Game 7 // Clarion Golden Eagles (3-3, 1-2 PSAC West) vs IUP Crimson Hawks (5-1, 2-1 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 19 // 12 p.m. // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium

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

• The Golden Eagles will take on the first of what will likely be two straight nationally-ranked opponents, when they host 22nd-ranked IUP at Memorial Stadium on Saturday
• This will be the 90th meeting between the two teams, with IUP owning a 62-24-3 advantage in the all-time series
• The Golden Eagles are coming off a 35-20 loss on the road at Cal U, a game where Clarion forced three turnovers but was unable to complete the total comeback against the Vulcans
• Defensive backs Corey Wells and Chris Gildea each forced turnovers, with the former picking off a pass and the latter stripping the ball loose from receiver Jordan Dandridge
• Wide receiver Kahliq Muhammad is fourth in the PSAC with seven touchdown receptions after six weeks, already the most for a Golden Eagle since 2016
• Tight end Jacob Whitenight caught his second touchdown pass for the season and his career last week, the most for a Clarion tight end since Zach Deitrick caught four scores in 2014
• Running back Mylique McGriff is currently ninth on Clarion's all-time rushing list, having passed Damien Henry and Ben Fiscus in the win over Seton Hill on Oct. 5
• Defensive end Vaughn Wallace leads the Golden Eagles with 4.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss on the season, and also scored one of Clarion's two defensive touchdowns this year
• Wallace is tied for second in the PSAC with two forced fumbles, one behind the league lead 
• Receiver Terrell Ford ranks third in the PSAC in kick returns, averaging 25.1 yards per return, and is the only player in the PSAC to return a kick for a touchdown this season
• Ford ranks fifth in the PSAC with an average of 116.3 all-purpose yards per game
• The Golden Eagle defense ranks second conference in third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert just 31.9 percent of their third-down attempts into first downs
• Linebacker Amari Johnson had 12 tackles against Cal U on Oct. 12, the most for a Golden Eagle in a single game this season
• Quarterback Jeff Clemens threw for season highs in completions, attempts and passing yards against Cal U
• Clemens has a 60.1 completion percentage and boasts 12 touchdowns to just four interceptions
• 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 return home to face the first of likely two straight nationally-ranked opponents, when they host the 22nd-ranked IUP Crimson Hawks at Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for noon.  

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 Crimson Hawks
IUP was predicted to finish third in the PSAC West division and was one of three teams to earn a first-place vote, joining presumptive favorite Slippery Rock as well as Cal U.  The Crimson Hawks were undefeated until last week's clash with the Rock, falling in a high-scoring shootout by a 45-42.  They had dominated to that point, beating their first four opponents by an average margin of 34.2 points per game. 

IUP has been characteristically strong on both sides of the bal, ranking second in the PSAC in scoring offense at 45.0 points per game and third in scoring defense at 17.0 points per game.  Much of that has come from establishing, and stopping, the pass; IUP is averaging better than 324 passing yards per game and allowing little more than 150 passing yards against, despite playing with the lead much of the time.  Quinton Maxwell is third in the PSAC with 268.0 passing yards per game and 17 touchdown passes, while Duane Brown leads the league with 10 touchdown catches.  Dajour Fisher is third in the PSAC with five sacks.

Series History
This will be the 90th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Crimson Hawks, with IUP owning a 62-24-3 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion.  IUP has won each of the last eight meetings.  The last win for Clarion came in Indiana on Oct. 16, 2010, a 21-14 win in which Alfonso Hoggard rushed for 179 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Last year's meeting saw the Golden Eagles open up an impressive lead before the Crimson Hawks came roaring back, with the latter winning 24-23 at home on Oct. 13, 2018.  Mylique McGriff and Scott Florence each scored touchdowns in the first quarter to put Clarion ahead 20-0, but the Golden Eagles were held to just a field goal the rest of the way as Lenny Williams threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to put IUP ahead.

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 19-31 at Clarion, including a 11-20 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
The Golden Eagle football forced three turnovers and held the Cal U offense in check for stretches of the afternoon, but Clarion was unable to top the Vulcans on the latter's Homecoming in falling 35-20 at Adamson Stadium on Saturday. 
 
The defense was once again a major factor on Saturday, with cornerback Corey Wells picking off Cal U's Noah Mitchell and the Golden Eagles recovering a pair of lost Vulcan fumbles.  The first came in the first quarter and led directly to points for the Golden Eagles as Chris Gildea knocked the ball loose from Jordan Dandridge and set up a Clarion touchdown drive.  The second came in the second half on a mishandled punt by the Vulcans, with the kick coming down on a Cal U player and into the hands of the coverage team.
 
Clarion was able to turn one of those turnovers into points, with Gildea's forced fumble setting things up for the Golden Eagle offense.  On a 1st-and-10 at the Cal U 26, quarterback Jeff Clemens connected with Kahliq Muhammad for a 22-yard completion to get near the goal line, and two plays later he found tight end Jacob Whitenight for the latter's second touchdown catch of the season.  That pulled the Golden Eagles even with the Vulcans at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.  James Metzgar put Clarion ahead with one of his two field goals on the afternoon, booting one through from 37 yards out to make it 10-7.
 
Clemens connected with Muhammad for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter as well.  That slashed the Vulcans' lead to 35-20 with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Clemens finished 25-of-43 for 254 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the afternoon, and Muhammad was his top target with six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.  On defense, Amari Johnson led the team with 12 tackles, while Vaughn Wallace recorded his fourth sack of the season as part of a four-tackle performance. 

The Crime Dog
Mylique McGriff went off for his fourth 100-yard rushing game in five attempts in Clarion's win over Seton Hill, posting 108 yards on the ground in Clarion's win over Seton Hill.  With that performance he moved into first in the PSAC with 607 total rushing yards; first in the conference and 11th in the nation with 121.4 yards per game; and second in the PSAC with an average of 129.0 all-purpose yards per game.

McGriff's game against Seton Hill also involved a run to the record books, as the junior back topped 2,000 rushing yards for his career.  He moved past Damien Henry and Ben Fiscus for ninth place on the career rushing yards list at Clarion, and now has 2,098 yards on the ground.   

> 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
Against Seton Hill, Terrell Ford became the first Golden Eagle to return a kickoff for a touchdown in nearly a decade when he blazed down the field for a 90-yard score against the Griffins.  While several Clarion players have scored on punt returns for touchdowns in recent years, the last one to take a kickoff back was Patrick Graham-Murphy, who returned a kick for a score against Shippensburg during the 2011 season.  He is one of only 30 players in the country to return a kick for a touchdown this year, and Seton Hill's Darnell Carey is the only other PSAC player to do so this year.

> Ford had his best receiving 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.

Fall on the Ball
Through six weeks Clarion ranks as one of the top teams not just in the PSAC but in the nation in recovered fumbles.  With eight fumble recoveries this season, the Golden Eagles rank first in the PSAC and seventh in the nation.  They added two more against Cal U on Oct. 12, with Chris Gildea knocking the ball loose from Jordan Dandridge and the Golden Eagles recovering a muffed punt in the second half.

Wallace Gives, and Wallace Takes Away
Leading the charge on the Clarion defense has been defensive end Vaughn Wallace, who ranks 21st in the country and third in the PSAC with two forced fumbles.  Wallace has been dominant upfront in general with a team-high 4.0 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.

Campbell Makes His Move
Rayonte Campbell played a part in two huge special teams plays in the first half against Seton Hill on Oct 5, allowing the Golden Eagles to build and hold on to a lead.  With neither team getting anything going on offense in the second quarter, Campbell recovered a punt blocked by teammate Joe Kucenski and took it to the house for a special teams touchdown, making it a 7-0 Clarion advantage.  Later in the quarter he nearly tacked on more points, recovering an extra point blocked by Saif Khan and taking it 90 yards before being tackled.  He rounded out his day against the Griffins with an interception.

Muhammad Takes the Reins
Kahliq Muhammad has been one of the Golden Eagles' lead performers in the passing game, with the senior receiver taking the lead in the major receiving categories for the Golden Eagles.  Muhammad leads the team with 31 catches for 389 yards and seven touchdowns.  His 31 catches through six games is already the most for a Clarion player since Kevin Genevro and Matt Lehman had 65 and 51 receptions, respectively, in the 2016 season, and his seven scores are the most since Genevro's 13 and Lehman's 13 that season.

> Muhammad had his best game to date in a Clarion uniform in a 42-16 win over Seton Hill, setting season-highs in catches (7), receiving yards (94) and touchdowns (3).  He became the first Golden Eagle to catch three touchdown passes in a single game since Mason Standard hauled in three scoring grabs against the Griffins on Oct. 7, 2017.

Clemens in Control
Redshirt senior quarterback Jeff Clemens in having the best season of his career in 2019, completing 60.8 percent of his passes and using his legs to make plays as well as his arm.  He has thrown 12 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions, part of a trend for Clarion quarterbacks this year that has seen them throw 18 touchdown passes and just 11 picks.  Clemens is also the team's second leading rusher with 95 net yards and a touchdown on the ground.  

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.

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 third in the league with a 31.9 third down percentage on defense.

Bringing the Big Boot
James 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 seven 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 13 turnovers through six games this year, a number that ranks fourth in the PSAC.

Paving the Road
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