Clarion Golden Eagles (0-3, 0-0 PSAC West) at Gannon Golden Knights (1-2, 0-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, Sept. 25 // 1 p.m. // Erie, Pa. // McConnell Family 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 opens up PSAC West action on the road this weekend when they head to Erie to take on the Gannon Golden Knights at McConnell Family Stadium. Kickoff for the game - which will also serve as Gannon's Homecoming - is set for 1 p.m.

Series History

• This will be the 13th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights, with Clarion owning a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series with Gannon. The teams have played annually since their first meeting in Sept. 2008.
• The longest win streak for either team in the series belongs to Clarion, who won four straight meetings between 2009-12. The teams have split the last eight meetings since then at 4-4, and the home team has won each of the last four contests.
• To find the last road win for either side, one needs to go back to Sept. 27, 2014, when Gannon came away with a 33-7 victory at Memorial Stadium. Clarion's last win in Erie was the year after that, a 47-31 drubbing on Sept. 26, 2015.
• The last meeting between the teams was Sept. 28, 2019 at McConnell Family Stadium. The teams combined for 1,068 yards of total offense, with Gannon jumping out to a 27-0 lead before the Golden Eagles started piling on the points. Clarion pulled to within two touchdowns in what was a daylong shootout, but Gannon ultimately won 51-35. 

About the Opponent

• Gannon was predicted to finish seventh in the PSAC preseason coaches' poll in 2021. The Golden Knights played a condensed four-game schedule in the spring in which they went 1-3, including an overtime victory over Mercyhurst on April 24. In their last full season of action, Gannon went 2-9, including a 1-6 mark in PSAC West action.
• The Golden Knights enter this weekend with a 1-2 overall record. After opening their season with a road win at Northwood, they dropped back-to-back contests to Shepherd and Bloomsburg, with the former coming in their home opener.
• Gannon comes into the game with the sixth-best scoring offense in the PSAC at 27.0 points per game, just one spot ahead of Clarion's 25.3 points per game. That sets up the possibility of a track meet, as both teams allow more than 30.0 points.
• Melvin Blanks is the second-leading rusher in the PSAC with an average of 98.7 yards per game, and Kory Curtis ranks fourth in the league in passing with an average of 238.7 yards per game. Keith Thompson ranks sixth in the PSAC West with an average of 8.0 tackles per game.

 Last Time Out

• The Golden Eagle offense authored their best scoring output of the season, but they could not keep up with a dynamic Shippensburg offense as Clarion fell to the Red Raiders 62-33.
• Clarion set a season-high with 421 total offensive yards and 33 points, but the Red Raiders enjoyed a strong first half of their own to set the difference early on.
• Quarterback Taylor Eggers made his second career start under center and had easily the best game of his young career. The redshirt freshman signal caller completed 16-of-25 passes for 329 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
• Quinn Zinobile and Kahliq Muhammad both went over 100 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns apiece, while Mylique McGriff finished with 100 rushing yards.

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.
• 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.

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 582 yards 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 - 2,488
5. Eddie Emmanuel - 2,371
6. Alfonso Hoggard - 2,350

The Mighty Quinn

• After his monster game against Shippensburg on Sept. 18, Quinn Zinobile has climbed to near the top of the statistical heap in the PSAC entering Week 4.
• Zinobile ranks second in the PSAC overall and first in the PSAC West with an average of 117.3 receiving yards per game.
• His four receiving touchdowns are tied for the PSAC lead overall and rank solely at the top of the PSAC West division.
• Zinobile ranks sixth in the PSAC with an average of 5.7 receptions per game, and his 20.7 yards per reception are the second-highest in the PSAC among receivers with 10 or more catches.

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, 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 27 total tackles in the first three games, tying him with Bloomsburg's Quentin Gaskill for fourth in the PSAC through three weeks.

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 second-longest punt return in the conference this season, behind Cal U's Jermal Martin (62 yards), and is one of only three 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.
• In a record search dating back to 1986 (and continuing), no other Golden Eagle player has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in their careers.
• Ford's return against the Storm is currently the second-longest kick return in the PSAC, and is the only kick return for a touchdown in the conference through the first three weeks.
• Ford leads the PSAC in return average through two weeks, at 29.2 yards per kick return.

One More Note on the Return Game...

• When Jalen Smith and Terrell Ford returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns, respectively, 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.

He's Not Lach-ing

• Defensive lineman Robert Lachmann earned himself a spot on the first team defense against Millersville, and since then has carved out a couple of effective games at defensive end.
• A transfer from Division I FCS Albany, Lachmann has sacks in back-to-back games, and forced a fumble with a strip-sack of Shippensburg's Brycen Mussina on Sept. 18.
• In an interesting "Did you know?" situation, Lachmann, a native of Germany, worked in national parks in Africa in his teenage years.

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 face what might be their toughest test of the entire season when they head on the road to take on nationally-ranked Slippery Rock on Saturday, Oct. 2. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
• The teams will battle for the Milk Jug Trophy, though it is perhaps more accurately described as a milk can. Slippery Rock has won three straight meetings in the rivalry, with the last Clarion victory coming in 2016.