CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion football team rallied from a 13-point deficit to briefly take the lead, but the Golden Eagles were unable to hold on for the victory as they fell 23-17 to East Stroudsburg in the 2018 season finale.  Clarion wraps its 2018 season with a 4-7 overall record.
 
Both the Golden Eagles and the Warriors were beset with poor weather, as high winds and low temperatures affected the early part of the game.  East Stroudsburg made the better of it early on, building a 16-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but Clarion scored 14 straight points to take the lead by the end of the third quarter.  The Warriors re-took the lead with 11:08 remaining and held off two prime Golden Eagle scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter, including a goal line stand on fourth down, to take the win.
 
Scott Florence was a revelation on offense, producing his best game of the season – and perhaps career – with 111 rushing yards, 48 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown.  On the other side of the ball, senior linebacker made the most of his final game with a game-high 13 tackles, while Chris Gildea and Sam Fareri each added seven stops.  Quinlin Lambert intercepted a pass and Tyrone Archie forced a fumble, though the latter was recovered by East Stroudsburg.
 
East Stroudsburg led 13-0 at the end of the first quarter, starting with a 34-yard touchdown run by Jake Cirillo and a seven-yard scoring pass from Cirillo to Devante Robinson.  Momentum shifted in the second quarter when the teams traded field goals, with James Metzgar booting a 29-yard kick to open the scoring for Clarion. 
 
On the second offensive drive of the quarter for Clarion, quarterback Jeff Clemens connected with Dervonn Holton for a 26-yard gain on 4^th-and-4 to put the Golden Eagles deep into Warrior territory.  Two plays later, Clemens dumped the ball to senior offensive lineman Rob Korzon on a backwards pass, with Korzon stepping into the end zone for his first career score to make it 16-10. 
 
The Golden Eagles took the lead on the final drive of the third quarter, with Florence putting together a highlight-reel run to stun East Stroudsburg.  Facing 2^nd-and-14 from midfield, Florence juked his way through several would-be tacklers, eventually finding daylight and sprinting into the end zone to put Clarion up 17-16 as time expired in the period. 
 
East Stroudsburg took the lead back for good early in the fourth quarter with a strip sack that gave them possession inside the red zone.  Robinson scored his own impressive rushing touchdown, getting in from 20 yards out to make it 23-17.  Clarion had two big opportunities to retake the lead but came up just short each time, with the Warriors stoning them on the goal line a 8:07 and picking off a pass at their own 5-yard line with 2:22 remaining.