Clarion Golden Eagles (1-2, 0-0 PSAC West) at Gannon Golden Knights (0-3, 0-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, Sept. 23 // 1:00 PM
Erie, Pa. // McConnell Family Stadium

Quick Notes

• Clarion will kick off divisional play with two consecutive road games against PSAC West opponents, starting with a trip to Erie to take on Gannon on Saturday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at McConnell Family Stadium, with the Golden Knights celebrating their Homecoming.
• This will be the 15th ever meeting between Clarion and Gannon, with the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights even at seven wins apiece in the series to date.
• The Golden Eagles have not won a road game against Gannon since the 2015 season, when they scored 47 points in a romp at McConnell Family Stadium. 
• Clarion is coming off a 21-20 home loss to Lock Haven on Sept. 16, a game in which the Golden Eagles led for all but the final seven seconds of the contest. 
• Quarterback Anthony Guercio got the start for Clarion against the Bald Eagles, with the redshirt sophomore rushing for more than 100 yards and scoring two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).
• Freshman running back Khalon Simmons got his most significant playing time of the season to date last week, finishing with 89 combined rushing/receving yards against Lock Haven.
• As far as keeping opposing offenses off the scoreboard once they enter the red zone, the Golden Eagles have been one of the best in the PSAC, allowing an average of just 2.40 points per red zone trip.
• Wide receiver Corahn Alleyne remains one of the most dangerous players in the PSAC with the ball in his hands, ranking sixth in the conference and second in the PSAC West in all-purpose yardage at 148.3 per game.

Series History

• This will be the 15th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights, with the two teams tied at 7-7 in the all-time series to date. It is a rivalry that dates back to just the 2008 season, when Gannon - alongside Mercyhurst - joined the PSAC.
• Clarion controlled the series at the outset, winning four of the first five meetings between the teams, but since then Gannon has won six of the last nine meetings. 
• Due to the quirks of PSAC scheduling as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the fourth time in the last six meetings that the annual game has been played in Erie. Whether the game is at home or on the road does not appear to have much bearing on the outcome, though; in each case, the home team holds just a 4-3 advantage over the visitor.
• Last year the teams met in the PSAC West opener at Memorial Stadium, with the Golden Knights earning a 47-24 win. The game was just 27-21 at halftime thanks in part to two explosive scoring plays by Corahn Alleyne, a 74-yard touchdown reception and a 65-yard touchdown run. Zach Benedek tacked on a touchdown run late in the first half but Gannon outscored Clarion 20-3 in the second half.
• The last Clarion win overall came on Sept. 22, 2018, a 14-9 showing in rainy conditions. Alec Heldreth scored on a strip sack after knocking the ball loose at the Gannon 24-yard line, eventually falling on it in the end zone after neither side could scoop the loose ball.  Jovante Seard hit Dana Jackson Jr. for a touchdown in the third quarter to put the Golden Eagles in the lead for good.
• The Golden Eagles' last win in Erie was on Sept. 26, 2015, a 47-31 shootout where Clarion took the lead for good early in the second quarter and never looked back. Connor Simmons threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns - all to Matt Lehman - and the pass rushing bookends of Tyrone Archie and Matt Koerper combined to sack the quarterback five times. 

Scouting the Golden Knights

• Gannon was predicted to finish fourth in the PSAC West after a strong showing during the 2022 season. The Golden Knights finished the year 8-3 overall and tied for first in the PSAC West with a 6-1 record, a mark even with Slippery Rock and IUP.
• This year the Golden Knights are off to an 0-3 start, but that does not quite tell the tale of the season to date. In each of those games the score was either tied or in Gannon's favor at some point in the fourth quarter.
• Quarterback Mike Nikell has been a dual threat for the Golden Knights, leading the team in rushing with 125 yards as well as his role as the starting signal caller. He has six combined touchdowns (five passing, one rushing). Defensively, Kam Snell has a pair of interceptions while Obi Ezeigbo leads the team with 2.5 sacks.
• On a team-wide scale, Gannon ranks third in the conference in average first downs gained per game (21.3) and fifth in first downs permitted per game (17.3).
   

Last Week

The Golden Eagles had another strong rushing day and built a 13-point second half lead on the visitors, but a desperation heave with seven seconds remaining gave Lock Haven a 21-20 win over Clarion at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 16. 

That was the only lead the Bald Eagles enjoyed on Saturday, as Clarion had otherwise led the game from their second offensive drive. Andrew Kurtas put Clarion ahead with a 30-yard field goal, and on their next drive quarterback Anthony Guercio - making his first-ever start in the Blue & Gold - took off for a 15-yard touchdown scamper to make it a 10-0 game. 

Clarion led 13-7 at the halftime break and seemed to have things well in hand early in the fourth quarter. Che Trevena picked off quarterback Danny Sanchez for the only turnover by either side in the game, setting up a touchdown drive punctuated by a 21-yard scoring pass from Guercio to Trenten Smith. Lock Haven's Chris Collier broke off a 62-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to keep his team in it, and the Bald Eagles eventually won the game on a flea flicker pass from Sanchez to Chris Hicks with seven ticks of the clock left.

Guercio threw for 166 yards and a touchdown, and also led Clarion with 105 rushing yards and a score. Khalon Simmons saw significant action for the first time this season and acquitted himself well, recording 51 rushing yards on 13 carries while also catching two passes for 38 yards. Ryan Stahl and Jake Tarburton finished with eight tackles apiece, with the former racking up stops on special teams and the latter also contributing half a sack a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. Elroe Yohnnes had 1.5 sacks as part of his four stops.

Guercio Gets His Shot

Sophomore quarterback Anthony Guercio started the Sept. 16 game against Lock Haven, marking his first start since Oct. 23, 2021 as a member of Fairmont State, when the Falcons took on Frostburg State. Guercio contributed with his feet as well as his arm against the Bald Eagles, leading Clarion with 105 rushing yards while also throwing for 166 yards in the air. 

Hey, Remember When?

By breaking the century mark on the ground against Lock Haven, Anthony Guercio became the first Golden Eagle quarterback in more than a decade to rush for more than 100 yards. The last time it happened was on Sept. 29, 2012, when Ben Fiscus went off for 167 rushing yards against East Stroudsburg. Fiscus's day included a 66-yard run in the third quarter that went down to the Warriors' 22-yard line, eventually leading to a two-yard touchdown run by Bobby Thomas that tied the game at 17 points. Clarion won the game 31-27.

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 off to a similar start in 2023. They seventh in the PSAC but second in the West division with an average of 148.3 rushing yards per game, with an average of 3.9 yards per carry that ranks third in the West. 

Rushing Contributions Come from All Over

Thanks to Anthony Guercio's 100-yard rushing performance against Lock Haven on Saturday, the Golden Eagles have briefly earned an interesting distinction. Clarion is the only PSAC school to have two different players top the 100-yard rushing mark through three weeks of the season, as Khalil Owens had achieved that feat one week prior against Bloomsburg. The Golden Eagles account for two of the 10 such performances in the conference so far this year.

More on Owens' Day vs. Bloomsburg

• Owens ran for 126 yards against Bloomsburg on Sept. 9, marking his fourth game over 100 rushing yards in a Golden Eagle uniform and the first since his 124-yard game against Lock Haven on Sept. 17, 2022.
• The 126 yards gained on the ground are the most for Owens since his went off for 179 yards rushing against Edinboro on Nov. 6, 2021. His 188 combined rushing and receiving yards are also his greatest total since that same day, when he had 194.
• Owens' 126 yards rushing against Bloomsburg is tied for the best single-game total in the PSAC through two weeks. In a strange coincidence, the other player to tie that total is the Huskies' Kaleb Monaco, who did it in the same game.

Alleyne Playing with Purpose

Receiver Corahn Alleyne ranks among the national leaders in all-purpose yardage through three weeks, thanks to his ability to contribute on offense and special teams. Alleyne enters the game against the Golden Knights with an average of 148.3 all-purpose yards per game and has racked up 1,514 all-purpose yards in just 10 games played as a Golden Eagle. 

On special teams, Alleyne has two of the five best single-game punt return totals in the PSAC, with his 51 yards against Bloomsburg last week the second-best mark in the league. He also has the fourth- and fifth-longest punt returns in the PSAC to date, including a season-long 32-yarder against Lincoln (Pa.) in the opening game. 

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 three weeks of the season, Clarion has had just 17 penalties accepted against them, for an average of 49.0 yards per game. The former number is the second-lowest among all PSAC schools that have played three games this season, and the penalty yardage average is second best behind only Kutztown. 

Next Week

The Golden Eagles get back on the bus, this time heading down to Adamson Stadium for a late-September date with the California (Pa.) Vulcans. Kickoff is set for noon. The Golden Eagles will look to snap a 16-game losing streak to the Vulcans that dates back to the 2005 season. Clarion's last win at Adamson Stadium was all the way back in 2000, a 32-28 decision.