Clarion Golden Eagles (3-4, 2-2 PSAC West) vs. Edinboro Fighting Scots (3-4, 1-3 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 22 // 12 p.m. // Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium

MEDIA COVERAGE

Radio: Mike Kalinowski will have the radio call for Golden Eagle home games on the Golden Eagle Radio Network:

• AM 1120 WKQW
• WKQW Fox Sports 104.1
• WWCH The G.O.A.T. 94.1 FM

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 home Golden Eagle football contests through SIDEARM live stats. Road game links will be available on the schedule at ClarionGoldenEagles.com.

The Kickoff    
The Golden Eagles close out their schedule with three of their last four games at home, starting with a clash against the Edinboro Fighting Scots on Saturday, October 22 at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at noon.

Series History

• This will be the 92nd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Fighting Scots, making it the most-played rivalry in the hstory of Clarion football. The series dates all the way back to the 1926 season. Edinboro leads the all-time series with Clarion 49-40-2, with the Fighting Scots having won five straight meetings and 10 of the last 11 contests.
• Clarion led the rivalry for many years, going 18-14-1 against the Fighting Scots from 1926-1958. Since then, Edinboro has led the all-time series 35-22-1.
• In particular, the Golden Eagles have struggled at home against Edinboro, with the Fighting Scots winning the last seven games contested at Memorial Stadium. The last time Clarion defeated Edinboro at home was back on Oct. 14, 2000, a 7-0 victory conducted on Homecoming. Fullback Tab Musser scored the game's lone points on the very first drive of the game, punching it in from two yards out to give the Golden Eagles the lead. The Clarion defense forced four Edinboro fumbles, while Bill Burns recorded two sacks. 
• The last Clarion win in general came on Oct. 10, 2015, when the Golden Eagles defeated the Fighting Scots 36-23 at Sox Harrison Stadium. Connor Simmons threw four touchdown passes - two apiece to Kevin Genevro and Matt Lehman - as Clarion took a 19-10 lead at halftime. Kwame Bell added two sacks, and Adam Lynch and Jacob Craig eached picked off passes.
• In last year's meeting, the Golden Eagles held close on the road with the Fighting Scots, falling by a 17-10 score on Nov. 6, 2021. Khalil Owens went off for more than 200 hundred combined rushing/receiving yards, including a career-high 179 rushing yards. Nathan Roby caught a third-quarter touchdown pass to tie it up at 10, but Anfreenee Williams scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Edinboro the win.

About the Opponent

• Edinboro was predicted to finish tied for fifth in the PSAC West division in 2022, with the league's coaches putting them even with Seton Hill. The Fighting Scots finished the 2021 campaign with a 4-6 overall record, including a 3-4 mark in PSAC West play. The Fighting Scots won three straight games to close the season, including a 21-17 upset of IUP on Oct. 30, 2021.
• This year the Fighting Scots won three of their first five games, opening the season with a 7-0 win over Franklin Pierce. They rallied from a 17-10 fourth quarter deficit to beat Bloomsburg in overtime on Sept. 17, with  Keon Anderson scoring a game-tying touchdown with less than seven minutes to play in regulation. After the Huskies kicked a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Anderson added another touchdown to lock up the win.
• Edinboro's third win of the year came against Mercyhurst, with the Fighting Scots' Richie Pekmezian booting a 21-yard field goal with five seconds remaining on the clock to lock up a 16-13 victory over the Lakers.
• The Fighting Scots have lost two straight entering this weekend, both at home; they fell 35-17 to Gannon on Oct. 8 and 41-0 to IUP on Oct. 15.
• Edinboro features the fifth-best passing offense in the PSAC West, averaging 194.9 yards per game through the air. They also have the third-best passing defense in the league, allowing just 172.1 air yards per game.
• Head coach Jake Nulph is in his second season and third year overall at the helm of the Fighting Scots' program. A veteran collegiate coach with nearly two decades of experience, Nulph played for legendary Robert Morris coach Joe Walton before entering the coaching profession.

Last Week

• Jarrett Esposito hit a game-winning 30-yard field goal as time expired in regulation, giving the Golden Eagle football team a 23-21 road victory over Mercyhurst on Oct. 15.
• Esposito's heroics were set up after the Golden Eagles - trailing 21-20 - forced Mercyhurst to punt from their own 36-yard line with 2:38 to play. Zach Benedek connected with Khalil Owens on two long passes, including an 18-yard completion on 3rd-and-9 that the Golden Eagles on the Mercyhurst 10-yard line.
• The Clarion defense swarmed the Lakers in the first half, forcing four interceptions and harassing quarterback Joe Carter. Kareem Hamdan had two of those interceptions, including a pick-six in the first quarter that gve the Golden Eagles a 10-7 lead.
• Owens finished the game with 173 combined rushing/receiving yards, including a 56-yard run in the first quarter that set up an Esposito field goal. Zach Benedek scored the Golden Eagles' lone offensive touchdown, punching it in from one yard out in the second quarter.

Meet the New Boss

• Raymond Monica, a two-time American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 1 Coach of the Year and two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Coach of the Year with more than 30 years of experience at the college level, became the 14th coach in Golden Eagle history on Feb. 17, 2022.
• Before coming to Clarion, Monica was an assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 2019-21, including a one-year stint as the defensive coordinator in 2021. The Lions made the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs in 2019 and 2021, winning their first round game in both of those seasons. In 2021, the Lions finished 15th in the final FCS rankings of the year.
• Where Golden Eagle fans may best recognize Monica, though, would be his tenure as Kutztown's head football coach from 2006-12. He turned the Golden Bears into one of the leading programs in the conference, culminating with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II Super Region One playoffs in 2010-11.

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 2022.

PSAC West Division (First Place Votes)
        T1. Slippery Rock (3)
        T1. IUP (3)
        3.   California (PA) (2)
        4.   Gannon
        T5. Edinboro
        T5. Seton Hill
        7.   Mercyhurst
        8.   Clarion

PSAC East Division (First Place Votes)

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

Esposito Named PSAC West Special Teams AOW for Oct. 17

• Two days after kicking a 30-yard field goal with no time remaining to elevate his team to victory, Jarrett Esposito earned Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors for Oct. 17.
• Esposito had easily the best game of his collegiate career on Saturday, lifting the Golden Eagles to a 23-21 win over Mercyhurst on the road. Entering the game against the Lakers, Esposito had made four career field goals on six career attempts. On this night, though, he hit three field goals of 30, 32 and 30 yards.
• None were more consequential than the final one, with Esposito drilling a walk-off 30-yard field goal as time expired to cap the Golden Eagles' game-winning eight-play, 52-yard drive. The Lakers attempted to ice the kicker by calling timeout before the fateful play, but Esposito split the uprights to even Clarion's PSAC West record at 2-2.
• Esposito is a perfect 5-for-5 on field goal attempts in 2022, and is also 15-for-15 on extra point attempts.

On the Take

• Over the course of the last two weeks, the Golden Eagle defense has taken their ball-hawking skills to a new level, contributing directly to a pair of road wins.
• Clarion's wins over Seton Hill and Mercyhurst were largely fueled by turnovers, with the Golden Eagles forcing a combined seven against the Griffins and Lakers while committing none themselves. 
• Of those seven turnovers, Clarion turned four of them into touchdowns. The Golden Eagles scored two touchdowns apiece off turnovers against the Griffins and the Lakers.

Twin Picks

• Kareem Hamdan was a ball-hawking force in Clarion's win over Mercyhurst on Oct. 15, recording two first-half interceptions as the Golden Eagles held the Laker offense in check.
• Hamdan's first pick of the day came in the first quarter, when Drew Blon pressured quarterback Joe Carter into a poor throw. Hamdan plucked the ball out of the air and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
• His second pick of the game also came as a result of pressure, this time with Robert Lachmann pressuring Carter.
• Hamdan's two-interception game is the first for the Golden Eagles since Legend Davis pulled in two picks against Edinboro on Nov. 6, 2021.

There's Scoring Defense, and "Scoring" Defense

• With a pick-six against Mercyhurst on Oct. 15, Kareem Hamdan became the third Golden Eagle defensive player to score a touchdown this season.
• Clarion has had two players return interceptions for touchdowns this year - Hamdan (Oct. 15 at Mercyhurst) and Connor Lyczek (Oct. 1 vs. California).
• Legend Davis did not score a true "defensive" touchdown but rather a special teams one, when he recovered a blocked field goal against Seton Hill on Oct. 8 and returned it 67 yards for a score.

Triple-Threat Quarterback?

• On Oct. 8 against Seton Hill, Zach Benedek added "downfield receiving threat" to his resume with a pair of touchdown receptions.
• Benedek struck on the Golden Eagles' opening drive, handing off to Corahn Alleyne on a sweep run then running toward the end zone. Alleyne connected with Benedek for a 19-yard score to give Clarion a lead.
• In the third quarter, Benedek scored on another pass - this time on a fake reverse - by catching a 20-yard lob from Alleyne to make it 28-6.
• Benedek also scored on a fake field goal, rushing 10 yards from the holder's spot to score. 
• With three touchdowns against the Griffins, Benedek became the first Golden Eagle quarterback to reach the end zone three times in one game since Connor Simmons rushed for three scores against California (Pa.) on Oct. 25, 2014.

Benedek's Nose for the End Zone

• With three touchdowns against Seton Hill on Oct. 8, Zach Benedek moved into the team lead in total touchdowns on the season. He increased his lead with another rushing score against Mercyhurst on Oct. 15.
• Benedek has now scored six total times, including four rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.
• Benedek's six total touchdowns this season rank him eighth in the PSAC and most among quarterbacks.
• The last Golden Eagle quarterback to record six or more total touchdowns was Darrelle Carson, who rushed for six scores during the 2013 season. 

Road Warriors

• With their win over Mercyhurst on Oct. 15, the Golden Eagles improved to 3-1 in road games in 2022. That ensured they would finish with a winning record on the road for the first time in more than a decade.
• The Golden Eagles have not posted a winning record away from home since the 2010 season, a year in which Clarion went 3-2 on the road but 1-5 at home.
• Clarion has been .500 or better in road games a few times in that span, most recently in 2018 (2-2).

Owens and the Ground Game

• Khalil Owens has been a force at the running back position since the second half of the 2021 season, with his success carrying over well into the 2022 campaign. 
• Going back to the last four games of the 2021 season, Owens has totaled 1,106 rushing and receiving yards -- an average of 100.5 yards per game -- and has scored four touchdowns. 
• Against Mercyhurst last week, Owens rushed for 96 yards - including a 56-yard rush in the first quarter - and recorded another 77 receiving yards for one of his best games of the season.
• With five more rushing yards, Khalil Owens will reach 1,000 in his games in a Clarion uniform. 

Winning the Turnover Battle

• Through seven games, the Golden Eagles have shown the ability to take care of the football while conversely snatching it away from their opponents.
• With a +9 turnover margin, Clarion enters this weekend tied for the conference lead in turnover margin, along with Shepherd.
• Clarion ranks fourth in the conference in turnovers gained at 15, but are first in the PSAC in turnovers lost with only six. That number ranks eighth in the nation. 
• Clarion has lost only two fumbles on the year, tied for the tenth-best total in the country. Their four interceptions on the year are 22nd-best in the nation. 
• Conversely, this week's opponent Edinboro ranks 15th in the conference in turnover margin, at -8. The Fighting Scots have recorded 13 takeaways but have turned the ball over 21 times this year. 

Golden Eagles by the Numbers - Week 8 Edition

• Clarion ranks 14th in the nation in red zone offense efficiency, scoring on 90.5 percent of their trips inside the opposing 20-yard line.
• Even after a few weeks with lower production, Corahn Alleyne still ranks third in the PSAC and 11th in the nation in all-purpose yardage at 158.0 yards per game.
• Robert Lachmann's leads the Golden Eagles with 5.5 sacks this year, with four games to go. No Clarion player has had six or more sacks since Tyrone Archie (7.0) in 2015.
• Kareem Hamdan is 17 tackles away from 200 in his career.

Next Week

• The Golden Eagles will battle Slippery Rock for the coveted Milk Can - err, Jug - on Saturday, October 29 at Clarion's Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
• The last time the Golden Eagles won in the series with the Rock was during the 2016 season, a 27-23 victory at Memorial Stadium.