Game 5 // Clarion Golden Eagles (2-2, 0-1 PSAC West) vs Seton Hill Griffins (0-3, 0-1 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 5 // 2 p.m. // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium (5,000)

Media Coverage

Radio - Mike Kalinowski and Joe Lodanosky will have the radio call for the game on 96.3 WKQW-FM an hour before kickoff.  Live audio streaming will be available via the WKQW website and linked on the schedule at ClarionGoldenEagles.com.

Streaming Video - All PSAC member institutions stream football games free of charge via Stretch Internet and the PSAC Network app (Roku / Apple TV / Android TV / Amazon Fire TV devices.)

Live Stats

Clarion Game Notes

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagles will finish off Clarion's annual Autumn Leaf Festival on Saturday when they host Seton Hill for a Homecoming game at Memorial Stadium
• This will be the seventh meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Griffins, with Clarion owning a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with Seton Hill
• Clarion won last year's meeting on the road, defeating the Griffins 19-16 at Offutt Field
• The Golden Eagles are coming off a 51-35 loss on the road at Gannon, a game where Clarion outscored the Golden Knights 21-10 in the second half but failed to complete the comeback
• Running back Mylique McGriff rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Jeff Clemens finished with 173 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception
• Mylique McGriff leads the PSAC with 499 total rushing yards, 124.8 rushing yards per game and 134.3 all-purpose yards per game
• McGriff needs 10 more rushing yards to reach 2,000 rushing yards in his career, and 62 more rushing yards to crack the top-10 in program history
• The Golden Eagles currently boast the most prolific rushing offense in the conference, averaging 206.5 rushing yards per game, and are the only team in the PSAC to average better than 200 yards
• Clarion ranks sixth in the league with seven rushing touchdowns - four from Mylique McGriff, two from freshman Ross Greece and one from Jeff Clemens
• Defensive end Vaughn Wallace recorded his third sack and second strip-sack of the season against Gannon, returning the fumble 48 yards for his first career touchdown
• Clarion ranks second in the PSAC and tied for ninth in NCAA Division II with two defensive touchdowns
• Receiver Terrell Ford had a breakout game against Gannon on Sept. 28, setting season-highs with  eight catches for 152 yards and a touchdown
• In addition, Ford's kick-returning prowess has put him at second in the PSAC in all-purpose yards per game at 130.5 yards per game
• The Golden Eagle defense ranks second conference in third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert just 28.3 percent of their third-down attempts into first downs
• Clarion has once again renewed its fruitful partnership with SportsFever and will have three games televised locally and streamed nationally on ESPN3 - 9/14 vs. Shippensburg, 10/26 at Slippery Rock and 11/9 vs. Mercyhurst

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles will wrap up Clarion's annual Autumn Leaf Festival celebration with a Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 5 when they host Seton Hill at Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. but fans are encouraged to arrive early due to anticipated heavy traffic and road closures due to the Autumn Leaf Festival.

Mike Kalinowski and Joe Lodanosky will have the radio call for the game on 96.3 WKQW-FM an hour before kickoff.  Live audio streaming will be available via the WKQW website and linked on the schedule at ClarionGoldenEagles.com.

Scouting The Griffins
Seton Hill was predicted to finish eighth in the PSAC West in the preseason coaches' poll, as the Griffins have won just one game in the last two years.  Their win against Mercyhurst last season was their first conference victory since 2016, but in the past the Griffins maintained the identity of having a high-scoring offense that evened the odds against their PSAC opponents.

This year the Griffins have lost their first three games, but that comes with a caveat; their first three opponents this year are a combined 12-0, as Seton Hill opened the year with East Stroudsburg, West Chester and Slippery Rock.  Running back Logan Wiland has still managed to put up big numbers, ranking second in the league in rushing to Clarion's Mylique McGriff and averaging 6.1 yards per carry.  

Series History
This will be the seventh meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Griffins, with Clarion owning a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with Seton Hill.  The first meeting between the teams was in 2013, when the Griffins' only points of the game coming on a safety in Clarion's 41-2 victory.  The Golden Eagles are undefeated at home against the Griffins with a 3-0 mark at Memorial Stadium, including a 33-28 win on Homecoming in 2017 and a 44-29 victory during the 2015 season.

Last year's meeting represented Clarion's first win at Offutt Field in the history of the rivalry, with the Golden Eagles beating the Griffins 19-16 on Sept. 29, 2018.  The Golden Eagles scored 19 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0, with Jeff Clemens rushing for a touchdown and throwing another for the lead.  Corey Wells and Chris Gildea each recorded interceptions and broke up two passes, and Gildea also blocked a punt in the second quarter.

About the Coach
Chris Weibel is in his fifth season as the program's head coach after spending many of the previous years as an assistant.  Weibel has an overall record of 18-30 at Clarion, including a 10-19 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.

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 2019.  

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

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

Last Week
Clarion outscored Gannon 21-10 in the second half to affect a comeback effort, but the Golden Eagles could not finish off the rally in falling 51-35 to the Golden Knights at McConnell Family Stadium.
 
Turnovers burned the Golden Eagles in the first half, as Clarion saw two first-half drives end in interceptions and another in a blocked field goal.  They played to the Golden Eagles' advantage in the second half as they forced three fumbles in the second half, but they were only able to turn one of those breaks into a touchdown. 
After failing to crack the century mark last week, Mylique McGriff went right back to work against the Golden Knights to the tune of 146 rushing yards and his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.  His day would have been better, but he had two long first-half touchdown runs negated by penalties.  McGriff now needs just 10 yards on the ground to crack 2,000 career rushing yards.
 
Clarion quarterbacks went a combined 23-of-50 for three touchdowns and four interceptions on the day, with Jeff Clemens producing the best line of 11-of-21 for 173 yards, two touchdowns and a pick.  Terrell Ford finished with eight catches for 152 yards and a touchdown, and Kahliq Muhammad and Marcus McCoy also hauled in scoring grabs.
 
The Golden Eagle defense had flashes of success on Saturday, highlighted by Vaughn Wallace's strip sack and 48-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter.  Facing a 1st-and-10 from the Clarion 45, Wallace brought down Jimmy Keefe and pried the ball out, rushing 48 yards for the score that made it 41-21.  The Golden Eagles followed up with a score on their next possession, with McGriff scoring from one yard out to make it 48-28.

The Crime Dog
Mylique McGriff went off for his third 100-yard rushing game in four attempts last week, posting 146 yards on the ground in Clarion's loss at Gannon.  As such he's taken the lead in a number of rushing categories in the PSAC, including total yards (499) and yards per game (124.8), coming in just ahead of Seton Hill's Logan Wiland.  He also leads the PSAC in all-purpose yardage with 537 total yards and a 134.3 yards per game average.  

> McGriff ranks ninth in NCAA Division II in total rushing yardage (499) and 10th in yards per game (124.8).

> Currently at 1,990 career rushing yards, McGriff is still on the hunt for his first career 1,000-yard rushing season.  With 62 more yards, he would enter the top-10 in career rushing in Clarion history, matching Damien Henry (1990-93).

> McGriff is averaging 86.5 rushing yards per game thorughout his career.  That ranks as the best per-game average at Clarion in the last 20 years.

> McGriff's game against Shippensburg ranked as one of the best in his college career, and it earned him PSAC West Offensive Co-Athlete of the Week honors for Sept. 9.  McGriff rushed for 179 yards on 27 carries and set a career-high with three rushing touchdowns.  It was all part of a Golden Eagle effort that topped 300 total rushing yards for the game. 

Mylique McGriff - Longest Career Rushes
1. 79 yards, at Gannon - 11/4/17
2. 60 yards, at Slippery Rock - 10/28/17
3. 56 yards, at Shippensburg - 9/7/19
4. 55 yards, vs. California (Pa.) - 10/6/18
5. 53 yards, vs. Shippensburg - 9/1/18
6. 51 yards, at Slippery Rock - 10/28/17

Built Ford Tough
Terrell Ford had his best game to date against Gannon on Sept. 28, hauling in a season-high eight passes for 152 yards and a touchdown against the Golden Knights.  Both his passes caught and receiving yards represented the best totals for any Golden Eagle in a single game this season.  The eight catches are the most for a Clarion player since Mason Standard caught eight against Seton Hill on Oct. 7, 2017, and the 152 yards are the most since Greg Leonard recorded 157 receiving yards against Shippensburg on Sept. 16, 2017.

> Also a solid kick returner, Ford ranks eighth in the league with an average of 22.1 yards per return in 2018.  Combined with his receiving totals (64.3 ypg), that puts him at second in the PSAC in all-purpose yardage at 130.5 yards per game, just behind teammate Mylique McGriff.

Loose Change
Last year the Golden Eagles excelled at taking the ball away from opponents via interception, but this year they have been more effective by punching the ball loose and recovering fumbles.  With three more forced fumbles against Gannon on Sept. 28, Clarion has forced five fumbles on the season and recovered six of them, as one was dropped without an official force.  Six fumble recoveries by the Clarion defense ranks sixth in the nation.

> Leading the charge on the Clarion defense has been defensive end Vaughn Wallace, who ranks sixth in the country and second in the nation with two forced fumbles.  Wallace has been dominant upfront in general with a team-high 3.0 sacks.  On Sept. 28 against Gannon, he recorded his first career defensive touchdown, stripping quarterback Jimmy Keefe of the ball on a sack and returning the loose ball 48 yards for a touchdown.

> Wallace's defensive score was Clarion's second of the year, with the first coming on Trent Rogers' pick-six against Shippensburg in the season opener.  Rogers' interception return was the first such score for Clarion since Jacob Craig returned a pick for a score against Cheyney on Sept. 19, 2015.  That year was also the last time Clarion scored two defensive touchdowns in a season, with Craig's interception return for a touchdown and Andrew Fragale's fumble recovery for a touchdown coming in that same game.

Double Trouble
The receiving duo of Quinn Zinobile and Terrell Ford both caught a pair of touchdown passes against Lock Haven, marking the first scores in the Blue & Gold for both receivers.  While Clarion has had a recent history of strong depth at receiver, it has actually been nearly four years since two players both caught multiple touchdown passes in the same game.  For that you have to go back to Oct. 10, 2015, when Matt Lehman and Kevin Genevro both hauled in two scores against Edinboro.

Spreading the Love
Clarion quarterbacks have displayed the ability to spread the ball around to different weapons as the situation calls for it.  With Marcus McCoy's touchdown catch against Gannon on Sept. 28, the Golden Eagles have already had seven different players catch touchdowns through four games.  Last year only six different players caught touchdown passes through the full 11-game schedule.

What's more, the Clarion passing attack has become a much more dangerous weapon than it was a year ago.  With three more touchdown passes against the Golden Knights on Sept. 28,  Clarion reached 13 total scoring passes for the season.  Though a modest number in and of itself, it stands in stark contrast to the 2018 season.  Last year the team recorded just 11 touchdown pass total through the 11-game schedule.  

Getting Off The Field
The Clarion defense has been most effective in getting off the field on third downs, and have one of the best percentages in the conference.  They currently rank second in the league with a 28.3 third down percentage on defense, behind only Cal U's 25.4 percent mark.

Bringing the Big Boot
Kicker/punter James Metzgar was named the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week for Sept. 16 after using his feet to contribute to Clarion's win over Lock Haven in more ways than one. The senior went 5-of-6 on extra points and also added three punts for an average of 40.0 yards per kick, including one planted inside the 20-yard line. His most exciting play of the day came late in the game, when a breakdown forced Metzgar to evade a tackler in the backfield and go on the run. He eluded tacklers and went off for a 28-yard rush to give Clarion a first down. The Golden Eagles scored a touchdown on the very next play.

> Metzgar ranked second in the PSAC in field goal percentage last year, making 10 of his 13 kicks for a 76.9 percent mark from long.  His 10 makes ranked behind just IUP's Dillon Sarka and Slippery Rock's Jake Chapla.  While not statistically the most proficient kicker in Clarion history ­– that would be Bill May, he of the program-record 49 makes from 1977-80 – another nine conversions from Metzgar would give him 28 career field goals, good enough for fourth in program history.

Yoink!
Last year the Golden Eagles were one of the top teams not just in the conference but in the nation at picking off passes.  With 18 total interceptions in 2018, Clarion ranked eighth in NCAA Division II and third in the PSAC.  Their 27 forced turnovers ranked 11th in the country and third in the PSAC, and their turnover margin of +0.55 ranked fourth in the league.

Clarion's trend of taking the ball away from opponents has continued in 2019.  The Golden Eagles have forced eight turnovers through four games this year, including five forced fumbles on defense.

> Of the eight players to record interceptions for the Golden Eagles last year, Clarion returns six of them, including leader Sam Fareri (4).  As such, the Golden Eagles "return" 12 of the 18 picks from a season ago.

Paving the Road
The Golden Eagles rank as the top rushing team in the PSAC through four games, averaging 206.5 rushing yards per game.  They are currently the only team in the conference to average better than 200 rushing yards per game.

> Clarion rushed for 341 yards as a team against Shippensburg on Sept. 9, recording an impressive 7.1 yards per carry and including four rushing touchdowns – three by Mylique McGriff and the first career score for Ross Greece.  It is the best single-game rushing total for the Golden Eagles since Oct. 8, 2011, when they went off for 423 rushing yards at home against Lock Haven.

Ball Hawk
Now in his fourth season, Sam Fareri has been a major factor in creating turnovers throughout his college career.  With four interceptions and two forced fumbles last season, he has now accounted for 14 total turnovers in his career, including nine picks and five forced fumbles.  He needs just three more interceptions to crack the top-six in program history, tying him with Kim Niedbala's total of 12 set from 1993-96.  One more forced fumble would tie him with Niedbala and four others for seventh in program history.

> Fareri was named a Google Cloud Academic All-American in 2018, making in the fourth Golden Eagle in as many years to earn a spot on the team.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Clarion University will continue its fruitful partnership with the Pennsylvania Sports Fever Television Network in 2019, with three contests – 9/14 vs. Lock Haven, 10/26 at Slippery Rock and 11/9 vs. Mercyhurst – 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 2019 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