Game 10 // Clarion Golden Eagles (3-6, 1-5 PSAC West) vs. Mercyhurst Lakers (4-5, 2-4 PSAC West)
Saturday, November 9 // 12:06 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.)

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.

Live Stats

Clarion Game Notes

The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles will send off their seniors in the final home game of their career when they host the Mercyhurst Lakers at Memorial Stadium.  Kickoff is scheduled for 12:06 p.m. on Saturday, November 9.  

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 PA Sports Fever and will also stream via ESPN3.  The full list of stations carrying the game live and on replay is posted on ClarionGoldenEagles.com.

Scouting The Lakers
The Lakers were predicted to finish fourth in the PSAC West division and they currently sit just one game out of that spot, owning a 4-5 overall record and a 2-4 mark in PSAC West action.  They posted wins against Edinboro and Gannon, with the latter coming in a 28-7 decision last week.  Neither the Lakers nor the Golden Knights scored in the first half of last week's game, but Clay Waldron broke things open with an 80-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter and  things got rolling from there.

Mercyhurst relies heavily on running back Garrett Owens, who is second in the conference with 168 rushing attempts.  He leads the PSAC with 12 total rushing touchdowns, and he also leads the Lakers with 28 receptions this season.  Quarterback Doug Altavilla returns in 2019 and has 13 touchdown passes compared to 14 interceptions.  Mercyhurst has two players with more than 10 total tackles for loss – Ayron Thompson Jr. (11.0) and Corbin Kessler (10.0).  The rush defense has been exceptional, with the Lakers allowing an average of just 106.0 yards per game on the ground.

Series History
This will be the 12th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Lakers, with Mercyhurst owning a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion.  The Lakers have won each of the last two meetings, a 21-18 decision at Memorial Stadium in 2017 and a 14-7 defensive battle in 2018.  The last Clarion win in the series was a shootout in Erie, with the Golden Eagles rallying from a 28-14 second half deficit to beat the Lakers 35-34.

Last year's game saw both teams do all of their scoring in the first half as Mercyhurst held on for a 14-7 win over Clarion.  Tanner Jones had the lone score of the day for the Golden Eagles, giving them a 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game with a three-yard rushing touchdown.  Garrett Owens tied the score with his own rushing touchdown – part of a 112-yard day on the ground – and Clay Waldron had what was ultimately the game-winning touchdown reception in the second quarter.  Both defenses played well, with Clarion holding Mercyhurst to just 242 total yards.

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 19-34 at Clarion, including a 11-23 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 team put on a late rally to try and come back from a halftime deficit, but Clarion was unable to make up the entirety of the lost ground in falling 27-20 to Edinboro at Sox Harrison Stadium on Saturday. 
 
Mylique McGriff made his return to the field after missing three weeks due to injury, and the junior running back had an immediate impact on the Clarion offense with 80 rushing yards and two touchdowns.  He and James Metzgar provided all of the scoring for the Golden Eagles on Saturday, with the latter going 2-of-2 on field goal attempts and making both of his extra point tries.  Metzgar improved to 7-of-11 on the season and needs just three more makes to crack the top-five in school history, while McGriff passed Robert Walker and Delrece Williams for seventh on the all-time rushing list at Clarion.
 
The Clarion defense forced three turnovers against the Fighting Scots, with Corey Wells intercepting his team-leading third pass of the season, and Dante Paul and Sam Fareri each recovering fumbles.  Fareri's recovery came on a great special teams play, pulling in a loose ball that was not fielded cleanly on a punt return, while Paul's recovery came when Kareem Hamdan punched the ball loose from CJ Reyes-Diggs in the fourth quarter.  The latter set up a field goal make from Metzgar and cut the Edinboro lead to 27-20 with more than 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

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 114.5 rushing yards per game in his six games of action.  Only one other rusher, Chantz Swartz of Lock Haven, is averaging better than 100 yards per game on the ground.

> As mentioned before, McGriff moved into seventh place on the all-time rushing list at Clarion with 2,178 rushing yards.  Were he to match his season-to-date average for rushing yards, there are several more he could catch before the end of the year – 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 nine weeks Clarion ranks as one of the top teams not just in the PSAC but 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 sixth 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 moved to within one interception of the conference lead last week, picking off a pass against Edinboro for his third recorded of the season.  That topped his previous career high of two set a season ago.

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 three 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 four games, making six of his last seven 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.

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 nine games has already earned an unexpected distinction.  Whitenight caught his second touchdown pass of the year on Oct. 12 against Cal U, making him the first Golden Eagle tight end to catch two scores in a season in five years.  The last to do it was Zach Deitrick, who did it in 2014.

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.  He currently has 31 catches for 411 yards and three scores.

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 38 catches for 474 yards and seven touchdowns.  His 38 catches through nine 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.

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.

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 20 turnovers through nine 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.

Built Ford Tough
Against Seton Hill on Oct. 5, 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 40 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.

> Terrell Ford ranks third in the PSAC with an average of 126.7 all-purpose yards per game.

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.