California (PA) Vulcans (3-1, 1-0 PSAC West) at Clarion Golden Eagles (2-3, 0-1 PSAC West)
Saturday, October 5 // 2 p.m.
Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagles return home after being away for a month, capping the 71st annual Autumn Leaf Festival with a Homecoming clash against California (PA) at Memorial Stadium.
• This will be the 93rd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Vulcans, making it one of the oldest rivalries in the Clarion record books. California (PA) owns a 51-38-3 advantage in the all-time series.
• The last time Clarion won in the series with the Vulcans was on Nov. 3, 2002, a 31-6 victory at Memorial Stadium. 
• Facing off with a nationally-ranked opponent on the road, the Golden Eagles football team dropped a game to IUP at George Miller Stadium last week, falling 31-0 to the 25th-ranked Crimson Hawks
• Quarterback Anthony Guercio leads the PSAC in total touchdowns (6) and ranks third in total offense (265.2) after last week's effort against the Crimson Hawks.
• Wide receiver Trevon Tate ranks second in the PSAC in receiving yards (96.0) and third in receptions (6.2), and he is one of only two players in the conference to catch more than 30 passes through last week's games.
• The Golden Eagles rank fourth in the PSAC in opponent third-down conversion, limiting opponents to just a 32.4 conversion rate on the pivotal down. 
• In addition, Clarion has forced opposing offenses into more third down (72) than any other team in the PSAC.
• Defensive end Jake Tarburton leads with 5.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss through five games, with his sacks total already a career-high.
• As a team, the Golden Eagles rank third in the PSAC with 13 total sacks, and they have also recorded 29.0 tackles for loss through five games. 
• Punter Hunter Robertson leads the PSAC in punts over 50 yards (11) and punts landed inside the 20-yard line (12). He also boasts the third-longest punt in the PSAC so far this season, and is one of three PSAC punters to boot a ball longer than 70 yards in 2024.

Series History

• This will be the 93rd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Vulcans, making it one of the oldest rivalries in the Clarion record books. California (PA) owns a 51-38-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Vulcans have won 16 straight meetings dating back to the 2003 season.
• In the last meeting between the teams, the Golden Eagles defense kept things close in the first half before the Vulcans pulled away for a 37-7 win. It was just a 10-7 game midway through the second quarter after Zach Benedek capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown run. Cal followed up with 27 unanswered points for the win.
• 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.

Scouting the Vulcans

• California (PA) was predicted to finish second in the PSAC West in 2024 after going 7-3 overall and 6-1 in West action in 2023. That represented their best divisional wins total since the 2016 season.
• Quarterback Davis Black and receiver Eric Willis III returned to an offense that averaged 34.7 points per game a year ago and so far the encore has been as advertised; the Vulcans lead the PSAC with an average of 33.3 points per game.
• Black enters this week's game as the reigning PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week after accounting for 347 yards of total offense in the Vulcans' 49-7 win over Gannon. He threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns against the Golden Knights.
• Defensively, Armani Caraballo leads the team with four sacks, and his average of 1.00 sacks per game ranks tied for third in the conference through four games.
• Rashan Murray has been an effective deterrent on the back end of the defense, leading the conference with seven total passes defended (five break-ups, two interceptions).

Last Week

Facing off with a nationally-ranked opponent on the road, the Golden Eagles football team dropped a game to IUP at George Miller Stadium, falling 31-0 to the 25th-ranked Crimson Hawks. The game against IUP was the end of a three-game road swing for Clarion, who will play five of their final six games at home.

IUP's defense held down what had been an otherwise effective Golden Eagles attack through the first four weeks of the season, limiting Clarion to 114 total yards and keeping them off the scoreboard. The Crimson Hawks won the turnover battle, picking off one pass and forcing a fumble while the Golden Eagles recorded just one forced fumble.

The Clarion defense did provide a touch of splash to the day, though. Griffin Buzzell was busy chasing down the Crimson Hawks' rushing attack, making 16 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss, while freshman defensive lineman Jack Capotosto finished with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Ryan Stahl continued what has been a solid campaign as well, recording nine tackles and falling on the fumble forced by Capotosto for a turnover in IUP territory.

Guercio's Historic Day...

Quarterback Anthony Guercio got it done with his arm and his legs against Millersville on August 29, and in the process had a day that stands out in recent Golden Eagle history:

• Guercio threw for two touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns against the Marauders, making him the first Golden Eagle to accomplish that feat since Connor Simmons did it on Sept. 24, 2016 against Millersville. Simmons did it twice in his career, as did Ben Fiscus, making them the only other Golden Eagle quarterbacks since to ever complete the feat.
• Guercio thew for 215 yards and rushed for 106 yards on the ground, making him the first Clarion quarterback to hit 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in one game since Fiscus did it against East Stroudsburg on Sept. 29, 2012.
• Through examination of records back to the 1984 season, no other Golden Eagle quarterback has thrown for 200 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns, in the same game.

...And the Follow Up

Anthony Guercio followed up his historic day against Millersville with more standout performances, including a big offensive day against Shippensburg on Sept. 14. He threw for a career-high 334 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 98 yards and two more scores. Here are some quick notes about that performance:

• Guercio became the first Golden Eagle quarterback to break the 300-yard passing mark since Sept. 18, 2021, when Taylor Eggers threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns against Shippensburg at home;
• Guercio's 334 passing yards were the most for a Golden Eagles quarterback since Connor Simmons threw for 372 yards in a win over Slippery Rock on Oct. 29, 2016;
• Guercio's 432 yards of total offense against the Red Raiders ranks as the best single-game total in the PSAC this year, and his 321 yard effort against Millersville on Aug. 29 ranks as second-best.

The Brass Tacks on Guercio

• Anthony Guercio ranks third in the PSAC in total offense with an average of 265.2 yards per game;
• Guercio leads the conference with six total touchdowns, all rushing, and he is the PSAC's leading scorer with 36 points this year.
• Guercio is 10th in the PSAC in rushing, a number that also leads all quarterbacks in the conference.

A Familiar Face That Looks Better in Blue

One of the key transfers coming to the Clarion offense is wide receiver Trevon Tate, a senior that played the previous three seasons at Mercyhurst. Tate was a veteran of 25 games in the Green and White, totaling 55 catches for  648 yards and five touchdowns as a Laker.

• Tate recorded eight catches for 143 yards against Shippensburg on Sept. 14, making him the first Golden Eagles receiver to record three straight games with 100 or more receiving yards. The last to do it was Kevin Genevro in 2016, when he finished the season in triple-digits against Slippery Rock, Gannon and West Chester at home.
• In a records search back through the 1999 season, no other Golden Eagle player has started a season with three consecutive 100-yard receiving games;
• Tate ranks second in the PSAC in receiving yards per game (96.0) and third in receptions (6.2). He is also averaging 102.6 all-purpose yards per game, the fourth-best average in the PSAC.

Solid Start to Season for Golden Eagles Defense

• After allowing seven points to Millersville on Aug. 29 and nine points to Lincoln on Sept. 5, Clarion limited opponents to single-digits in scoring in back-to-back games for the first time since 2018, when the Golden Eagles beat Lincoln 44-7 and Gannon 14-9 in consecutive games;
• Clarion's defense has recorded 13 quarterback sacks, 10 quarterback hurries and 29.0 tackles for loss through five games.
• The Golden Eagles defense has forced opponents into more third downs than any other team in the league (74), and opponent third down conversion rate is 32.4 percent, the fourth-lowest mark in the conference.
• Conversely, the Golden Eagles have allowed opponents just 16.8 first downs per game, the fourth-lowest average in the PSAC West through the first five weeks. 

Disruptive Force

Defensive end Jake Tarburton has built off his all-conference season in 2023 to start quickly in 2024, ranking among the conference's most disruptive defensive linemen:

• Tarburton ranks first in the PSAC with 5.5 sacks this season, and is second with an average of 1.10 sacks per game;
• He leads the PSAC in tackles for loss with 8.5 in five games, an average of 1.70 TFL per game;
• The Golden Eagles rank third in the PSAC with 13 sacks through five games this year.

Kick It Long

So far this year it's been fair to say that punter Hunter Robertson has been a weapon on special teams, ranking among the conference's best punters and in terms of booming the ball deep and keeping it out of the end zone. The sophomore punter leads the conference in punts longer than 50 yards (11) and punts downed inside the 20-yard line (12). With a 44.4 yards per kick average so far this year, he is on pace to produce the best season average since Jim Levey averaged 46.6 yards per kick in 1965, just ahead of Phil Bujakowski's 42.6 yards per punt average in 1985.