Clarion Golden Eagles (1-3, 0-1 PSAC West) at California (PA) Vulcans (2-1, 1-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, September 30 // 12:00 PM
California, Pa. // Adamson Stadium

Quick Notes

• Clarion are back on the road for the second straight week, as they take on California (PA) at Adamson Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is slated for noon.
• One of the rivalries in the Clarion record books, this will be the 92nd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Vulcans, with California owning a 50-38-3 advantage in the series.
• Clarion is coming off a 27-20 home loss to Gannon on Sept. 23, a game in which the Golden Eagles opened up a big first half lead but could not maintain for the remainder of the game.
• Senior linebacker Kareem Hamdan ranks among the PSAC's active leaders in total tackles and tackles per game, and is on pace to become the first Golden Eagle player with 300+ career tackles in four years. 
• The Clarion defense held Gannon to under 300 yards of total offense on Sept. 23, marking their best showing since last season's opener, a span of 13 games.
• Defensive end Jake Tarburton ranks among the conference leaders in total sacks in 2023, and is in the top-10 among active PSAC players in his career.
• The Golden Eagles have been one of the best defenses in the conference in limiting opponents in the red zone, allowing opponents to score an average of just 3.00 points per trip inside the 20-yard line.
• Thanks to 100-yard rushing efforts from Khalil Owens and Anthony Guercio, Clarion is one of just two PSAC schools - and the only one in the West division - to have two different players top the century mark on the ground.
• Receiver Corahn Alleyne ranks fifth in the PSAC in all-purpose yards per game (138.8), and is third in the league in average punt return yardage (10.1).

Series History

• This will be the 92nd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Vulcans, making it one of the oldest rivalries in the Clarion record books. California (PA) owens a 50-38-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Vulcans have dominated the series over the last two decades, including 15 straight wins dating back to the 2003 season.
• Clarion is making its first trip to Adamson Stadium since the 2019 season. Since 1958 the series there is tied at 13-13, but the Golden Eagles have not won there since 2000.
• Cal was in control from beginning to end of last year's meeting, beating the Golden Eagles 59-14 at Memorial Stadium on Homecoming weekend. Will Alexander led the Golden Eagles down the field and connected with Regan Schleicher for a touchdown on Clarion's first drive of the game but the Vulcans responded with 45 unanswered points. Connor Lyczek also scored, notching a pick-six in the third quarter.
• The last time the Golden Eagles won in the series was on Nov. 3, 2002, a 31-6 victory at Memorial Stadium. Robert Walker rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns while Clarion held the Vulcans to just 55 rushing yards themselves, with the Golden Eagles leading the time of possession battle with 39:06 of clock. Troy Bowers was the defensive leader for the Golden Eagles, recording seven tackles, one forced fumble, one sack and one tackle for loss.  That victory capped a four-year stretch of victories for Clarion, who won every meeting with California from 1999-2002.
• The Golden Eagles have not won in California since Oct. 7, 2000, which was a 32-28 back-and-forth clash at Adamson Stadium. Quarterback Adam Almashy rushed for three scores, including the game-winner with 46 seconds remaining, while Tab Musser added two rushing touchdowns. Tom Pore had eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.

Scouting the Vulcans

• California was predicted to finish third in the PSAC West division in 2023, behind only predicted champion IUP and Slippery Rock. Last year they finished in fourth place after going 4-3 in divisional play, part of a 6-5 season.
• The Vulcans actually started their season one week later than the rest of the PSAC, due to their August 31 game against Alderson Broaddus being canceled. Since then they have appeared to be in fine form, going 2-1 with wins over Kutztown and Edinboro. Their loan loss was a 44-34 defeat at nationally-ranked Shepherd, with California leading the high-powered Rams well into the second half.
• California boasts one of the most productive offenses in the conference so far, ranking fourth in the PSAC in scoring offense (32.0 ppg) and second in offensive yardage (417.3 ypg). Much of that success has come from quarterback Davis Black, who leads the PSAC in passing yards (275.7 ypg) and is second in completion percentage (63.9).
• The Vulcans welcome back five all-conference selections from a year ago, including two-time All-PSAC West linebacker Matt Tobey on defense.

Last Week

The Golden Eagle football team exploded to an early three-score lead on Saturday, but they could not keep up that momentum in falling 27-20 to Gannon at McConnell Family Stadium. Clarion held the Golden Knights to just 12 total first downs and 292 offensive yards, but a series of late miscues allowed Gannon to come from behind for the win.

The offense and defense worked in concert in the first quarter, with the latter setting them up and the former knocking them down, so to speak. The Golden Eagles scored 20 unanswered points to start the game as the defense held the Golden Knights to just 14 yards on 10 offensive plays in the first 15 minutes. Paul Newton scored his first touchdown in the Blue & Gold, motioning from the slot and rushing from 16 yards out for the score. Quarterback Anthony Guercio posted his second rushing touchdown in as many weeks, making it 17-0 with a one-yard scamper in the first quarter. Kicker Andrew Kurtas kickd a pair of field goals in the first half as well.

Gannon got back into the fight late in the first half on a touchdown pass from Nate Mikell to Donell Mason. That duo would hook up early in the third quarter on an 80-yard bomb to cut the Golden Eagle lead to 20-14, and Kam Snell returned an interception for a touchdown 51 seconds into the fourth quarter to put the Golden Knights ahead 24-20. 

Jake Tarburton was a force early on, recording 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, accounting for 17 lost yards by the Golden Knights in total. Colton Irwin set up Guercio's touchdown with a forced fumble in the first half, punching the ball out for Griffin Buzzell to recover. Kareem Hamdan finished with nine tackles and was credited with a quarterback hurry.

More on Tarburton

Jake Tarburton enters Week 5 tied for fifth in the PSAC with three sacks, a number that also ranks third in the PSAC West. Only Gannon's Obi Ezeigbo and Seton Hill's Ben Weaver rank ahead of him in the division.

Tarburton now has nine career sacks. He is one away from tying his career-high of four sacks set last season. He currently ranks ninth among active PSAC players in sacks per game, and his nine career sacks ranks seventh among active players.

Stout Defense Sets Early Tone

In the game against at Gannon on Sept. 23, the Golden Eagle defense swallowed up the Golden Knights for much of the first half, and ultimately held their opponent to fewer than 300 offensive yards for the first time since last year's season opener. Clarion held Gannon to just 14 offensive yards in the first quarter and 47 yards for the first half; in fact the Golden Knights had -6 total yards until Todd Braxton's 11-yard run with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

Gannon picked things up in the second half but the Golden Eagles still managed to hold their opponent to under 300 total yards of offense, their best outing since keeping West Liberty to 282 yards on Sept. 1, 2022. 

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 fourth among active conference leaders in tackles per game with a 7.3 per game average, and his 247 total career tackles ranks third in the PSAC behind only Millersvile's Isaiah Onuschak (269) and Slippery Rock's Kyle Kudla (251). 

Simmons Makes His Clarion Debut

Running back Khalon Simmons saw his first serious action of the 2023 season against Lock Haven on Sept. 23, and he made a strong impression in his debut. He rushed 13 times for 51 yards against the Bald Eagles.

Kurtas Proves Dependable

After starting out his collegiate career making one of his first three kicks, freshman kicker Andrew Kurtas has been rocksteady in his last two outings. The first-year player from Reading is perfect in his last four field goal attempts, including a season-long 30-yarder against Lock Haven on Sept. 23.

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 are fifth in the PSAC but second in the West division with an average of 148.3 rushing yards per game. They are one of only two PSAC teams to have two different players top the 100-yard rushing mark through four 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. That accounts for two of only 12 100-yard rushing performances in the conference 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 four weeks, thanks to his ability to contribute on offense and special teams. Alleyne enters the game against the Vulcans with an average of 138.8 all-purpose yards per game and has racked up 1,624 all-purpose yards in just 11 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 on Sept. 9 the second-best mark in the league. He also has the sixth- and seventh-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 four weeks of the season, Clarion has had just 21 penalties accepted against them, for an average of 45.5 yards per game. The former number is the third-lowest among all PSAC schools that have played four games this season, and the penalty yardage average is second best behind only Kutztown. 

Next Week

The Golden Eagles will close the 70th annual Autumn Leaf Festival with their Homecoming game against Seton Hill on Saturday, October 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.