ClarionGoldenEagles.com.

Series History
This will be the ninth meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights, with Clarion owning a 5-3 record in the all-time series with Gannon.  The rivalry has only existed since the 2008 season, a game the Golden Knights won 31-24.  

Clarion won last year's meeting, claiming a 47-31 victory in Erie on Sept. 26.  The Golden Eagles racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense, with Connor Simmons throwing for 350 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.  Delrece Williams ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns, including a dagger 71-yard score in the fourth quarter that crushed the Gannon rally.  Tyrone Archie had seven tackles, including three sacks.

Scouting the Golden Knights
Gannon is 4-5 this year, including a 1-5 record in conference play, and has lost back-to-back games against California (Pa.) and IUP in recent weeks.  Their sole conference win came three weeks ago, a 34-12 home win over Seton Hill.

The Golden Knights have been fairly good defensively, ranking seventh in the league in scoring defense, but their offense ranks 14th in scoring and 15th in passing yards.  Only Cheyney (3) and Bloomsburg (5) have thrown fewer touchdown passes than Gannon, who has seven on the year.  The run game features Tyloer Johnson, who has 625 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

Last Week
Kevin Genevro capped a monster game with the go-ahead touchdown with 1:05 left in regulation, and the Clarion defense stood tall to punctuate a 27-23 win over Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.  With the victory, the Golden Eagles claimed the Milk Jug trophy in the sixth edition of the rivalry game with The Rock.
 
The game featured the return of Connor Simmons to the quarterback spot after he missed the last three games due to injury, and the senior signal-caller immediately re-formed his connection with Genevro.  Genevro went off with 12 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns, none bigger than the one that game late in the fourth quarter.   Facing a 3rd-and-2 from the Slippery Rock 7-yard line and with 1:05 left to play, Simmons found Genevro diving towards the sideline to conclude the eight-play, 63-yard scoring drive that gave Clarion a 27-23 lead.
 
The Lehman Song
Matt Lehman continued his attack on the career record books against Slippery Rock on Saturday, totaling four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.  That score gives him 24 receiving touchdowns in his career, placing him one behind Terry McFetridge for the record at Clarion.

He is also moving up on the career receiving yards list as well with 2,342 yards to his credit.  Last week he passed Pierre Odom for fourth on the career list at Clarion.

Lehman needs 14 more catches to pass Odom on another list.  Currently at 147 career receptions, he can surpass Odom (160) for fourth all-time on that list as well.

Welcome Back
After missing the previous three games with injury, Connor Simmons returned to the quarterback spot against Slippery Rock and he did not disappoint.  Simmons finished by completing 22 of 43 passes for 369 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception.  He became just the second player in program history to crack 60 career touchdown passes, with the game-winner to Kevin Genevro marking the 61st tally of his career, as well as the second player to break 7,000 passing yards in a career.

Simmons needs four more touchdown passes to tie and six to break the career record at Clarion held by Chris Weibel (65).  He also needs 620 more yards - an average of 310 yards per game - in the final two to break Weibel's career passing yards mark.

Elite List
Delrece Williams also became part of an exclusive club at Clarion this past weekend. With his 32 rushing yards against Slippery Rock, he became the 10th player in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards.

The next several members of the list are firmly in Williams' sights as well.  Damien Henry (9th - 2,052), Ben Fiscus (8th - 2,087) and Robert Walker (7th - 2,122) are well within striking distance of Williams.

Stack 'Em Up
Since returning from injury three weeks ago, Jacob Craig has been extremely productive at the linebacker spot for the Golden Eagles.  Craig is averaging 12.0 tackles per game over the last two weeks, including a career-high 16-tackle performance against IUP on Oct. 22.  He notched eight tackles and a pass break-up against Slippery Rock last week.

Craig trails Layne Skundrich in total tackles this season but has surpassed him for the team lead in tackles per game.  He is averaging 8.1 stops per game over the course of the season.

Livin' on the Edge
Defensive end Tyrone Archie has shown the explosion off the edge in the last three weeks that the Golden Eagles have wanted all season long, recording four sacks in the last three games.  He finished with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack against Slippery Rock last week and now leads the team with five total sacks.

Making a Splash
Sam Fareri made one of the more important plays of his young career in the first half against Slippery Rock, though few may not have truly realized it until the end of the game.  Fareri derailed The Rock's final drive of the first half with an interception deep in Clarion territory, allowing the game to remain tied at the halftime break as opposed to an edge for Slippery Rock.  Fareri finished the game with seven tackles, as well.

Block Party
Saif Khan also provided an important defensive play that may have proved essential down the stretch against Slippery Rock.  He blocked The Rock's extra-point attempt early in the third quarter to keep the deficit at 20-14, and Clarion went on to take the lead with a touchdown with 3:29 remaining in the third.

Kick It Up A Notch
It was announced earlier this week that punter Scott Ayers was named the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week for Oct. 31. Ayers had a solid day against The Rock, punting five times for an average of 46.6 yards per kick. His long punt of the day sailed 52 yards, and he was also successful in pinning The Rock inside their own 20-yard line once on the day.  He played a key role in holding Slippery Rock to 23 points on the afternoon as the Golden Eagles came from behind to win 27-23.

Ayers is averaging 37.6 yards per punt this year and has been adept in backing the opposing defense up.  The senior has kicked just one touchback all year long and has dropped 10 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line, just two shy of his career best with two more games to go.

He's Got a Knack
Kevin Genevro is the player that has been more skilled in getting into the endzone this season.  The senior receiver is tied for second in the PSAC with nine total touchdown receptions this year and leads Clarion with 54 total points scored this year.

Genevro ranks sixth in the PSAC in yards per game average (87.0) and is ninth in receptions per game average (5.2).  His 16.7 yards per catch average is third-best in the league among those who average five or more catches a game this year.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Clarion University will continue its fruitful partnership with the Pennsylvania Sports Fever Television Network in 2016, with three contests – 9/10 at Bloomsburg, 10/1 vs. Edinboro and 10/15 vs. California (Pa.) – airing live on affiliates across the state of Pennsylvania and made available to millions in the Keystone State.  The selected games will also be streamed on ESPN3 via the Watch ESPN app. 

Airborne Rangers
2015 Don Hansen Third Team All-American wide receiver Matt Lehman and fellow returning starter Kevin Genevro return to wreak havoc on opposing defenses in 2016, with the duo accounting for a total of 26 touchdowns last year.  Lehman set a new program record with 15 receiving touchdowns last year, breaking Alvin Slaughter's record of 13 set in 1998, while hauling in a total of 67 passes (fifth all-time) for 979 yards (third).  Genevro provided a strong counter-punch for Lehman, catching 42 passes for 886 yards (21.1 yards per catch) and 11 scores.

Those two won't be the only ones looking to make noise this year.  Kyle Evans provided a slot option for the offense last year and will try to take more strides forward in 2016, while tight end Gage Clark averaged nearly 20 yards per catch last year with one touchdown.

Double Threat
Junior running back and 2016 co-captain Delrece Williams provides a multi-dimensional threat to the Golden Eagles in the backfield.  The 2015 second team all-conference selection ran for 978 yards and six touchdowns last year but was also effective in the passing game, ranking third on the team in receptions (31) and receiving yards (465) while also catching four touchdown passes.

The Buck Stops Here
The Clarion defense returns just three players that started more than half of last year's games, but that doesn't mean there isn't a considerable amount of experience taking the field.  Second Team All-PSAC West and CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American Matt Koerper returns to the defensive line after his best year as a Golden Eagle.

The secondary features veteran leadership in senior Adam Lynch and junior Colton McKay, while senior Jacob Craig is the ranking leader in the linebacking corps for the Golden Eagles' 3-3-5 formation.  Myles Edmonds is another veteran hand in the secondary, having started 20 straight games before missing the first three of the season due to injury.

Up Next
Clarion will honor their seniors in their final career games when they host the West Chester Golden Rams on Saturday, Nov. 12.  Kickoff time is scheduled for noon at Memorial Stadium.