Game 11 // Clarion Golden Eagles (3-7, 1-6 PSAC West) vs. East Stroudsburg Warriors (5-5, 2-5 PSAC East)
Saturday, November 16 // 1:05 p.m. // East Stroudsburg, Pa. // Eiler-Martin 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 close out the 2019 regular season this weekend when travel across the state to take on East Stroudsburg in a televised clash
• This will be the 15th meeting between the two teams, with East Stroudsburg owning a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Warriors
• East Stroudsburg won last year's meeting, a 23-17 decision at Memorial Stadium
• The Golden Eagles are coming off a 57-10 loss at home to Mercyhurst, Clarion's final home game of the year
• Safety Sam Fareri recorded his first interception of the season last week, giving him 10 picks for his career, while lineman Saif Khan forced his team-leading third fumble of the year
• Running back Mylique McGriff reached 2,230 career rushing yards last week, and is within striking distance of cracking the top-five all-time at Clarion
• McGriff leads the PSAC in rushing at 105.6 yards/game, and his 5.3 yards/carry average is fourth in the league among rushers with 100+ attempts
• Receiver Quinn Zinobile caught eight passes for 85 yards against Mercyhurst, and also returned four kicks for 137 yards
• Zinobile now leads Clarion with 545 receiving yards and 13.0 yards per reception
• Wide receiver Kahliq Muhammad has seven receiving touchdowns this year, the most for a Golden Eagle since 2016
• Muhammad was recently informed that he will have an additional year of eligibility in 2020
• Clarion's 21 passing touchdowns this year are the most since posting 26 in 2016
• Kicker James Metzgar has made seven of his last nine field goal attempts, and needs two more makes to reach fourth all-time in Clarion history
• Metzgar successfully converted his third first down of the season last week, completing a pass to Sam Fareri on a fake punt
• Metzgar made headlines off the field last week when he proposed to his longtime girlfriend before kickoff against Mercyhurst
• 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 close the 2019 season this Saturday when they take on East Stroudsburg at Eiler-Martin Stadium at 1:05 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.

The game will be televised by Blue Ridge TV-113 and will stream on the PSAC Network app.

Scouting The Warriors
The Warriors were predicted to finish sixth in the PSAC East preseason poll and actually did exactly that, recording a 5-5 overall record and a 2-5 mark in divisional play.  East Stroudsburg came out of the gates firing by winning their first five games of the year, including monster offensive efforts against Lock Haven and Millersville, but have since lost five straight games.  As far as common opponents with Clarion this year, East Stroudsburg owns wins over Seton Hill, Edinboro and the Bald Eagles, and lost to Shepherd and Shippensburg.

The Warriors are looking for their first six-win campaign since the 2015 season, and enter the week ranked sixth in the PSAC in scoring offense at 29.7 points per game.  They have been proficient on special teams in recent weeks, with Jordan Walters and Rece Bender winning PSAC East Special Teams Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks earlier this year.  Quarterback Jake Cirillo is a threat with his feet as well as his arm; he has a net 446 rushing yards and three ground scores to go with his 1,862 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes.

Series History
This will be the 15th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Warriors, with East Stroudsburg holding a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series.  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.  Clarion has not beaten East Stroudsburg since 2012.

The teams met in last year's season finale at Memorial Stadium, with the Warriors overcoming the harsh conditions for a 23-17 victory over the Golden Eagles.  Scott Florence rushed for 111 yards, posted 48 receiving yards and ran it in for a score, while senior offensive lineman Rob Korzon caught a lateral for a touchdown.  Quinlin Lambert was one of two Golden Eagles to force a turnover on defense, picking off a pass.

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 19-35 at Clarion, including an 11-24 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 honored its seniors in a pregame ceremony on Saturday, but the Golden Eagles fell to Mercyhurst by a 57-10 score at Memorial Stadium.
The Lakers took early control of the contest and never allowed the Golden Eagles a foothold, with Clarion's first score coming just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter.  Tight end Jake Whitenight caught his third touchdown pass of the season and James Metzgar added a field goal with 2:14 remaining in regulation to represent the Golden Eagles' scoring.
 
Metzgar enjoyed a couple of highlights on his Saturday.  In addition to kicking the field goal, he also completed a pass to Sam Fareri on a fake punt in the first half to pick up a Clarion first down, making him 3-for-3 on converting fake punts into first downs this season. 
 
Clarion's offense did not pick up much traction until the second half, doing most of their damage in the final 30 minutes of action.  Quinn Zinobile had eight catches for 85 yards, while Kahliq Muhammad made a number of impressive sideline grabs in posting seven catches for 70 yards.  Zinobile was pressed into duty as a kick returner and did well, averaging 34.3 yards per return.
 
On defense, Sam Fareri had a game-high 10 tackles and recorded his first interception of the year, thwarting a Laker drive by picking off a pass in the end zone.  Saif Khan finished with seven tackles and a sack, while Chris GIldea had eight stops and a pass break-up.

Grand Return
Mylique McGriff returned to the lineup on Nov. 2 after missing the previous three weeks to injury, posting 80 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Edinboro.  The junior running back jumped back to the top of the list of rushers in the PSAC in 2019, averaging 105.6 rushing yards per game in his seven games of action.  Only one other rusher, Chantz Swartz of Lock Haven, is averaging better than 100 yards per game on the ground.

> McGriff moved into seventh place on the all-time rushing list at Clarion against Edinboro, and now has 2,230 rushing yards.  There are still three former Golden Eagle rushers that are in his sights for this final game – Ron DeJidas (2,286), Alfonso Hoggard (2,350) and Eddie Emmanuel (2,371) are all within striking distance.

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

Fall on the Ball
Through 10 weeks, Clarion ranks as one of the top teams not just in the PSAC but also in the nation in recovered fumbles. With recoveries by Sam Fareri and Dante Paul against Edinboro on Nov. 2, the Golden Eagles rank first in the PSAC and 17th in the nation with 11 fumble recoveries.  Paul and Chris Gildea are tied for the team lead with two fumbles recovered each, a number that also leads the PSAC.

Wells On His Way
Cornerback Corey Wells recorded his third interception of the season in the game against Edinboro on Nov. 2, and in the process set a new career high.  He picked off two passes a season ago.

Off the Schneid
Safety Sam Fareri has a history of being a ballhawk, but going into the 10th game of the season he had not yet recorded an interception.  That changed against Mercyhurst last week, when Fareri intercepted a pass in the end zone for his first pick of the year.  

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 two conversions from Metzgar would give him 28 career field goals, good enough for fourth in program history.

> Metzgar has been on a roll over the last five games, making seven of his last nine field goal attempts with a long make of 37 yards.  His longest field goal this year was a 42-yarder against Shepherd on Sept. 21.

Don't Sleep On Him
James Metzgar has also shown the ability to give his team a boost with his ability to effectively pull off fakes on special teams plays.  He has successfully converted three first downs from the punter position this year - two on runs and another on a completed pass to long snapper Sam Fareri.

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 7.5 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.  He also leads the team with nine quarterback hurries.

> 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.

Tops for Tight Ends
Jake Whitenight came to Clarion as an offensive lineman but has made the move to tight end, and in just 10 games has already earned an unexpected distinction.  Whitenight caught his third touchdown pass of the year on Nov. 9 against Mercyhurst, making him the first Golden Eagle tight end to catch three scores in a season in five years.  The last to do it was Zach Deitrick, who caught four scores in 2014.

The Mighty Quinn
Quinn Zinobile continued his ascendancy in the team's receiver ranks against Mercyhurst, posting eight catches for 85 yards.  He moved into first on the roster in receiving yards (545), as well as second in receptions (42) and touchdown catches (3).  He also showed ability as a kick returner against the Lakers, taking back four kicks for 137 yards.  That included a long return of 53 yards, and he ultimately ended up with 222 all-purpose yards against Mercyhurst.