Clarion Golden Eagles (0-2, 0-0 PSAC West) at Lock Haven Bald Eagles (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East)
Saturday, September 17 // 2 p.m. // Lock Haven, Pa. // Hubert Jack Stadium

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: 
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- Streaming: Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku

Live Stats: Fans can follow along with live stats via the Lock Haven athletic website.

The Kickoff    
The Golden Eagles will play their second straight road crossover game this weekend, when they head to Lock Haven to take on the Bald Eagles on Saturday, September 17 at Hubert Jack Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. This will serve as Lock Haven's Homecoming game.

Series History

• This will be the 68th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Bald Eagles, with Clarion owning a dominant 50-16-1 edge in the all-time series with Lock Haven. The two were former PSAC divisional rivals until 2012, with Lock Haven moving to the East division in the 2013 season.
• The first meeting between the teams came almost a century ago, with Clarion defeating Lock Haven 13-0 in the 1928 season finale. The 1929 yearbook lauded Lock Haven as having "played excellent football," but also declared it "a most renowned climax for the football season of the Clarion State Teachers' College"
• Clarion won 16 straight meetings between 1961-78, and are currently enjoying a 10-game win streak that stretches back to the 2007 season. Since 1960, the Golden Eagles are 20-6 in road games in the series, with their last loss in Lock Haven coming in the 1998 season.
• The last meeting in the series came on Sept. 14, 2019, a 48-20 win for the Golden Eagles at Memorial Stadium. Clarion ran up 530 yards of total offense while allowing just 264 from Lock Haven. They also out-possessed the Bald Eagles by a wide margin, holding the ball for 38:52.
• The last meeting at Hubert Jack Stadium came the year before, with Clarion taking a 30-21 win that was more lopsided than the score indicated. The Golden Eagles forced eight turnovers, including six interceptions, and outscored the Bald Eagles 16-7 in the second half for the win.

About the Opponent

• Lock Haven was predicted to finish eighth in the PSAC East division in the preseason coaches' poll, after going 1-10 during the 2021 season. Their only win last year came against Lincoln in the season opener, a 20-0 shutout.
• The Bald Eagles are under the direction of Dan Mulrooney, who is in his first season at the helm of the program. Mulrooney led Division III Anna Maria College to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2021 in earning ECFC Coach of the Year honors. A former Division I student-athlete, he played at Boston College and Stony Brook in his collegiate career.
• Lock Haven snapped their 10-game losing streak with a victory in the season opener, defeating Post on the road by a 35-34 score. The Bald Eagles broke a 28-28 tie with 7:31 remaining in the fourth quarter when Marquon Williams took a pass from Easton Turner 52 yards to the house, giving Lock Haven the edge. Post scored to cut the lead to 35-34 but failed in their two-point conversion attempt, giving Lock Haven the win.
• Last week, the Bald Eagles fell by a 49-7 score at home to Mercyhurst. Turner scored the opening points of the game with a touchdown plunge from two yards out, but the Lakers outscored them 43-0 in the second half to spoil Lock Haven's home opener.

Last Week

• The Golden Eagles once again showed the ability to move the ball on the ground, but Clarion was unable to take advantage in key swing moments as they fell 42-3 to Bloomsburg at Redman Stadium.
• Similar to their first game of the season, Clarion moved the ball effectively on the ground, recording 38 rushes for 186 yards and a 4.9 yards per carry average against the Huskies. This time it was receiver Corahn Alleyne that did the lion's share of the damage, carrying 10 times for 50 yards. He also caught six passes for 35 yards, and his 75 kick return yards gave him 160 all-purpose yards for the day.
• The Golden Eagles were generally able to move the ball on offense, but the difference in this game came in their ability to break through for the big play. Six Clarion drives ended in Bloomsburg territory, but only one of them ended with a score – a 25-yard field goal by Trent McDowell in the third quarter.
• Shane Kemper finished the game with seven tackles and the forced fumble, while Griffin Buzzell notched six stops. Robert Lachmann and Jake Tarburton each recorded sacks.

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.    Cal U (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.
• Ground to a Halt
• The Clarion defense clamped down on West Liberty in Week 1, holding the Hilltoppers to just 284 total yards and one scoring drive longer than three yards.
• It was the first time the Golden Eagles held an opponent under 300 total yards of offense since restricting Lock Haven to just 264 yards on Sept. 14, 2019 in a game played at Memorial Stadium, a span of 18 games. 
• The team was exceptional in limiting damage on the ground (3.0 yards per carry) and through the air (6.8 yards per attempt), shutting down the Hilltoppers.
• Statistically, it was Clarion's best defensive effort since their 2021 effort against Millersville, when the Golden Eagles held the Marauders to 2.1 yards per rush (34 att / 70 yds), 6.25 yards per pass (10-of-20 for 125 yds) and 4.2 yards per play (54 plays, 195 yards).

What to "Take Away" From Game 1

• The Golden Eagles forced four turnovers against West Liberty in the first game of the season, intercepting two passes and forcing/recovering two fumbles.
• It was the most turnovers the Golden Eagles have forced in a game since taking the ball away eight times in a 30-21 win over Lock Haven, on Sept. 8, 2018. 
• Legend Davis and Connor Lyczek both intercepted passes in the game, Alex Huzicka and Griffin Buzzell forced fumbles, and Shane Kemper and Jeremy Ford recovered those fumbles.
• Kemper went on to force a fumble in the game against Bloomsburg, giving Clarion a +4 turnover margin through two games. Lock Haven, meanwhile, enters this week's game with a -3 turnover margin.

Marching Down the Field

• Through two games in 2022, the Golden Eagle rank among the best teams in not just the PSAC West Division but the entire conference in rushing. 
• In Week 1, Clarion rushers carried the ball 42 times for 185 yards against West Liberty, an average of 4.4 yards per rush. It was the Golden Eagles' best single-game rushing total in 19 games, since they rushed for a collective 214 yards against Lock Haven in the second game of the 2018 season.
• They followed that up with an even better performance in Week 2 against Bloomsburg, rushing 39 times for 192 yards for a 4.9 yards per carry average. 
• Clarion enters this weekend with an average of 188.5 rushing yards per game, which ranks fifth overall in the PSAC and third among PSAC West schools, behind only Gannon and Mercyhurst.
• Khalil Owens ranks eighth in the conference with an average of 82.5 yards per game on the ground. 

Alleyne and Hungry Look...

• Making his debut in the Blue & Gold against West Liberty, Corahn Alleyne showed himself to be deadly in three facets of the game.
• Alleyne finished the game with 73 kick return yards, 36 receiving yards and 33 rushing yards, giving him 142 all-purpose yards against the Hilltoppers. 
• Through two weeks, Alleyne is sixth in the PSAC in all-purpose yards at an average of 150.0 yards per game. 

Another Trip Around the Block

• Deuce Lyons blocked an extra point attempt by Bloomsburg on Sept. 10, getting a hand on a kick to prevent the Huskies from putting the ball through the uprights.
• In doing so, Lyons extended a streak of seasons where the Golden Eagles have blocked a kick to four straight seasons.  The last time they blocked an extra point was on Oct. 5, 2019, when Saif Khan blocked a PAT by Seton Hill.
• That same game also featured Clarion's last blocked punt, when Rayonte Campbell blocked an attempt by the Griffins.
• The last Golden Eagle blocked field goal was also against - you guessed it - Seton Hill. Shane Kemper blocked an attempt in their meeting on Oct. 23, 2021.

Hamdan Takes Control

• Linebacker Kareem Hamdan has established himself as a sure tackler, and is one of the stars of the PSAC in terms of bringing down the ball carrier.
• In 2021, Hamdan earned Don Hansen Football All-America Honorable Mention honors after leading the conference in tackles, averaging 10.0 per game for exactly 100 on the season. He is the first Golden Eagle to hit the 100-tackle mark in a single-season since Layne Skundrich in 2017.
• Hamdan is one of two returning all-conference players from 2021, having earned Second Team All-PSAC West laurels at the conclusion of the season.

Owens and the Ground Game

• Now in his second full season with the Golden Eagles, running back Khalil Owens will try to build on the end of last year's campaign, when he became a major force toting the rock.
• Owens finished the season with 149 carries for 510 yards, but over the last four games of the year he totaled 95 touches and averaged more than 100 all-purpose yards per game.
• Owens' Week 1 performance against West Liberty - 120 rushing yards and two scores - ranked third among PSAC running backs in the first week of the season. Only California's Eric McKan III (152 yards) and Mercyhurst's David Alize (125 yards) had more production on the ground.
• Owens is averaging 98.5 rushing and receiving yards per game through two weeks, which ranks 18th in the PSAC. 

Cracking the Books

• Senior defensive back Drew Blon showed his ability to excel in the classroom as well as on the field in 2021, earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors last year.
• Blon, who finished his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management in December 2021, posted a 3.64 GPA while also starting every game on the back end of the Golden Eagle defense.
• Blon finished second on the team in total tackles with 71 stops in 2021, but his biggest contribution came in disrupting opposing offenses with turnovers and tight coverage. Blon finished second on the team in interceptions with three picks and led the team in both fumbles forced and fumble recoveries with two each.He also tied for the team-high with five pass break-ups in 2021. 
• Blon enters this weekend ranked second on the team with 12 total tackles, as well as one sack.

Legend in the Making?

• Defensive back Legend Davis got his career off on the right foot in 2021, showing a knack for taking away the football.
• Davis led the Golden Eagles with four interceptions last season, tying him with five other players for second in the PSAC.
• With that total, Davis became the first Golden Eagle to record four picks in a year since Dorian Johnson and Sam Fareri each notched four interceptions in the 2018 season. That year the Golden Eagles held opponents to just a 49.7 complete percentage.
• Davis picked off his fifth career pass in the season-opener against West Liberty on Sept. 1.

No Jake Brakes

• Jake Tarburton has taken on an elevated role in the Golden Eagle defense, and has to date shown an ability to push the pocket and pressure the quarterback.
• Tarburton leads Clarion with two sacks in two games, accounting for 25 yards of lost yardage for Golden Eagle opponents.

Next Week

• The Golden Eagles return to the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium when they host Gannon in the 2022 PSAC West division opener on Saturday, September 24.
• The Golden Knights have won each of the last two meetings, both at McConnell Family Stadium in Erie.
• In the last two meetings at Memorial Stadium, however, the Golden Eagles came out on top, including a 14-9 victory in their last meeting at home.
• Historically these games have been high scoring, with the winning team needing to light up the board to get the win. The winning team has averaged 36.6 points per game in the last 10 meetings.