LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced its year-end award winners in football on Wednesday afternoon. Four Golden Eagles were selected as All-PSAC West Second Team performers by the conference coaches in 2021, two each on offense and defense. The offensive side of the ball was represented by running back Khalil Owens and offensive tackle Jake Lindner, while defensive lineman Desmond Johnson and linebacker Kareem Hamdan were recognized on the defense.
 
Hamdan was the Golden Eagles' leading tackler and finished the season as the PSAC leader in tackles per game, hitting exactly 100 tackles – including 64 solo stops – in his 10 games started this year. That placed him at the top of the heap in the conference with an average of 10.0 tackles per game, making him the only player to average double-digits stops for the year. Hamdan ranked third on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss, tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles and also recovered a fumble. He finished his season with 19 tackles against Shepherd, the most tackles in a game for a Clarion player since 1999.
 
Johnson was the heart of the Golden Eagle defensive line, starting all 11 games and leading the team in tackles for loss with 9.5, and sacks with two. A disruptive force in the backfield, Johnson was among the team's leaders in quarterback pressures and finished with 27 tackles on the year. He seemingly got stronger as the year went on, recording 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks during a three-game stretch near season's end.
 
Lindner established himself as the linchpin of the right side of the Clarion offensive line, starting the season at tackle but also playing inside at guard when the situation called for it. He finished his career by starting every game on the line for the Golden Eagles and opening holes for his fellow all-conference selection in Owens, while also buying time for a bevy of talented receivers.
 
Owens was a player that got stronger and more comfortable as the season went on, and by the end of the 2021 campaign was the bell cow running back for the Golden Eagles. He finished the year with 149 carries for 510 yards and two rushing touchdowns, all team highs, but his story is best illustrated by how he finished the year. Owens got 95 touches over the last four games of the year, including 88 rushing attempts, and averaged more than 100 combined rushing and receiving yards per game in that stretch. Included in that was a monster 179-yard rushing game against Edinboro on Nov. 6, the best single-game total for a Golden Eagle running back since the 2019 season opener.