Game 9 // Clarion Golden Eagles (4-4, 2-3 PSAC West) vs. Edinboro Fighting Scots (5-3, 2-3 PSAC)
Saturday, October 27 // Noon // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium (5,000)

Radio: WCCR 92.7 FM / WKQW 96.3 FM

Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

Game Notes

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles play their final PSAC West home game of the season on Saturday when they host the Edinboro Fighting Scots at Memorial Stadium.  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 via the C93 website and linked on the schedule at ClarionGoldenEagles.com.

Scouting The Fighting Scots
Edinboro enters this week's game with a 5-3 record but just a 2-3 record in PSAC West play, with all three of their divisional losses coming on the road, including games at Slippery Rock and California (Pa.).  After losing three out of four, they seemed to right the ship last week with a 56-12 win over Seton Hill at home.

The Fighting Scots boast some of the most dangerous playmakers in the league, starting with 2017 consensus All-American running back Walter Fletcher.  He currently leads the PSAC with 14 rushing touchdowns and is second in the league with an average of 134.4 rushing yards per game, and all he did last week was set Edinboro's single-game rushing record with 328 yards against the Griffins. Receiver Ta'Nauz Gregory was the 2016 Don Hansen NCAA Division II Freshman of the Year and will impact the game on offense and special teams, while All-American cornerback Zuril Hendrick led the NCAA in interceptions a year ago.

Series History
This will be just the 89th meeting between Clarion and Edinboro, with the Fighting Scots holding a 46-40-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. This is the oldest PSAC rivalry in the books for Clarion, dating back to the 1926 season.

In last year's game, the Golden Eagles opened the scoring with a field goal from James Metzgar before the Fighting Scots scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 45-10 win.  Jeff Clemens threw for 121 yards and a touchdown while Layne Skundrich finished with a team-high 10 tackles

About the Coach
Chris Weibel is in his fourth season as the program's head coach after spending many of the previous years as an assistant.  Weibel has an overall record of 16-25 at Clarion, including a 10-16 record in PSAC West play.  A 2010 inductee into the Clarion Sports Hall of Fame, Weibel graduated with every major Clarion passing record to his credit.

Last Week
The Golden Eagles slowed but could not completely stop the high-powered Slippery Rock offense on Saturday, keeping it close but falling 28-13 to The Rock at Memorial Stadium.  
 
Clarion held Slippery Rock to their lowest scoring output since the second game of the season and 14.1 points below their season average, keeping them at bay with just 28 points.  The Rock moved the ball well for most of the game but the Golden Eagles managed three turnovers and forced another turnover on downs to halt potential scoring drives.
 
Turnovers played a key role in the Golden Eagles' lone touchdown of the game, as Chris Gildea picked off a Roland Rivers III pass on the first drive of the third quarter.  He jumped a route in the middle of the field and raced towards the end zone before being pulled down by running back Wes Hills at the one-yard line.  On 2nd-and-Goal, Mylique McGriff muscled his way through the pile into the end zone for his sixth touchdown of the season, cutting The Rock's lead to 14-10.
 
Dorian Johnson added another interception, his third of the season, while Tyrone Archie forced a fumble in the fourth quarter that was recovered by Vaughn Wallace.  James Metzgar was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts to improve to 9-of-10 on the season.

Clarion Picked Seventh in Preseason Poll
In a coaches' poll before the start of the year, Clarion was predicted to finish seventh in the PSAC West division in 2017.  

PSAC West (# of 1st place votes)
1) IUP (7)
2) California (1)
3) Slippery Rock
4) Edinboro
5) Gannon
6) Mercyhurst
7) Clarion
8) Seton Hill

PSAC East (# of 1st place votes)
1) West Chester (6)
2) Shippensburg
3) Kutztown (1)
4) Bloomsburg
5) East Stroudsburg
6) Millersville
7) Lock Haven

Controlling the Skies
Against Slippery Rock, Dorian Johnson and Chris Gildea recorded their third and second intercpetions of the year, respectively, continuing the trend of the Golden Eagles playing havoc with opposing teams' passing offenses.  With those interceptions Clarion has now picked off 15 passes this year, putting them second in NCAA Division II and the PSAC behind just Edinboro.  The Fighting Scots have picked off 16 passes this year.

> Last year, the Golden Eagles recorded just 13 total interceptions as a team, and only two players with picks last year - Sam Fareri and Gus Schmitt - returned to the team this year.

> In addition to picking off passes, Dorian Johnson has been impressive in making plays on the ball in coverage.  He's tied for the team lead with Fareri with three interceptions, and currently ranks fifth in the PSAC with 11 passes defended this year.

Swallowed Up
Through eight games this year, the Golden Eagle defense hasn't just been one of the best in the conference at stopping the run, they have also been one of the very best in the country.  Clarion ranks 26thth in the nation and fourth in the PSAC in rushing defense, allowing opposing teams an average of just  112.6 yards per game.  Clarion has allowed just six rushing touchdowns all season long.

Missing the Point(s)
In addition to the other laudables for the Golden Eagle defense, they've been adept at keeping opposing teams off the scoreboard.  The Golden Eagles still rank fifth in the conference in scoring defense at 22.6 points per game.

From Way Downtown
Junior kicker James Metzgar is second in the PSAC in field goal percentage, ranking sixth in the nation with 90.0 percent mark on the year.  He is 9-of-10 on field goal attempts this year, and with two more makes will crack the top-five for a single season in program history.  

Ball Hawk
Now in his third season, Sam Fareri has been a major factor in creating turnovers throughout his college career.  Coming into this season he had two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five interceptions, including four picks last season.  This year he has already three more picks, giving him eight in his career, and another forced fumble.

> Fareri was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for Sept. 10, coming on the heels of a performance where the junior safety forced three turnovers in a Golden Eagle victory.  He picked off two passes and forced another fumble in Clarion's 30-21 win at Lock Haven.
 
Action Jackson
Since the start of PSAC West play, Dana Jackson has provided big plays and key scores, contributing long touchdown catches in the first four weeks of divisional action.  His 34-yard touchdown reception against Gannon on Sept. 29 was the game-winning score, putting Clarion ahead 14-9, while his 45-yard score against Seton Hill on Oct. 6 last week increased the Golden Eagles' lead to 16-7.  Both games came down to a single score by the conclusion.

> Against California (Pa.) on Oct. 13, Jackson recorded the first 100-yard receiving game for a Clarion player this season, catching four passes for 126 yards and a score.  He scored on a 68-yard reception, the longest play from scrimmage for the Golden Eagles at that point of the year and longest reception since Kevin Genevro's 78-yard reception against West Chester on Nov. 12, 2016.

> Jackson topped that mark in the very next game, catching a 78-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Clemens against #23/25 IUP.  That tied Genevro's reception for longest of the past five years, and is the second-longest reception in the PSAC this year.

Longest Receptions, Last Five Years
1. 78 yards, Kevin Genevro vs. West Chester - 11/12/16
   78 yards, Dana Jackson at IUP - 10/13/18
3. 76 yards, Jaron Moorer at IUP - 11/1/14
4. 73 yards, Matt Lehman vs. California (Pa.) - 10/25/14
5. 71 yards, Seneca Williams vs. Lock Haven - 9/1/16
6. 68 yards, Dana Jackson vs. California (Pa.) - 10/6/18

Sestercentennial Man
With a 10-tackle performance against Gannon on Sept. 22, senior linebacker Layne Skundrich broke the 250-tackle mark for his career at Clarion.  He followed that up two weeks later with 17 stops against California (Pa.), putting him at 272 career stops.    Last week Skundrich moved into ninth on the program's all-time tackles list, recording his 293rd career stop to surpass Bo Busch and tie John Hughes.  Next on the list is Nick Sipes, who finished his career eighth in program history with 302 tackles.

> Skundrich's 17 tackles against the Vulcans is tied for the second-most in a single game at Clarion since 1999, tying him with Sipes' 17 stops against the Vulcans on Sept. 25, 2010.   Scott McGrady had 18 tackles against West Chester on Oct. 12, 2002.

Welcome Back
After missing all of the previous two games and most of a third with an injury, Mylique McGriff immediately made his presence known against California (Pa.) on Oct. 6.  The sophomore running back rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns against the Vulcans.  He followed that up with a 125-yard effort against IUP a week later.

> McGriff ripped off a 55-yard run against the Vulcans, the third-longest rush of his career and the longest rush for the Golden Eagles this season.  

Mylique McGriff - Longest Career Rushes
1. 79 yards, at Gannon - 11/4/17
2. 60 yards, at Slippery Rock - 10/28/17
3. 55 yards, vs. California (Pa.) - 10/6/18
4. 53 yards, vs. Shippensburg - 9/1/18
5. 51 yards, at Slippery Rock - 10/28/17

All Facets
Alec Heldreth had a whale of a game against Gannon on Sept. 22, contributing to the victory in preventing the Golden Knights from scoring, as well as lighting up the scoreboard himself.  The senior defensive tackle scored on a strip-sack of quarterback Jason Dambach in the second quarter, ripping the ball loose and recovering it in the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.  Later, he sacked Dambach on fourth down to halt Gannon's final offensive drive, preserving Clarion's win.

> Heldreth is second on the team with 48 total stops, and ranks among the league leaders in tackles for loss (11.5 - 7th) and sacks (5.5 - T-12th).

Lights, Camera, Action!
Clarion University will continue its fruitful partnership with the Pennsylvania Sports Fever Television Network in 2018, with two contests – 9/1 vs. Shippensburg and 11/10 vs. East Stroudsburg – 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. 

Eagle Media to Stream Clarion Home Games
In a joint venture between Eagle Media Productions and the athletic department, all Clarion home football games in 2018 will be available via free video streaming.  Viewers will be able to access the streams a number of different ways...

Computer - Via the Clarion portal on Stretch Internet, linked on the schedule page
Streaming Device - Via Roku / Apple TV / Android TV / Amazon Fire TV devices with the Clarion Golden Eagle Vision app
 
What's Next
The Golden Eagles will close divisional play next Saturday when they travel to take on the Mercyhurst Lakers.