Lake Erie Storm (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Clarion Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, Sept. 4 // 6 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    
Golden Eagle football will take the field against an outside opponent for the first time in nearly two years when they host Lake Erie College at Memorial Stadium. The season kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.

Series History

• This will be the first ever meeting between Lake Erie and Clarion. With conference scheduling requirements being what they are, it has been some time since the Golden Eagles faced off against any teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). 
• Of teams currently in the conference, Clarion has not played a G-MAC school since a season-opening loss to Tiffin in 2007. 
• Clarion is 4-2 all-time against schools from the G-MAC, including a 2-0 record against Ashland (wins in 1927-28) and a 2-2 record against Tiffin (wins in 2000-01, losses in 2006-07).

About the Opponent

• Lake Erie was predicted to finish eighth in the G-MAC preseason coaches' poll in August, tallying seven points in the voting. The Storm played an abbreviated spring schedule earlier this year, going 0-3 overall as three games were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. They went 3-8 in their last full season in 2019. 
• Receiver Nate Dantley was the 2019 G-MAC Co-Freshman of the Year after catching 60 passes for 947 yards and four scores in 2019. Tight end Josh Hufstetler led the team with eight touchdowns that year in earning all-conference honors.
• Defensively, Jayme Vicente-Colon led the Storm defense in tackles for loss this past spring, recording 3.5 TFL in three games. 
• Storm head coach Reilly Murphy enters his third season at the helm of the Storm. He previously served as the offensive coordinator for Fayetteville State, helping the Broncos reach the CIAA championship game after winning the conference's Southern division.

You're Gonna Need a Program!

• It's not a stretch to point out that quite a bit has changed for the Golden Eagles since they last took the field in anger, in the 2019 season finale at East Stroudsburg. There are 71 rostered players that have never suited up in the Blue and Gold, and 63 players on the current roster with freshman eligibility.
• Clarion returns just seven players to start more than 50 percent of games in 2019. Six of those were offensive players, primarily at the skill positions. Defensive lineman Desmond Johnson is the only returning starter on defense.
• The Golden Eagles return a healthy core of skill position players on offense, starting with First Team All-PSAC West running back Mylique McGriff. Clarion also returns their top pass catchers from 2019, including the trio of Terrell Ford, Kahliq Muhammad and Quinn Zinobile. Offensive lineman Jake Lindner and tight end Jake Whitenight will also return to the offense.

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

Lifting the Lid

• Head coach Chris Weibel has a 3-2 record in season openers in his first five years as head coach. He began his career with wins in back-to-back seasons against Lock Haven, and in 2019 the Golden Eagles wiped out Shippensburg on the road to the tune of a 48-28 win.
• The Golden Eagles are 47-41-1 all-time in season openers.
• This will be the first time Clarion has opened the season at Memorial Stadium since 2016. The Golden Eagles' last opener at "home" comes in quotation marks, as Clarion "hosted" Shippensburg at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh for the 2018 opener.

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 is averaging 86.2 yards per game over the course of his career, the best average in program history, and has 2,327 career rushing yards.
• With 743 rushing yards this year, McGriff will pass Elton Brown for the program's career lead in rushing yards.

Clarion's Career Rushing Leaders

1. Elton Brown - 3,069
2. Steve Witte - 2,850
3. Gary Frantz - 2,778
4. Eddie Emmanuel - 2,371
5. Alfonso Hoggard - 2,350
6. Mylique McGriff - 2,327

Bolstering the Ground Game

• The ground game will also be bolstered by a pair of transfer running backs making their first appearances in the Clarion uniform on Saturday. Khalil Owens comes to Clarion from Seton Hill and posted 500 all-purpose yards in his one season as a Griffin, mostly on kick returns.
• Also in the mix is sophomore Kareem Hall, a transfer from Lackawanna that was a two-time all-state running back at Jeannette. Hall is the younger brother of Jordan Hall, a running back and kick returner at Ohio State from 2009-13. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns for Lackawanna in 2019.

The (Not So) Green Knight

• The Golden Eagles welcomed transfer quarterback Kyle Knight to the program during the offseason following the 2019 season, but 2021 will mark the first time he will officially take a snap as the Clarion quarterback.
• Knight was a three-year contributor at quarterback for Lock Haven, and he specialized in making plays with his feet as well as his arm.

Kyle Knight as a Passer
187-of-378, 2,444 yards, 12 TD, 12 INT

Kyle Knight as a Rusher
292 att, 1,388 yards, 14 TD

The Mighty Quinn

• Receiver Quinn Zinobile enjoyed a strong freshman season in 2019, improving steadily as the year went on and turning into the leader in the Golden Eagle passing game.
• Zinobile finished the season as the Golden Eagles' leader in receptions (51) and receiving yards (686), and also notched four touchdowns on the year.
• Not just a possession receiver but also a player who can pull away from defenders, Zinobile recorded Clarion's longest play from scrimmage in 2019 with a 66-yard catch-and-run touchdown against Lock Haven. 

Nothing Runs Like a Ford

• Receiver Terrell Ford was not just one of the most impactful offensive players on the Golden Eagle offense in 2019, but also across the entire PSAC thanks to his prowess on offense and in the return game.
• Ford ranked fifth in the PSAC with an average of 120.6 all-purpose yards per game, including 821 total kickoff return yards and one touchdown.
• His special teams score against Seton Hill on Oct. 5, 2019 was Clarion's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Patrick Graham-Murphy's runback during the 2011 season.
• Ford also posted 35 catches for 385 yards and three touchdowns in his first season in the Blue & Gold.

A Whole New Cast

• On a team where the majority of the roster is are new faces, the Clarion defense is essentially a blank slate in 2021 with only a handful of returning letterwinners taking the field.
• The only returning player to start more than half of the previous season's games is defensive lineman Desmond Johnson, who made six starts in 2019 with 17 tackles, 3.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks.
• Linebacker Amari Johnson finished with four tackles in 2019 and made his first four career starts, while posting 4.0 TFL down the stretch.

Back in the PSAC Groove

• Defensive back Jordan Villafane's name may be familiar to PSAC football fans. After starting his career at Bloomsburg in 2016, Villafane transfered to South Carolina and played a few seasons with the Gamecocks. He'll take over one of the starting corner roles for Clarion in the opener.
• Villafane appeared in all 11 games as a true freshman with the Huskies. That includes a game against Clarion in the season finale, when he had three tackles and two pass break-ups.

Down in the Trenches

• The Golden Eagle offensive line is a hodge podge of experience. Jake LIndner and Matt Charlton both saw extensive action in 2019, with Lindner starting nine games and Charlton two.
• Nick Passamonte and Rob Corrado are the newest faces on the line, with Corrado having one game of experience and Passamonte set to make his Clarion debut.
• Rounding out the line is left tackle Norman Fox, a transfer from Division I Youngstown State.

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 will play their second of three straight games at home when they host the Millersville Marauders on Saturday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
• It will be the first time Clarion and Millersville have faced off since 2015. The Golden Eagles have won four straight meetings wit the Marauders dating to 2010.