EDINBORO, Pa. --- Buoyed by a dominant rushing attack for the second straight week, the Golden Eagle football team bullied their way to a 34-20 road victory over Edinboro on Saturday afternoon. Clarion went off for 280 yards on the ground, while Golden Eagle quarterbacks provided some timely big plays in the passing game to lock up the win.
 
Anthony Guercio made the start at quarterback and was able to contribute on the ground and through the air. He notched his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, leading all players with 155 yards on the ground on 19 attempts. His day included a 55-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 14-7 lead, an advantage they never relinquished from that point. The Golden Eagles attempted just 10 passes on the day but Guercio made the most of them, completing six of them for 74 yards and three touchdown passes.
 
Conversely, the Golden Eagle defense stymied the rushing attack of the Fighting Scots, holding them to just 40 rushing yards on 20 attempts. Quarterback Isaac Bernard threw for 324 yards and two scores but much of that came after the Golden Eagles had the game in hand. Grifin Buzzell had eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
 
Johnny Hutton was the player that stepped up in a major way, finishing with four tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. That recovery – falling on a muffed punt with 51 seconds left to go in the first half – set up the Golden Eagles' third touchdown of the game.
 
Clarion's second drive of the game was the one that put them on the board first, marching 61 yards down the field and needing just one third down conversion to do it. Guercio ran up the middle on a quarterback draw but was stopped at the goal line, losing his helmet and setting up a 3^rd-and-Goal situation. Will Alexander checked in for Guercio on the subsequent play and punched it in, running over the right side of the line for a score to make it 7-0.
 
Edinboro responded with a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that consumed 8:08 of the game, tying the game at 7-7. A key turnover set the stage for Clarion to take the lead for good. With 9:14 left to go in the first half, Alex Huzicka punched the ball out of Brian Trobel's hands deep in Golden Eagle territory, with Shane Kemper scooping it up for the recovery. Four plays later, Guercio took a shotgun snap and ran a quarterback draw 55 yards, reaching the end zone untouched for a 14-7 lead.
 
Another turnover – this time a muffed punt by Amani Bailey deep in Edinboro territory – gave the Golden Eagles a choice opportunity to build onto their lead, and build onto it they did. On 3^rd-and-4 from the Edinboro five-yard line, Guercio rolled out to his right and found Khalon Simmons on a screen pass with no time remaining on the clock at the half. Simmons also carried 14 times for 75 yards.  
 
Both teams traded failed fourth down conversions to start the second half, but Guercio struck with his second touchdown pass of the game midway through the third quarter. Once again rolling to his right, he chucked the ball deep from 27 yards out on 3^rd-and-8 to hit Zack Kindel in the back of the endzone. Now leading 27-7, the Golden Eagles added one more third quarter score, completing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ray Jackson on 3^rd-and-5.
 
The Golden Eagles were able to hold the Fighting Scots off the scoreboard for most of the third quarter, with Hutton defusing one Edinboro drive by picking off Bernard at the Clarion 36-yard line. The Fighting Scots did tack on another touchdown with 15 seconds remaining but by that point the outcome was decided.
 
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