IUP Crimson Hawks (3-1, 2-0 PSAC West) at Clarion Golden Eagles (0-5, 0-2 PSAC West)
Saturday, Oct. 9 // 2 p.m. // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium

MEDIA COVERAGE

Radio: Mike Kalinowski (PXP) and Joe Lodanosky (color) will have the radio call for the game on 96.3 FM Mix96 an hour before kickoff.  Live audio streaming will be available via the Mix96 website.

Streaming Video: All PSAC member institutions stream football games free of charge on the PSAC Sports Digital Network. Games are available on the web, and fans can download the PSAC Sports Digital Network App on the following: 
- Mobile: App Store (iOS), Google Play (Android), Amazon Fire
- Streaming: Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku

Live Stats: Fans can follow along with live stats from all Golden Eagle football contests through SIDEARM Live Stats.

The Kickoff    
Clarion returns to Memorial Stadium to wrap up the local Autumn Leaf Festival with a Homecoming clash against IUP. The Golden Eagles and the Crimson Hawks will kick off at 2 p.m.

Series History

• This will be the 91st meeting between the two teams, with IUP owning a 63-24-3 advantage in the all-time series with Clarion. It is the second-oldest PSAC rivalry in the Golden Eagle record books, dating back to 1927. Only Edinboro played Clarion earlier, and in that instance only by a single year.
• The Crimson Hawks have gotten the better of the Golden Eagles in each of the last nine meetings, with Clarion's most recent win coming on Oct. 16, 2010. That was a 21-14 win for the Golden Eagles in Indiana. The last time Clarion defeated IUP at home was on Nov. 2, 1996, a 49-15 dismantling that helped the Golden Eagles clinch a share of the PSAC West championship with IUP.
• In the last meeting between the two teams, IUP defeated Clarion 59-21 on Oct. 19, 2019 at Memorial Stadium. Quinn Zinobile scored on a 59-yard touchdown reception, while Terrell Ford led the Golden Eagles in receptions (8) and yards (86). Kareem Hamdan finished with 10 total tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. 

About the Opponent

• IUP was picked to finish second in the PSAC West division in 2021, receiving three first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll. The Crimson Hawks entered the season ranked 15th in the nation and reached as high as 14th.
• The Crimson Hawks' lone stumble this year was a home loss to Shepherd in Week 2, who ranked 11th nationally at the time. Since then they have gone on to defeat Mercyhurst and Gannon to start PSAC West play with a 2-0 record. 
• IUP ranks in the middle of the pack in the PSAC as far as offense and defense, sitting in seventh in scoring (31.5 ppg) and eighth in scoring defense (24.8 ppg). Where they lead the pack, though, is turnover margin: IUP leads the conference and ranks fifth in the nation with a +2.0 turnover margin, taking the ball away from opponents nine times while losing just one themselves.
• Receivers Duane Brown and Irvin Charles make for a solid 1-2 punch for the Crimson Hawks, combining for 36 receptions, 515 yards and six touchdown receptions through four games. Darius Bruce ranks fifth in the PSAC with 20 total tackles in divisional games, and Malachi Newell has forced two fumbles since PSAC West action started on Sept. 25.

 Last Time Out

• The Golden Eagle football team took on one of the top teams in the nation on Oct. 2, falling to seventh-ranked Slippery Rock 75-0 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. 
• Clarion struggled against the Rock, who came into the game ranked seventh nationally according to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). As such, the Golden Eagles had trouble moving the ball on Slippery Rock, while the latter finished with 588 yards of total offense.
• Khyree Marshall finished as Clarion's leading rusher, compiling 35 yards on 12 carries. Ty Corbin caught a team-high three passes while Terrell Ford led the team in receiving yards.
• Kareem Hamdan led Clarion with 12 total tackles, as well as 1.5 tackles for loss. Drew Blon and Amari Johnson also added tackles for loss. Blon also recorded a forced fumble that Slippery Rock recovered. Johnson factored into one of those tackles for losses, bringing down Rock running back Tim Smith for a loss near the goal line.

PSAC Announces Preseason Coaches Poll
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced the results of their preseason coaches poll on August 4. The Golden Eagles were predicted to finish eighth in the PSAC West division in 2021.

PSAC West Division (First Place Votes)

1. Slippery Rock (4)
2. IUP (3)
3. Cal U (1)
4. Mercyhurst
5. Edinboro
6. Seton Hill
7. Gannon
8. Clarion

PSAC East Division (First Place Votes)

1. Shepherd (6)
2. West Chester (1)
3. Kutztown (1)
4. Bloomsburg
5. Shippensburg
6. East Stroudsburg
7. Millersville
8. Lock Haven

Zinobile Named PSAC West Offensive POTW

• Quinn Zinobile posted one of the best days of his young career against Shippensburg on Sept. 18, earning himself PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors for Sept. 20.
• Zinobile caught five passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came on huge plays in the first quarter, starting with a 73-yard touchdown reception to put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard. That was the longest reception of Zinobile's career. He followed it up with a 53-yard touchdown on the very next possession.
• With his 202 receiving yards, Zinobile became the first Golden Eagle receiver to top 200 yards in a game since Jon Reid did it against LIU Post in the 2012 season. Of those 202 yards, 80 of them were recorded as yards after the catch.
• That 202 receiving yards also put Zinobile over 1,000 career receiving yards.

History is in Sight

• Senior running back Mylique McGriff was a 2019 First Team All-PSAC West running back after leading the conference with an average of 104.5 rushing yards per game. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry in 2019, the fourth-highest average in the PSAC among backs with 150 carries.
• McGriff entered the season needing 743 yards to break the program rushing record. He now needs 541 yards in the final six games to top Elton Brown's record.

Clarion's Career Rushing Leaders

1. Elton Brown - 3,069
2. Steve Witte - 2,850
3. Gary Frantz - 2,778
4. Mylique McGriff - 2,529
5. Eddie Emmanuel - 2,371
6. Alfonso Hoggard - 2,350

More History for Mylique

• With his touchdown plunge against Gannon on Sept. 25, Mylique McGriff continued his climb up another statistical category in program history - rushing touchdowns.
• McGriff now has 19 career scores on the ground, tying him with Bill Wise (1966-68) and Ron DeJidas (1993-97) for fifth on the program's rushing touchdowns list.
• While it seems unlikely McGriff will get the 23 rushing touchdowns necessary to wrestle the program record of 41 away from Steve Witte -– though anything is possible, right? –  he needs just five more touchdowns the rest of the way to move into sole possession of fourth place, above Elton Brown.

Fine, Here's A Rundown of Where Mylique McGriff Ranks on Clarion's Career Rushing Records Lists

• Rushing Yards - 4th - 2,529
• Rush Attempts - 6th - 510
• Rushing Touchdowns - T-5th - 19
• Average Rush Yards/Game - 1st - 84.3

The Mighty Quinn

• Receiver Quinn Zinobile continues to rack up the stats in 2021, and is among the conference's leaders in most statistical categories.
• Zinobile is one off the PSAC lead in touchdown receptions with five scores so far this season. Only Slippery Rock's Henry Litwin and Shepherd's Ryan Beach have more. 
• Zinobile saw his personal streak of games with a touchdown snapped on Oct. 2 against Slippery Rock. He had a touchdown catch in every game before that this season. That streak stretched back to 2019 as well, with Zinobile ultimately scoring in five straight games.
• The sophomore receiver ranks sixth in the conference and third in the West division with an average of 93.3 receiving yards per game, and his 5.3 receptions per game average ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, in the conference and West division.

Double-Dip

• The receiving duo of Quinn Zinobile and Kahliq Muhammad did something against Shippensburg on Sept. 18 that no Golden Eagle pairing had done in the previous five years.
• Zinobile recorded 202 yards receiving and two touchdowns against the Red Raiders, while Muhammad finished with 102 yards and two touchdowns.
• It was the first time two Golden Eagle receivers went over the 100-yard receiving mark in the same game since Kevin Genevro and Matt Lehman did it against Mercyhurst during the 2016 season, a span of 42 games.
• More recently was the last instance of two Golden Eagles catching two or more touchdowns in the same game: that would be Terrell Ford and Zinobile, who did so against Lock Haven last season.

The Crime Dog Hits 100

• Mylique McGriff hit 100 yards rushing right on the nose against Shippensburg on Sept. 18, finishing with exactly that total.
• It was the first time the senior running back crossed the century mark since the midway point of the 2019 season. 
• McGriff had not topped 100 yards in a game since Oct. 5, 2019 against Seton Hill.

Three Bills for Eggers

• Making his second career start in the game against Shippensburg on Sept. 18, quarterback Taylor Eggers showed skill in moving the Golden Eagle offense up and down the field.
• Eggers completed 16-of-25 passes for 329 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against the Red Raiders. That made him the first Clarion quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards since Connor Simmons did it against Gannon in the 2016 season. 
• Eggers' 329 yards are the fifth-most in a single game in the PSAC through three weeks and the second-most for a PSAC West quarterback.
• Simmons was also the last Golden Eagle quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards, four touchdowns and no picks in a game. He did it against Lock Haven in the 2016 season opener, a span of 45 games.

Going Ham

• Kareem Hamdan has gotten off to a good start in 2021, showing that he has a nose for making stops all over the field.
• The sophomore linebacker leads the team with 45 total tackles in the first five games. He ranks fifth in the PSAC with an average of 9.0 tackles per game through Week 5.
• At his current pace, Hamdan will challenge the 100-tackle total for the season. The last Golden Eagle to top the century mark for a season was Layne Skundrich, who posted 116 total tackles in the 2017 season.

Exclusive Club for Jalen Smith

• With his 55-yard punt return against Lake Erie on Sept. 4, Jalen Smith became just the fifth Clarion player to return a punt for a touchdown in the last two decades.
• The last time a Golden Eagle took a punt back for a score was on Oct. 11, 2014, when Matt Lehman took a kick 27 yards to the house against Edinboro.
• Clarion players returned four punts for touchdowns from 2002-05, but have only returned two since then.
• Smith's punt return for a touchdown is currently the third-longest punt return in the conference this season and is one of only six punt returns for a touchdown in the conference so far this year.

Clarion Punt Returns for TDs - Since 2000
2021 - Jalen Smith vs. Lake Erie
2014 - Matt Lehman vs. Edinboro
2005 - Matt Morris
2003 - Bo Busch, Myron Hargon
2002 - Brandon Whitman

Nothing Runs Like a Ford

• Against Lake Erie on Sept. 4, Terrell Ford scored his second career kickoff return touchdown, taking it to the house from 70 yards out.
• Ford is the first Golden Eagle to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in his career since Rick Slike returned two kicks during the 1973 season.
• Ford's return against the Storm is currently one of only three kickoff return touchdowns in the conference through four weeks.

One More Note on the Return Game...

• When Jalen Smith and Terrell Ford returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns, respectively, against Lake Erie, they became the first Clarion duo to return kicks for touchdowns in the same game in 21 years. 
• Cori Johnson and Myron Hargon both returned kickoffs for touchdowns on Sept. 2, 2000 against East Stroudsburg.

Prowling the Sidelines

• In addition to the fresh faces in uniform, the Golden Eagle coaching staff has undergone a makeover since the end of the 2019 season.
• Mike Tesch will start his first season as the Golden Eagles' receivers coach in 2021. He spent his previous two seasons at Illinois College. In 2019, he helped the Blue Boys rank second in the Midwest Conference with an average of 32.0 points per game, and seventh in the nation in red zone scoring percentage.
• Vinnie Rizzo enters his second year as the offensive line coach for Clarion, but will see his first game action in the Blue & Gold in 2021. Rizzo came to Clarion from JUCO powerhouse ASA Brooklyn, where he helped coach one of the top offensive units in the nation.
• Austin Guptel will work with the Golden Eagle defensive backs, as well as the special teams units, in 2021. Last year he was the defensive backs coach at Saint Vincent, and before that he spent a year at Division I Central Connecticut State.

PSAC Announces Partnership with BlueFrame Technology for PSAC Sports Digital Network

• The PSAC announced in July that it reached a five-year partnership with BlueFrame technology to create an end-to-end digital network for all 18 member institutions.
• The PSAC Sports Digital Network will be available on the web along with streaming applications for television and mobile devices for Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku (TV), iOS, Android (mobile) and Amazon Fire Tablet. The app will be able to be found and installed by searching for the PSAC Sports Digital Network.

Next Week

• The Golden Eagles go back on the road to face off with the Cal U Vulcans on Saturday, with a 4 p.m. kickoff on the horizon.
• Clarion will look for their first win against the Vulcans since the 2002 season.