Clarion Golden Eagles (3-5, 2-3 PSAC West) vs. #13/13 Slippery Rock "The Rock" (7-1, 4-1 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 29 // 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 will play for the coveted Milk Jug trophy on Saturday, October 29 when they host Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for noon. 

Series History

• This will be the 80th meeting between the Golden Eagles and The Rock, with Slippery Rock owning a 51-25-3 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1928. The Rock won that barn-burner by a 2-0 score. The rivalry took a holiday from 1934-47, and Clarion won their first in the series in 1951, a 19-14 victory in the season finale. The Rock are 36-18-2 dating back to the 1958 season.
• Slippery Rock has won each of the last four meetings between the teams dating back to the 2017 season, and nine of the last 10 overall. The lone victory for Clarion in that span came on Oct. 29, 2016, when the Golden Eagles came away with a 27-23 victory at Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Connor Simmons returned after missing several games due to injury, and the senior signal caller threw for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Kevin Genevro pulled in 12 passes for 199 yards and two scores, including what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 1:05 remaining after the Golden Eagles had fallen behind earlier in the fourth quarter.
• The last game played at Memorial Stadium on on Oct. 20, 2018, a 28-13 win for the Rock. Kicker James Metzgar briefly gave Clarion the lead in the first half, but the Rock scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take the lead for good. Mylique McGriff pulled Clarion to within 14-10 with a touchdown run in the third quarter.

About the Opponent

• Slippery Rock was one of two teams tied for first in the PSAC preseason coaches' poll, receiving three first-place votes alongside IUP in the August release. They have essentially lived up to that billing, as The Rock currently sit in second place in the PSAC West division. Their sole loss came to those IUP Crimson Hawks on Saturday, October 1.
• Last week, Slippery Rock checked in at 17th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II ranking, and 15th in the D2football.com poll. 
• The Rock own the most prolific scoring offense in the PSAC West, averaging 34.6 points per game. Not to be outdone, the defense is even more productive, holding opponents to a conference-low 14.4 points per game. They rank in the top-five in the PSAC in total offense, total defense, rushing defense and passing offense as well. 
• D.J. Adediwura leads the PSAC in sacks with nine in eight games played, and he also ranks third in the conference with an average of 2.13 tackles for loss per game. Jalen Dangerfield leads the team with three interceptions, and is tied for third in the conference in picks. 
• Slippery Rock is coming off a 42-24 win over California (Pa.), a game where The Rock jumped out to a 28-10 halftime lead and cruised to a victory in the second half. The Rock won the turnover battle by recording two interceptions and forcing two fumbles, while quarterback Noah Grover threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns.
• The Rock will close out divisional action next week when they welcome Edinboro to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium at 1 p.m.

Last Week

• The Golden Eagle football team fell behind early on Saturday afternoon as their modest two-game win streak was snapped by Edinboro, with the Fighting Scots defeating Clarion 47-17 at Memorial Stadium.
• Clarion quarterback Zach Benedek and running back Khalil Owens both rushed for scores on Saturday afternoon, while Jarrett Esposito kicked his sixth field goal of the season, to account for the Golden Eagle offense. 
• Owens also hit a special milestone in his Golden Eagle career on Saturday, breaking the 1,000-yard barrier in his time at Clarion.
• Though the teams were essentially dead even in terms of total yardage – Edinboro gained 317 yards in toto, while Clarion finished with 316 yards – the Fighting Scots took advantage of four Golden Eagle picks.
• Kareem Hamdan led the Golden Eagles with nine total tackles, while Drew Blon had five stops and an interception that set up the Golden Eagles' first touchdown of the game. Clarion defenders combined for 11 tackles for loss against the Fighting Scots, with Legend Davis and Blon each contributing 1.5 TFL.

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

Hager Brings Experience, Championship Lineage to Clarion

• Defensive coordinator Josh Hager enters his first season on the Golden Eagle staff in 2022, one year after service as the defensive coordinator at NCAA Division III Alvernia. Prior to that, he ran the defense at Missouri Southern from 2019-20, where he tutored the top two tacklers in the MIAA.
• As the defensive coordinator for Garden City Community College from 2016-18, Hager produced one of the top defensive units in the nation, and helped the Broncbusters win the 2016 NJCAA national championship.
• Among those players coached by Hager at GCCC were one national Defensive Player of the Year, two conference Defensive Players of the Year, two conference Defensive Linemen of the Year, 11 All-Americans, 41 First Team All-Conference players, and one first round draft pick in Mike Hughes (Minnesota Vikings - 2018).
• Hager is the son of legendary football coach Rocky Hager, whose career highlights include leading North Dakota State to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA Division II championships (1988, 90).

Pioneer of "The Fly" Comes to Clarion 

• The Golden Eagle offense will be under the tutelage of veteran coach Mark Speckman, who brings more than 40 years of coaching experience to the program.
• The pioneer of the Fly offense that is widely used across high school, collegiate and professional ranks, Speckman spent the previous five seasons as the assistant head coach and running backs coach at UC Davis. He was part of the Aggies' 2018 Big Sky conference championship season.
• Speckman spent 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including 14 years at Willamette. He guided the team to an 82-59 record from 1997-2011, including two Northwest Conference championships, eight league title games and three NCAA Division III postseason appearances. Speckman's 2008 team finished 11-1 and ranked fourth nationally, earning him his second Northwest Conference Coach of the Year award and AFCA Division III West Region Coach of the Year acclaim.
• In addition to coaching football, Speckman has also become well-known for his motivational speaking engagements. Born without hands, he avoided drawing attention to himself as a younger athlete but has since embraced his own story to the point of earning numerous speaking appearances, including bookings at Boeing, Nike, Northwest Mutual, Patterson Dental, the Million Dollar Roundtable and other organizations.

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.
• This year Esposito is a perfect 6-for-6 on field goal attempts, and also 17-for-7 on extra point attempts.

On the Take

• Over the course of the last three 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. They added another two takeaways against Edinboro last week to make nine total in three games. 
• Of those nine turnovers, Clarion turned five of them into touchdowns. The Golden Eagles scored two touchdowns apiece off turnovers against the Griffins and the Lakers. Clarion's first touchdown of the game against Edinboro on Oct. 22 came as a result of Drew Blon's interception.

Owens Tops 1K

• With 56 yards on 13 carries against Edinboro on Oct. 22, Khalil Owens made some exclusive company by reaching 1,000 career rushing yards at Clarion.
• Owens is now the 29th player in program history to top 1,000 career rushing yards, doing so in the span of just 18 games.
• When factoring in his 193 rushing yards at Seton Hill, Owens now has 1,244 collegiate rushing yards.
• Owens ranks seventh in the PSAC in rushing at 67.6 yards per game, totaling 541 yards on 125 carries to date. His five rushing touchdowns are tied for sixth.

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.

Benedek's Nose for the End Zone

• With a rushing touchdown against Edinboro on Oct. 22, Zach Benedek maintained his share of the team lead in rushing scores with five on the year. 
• Benedek currently leads all PSAC quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns in 2022. 
• Benedek has now scored seven total touchdowns this year, including five rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns.
• Benedek's seventh total touchdowns this season rank him sixth in the PSAC and most among quarterbacks.
• The last Golden Eagle quarterback to record seven or more total touchdowns was Tyler Huether, who finished with eight rushing touchdowns during the 2009 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 had 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).

Winning the Turnover Battle

• Through eight games, the Golden Eagles have shown the ability to take care of the football while conversely snatching it away from their opponents.
• With a +7 turnover margin, Clarion enters this weekend ranked second in the conference behind only Shehperd.
• Clarion ranks second in the conference in turnovers gained at 17, and are third in the PSAC in turnovers lost with only 10. That number ranks 32nd in the nation. 
• Clarion has lost only two fumbles on the year, tied for the sixth-best total in the country. 

Golden Eagles by the Numbers - Week 9 Edition

• Jarrett Esposito is one of just two kickers in the country to have made six or more field goals this season without a miss; the other is Colorado Mesa's Lucas Ruiz Diaz.
• Even after a few weeks with lower production, Corahn Alleyne still ranks second in the PSAC and 17th in the nation in all-purpose yardage at 152.7 yards per game.
• Robert Lachmann leads the Golden Eagles with 5.5 sacks this year, with three games to go. No Clarion player has had six or more sacks since Tyrone Archie (7.0) in 2015.
• Kareem Hamdan is eight tackles away from 200 in his career.

Next Week

• The Golden Eagles will close out PSAC West on the road next Saturday when they head to Indiana to face off with IUP at Miller Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.
• IUP has won 10 straight meetings between the teams dating back to the 2011 season, including four straight in Indiana. Clarion's last win in the series came on the road at IUP, though, a 21-14 victory on Oct. 16, 2010.
• The last game played at Miller Stadium came down to the wire, as the Golden Eagles fell in a 24-23 heartbreaker on Oct. 13, 2018.