Game 11 // Clarion Golden Eagles (4-6, 2-5 PSAC West) vs. East Stroudsburg Warriors (1-9, 0-6 PSAC)
Saturday, November 10 // Noon // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium (5,000)

Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video | Game Notes

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles will send off their seniors and wrap up the season on Saturday, November 10 when they host the East Stroudsburg Warriors at Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff is set for noon, with Senior Day recognition scheduled for 11:30 a.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.

TV Carriage for Saturday's Game
National platform (86 million HHs)
ESPN3

Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Carlisle DMA (614,000 HHs)
WHP 21.2 My Network (21.1 over-the-air, Comcast 19, Armstrong 15, Blue Ridge 133, Nittany 99, Verizon 21, DirecTV 22)

Pittsburgh DMA (1.1 million HHs)
WPNT 22 The Point(22 over-the-air, Comcast SD 10/HD 812, Comcast Clarion SD 12/HD 812, Armstrong SD 22/HD 105, Atlantic Broadband SD 8/HD 707, Citizens SD 12/HD 812, Time Warner SD 22/HD 1022, Verizon SD 10/ HD 510, Consolidated SD 10/HD 710, DirecTV & Dish Network 22) 16 Counties in Western PA and northern WV

Johnstown, Altoona, State College DMA (207,000 HHs)
WJAC 6.2 Me TV (6.2 over-the-air, Comcast 110-187-202-248, Armstrong 410, Atlantic Broadband 110, Windstream 16, Laurel Highland 15)

Erie DMA (141,000 HHs)
Erie News Now ENN+ ( 35.3 over-the-air)

Scouting The Warriors
East Stroudsburg enters the final week of the season with an 1-9 overall record, including a winless mark in the PSAC East division.  The defense has struggled this season by allowing 44 or more points in six games and an average of 502.1 yards per game.  They do share a win over a common opponent, having also defeated Seton Hill earlier this year.

The Warriors' struggles have come in part since they lost running back Jaymar Anderson to injury on October 20.  He ranked seventh in Division II in rushing at the time, but Devante Robinson has averaged a healthy 88.5 yards per game in his absence.  Receiver Jylil Reeder is a formidable threat in the passing game with 50 catches - twice as many as second place on the team - for 915 yards and six touchdowns.  

Series History
This will be just the 14th meeting between Clarion and East Stroudsburg, with the Warriors holding a 9-4 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion.  Famously, the two teams met in the PSAC Championship games in 1978 and 1983, splitting the two; the Warriors claimed the former by a score of 49-4, while the Golden Eagles won the latter 27-14.   

The last time the teams met was in 2013, a 48-28 win for the Warriors, while the last Golden Eagle victory came a year before that in 2012.  Clarion trailed 27-17 with just under 11 minutes to go in that one, but Travis Day scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 27 seconds remaining to put his team on top by a 31-27 score.  

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 16-247 at Clarion, including a 10-18 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 Clarion defense limited their opponent to 242 yards and 14 points, including a paltry 56 passing yards, but the Golden Eagles were unable to come away with a road win in falling 14-7 at Mercyhurst.  
 
The Golden Eagle defense limited the Lakers' ability to punch the ball into the end zone, shutting them out in the second half and holding them to three second-half drives of five plays or fewer.  The Lakers were held to just one drive of 50 or more yards total in the game.  Unfortunately, Clarion was also unable to light the scoreboard in the second half, with Mercyhurst controlling the clock and hanging on for the win.
 
Freshman quarterback Tanner Jones made his first career start and did not take long to make an impact, scoring his first career touchdown on the Golden Eagles' first drive of the game.  He marched the team 75 yards down the field in eight plays before finally taking it into the end zone himself, rushing for a three-yard score that put Clarion ahead 7-0 early in the first quarter.

That would be the last time Clarion scored, however, as the next offensive possession featured a missed field goal despite a promising series of rushes from Mylique McGriff that got the Golden Eagles to the red zone.  The Lakers tied the score at 7-7 on a touchdown pass from Doug Altavilla before the end of the first quarter, and they added what eventually became the winning tally on a Garrett Owens rush in the second quarter.

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 Mercyhurst, Dorian Johnson tied for the team lead with his fourth interception of the year, and in doing so kept Clarion near the top of the nation in picks.  Clarion has now picked off 17 passes this year, putting them third in NCAA Division II and first in the PSAC.  Safety Sam Fareri also has four interceptions.

> In addition to picking off passes - he's got three interceptions so far this year - Dorian Johnson has been impressive in making plays on the ball in coverage.  He's currently sixth in the PSAC with 13 passes defended this year.  

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

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 fourth in the conference in scoring defense at 20.9 points per game, with only two teams - Shippensburg and California - scoring more than 30 points against them all year long.  The Golden Eagles held each of their last two opponents to 14 points apiece, and rank tied for second in the PSAC West in scoring defense.

> Clarion ranks fourth in the conference in total defense at 330.1 yards allowed per game, and their 26 forced turnovers rank second in the league behind only Edinboro's 29 forced turnovers.

From Way Downtown
Junior kicker James Metzgar is third in the PSAC in field goal percentage with an 75.0 percent mark on the year.  He is 9-of-12 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 four more picks, giving him nine in his career, and two more forced fumbles.

> 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.

Wrath of Khan
Against Mercyhurst, Saif Khan had one of his best performances since the early portion of the schedule, finishing with eight tackles and a sack against Mercyhurst.  The junior defensive lineman ranks second on the team in sacks and third in tackles for loss.

Luis Adds Another Block
Last week against Mercyhurst, Luis Alfonso blocked a Mercyhurst punt attempt, putting him in company with Paul Blendinger and Chris Gildea as the third Golden Eagle to block a kick this year.  The last time Clarion blocked three kicks in a single year was 2015, when Kwame Bell, Avery Howsare and Garrett Sigler all snuffed opponents' kicks.

Tricentennial Man
With a 10-tackle performance against Edinboro on Oct. 27, senior linebacker Layne Skundrich broke the 300-tackle mark for his career at Clarion.  He became just the ninth player in program history to top 300 career tackles and tied for eighth on the all-time list with Nick Sipes, who finished his career with 302 tackles.  With six tackles last week he reached 308 career stops to put him in sole possession of eighth place on the list.  Next on the list would be Jerry Haslett, who ranks seventh all-time with 326 career tackles.

> Skundrich's 17 tackles against California on Oct. 6 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.

Thrown in the Fire
Freshman Tanner Jones made his first career start in the game against Mercyhurst, and scored his first career touchdown just a few minutes into the contest.  Jones led the Golden Eagles on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the game, capping things off with a three-yard touchdown run on a 3rd-and-2 deep in Laker territory.  

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 has now had three 100-yard games in his last four outings, including a 125-yard effort against Edinboro last week.

> 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.

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