Clarion Golden Eagles (1-5, 0-3 PSAC West) vs. Mercyhurst Lakers (1-5, 0-3 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 14 // 12:00 PM
Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagle football team will play the back end of consecutive games on home on Saturday when they host Mercyhurst at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for noon. 
• This wil be the 15th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Lakers, with Mercyhurst owning a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series. 
• Clarion snapped a four-game losing streak in the series last year, beating the Lakers 23-21 in Erie on a last-second field goal by Jarrett Esposito.
• The Golden Eagles are coming off a 24-17 loss to Seton Hill at home, in a game where Clarion tied the score late in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback.
• Receiver Corahn Alleyne had a field day offensively against the Griffins, compiling 140 combined rushing and receiving yards and two total touchdowns.
• Alleyne's 206 all-purpose yards against the Griffins ranks as the fourth-highest single-game total for any PSAC player this year.
• Defensive end Jake Tarburton is tied for sixth in the PSAC with 4.0 total sacks on the year, with the 26 yards lost tying for fifth.
• Cornerback Che Trevena is tied for sixth in the PSAC with an average of 1.00 passes defended per game this year, including five break-ups and one pick.
• Kicker Andrew Kurtas is tied for second in the PSAC with six field goals made, and only two other players in the league have equaled his nine attempts.
• The Golden Eagle defense ranks fifth in the PSAC in points allowed per opponent red zone trip, allowing just 3.88 points per attempt.

Series History

• This will be the 15th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Lakers, with Mercyhurst owning a 9-4 advantage in the all-time series. The series goes back only to the 2008 season.
• The Golden Eagles have fared marginally better in the series in games played at Memorial Stadium, with the Lakers owning just a 4-3 advantage in games in Clarion.
• In last year's meeting, the Golden Eagle defense forced five turnovers - including a pick-six by linebacker Kareem Hamdan - to defeat the Lakers 23-21 on the road. Hamdan intercepted two passes while Shane Kemper and Jordan Villafane added one apiece, and DJ Rawley forced a recovered a fumble. Jarrett Esposito kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.
• The most recent meeting in Clarion was not as kind fo the Golden Eagles. The fairly even statistics did not tell the story as the Lakers beat Clarion 38-20 on Oct. 30, 2021. Khalil Owens ran for 62 yards and a touchdown, tying the score at 14 in the second quarter before Mercyhurst pulled away.
• The last Clarion home win in the series came on Oct. 3, 2015, with the Golden Eagles winning 47-21 to improve to 5-0 on the season. Quarterback Connor Simmons exploded for 441 passing yards - the third-best single-game total in program history and the best of his record-setting career - and three touchdown passes, and also ran for a score.

Scouting the Lakers

• Mercyhurst was predicted to finish last in the PSAC West standings in 2023, one year after going 2-9 overall and 0-7 in divisional action. Head coach Ryan Riemedio is in his second year at the helm of the program in 2023.
• The Lakers enter this weekend's game 1-5 overall and 0-3 in PSAC West play, with their lone win coming on Sept. 9 against Lock Haven. Oddly enough, to this point in the season that is the only common opponent the Lakers and the Golden Eagles share. Mercyhurst defeated the Bald Eagles 41-29 in Erie.
• Mercyhurst returns 2022 all-conference running back Dustin Shoaf, but it is Jaylen Butera that leads the team in rushing (321 yards) and touchdowns (4). Cameron Barmore and Rylan Davison have each recorded four receiving touchdowns, while quarterback Adam Urena has 13 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions.
• The Lakers have been one of the most effective teams in the conference at turning their red zone trips into points, ranking fourth in the league with an average of 4.67 points.
• They are also fourth in the league in third down conversion percentage, converting at a 46.2 percent clip, but that comes with a caveat: no team in the PSAC has reached third down on offense more often than the Lakers, with 91 total attempts.

Last Week

The Golden Eagle football team played evenly with Seton Hill for four quarters, but a handful of special teams miscues proved to be the difference as Clarion fell 24-17 to the Griffins on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

The numbers showed that the teams taking the field at Memorial Stadium were evenly matched. Total offensive yards were 319-300 in favor of Seton Hill, with Clarion out-rushing the Griffins while the latter was more effective moving the ball through the air. The sharpest difference came on special teams, which accounted (either directly or indirectly) for 17 of Seton Hill's 24 points.

The Golden Eagles lit up the scoreboard first, rushing the ball five straight times for 73 yards and the touchdown. Quarterback Zach Benedek ripped off a 26-yard rush on 2nd-and-1 from the Griffins' 42-yard line to put his team in the red zone and Corahn Alleyne terminated the drive on the next play, rushing around right end for a 16-yard touchdown.

Alleyne would later tie the score at 17 with 6:29 to go in the fourth quarter, catching a deep ball along the back line on a 4th-and-19 attempt from Benedek. Seton Hill scored with 3:26 remaining to break the tie and earn the win.

Alleyne finished with 140 combined rushing and receiving yards as well as two touchdowns, and also added 66 total return yards for a 206 all-purpose yardage total. Benedek rushed for 55 yards and threw for 90 and a score. Griffin Buzzell had a game-high nine total tackles, Alex Huzicka forced a fumble and Johnny Hutton picked off a pass.

Tarburton on the Rush

Jake Tarburton enters Week 6 tied for seventh in the PSAC with 4.0 sacks, a number that also ranks fourth in the PSAC West.  That also ties his career-high set last year, though Tarburton needed 11 games to achieve that mark a year ago.

Tarburton now has 10 career sacks. He is sixth among active PSAC players in total sacks and fourth in sacks per game against active players that have played 15 or more games.

Kareem of the Crop

Senior linebacker Kareem Hamdan has been a mainstay in the Golden Eagle defense for three years now, and as a result he's turned into one of the most consistent performers in the PSAC. Hamdan currently ranks third among active conference leaders in tackles per game with a 7.33 per game average, and his 264 total career tackles ranks third in the PSAC behind only Millersvile's Isaiah Onuschak (283) and Slippery Rock's Kyle Kudla (264).

Should Hamdan improved even slightly over his current season pace of 7.2 tackles per game, he has an opportunity to become the first Golden Eagle player to reach 300 career tackles in five years. Layne Skundrich was the last Clarion player to hit the mark, doing so in 2018. Only nine players in program history have achieved 300 career tackles.

Force on the Ground

The Golden Eagle rushing attack ranked fourth overall in the PSAC and tops in the PSAC West division in 2022, with the team averaging 161.5 yards per game on the ground. Clarion's 4.4 yards per carry average last year ranked second only the Shepherd, and the team's 17 rushing touchdowns ranked fifth overall and third in the West division behind Slippery Rock and California (Pa.).

Clarion is keeping up that momentum in 2023. They are third in the PSAC and second in the West division with an average of 146.0 rushing yards per game. They have also been efficient in thier rushing, ranking sixth in the conference with an average of 4.0 yards per rushing attempt.

The Golden Eagles have had two different players top the 100-yard rushing mark through six weeks of the season; Khalil Owens broke the century mark rushing against Bloomsburg on Sept. 16, while Anthony Guercio did it on Sept. 23 against Lock Haven. 

One if by Land, Two if By Air

Corahn Alleyne gave Seton Hill everything they could want to handle and then some on October 7, combining for 140 rushing and receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Griffins. Alleyne scored on a jet sweep in the first quarter and later on a fourth down passing play in the fourth quarter. For his part, Alleyne averaged 9.1 yards per offensive touch against the Griffins, one of the best single-game totals in the PSAC this year.

More on Alleyne's Season

Corahn Alleyne ranks among the national leaders in all-purpose yardage through four weeks, thanks to his ability to contribute on offense and special teams. Alleyne is averaging 140.5 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks 12th in NCAA Division II and fourth in the PSAC.

The QBs Have Wheels

College box scores can be misleading in that sacks are counted as rushing attempts and lost yardage for quarterbacks. When you boil down the Golden Eagles' quarterbacks rushing totals by designed runs, though, the the signal callers are having an impressive season rushing the footbal. Clarion quarterbacks have taken off on 59 rushing attempts for 410 yards, an average of 6.9 yards per play. Anthony Guercio leads the Golden Eagles with 185 rushing yards on designed plays and scrambles, though Zach Benedek is just behind him with 178 yards on just 21 attempts.

Not Seeing Yellow

In 2022 Clarion was one of the best teams in the conference at not harrming their own cause with penalties. The Golden Eagles ranked fourth in the conference and second in the PSAC West division in fewest penalties against, committing an average of just 5.1 infractions per game. Consequently, their average of just 45.4 penalty yards lost per game ranked third in the conference and 20th in the nation. 

Through six weeks of the season, Clarion has had just 36 penalties accepted against them, for an average of 49.5 yards per game. The former number is tied for fifth-best among all PSAC schools n, and the penalty yardage average is third-best behind only Kutztown and IUP.

Next Week

The Golden Eagles head back on the road to take on one of the oldest foes in their history, when they face off with Edinboro at Sox Harrison Stadium in Edinboro. Clarion has not defeated the Fighting Scots since the 2015 season.