Game 8 // Clarion Golden Eagles (3-4, 1-3 PSAC West) at #9 Slippery Rock The Rock (7-0, 4-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 26 // 1 p.m. // Slippery Rock, Pa. // Mihalik-Thompson 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
Television - This week's game will be televised by PA Sports Fever.  For a full list of stations carrying the game, click here.  The game will also stream via ESPN3.
The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles will face what might be their stiffest test of the season to date on Saturday, when they go on the road to take on ninth-ranked Slippery Rock at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.  Kickoff is officially scheduled for 1:06 p.m.

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.  In addition, the game will be televised by PA Sports Fever and will stream on ESPN3.

Scouting The Rock
Slippery Rock was predicted to win the PSAC West division in the preseason coaches' poll and they have played the part well, going undefeated through seven total games and four PSAC West contests entering this week.  The Rock checks in at ninth in the national rankings this week, making them the highest-ranked opponent Clarion has faced since a meeting with second-ranked IUP in 2017.  

The Rock are led by 2018 First Team All-PSAC West quarterback Roland Rivers III, who is among the nation's leaders in the major statistical passing categories.  He benefits from a trio of top receivers in Jermaine Wynn Jr., Henry Litwin and Cinque Sweeting, yet their rushing offense of 175.0 yards per game also ranks second in the PSAC.  Defensively the Rock ranks seventh in the conference with 14 turnovers gained, and their margin of +1.29 is the third-best number in the league.  Chad Kuhn leads the PSAC and ranks 12th in the country in sacks with an average of 1.07 sacks per game.

Series History
This will be the 78th meeting between the two teams, with Slippery Rock owning a 49-25-3 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion.  The last Golden Eagle win in the series came during the 2016 season, when Clarion won the Milk Jug Trophy for the first time in its history with a 27-23 win over The Rock at Memorial Stadium.

Last year's meeting saw the Rock open up a lead in the first half, only for the Golden Eagles to hang around and keep the game close until the fourth quarter in a 28-13 loss.  James Metzgar scored on a pair of field goal makes, and Mylique McGriff scored Clarion's only touchdown in the third quarter.  Chris Gildea had one of two interceptions against Rivers in the game.

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 19-32 at Clarion, including a 11-21 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 Clarion football team had flashes of excellent play but were hampered by self-inflicted wounds on Saturday afternoon, falling 59-21 to the 22nd-ranked IUP Crimson Hawks at Memorial Stadium.
 
There were times Saturday when the Golden Eagles got their figurative punches in on the Crimson Hawks, but it was not enough to keep pace with the Crimson Hawks, who entered the game as one of the top all-around squads in the PSAC.  Clarion did record 308 yards of total offense and reached the end zone three times, but IUP forced seven turnovers turned them into 28 total points. 
 Quarterback Jeff Clemens went 20-of-37 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, with receiver Terrell Ford his favorite target on the day.  Ford finished with eight catches for 86 yards, and also added 144 kick return yards for 230 all-purpose yards on the day.  Quinn Zinobile and Dana Jackson, Jr. both recorded touchdown receptions, with Zinobile scoring on a 59-yard catch and run and Jackson on a short lob into the end zone. 
 
Chris Gildea had a career-high 16 tackles and also recorded an interception late in the game, picking off IUP two yards deep in his own end zone and returning it 70-plus yards to the opposing 30-yard line.  Sam Fareri finished with 15 tackles and a pass break-up.  Vaughn Wallace had the lone sack on Crimson Hawk quarterbacks on Saturday, inducing an intentional grounding penalty in the process. 

Not Ancient History
Running back Ross Greece recorded his fourth rushing touchdown of the season last week, putting the redshirt freshman alongside Mylique McGriff for the Clarion lead so far this season.  It is the first time that two Clarion players have recorded four or more rushing touchdowns in a season since 2014, when Delrece Williams scored six and Connor Simmons five.

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 34 players in the country to return a kick for a touchdown this year, and one of only three players in the PSAC to do so.

> Ford tied his season high with eight receptions in Clarion's loss to IUP, finishing with 86 receiving yards.  He also added 144 kickoff return yards for a total of 230 all-purpose yards.  He ranks second on the team in touchdowns and third in receptions and receiving yardage.

Fall on the Ball
Through seven 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 second in the PSAC and eighth in the nation.  They added two more against Cal U on Oct. 12 to reach their season total.

Wallace Gives, and Wallace Takes Away
Leading the charge on the Clarion defense has been defensive end Vaughn Wallace.  Wallace has been dominant upfront in general with a team-high 5.0 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.  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.

The Mighty Quinn
Quinn Zinobile continued his ascendancy in the team's receiver ranks against IUP, scoring on a 59-yard touchdown reception against the Crimson Hawks.  He moved into second on the roster in receptions and receiving yards, and his 66-yard score against Lock Haven in the second game of the season is the longest play from scrimmage for the Golden Eagles this year.

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 33 catches for 436 yards and seven touchdowns.  His 33 catches through seven 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 eight 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 59.3 percent of his passes and using his legs to make plays as well as his arm.  He has thrown 14 touchdown passes compared to just six interceptions.

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.

Flying Around the Field
Chris Gildea had a career-high 16 tackles against IUP on Oct. 19, marking the first game of 15+ tackles for a Golden Eagle this season.  It's the most tackles in a game for Clarion since Layne Skundrich notched 17 stops against Cal U on Oct. 6, 2018.  Sam Fareri also got in on the action with 15 stops against the Crimson Hawks.  Fareri now leads the team with 50 total tackles on the season.

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 32.9 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 15 turnovers through seven games this year, a number that ranks fifth 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.

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.