CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles football team traded offensive blows with their nationally ranked opponent on Thursday night, but Clarion fell behind in the third quarter and could not make up enough ground in falling 38-22 to 14^th-ranked Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium.
 
Trevon Tate came just the fourth player in program history to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season, pulling down nine passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. The senior finished the game with 1,017 receiving yards for the season, the most for a Clarion player since Kevin Genevro had 1,096 yards in 2016. He now the fourth-most receiving yards in a single season in program history, behind just Bob Green (1,018 – 1984), Genevro and Alvin Slaughter (1,369 – 1998).
 
Tate went over the mark late in the fourth quarter, with the Golden Eagles trailing Slippery Rock by a 38-14 score. Clarion started the drive on their own four-yard line after forcing a turnover on downs on defense, stopping the Rock short of the goal line on four straight plays on the previous drive. The Golden Eagles worked methodically down the field, traveling 96 yards over the span of 13 plays for the score. Tate provided a key conversion in Clarion territory, converting a 4^th-and-5 when he pulled in a short pass from Ty Hurst to break into the Slippery Rock side of the field.
 
Logan Kent took a screen pass 21 yards on 2^nd-and-18 to reach the Rock 29-yard line, and three plays later Hurst connected with Tate in the end zone on a 29-yard touchdown pass. The fourth score of the year for Tate, that reception pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Hurst hit Holt Egan for a two-point conversion, pulling the Golden Eagles to within 38-22. Clarion recovered an onside kick on the next possession but could not turn it into points, and Slippery Rock knelt out the clock for the win.
 
The two sides exchanged touchdown drives in the first half, with Clarion responding to each Rock touchdown to through the first 24 minutes of play. Anthony Guercio accounted for both scores in the first half, rushing in from two yards out once in the first quarter and again in the second to cap scoring drives. After the Rock took a 7-0 lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Long to Mike Solomon, Guercio authored a 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive of his own. Clarion converted both third downs on the drive, with Guercio rushing for one and Ray Jackson drawing a pass interference call in the end zone for the other. Now with a 1^st-and-Goal from the two-yard line, Guercio broke the plane on second down to tie the score.
 
The Rock scored again on their first play of the second quarter, this time with Long hitting Kylon Wilson for a 42-yard catch-and-run to make it 14-7. The teams traded three-and-outs and then Clarion struck again, this time in part to another fake on special teams. Zack Slomers converted a fake field goal, pulling down the snap at the 33-yard line and rushing 15 yards for a first down at the 10-yard line. Michael Akinleye bullied his way down to the two-yard line on the next carry and Guercio finished it off, going over the left side for the tying score.
 
It was a 14-14 game until the 2:47 mark of the second quarter, when Idris Lawrence went over left tackle from one yard out to give The Rock at 21-14 lead. Slippery Rock never again relinquished the lead, though, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to up their lead to 35-14. They tacked on another field goal in the fourth quarter, before the Golden Eagles added their final score of the night.
 
Clarion rushed for 216 yards as a team and posted 420 yards of total offense, marking the fourth straight game they've gone over 400 yards of offense. Logan Kent rushed 10 times for 74 yards and caught three passes for 33 yards, giving him 110 combined rushing and receiving yards. He was also effective on special teams, returning five kicks for 120 yards to give him 230 all-purpose yards. Akinleye rushed 11 times for 64 yards. Read Full Article