Game 4 // Clarion Golden Eagles (1-2) at Mercyhurst Lakers (1-2)
Saturday, Sept. 24 // 1 p.m. // Erie, Pa. // Tullio Field (2,300)
Radio: WCCR 92.7 FM (Clarion), WKQW 96.3 FM (Oil City)

Clarion Game Notes // Live Audio  // Live Stats

Two-Minute Drill

• The Clarion Golden Eagles will play their first PSAC West game of the season when they take on Mercyhurst on Saturday, Sept. 24; the game will be Mercyhurst's homecoming game
• The Lakers own a modest 5-3 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles
• Clarion defeated Mercyhurst 41-27 in last year's meeting at Memorial Stadium
• This will be the third straight road game for Clarion; they have not 
• Senior Matt Lehman recorded a touchdown reception for the fifth straight game last week, giving him 21 for his career and tying Jim Becker for third on the career list
• Lehman has recorded touchdown passes in 13 of the last 14 games he's played dating back to the 2014 season
• Lehman needs two more touchdown receptions to tie Alvin Slaughter for second on the list, and 75 more receiving yards to pass Tim Brown for seventh on that list
• Senior Connor Simmons became the second player in program history with 6,000 career passing yards with his performance against Shippensburg
• Simmons now has 55 career passing touchdowns and needs 11 more to become the program's all-time leader in that category
• Senior Kevin Genevro leads the Golden Eagles in receptions (16), receiving yards (287) and yards per catch (17.94)
• Redshirt freshman Samuel Payne leads Clarion with 7.7 tackles per game, while two freshmen and a sophomore - Wade Stieren, Tyrone Cromwell and Layne Skundrich, respectively - all average 7.3 stops per game
• Three games this season - 9/10 at Bloomsburg, 10/1 vs. Edinboro and 10/15 vs. California (Pa.) - will be covered by Sports Fever, which will air live broadcasts of the games on affiliate networks.  The games will also be available on ESPN3 via the Watch ESPN app.

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles will continue their long, strange trip with their third straight road game, this time taking on Mercyhurst in their first PSAC West meeting of the season.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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 just the ninth meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Lakers, with Mercyhurst holding a slight 5-3 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion.  The Golden Eagles claimed their first victory in the series the next year, a 29-25 win on Oct. 17, 2009.  Clarion, though, has never won a road game against Mercyhurst.

The last meeting between the teams was just last season, a 41-27 victory on Oct. 3 at Memorial Stadium.  Connor Simmons threw for 441 yards, the third-highest single-game total in program history, and the defense combined for four sacks in the win.

Scouting the Lakers
After a 48-0 loss in the season opener to #6 Ashland, the Lakers have played a pair of close games against PSAC opponents and are currently 1-2 on the year.  Last week's effort was a 34-31 loss at home to East Stroudsburg; Mercyhurst pulled to within three points with two minutes left and forced a Warriors punt, but did not have enough time on the clock to capitalize.

Mercyhurst went 5-6 last year, including a 2-5 record against PSAC West opponents.

Last Week
Clarion built an early lead but was unable to hold on against a veteran offensive unit, as the Golden Eagles fell by a 41-17 score on the road at Shippensburg on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles opened the game with a touchdown and led by a score of 17-14 late in the second quarter, but the Red Raiders took control of the action from there to claim the victory.  They took advantage of three Clarion turnovers, turning them into 14 points, and the Golden Eagles were unable to score in the second half.

Connor Simmons became just the second player in Clarion history to throw for 6,000 yards in a career, going 21-of-38 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.  He now has 6,311 career passing yards and 55 career passing touchdowns, both second in program history.  Kevin Genevro added eight catches for 141 yards while Matt Lehman caught three passes for 77 yards and his third receiving touchdown of the year.
 
On defense, Tyrone Archie added five total tackles and a sack.  Samuel Payne had a game-high 12 stops while Layne Skundrich added nine.

The Gunslinger
Quarterback Connor Simmons continued his climb in the all-time record books at Clarion with his game against Shippensburg:

• He became just the second player in program history with 6,000 career passing yards and now needs just 1,534 passing yards - an average of 191.8 per game the rest of the way - to become the program's all-time leader;
• He now has 55 passing touchdowns, needing just 11 more to become the program's career leader;
• Simmons now ranks third all-time in pass completions with 420 and fourth in attempts with 783.

> Simmons was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week after going off in the Golden Eagles' season opener, throwing for 396 yards on 25-of-41 passing with four touchdowns and no picks as Clarion defeated Lock Haven 41-24.  

> Last year Simmons produced one of the best seasons under center in program history.  He broke the passing records of current head coach Chris Weibel with 3,582 passing yards and 34 touchdowns last year, ranking fifth in NCAA Division II in both categories. 

Deep Threat
Kevin Genevro is leading  the Golden Eagles in a number of receiving categories this year, including catches (16), yards (287) and yards per catch (17.9).  That last mark ranks sixth in the league among all receivers with 10 or more catches this year; among players with at least 16 catches, it ranks third.

Cleaning It Up
The Clarion defensive backfield has been heavily populated with younger players, and so far the young guns have delivered.  Tyrone Cromwell and Wade Stieren are both tied for second on the team with an average of 7.3 tackles per game.

> Stieren posted 12 tackles in Week 1 against Lock Haven, the top total in the PSAC that week.

Movin' On Up
Matt Lehman notched three receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown against Shippensburg, and the senior receiver continues to climb the career charts at Clarion.  Lehman ranks fourth in program history with his 120 career receptions; his 21 touchdown receptions ranks third and his 1,919 yards ranks eighth.

> Lehman has caught a touchdown pass in each of his last five games dating back to last season; he was last held out of the endzone on Oct. 31, 2015 against IUP.  When factoring out a game missed last year -Oct. 24, 2015 vs. California - he has caught a touchdown in 13 of the last 14 games he's played, dating back to the 2014 season finale.

All Facets
Wide receiver Kyle Evans is averaging a team-best 88.7 all-purpose yards per game so far in the season, and played in formations as both a running back and a wide receiver.  He is averaging 56.7 receiving yards per game and 13.1 yards per catch in his primary role.

Against Bloomsburg, Evans showed off another important facet of his game.  He helped set up a Golden Eagle touchdown in the first half with a 47-yard punt return down to the 10-yard-line.  That is the longest punt return in the PSAC to date.

Ground Warfare
Delrece Williams has picked up where he left off a season ago, with the Golden Eagles' shifty running back recording an average of 80.3 rushing yards per game.   He was just one yard shy of his first 100-yard rushing game of the year against Bloomsburg, and he needs just four more rushing touchdowns to enter the top-10 in program history in that category.

On the Road Again
After opening the year at home, Clarion is playing three straight games away from the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium.  The Golden Eagles are 5-1 at home under head coach Chris Weibel and are a respectable 3-5  on the road under his tutelage as well.  Things will balance out late in the year, when Clarion plays three straight games at home to close out the regular season.

Flip the Field
When the Clarion offense has been forced to punt, they've been effective in setting the opponent in difficult field position.  Scott Ayers ranks sixth in the PSAC with an average of 39.8 yards per punt, and the team ranks fourth in net punting yardage at 37.9 yards.  Ayers has already planted five punts inside the 20-yard line and has not yet booted a touchback.

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.

Up Next
Clarion will host Edinboro in a televised Homecoming clash on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.  The game will be available on SportsFever and Watch ESPN.