Clarion Golden Eagles (1-6, 0-4 PSAC West) at Edinboro Fighting Scots (2-5, 1-3 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 21 // 12:00 PM
Edinboro, Pa. // Sox Harrison Stadium

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagle football team heads on the road for a clash against one of their oldest opponents, when Clarion takes on Edinboro at Sox Harrison Stadium. 
• This wil be the 93rd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Fighting Scots, with Edinboro leading the all-time series 50-40-2.
• Edinboro has won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the teams, with Clarion's last win coming at Sox Harrison Stadium during the 2015 season.
• The Golden Eagles are coming off a 36-35 loss to Mercyhurst at home on Oct. 14, a game in which they dominated on the ground before falling on a last-second touchdown. 
• Quarterback Zach Benedek became the third different Golden Eagle player to rush for 100 yards in a game last week, going off for 163 yards and a touchdown against Mercyhurst.
• Clarion rushed for 335 yards against Mercyhurst on Oct. 14, their highest single-game total since posting 341 yards in the 2019 season opener at Shippensburg.
• Defensive end Jake Tarburton is fifth in the PSAC with 5.0 total sacks on the year, with the 34 yards lost also ranking fifth.
• Cornerback Che Trevena is tied for ninth in the PSAC with an average of 0.86 passes defended per game this year, including five break-ups and one pick.
• Receiver Corahn Alleyne ranks third in the PSAC in all-purpose yards at 139.9 yards per game, and is the only player in the PSAC with more than 100 total rushing, receiving, punt return and kick return yards.
• The Golden Eagle defense ranks fifth in the PSAC in points allowed per opponent red zone trip, allowing just 4.09 points per trip.

Series History

• This will be the 93rd 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 50-40-2, with the Fighting Scots having won six straight meetings and 11 of the last 12 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 36-22-1.
• The last Clarion win in the series, as well as the last one played in Edinboro, was Oct. 10, 2015. The Golden Eagles defeated the Fighting Scots 36-23 at Sox Harrison Stadium as Connor Simmons threw four touchdown passes - two apiece to Kevin Genevro and Matt Lehman. Kwame Bell added two sacks, and Adam Lynch and Jacob Craig eached picked off passes.
• The Fighting Scots won last year's meeting by a 47-17 score at Memorial Stadium, on Oct. 22, 2022. Edinboro took advantage of four interceptions, converting two of them into touchdowns. Zach Benedek and Khalil Owens both rushed for touchdowns, while Drew Blon added five tackles and an interception. Che Trevena also blocked an Edinboro extra point attempt.
• The last game played at Sox Harrison Stadium was much closer, though the Fighting Scots won by a 17-10 score.

Scouting the Fighting Scots

• Edinboro was predicted to finish fifth in the PSAC West this season after doing so last year as well, when the Fighting Scots posted a 5-6 overall record and a 2-5 mark in PSAC West play.
• The Fighting Scots enter this weekend's matchup with a 2-5 overall record and a 1-3 record in the West. Their wins came on the road against Bloomsburg on Sept. 16 and at home against Mercyhurst on Sept. 30.
• Edinboro is returning home after playing two straight games on the road, having lost at Gannon and IUP.
• The Fighting Scots rank among the conference leaders in time of possession at 31:12 per game. They have shown ability to extend drives; they rank sixth in the PSAC in offensive plays run (450) and first downs (125), and are fifth in the league in third down conversion rate (41.0 percent). They also don't turn the ball over much, as they feature a +1 turnover ratio.
• Brian Trobel ranks eighth in the PSAC and third in the PSAC West in rushing, and has scored seven touchdowns in as many games. Defensively, CJ Waldier is first in the West with an average of 9.5 tackles per game, and he has also recovered two fumbles.

Last Week

The Golden Eagle football team dominated in the ground game on a rainy Saturday at Memorial Stadium, but they could not hold off a scrappy Mercyhurst team in the second half as Clarion fell by a 36-35 score at home.

What looked like a Clarion rout when it first began soon turned into a second half dogfight, as the Golden Eagles and Lakers traded blows in the final 30 minutes of play. Clarion amassed a 28-7 lead midway through the second quarter because of their ability to run the football, racking up 229 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the first half alone.

Quarterback Zach Benedek was the main driver on that front, ultimately finishing the game with 163 yards and a score on the ground. He became the third different Golden Eagle player to rush for more than 100 yards in a game this year, joining Khalil Owens and Anthony Guercio. Khalon Simmons added two rushing scores as part of his 35 rushing yards, and he also threw a key block to spring Amire Spencer for the go-ahead touchdown with 9:12 left in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers closed the game with a 12-play, 82-yard touchdown drive. Jaylen Butera rushed in from a yard out with five seconds remaining to pull the Lakers to within 35-34, and Adam Urena connected with Braydon Black on the two-point conversion to give Mercyhurst the win.

Tarburton on the Rush

Jake Tarburton enters Week 7 ranked fifth in the PSAC with 5.0 sacks, a number that also ranks fourth in the PSAC West.  With a sack against Mercyhurst last week, he surpassed his previous career-high of four sacks with four games to spare. He is also tied for fourth in the conference with 9.5 tackles for loss.

Tarburton now has 11 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 leads all active PSAC players in tackles per game with a 7.32 per game average, and his 271 total career tackles ranks second in the PSAC among active players behind only Millersville's Isaiah Onuschak (285).

Should Hamdan improve even slightly over his current season pace of 7.1 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 has shown no signs of slowing down in 2023. They are third in the PSAC and second in the West division with an average of 173.0 rushing yards per game. They have also been efficient in their rushing, ranking sixth in the conference with an average of 4.4 yards per rushing attempt.

First Triumvirate

The Golden Eagles have had three different players top the 100-yard rushing mark through seven weeks of the season. Khalil Owens broke the century mark rushing against Bloomsburg on Sept. 16, Anthony Guercio did it on Sept. 23 against Lock Haven, and Zach Benedek did it on Oct. 14 against Mercyhurst.

To find the last time three different Golden Eagles broke the century mark on the ground, you have to go back to the 2011 season when four players did it: Ben Fiscus, Patrick Graham-Murphy, Brandon Akins and John Fuhrer.

Dominant Ground Game vs. Mercyhurst

Clarion went off for 335 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns against Mercyhurst on Oct. 14, beating the Lakers on the ground for much of the contest. That represented the best single-game rushing total for the team since they put up 341 yards on the ground in the 2019 season opener against Shippensburg.

The last time the Golden Eagles scored five rushing touchdowns in a game was on Nov. 12, 2011, when Patrick Graham-Murphy scored all five in a record-setting performance against Millersville. 

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 fly 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 seven weeks, thanks to his ability to contribute on offense and special teams. Alleyne is averaging 139.9 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks 10th 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 signal callers are having an impressive season rushing the football. Clarion quarterbacks have taken off on 80 rushing attempts for 573 yards, an average of 7.2 yards per play. Zach Benedek leads the Golden Eagles with 341 rushing yards on 42 designed runs and scrambles, an average of 8.1 yards per carry. Anthony Guercio has also been effective, rushing for 213 yards on designed plays.

Not Seeing Yellow

In 2022 Clarion was one of the best teams in the conference at not harming 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 seven weeks of the season, Clarion has had just 41 penalties accepted against them, for an average of 46.1 yards per game. The former number is tied for sixth-best among all PSAC schools, and the penalty yardage average is third-best behind only Kutztown and IUP.

Next Week

The Golden Eagles will face another stiff PSAC West challenge when they head to Slippery Rock to battle for the historic Milk Jug (actually a milk can) trophy at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 28.