Game 6 // Clarion Golden Eagles (3-2, 1-1 PSAC West) vs Cal U Vulcans (3-2, 1-1 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 12 // 4 p.m. // California, Pa. // Adamson 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

Quick Notes

• Coming off an exciting Homecoming win of their own, the Clarion football team will take on an opponent on the road when they face off with the Cal U Vulcans at Adamson Stadium
• This will be the 89th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Vulcans, with Cal U owning a 47-38-3 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion
• The Golden Eagles have not beated the Vulcans ince 2004, a 35-34 win at Memorial Stadium
• The Golden Eagles are coming off a 42-16 win over Seton Hill on Homecoming, with Clarion scoring two special teams touchdowns en route to the victory
• Receiver Kahliq Muhammad took over the team lead in touchdown receptions with three against the Griffins, giving him six on the season
• Defensive back Rayonte Campbell factored into three plays, recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown, recovering a blocked extra point and intercepting quarterback Ryan Barabe
• Mylique McGriff leads the PSAC with 607 total rushing yards and 121.4 rushing yards per game, and ranks second with 129.0 all-purpose yards per game
• Against Seton Hill, McGriff became the latest Golden Eagle to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in his career, and moved into eighth place on the all-time rushing list at Clarion
• The Golden Eagles currently boast the most prolific rushing offense in the conference, averaging 191.1 rushing yards per game
• Clarion scored two special teams touchdowns in their win over Seton Hill, a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by Rayonte Campbell and a 90-yard kick return for a touchdown by Terrell Ford
• Ford is the first Golden Eagle to return a kick for a touchdown since Patrick Graham-Murphy did it against Shippensburg in 2011
• Defensive end Vaughn Wallace harassed Seton Hill's Ryan Barabe to the tune of six quarterback hurries in Clarion's win
• Clarion's defensive line recorded two blocked kicks against Seton Hill on Oct. 5, with Saif Khan and Joe Kucenski getting in the way of boots on the day
• Receiver Terrell Ford had a breakout game against Gannon on Sept. 28, setting season-highs with  eight catches for 152 yards and a touchdown
• Ford ranks third in the PSAC in all-purpose yardage at 123.6 yards per game
• The Golden Eagle defense ranks first conference in third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert just 25.9 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.

Scouting The Vulcans
Cal U was predicted to finish second 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 IUP.  The Vulcans enter this weekend's contest with an identical record to Clarion, splitting their first two conference games with a loss to nationally-ranked IUP and a win over Edinboro. 

Defensively the Vulcans are led by preseason All-American defensive back Lamont McPhatter II, who is the reigning Super Region One Defensive Athlete of the Year and was a 2018 first-team All-American according to five different publications.  He is joined by fellow 2018 All-American running back Nelson Brown, who ranks second in the PSAC in rushing yards per game and has five scores on the season.  Quarterback Noah Mitchell has been effective, especially when connecting with Tyson Hill, who ranks near the top of the conference in several offensive categories.

Series History
This will be the 89th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Vulcans, with Cal U owning a 47-38-3 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion.  One needs to go all the way back to 2004 to find the last time the Golden Eagles beat the Vulcans, a 35-34 decision at Memorial Stadium in which Joe Farkas caught a 47-yard touchdown pass as time expired to hold off a Vulcan rally.

Last year's meeting saw the Vulcans jump to a big lead and a lengthy lightning delay that halted the Golden Eagles' momentum, as Cal U defeated Clarion 41-27 at Memorial Stadium.  Mylique McGriff rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns while Dana Jackson, Jr. caught four passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.  Included in that total was a 68-yard reception for a score in the second half.  

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 19-30 at Clarion, including a 11-19 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
The special teams sparked a fire that burned bright and hot in the second half, as the Clarion football team bounced back from a pair of recent losses for a 42-16 win over Seton Hill in the annual Homecoming game. 
 
With neither offense gaining any traction in the first quarter, it was the Golden Eagle special teams unit that provided some of the biggest plays of the day, buying time for the offense to find its footing and put an end to the threat by the Griffins.  Clarion scored two special teams touchdowns on Saturday and nearly added more on a blocked extra point in the second quarter.  That eventually translated to three offensive touchdowns in the second half, including a pair of impressive receiving touchdowns by Kahliq Muhammad and a one-yard touchdown run by Ross Greece.
 
Once the offense did get going in the second half, it was hard to stop.  Clarion outscored Seton Hill 28-7 in the second half, with the Griffins' touchdown coming with less than three minutes remaining and the result no longer a question. 
 
The Golden Eagle pass rush hurried quarterback Ryan Barabe 13 times and sacking him twice.  Chris Gildea had a team-high seven tackles and also an interception, while Vaughn Wallace finished with three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a team-high six pressures.

But the special teams units provided the biggest plays of the day, and Rayonte Campbell was in on the first two highlights from that facet.  Less than three minutes into the second quarter, Joe Kucenski blocked Hunter Miller's punt attempt deep in Seton Hill territory.  Campbell scooped up the ball and dove into the end zone for a score, with James Metzgar's extra point making it 7-0.  Terrell Ford also added a kick return for a touchdown in the second half.

The Crime Dog
Mylique McGriff went off for his fourth 100-yard rushing game in five attempts last week, posting 108 yards on the ground in Clarion's win over Seton Hill.  With that performance he moved into first in the PSAC and 10th in the nation with 607 total rushing yards; first in the conference and 12th 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 eighth 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 21 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.

> Ford ranks second on the team and third in the PSAC with an average of 129.0 all-purpose yards per game.

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 first in the PSAC and 13th in the nation.

> Leading the charge on the Clarion defense has been defensive end Vaughn Wallace, who ranks 14th in the country and second in the PSAC 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.

Campbell Makes His Move
Rayonte Campbell played a part in two huge special teams plays in the first half against Seton Hill, 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.

Hat Trick for Muhammad
Kahliq 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).  His scores came at opportune times as well, with the first increasing the Golden Eagles' lead over the Griffins to 14-6 late in the first half.  He then added a backbreaker in the third quarter, catching his second touchdown to push the lead to 28-6 and send Clarion off to the races.  He added one more scoring grab in the fourth quarter to set the final scoring total for the Golden Eagles.

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 first in the league with a 25.9 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 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 10 turnovers through five games this year.

> 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 five games, averaging 191.0 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