Clarion Golden Eagles (3-4, 1-2 PSAC West) at Seton HIll Griffins (2-5, 0-3 PSAC West)
Saturday, Oct. 26 // 4 p.m.
Greensburg, Pa. // Offutt Field

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagles play their final road game of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon when they head to Greesburg to take on Seton Hill. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
• This will be the 11th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Griffins, with Clarion owning a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series. However, Seton Hill has won two of the last three meetings.
• The Griffins won last year's meeting between the teams 24-17 at Memorial Stadium, but Clarion got the best of them the year prior in Greensburg, winning 40-13 in 2022.
• The Golden Eagles rallied back from a 20-point fourth quarter deficit in their last game, beating Edinboro 29-28 at Memorial Stadium. Nick Maher scored a touchdown with 4:12 remaining and Christopher Shackleford picked off the Fighting Scots on their last offensive drive for the win.
• Quarterback Anthony Guercio won the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week award for the second time this year after accounting for 460 total yards (372 passing, 88 rushing) and factoring into all four Clarion touchdowns against Edinboro.
• Wide receiver Trevon Tate leads the PSAC in receiving yards per game average (111.4) and is second in receptions (6.3). He is the first Golden Eagle receiver to top 100 yards in a game five times in a season since Kevin Genevro in 2016.
• The Golden Eagles rank fifth in the PSAC in opponent third-down conversion, limiting opponents to just a 36.0 conversion rate, and also rank fifth in the conference with 18.1 first downs allowed per game.
• In addition, Clarion has forced opposing offenses into third down 100 times, the third-highest total in the league and the best in the West division.
• Defensive end Jake Tarburton leads the PSAC with 7.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss through seven games, both already career-highs for the senior defensive end.
• As a team, the Golden Eagles rank second in the PSAC and first in the West with 18 total sacks, and they have also recorded 41.0 tackles for loss through seven games. 
• Punter Hunter Robertson leads the PSAC in punts over 50 yards (13) and is third in punts landed inside the 20-yard line (13). 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 11th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Griffins, with Clarion owning a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series. Seton Hill has won two of the last three meetings, though Clarion had won five of the first seven contests between the teams.
• The home team in this rivalry has not won since Oct. 5, 2019, when Clarion won 42-16 at Memorial Stadium. The road team has won four straight times.
• In last year's game, Seton Hill pulled out a 27-14 win at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 7, 2023. Special teams miscues led - either directly or indirectly - to 17 of the Griffins' 24 points, including the game-winning touchdown run scored by Ky'Ron Craggette after Clarion muffed a punt in their own end in the fourth quarter.
• The Golden Eagles won the last meeting at Offutt Field, routing the Griffins 40-13 on Oct. 8, 2022. In that game it was Clarion who excelled on special teams, scoring two touchdowns in the third phase of the game. Connor Lyczek blocked a field goal attempt that Legend Davis returned 67 yards for a score, and Zach Benedek scored on a fake field goal late in the second quarter to make it 21-0.
• Coincidence, or something more? Clarion has shown an uncanny knack for blocking Seton Hill kicks over the years. The Golden Eagles have blocked a combined 11 kicks over the course of the previous 10 meetings with the Griffins.

Scouting the Griffins

• Seton Hill was predicted to finish fifth in the PSAC West division according to the preseason coaches' poll. The team was coming off perhaps the best season in program history in 2023 after they went 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the PSAC West, closing the year with four wins in their last five games.
• The Griffins' 4-3 record in PSAC West action represented the program's first-ever winning season in conference. They return two all-conference players from a year ago, running back Ky'Ron Craggette and linebacker Musa Tama.
• The Griffins enter this week's game with a 2-5 overall record and an 0-3 mark in PSAC West play. Last week they got off to a 13-0 lead over IUP but could not hold off the Crimson Hawks, falling 20-13 at Miller Stadium.
• Craggette enters this weekend's action as the PSAC's leader in rushing (120.6 ypg) and attempts (177), and is tied with Anthony Guercio for the conference lead in rushing touchdowns (8).
• Seton Hill ranks among the conference's leaders in turnover margin with a +6 mark through seven games. That has been buoyed by their ability to take the ball away in the air, with 13 team interceptions already. FIve of those belong to David Awuah, who has three additional pass break-ups.

Last Week

Facing a three-score deficit with just under 15 minutes left to play, the Golden Eagles football team sprung to life in the fourth quarter with a 20-point outburst, erasing a 19-point Edinboro lead and stunning the Fighting Scots 29-28 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles scored three touchdowns in the final quarter while stopping Edinboro on their final offensive drive to lock up the win.

Anthony Guercio proved to be the Fighting Scots' boogeyman for the second straight meeting between the teams. After putting up a performance worthy of earning PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week honors following the 2023 meeting, he provided a heck of an encore performance against the Fighting Scots in 2024. Guercio threw for a career-high 372 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing 19 times for 88 yards and another touchdown. Trevon Tate, meanwhile, had his fifth 100-yard receiving performance in seven games this season, catching eight passes for 173 yards. There was also a degree of special teams trickery that helped the winning effort, with Mathew McGregor rushing a fake punt 30 yards to set up a Golden Eagle touchdown in the second quarter.

Jake Tarburton disrupted the Edinboro offense all day, recording six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. The Golden Eagles' front stuffed the Fighting Scots' run game all day, limiting them to 44 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Edinboro quarterback Isaac Bernard threw for 223 yards and a touchdown, but he was also sacked twice and threw two interceptions.

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 players:

• Tarburton leads the PSAC with with seven sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss through seven games; 
• Thanks to his 3.5 TFL against Edinboro on Oct. 19, Tarburton became the first Golden Eagle to break double-digits in tackles for loss in consecutive seasons since Julian Howsare did it three straight times from 2012-14;
• Seven sacks in a season is the most for a Golden Eagle since Tyrone Archie finished with seven sacks in the 2015 season;
• The last Golden Eagle to record 13.0 TFL or more in a single season was Brandon Short, who had 13.5 in the 2014 season.

Hey, Remember When?

• Clarion's win against Edinboro on Oct. 19 was significant for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it broke rare precedent in the all-time series with the Fighting Scots. With wins over Edinboro in 2023 and 2024, It was the first time the Golden Eagles beat the Fighting Scots in consecutive meetings since 1997-98. 
• Notes on the Golden Eagle D
• 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;
• The Golden Eagles are second in the PSAC with 18 sacks through seven games this year, and are on in sole possession of the lead in that category in the PSAC West;
• The Golden Eagles defense has forced opponents into more third downs than any other team in the West (100), and opponent third down conversion rate is 36.0 percent, the fifth-lowest mark in the conference.

Don't Shoot Yourself in the Foot

Clarion ranks fourth in the PSAC and second in the West in terms of lowest penalty yards per game, at 50.1 yards per contest. The Golden Eagles have also committed just 43 penalties on the year, the third-lowest total in the PSAC West.

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 (13) and is third in punts downed inside the 20-yard line (13). With a 44.5 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.

• Robertson currently rank third in the conference in net punt average, at 40.3 yards per kick.

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;
• With his season-high 174 receiving yards against Edinboro on Oct. 19, Tate broke the century mark in receiving for the fifth time in seven games;
• Tate leads in the PSAC in receiving yards per game (111.4) and is second in receptions (6.3). 

The Big Picture for Trevon Tate

• Trevon Tate has five 100-yard receiving games thus far in 2024. That is the most for a Golden Eagle since Kevin Genevro broke the century mark five times during the 2016 season. Genevro's teammate Matt Lehman broke the century mark five times the season before, in 2015.
• Tate is also on pace to become the first Golden Eagle receiver to top 1,000 yards in a season since Genevro did it that same year. The latter finished with 1,096 yards.
• Only three players in program history have gone over 1,000 yards receiving in a season - Genevro (2016), Alvin Slaughter (1,369 - 1998) and Bob Green (1,018 - 1984)

The Brass Tacks on Guercio

• Anthony Guercio ranks second in the PSAC in total offense with an average of 293.4 yards per game;
• Guercio is tied for the PSAC lead with eight total touchdowns, all rushing;
• Guercio's eight rushing touchdowns are the most for a Golden Eagle since Patrick Graham-Murphy had 10 in 2011;
• Guercio has thrown for 300+ yards in two games this year, making him the first Golden Eagle quarterback since Connor Simmons in 2016 to do it, and his 372 yards against Edinboro on Oct. 19 are the most since Simmons put up that same number against Slippery Rock in 2016.

Big Day Offensively vs. Shippensburg

The Golden Eagles had their best day in terms of total offensive yardage in nearly a decade on Sept. 14. Clarion totaled 551 yards of total offense against the Red Raiders, their best output since putting up a school record 676 yards of total offense against Seton Hill on Oct. 17, 2015, a span of 82 games. It had been almost five years since the last time the Golden Eagles had cracked the 500-yard mark; that last came on Sept. 28, 2019 at Gannon.

500 Yards, Part 2

It took considerably less than 82 games for the Golden Eagles to crack 500 yards of total offense again. This time it was a matter of only four games, as Clarion recorded 513 total yards against Edinboro on Oct. 19. The Golden Eagles last cracked 500+ yards of offense in a game multiple times in 2015, when they did it three times.

Next Week

Clarion kicks off a three-game homestand to close the season with a rare Thursday night conference game, when they host Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 31. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.