Game 11 // Clarion Golden Eagles (4-6, 3-4 PSAC West) vs. West Chester Golden Rams (7-3, 6-1 PSAC East)
Saturday, Nov. 12 // 12 p.m. // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium (5,000)

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

Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio

Two-Minute Drill

• The Clarion Golden Eagles will play their final game of the 2016 season when they host the West Chester Golden Rams at Memorial Stadium
• West Chester is 20-3 against Clarion all-time, with the Golden Eagles shut out from victory in each meeting since the 2002 season
• The Golden Rams won the last meeting between the two teams, a 41-14 decision played in the 2013 season
• Clarion has won two straight heading into the season finale with the Golden Rams, having defeated Gannon last week by a 41-35 score
• Quarterback Connor Simmons and kicker Phil Esposito won their respective weekly awards last week, with Simmons named PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week and Esposito the Special Teams Athlete of the Week
• Simmons broke the program record for touchdown passes with the 66th of his career and is on pace to break the career passing yards record this week
• Esposito broke the program's career extra points record last week and also went 2-of-2 from field goal range
• Wide receiver Matt Lehman tied Terry McFetridge's 21-year-old career receiving touchdowns record last week with the 25th of his career
• Wide receiver Kevin Genevro can become just the third player in program history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season this weekend
• Genevro's 12 touchdown receptions this year rank third in a single season at Clarion
• Cornerback Tyrone Cromwell recorded his team-leading third interception of the season last week, a turnover that led directly to the eventual winning touchdown
• Clarion has had a +1 turnover margin in the last two games and holds a +3 turnover margin in their wins this year

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles close out the season by honoring their seniors on the field, and they'll look to send them off on a high note when they take on West Chester at Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff 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 24th meeting all-time between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Rams, with West Chester owning a 20-3 record against Clarion all-time.  Clarion's last win against West Chester came in the 2002 season, while the Golden Rams have won seven straight meeting since then.

The last meeting between the two teams came during the 2013 season, a 41-14 drubbing by the Golden Rams at John A. Farrell Stadium.  Only a small handful of Golden Eagles are still around from that meeting, including Matt Lehman, Adam Lynch, Tyrone Butler, Matt Koerper and Phil Esposito.

Scouting the Golden Rams
West Chester is 7-3 overall and 6-1 in PSAC East play, having responded to a 2-3 start to the season with five straight victories in which they've averaged 39.4 points per game.  As far as common opponents with Clarion go, West Chester owns a 3-2 record while the Golden Eagles were 2-3.  

The Golden Rams are one of only two teams to rank in the top-four in the league in both scoring offense and scoring defense.  Jarel Elder is fifth in the PSAC in rushing with an average of 93.0 yards per game on the ground

Last Week
Connor Simmons broke the program record for career touchdown passes with a 12-yard strike in the fourth quarter, and the Golden Eagles held on for a wild 41-35 win over the Gannon Golden Knights at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
 
Simmons went 25-of-34 for 313 yards and five touchdown passes, with the final one serving the dual purpose of giving the Golden Eagles a two-score advantage and breaking Chris Weibel's 18-year-old record.  The 66th touchdown pass of his career, Simmons surpassed his head coach and put Clarion ahead 41-28 with just 2:23 remaining in regulation.
 
The receiver on the play made his own slice of Clarion history as well.  Matt Lehman hauled in the pass and dragged a tackler into the endzone for the 25th receiving touchdown of his career, tying Terry McFetridge for the record at Clarion.  The senior finished with six catches for 99 yards and a score.
 
Clarion and Gannon recorded only 367 and 369 yards of total offense, respectively, but miscues on both sides enabled the two teams to light up the scoreboard.  The Golden Eagles were the beneficiary of 17 points off turnovers while the Golden Knights added 14 of their own.
 
The Lehman Song
Matt Lehman continued his attack on the career record books against Gannon on Saturday, totaling six catches for 99 yards and a touchdown.  In the process, he tied Terry McFetridge's career receiving touchdowns record with the 25th of his career, and will look to break that Saturday against West Chester.

He is also moving up on the career receiving yards list as well with 2,441 yards to his credit.  With 16 more yards he will pass Jacques Robinson (2,456) for third place on the all-time list.

Lehman needs eight more catches to move up on on another list.  Currently at 153 career receptions, he can surpass Pierre Odom (160) for fourth all-time on that list as well.

Reaching the Top
Senior quarterback Connor Simmons broke the program's career passing touchdowns record with a career-high performance against Gannon, throwing five scores against the Golden Knights to reach 66 touchdown passes in his career.  The previous record of 65 was set by Simmons' coach Chris Weibel in 1998.

Simmons needs 307 more yards in his final game to break another of Weibel's records, the career passing yards mark.  He is currently at 7,539 career passing yards.  He also ranks second to Weibel in career completions (509) and passing attempts (934). 

More on Simmons
Simmons was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week for Nov. 7 after his standout performance against Gannon.  All told, he finished 25-of-34 for 313 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Booting It Through
Senior kicker Phil Esposito earned PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors for Nov. 7 after a perfect day against Gannon over the weekend.  Esposito was 2-of-2 from field goal range and 5-of-5 on extra points against the Golden Knights, and Clarion needed all the points it could muster in the one-possession game.

More on Esposito
Esposito also broke a career record at Clarion, becoming the program's all-time leader in extra points made.  Esposito set the record in the fourth quarter and is currently at 102 career extra points.

He's Got a Knack
Kevin Genevro has quietly put together one of the best seasons for a wide receiver in Clarion history, and is on the verge of joining a very elite club in Golden Eagle history.  With 913 receiving yards on the year, he needs just 87 more to become only the third player in program history with 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, and would be the first to do so since 1998.  

Genevro also has a team-high 12 receiving touchdowns on the year, third-most in a single season in Clarion history.  One more would tie him with Alvin Slaughter's 1998 season for second-most, while he would need three more to tie teammate Matt Lehman's record of 15 set last season.

Elite List
Delrece Williams also moved his way up the list of an exclusive club at Clarion this past weekend. Two weeks ago he became the 10th player in program history to run for 2,000 or more yards in a career, and last week he advanced past Damien Henry for ninth on the career rushing list.  Williams currently has 2,075 career yards on the ground.

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

It's Not Always Complicated, Folks
If you're looking for a reason why the Golden Eagles have recently picked things up, you don't have to look much further than how they've taken care of the ball.  Clarion is +3 in turnover margin in games they've won this year, including a +1 margin in their last two wins, and are -10 in their losses.  
Even though the Golden Eagles have been outscored 27-17 off turnovers in their last two games, the other areas of the Golden Eagles' game has carried them through.  In their losses, though, they have been outscored by an average of 9.2 points per game.

Good First Impression
Freshman defensive back Tyrone Cromwell played a key part in Clarion's win over Gannon last week when he recorded his team-leading third interception of the season.  Cromwell's pick came at an opportune time, as well, setting the Golden Eagles up with good field position in the fourth quarter and leading to the eventual game-winning touchdown.

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.