East Stroudsburg Warriors (8-1, 6-1 PSAC East) at Clarion Golden Eagles (3-7, 1-5 PSAC West)
Saturday, November 16 // 12 p.m.
Clarion, Pa. // Memorial Stadium

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagles conclude the 2024 regular season on Saturday, November 16 when they host East Stroudsburg at Memorial Stadium for Senior Day. Kickoff is slated for noon.
• This will be the 16th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Warriors, with East Stroudsburg holding an 11-4 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have not met since the 2019 season finale
• The Golden Eagles lost a high-scoring shootout with Gannon last week, falling 34-28 to the Golden Knights at Memorial Stadium. Clarion held the ball with just over two minutes to play and had a chance to go ahead but could not finish off the comeback.
• Wide receiver Trevon Tate has been one of the most productive receivers in the nation this year, ranking fourth in the country in receiving yards (1,112) and 15th in receptions per game (6.3).
• Tate now ranks second all-time in receiving yards in a single season at Clarion, behind only Alvin Slaughter's 1,369-yard output in 1998.
• Over the last two games Logan Kent is 34.1 yards per kickoff return, including an 83-yard return against Gannon that set up a Golden Eagle touchdown. That is the fifth-longest kick return in the PSAC this year.
• Quarterback Anthony Guercio now has 11 rushing touchdowns this year, the most for a Golden Eagle since Alfonso Hoggard rushed for 17 touchdowns in 2009. He leads all quarterbacks in the region in rushing touchdowns.
• The Clarion offense has recorded 400+ yards of total offense in four of the last five games and five times total this year, after not hitting the mark at all during the 2023 season.
• Defensive end Jake Tarburton still ranks second in the PSAC with 7.0 sacks and leads with 13.0 tackles for loss despite missing multiple games to injury, with both marks representing career-highs for Tarburton.
• Punter Hunter Robertson leads the PSAC in punts over 50 yards (14) and is fourth in punts landed inside the 20-yard line (16). He is also one of three PSAC punters to boot a ball longer than 70 yards in 2024.

Series History

• This will be the 16th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Warriors, with East Stroudsburg holding an 11-4 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have not met since the 2019 season finale.
• The two teams met in the PSAC Championship games in 1978 and 1983, splitting the two; the Warriors claimed the former by a score of 49-4, while the Golden Eagles won the latter 27-14.
• The last time the teams met was on Nov. 16, 2019, a 41-17 victory for the Warriors in East Stroudsburg. Kahliq Muhammad and Quinn Zinobile both caught touchdown passes - one from Michael Proios, and the other from Jeff Clemens.
• The most recent contest in Clarion was on Nov. 10, 2018, which was a 23-17 victory for the Warriors. A blinding snowstorm rolled over Memorial Stadium several hours before kickoff, and though the skies ultimately cleared it remained a cold and blustery day. Offensive lineman Rob Korzon scored a big man touchdown, catching a lateral and running seven yards for a score.
• The last time the Golden Eagles won a game in the series was in the 2012 meeting, when Clarion took down the Warriors 31-27 at Memorial Stadium. Ben Fiscus rushed for 167 yards and passed for 245 and a touchdown. Clarion trailed 27-17 in the fourth quarter but scored 14 unanswered points, including a game-winning rushing touchdown from Travis Day.

Scouting the Warriors

• East Stroudsburg was predicted to finish third in the PSAC East division with one first place vote in the preseason coaches poll. They exceeded that expectation in 2024, going 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the division, with their sole loss coming to undefeated Kutztown.
• A cursory look at the conference statistical rankings show the Warriors near the top of most categories. Of note, they possess the conference's top scoring offense with an average of 35.4 points per game, as well as the PSAC's second-best scoring defense at 14.2 points per game allowed.
• The duo of Tyriq Lewis and Tahir Mills are the third- and fourth-best rushers in the PSAC this year, averaging 74.6 and 72.6 rushing yards per game, respectively. The Warriors are averaging better than 200 combined rushing yards per game. 
• Everette Dingle is tied for first in the PSAC in interceptions with five on the season, while Terrell Reynolds leads the conference in forced fumbles with three.

Last Week

The Golden Eagles football team lost a high-scoring shootout with Gannon on Saturday afternoon, falling 34-28 to the Golden Knights at Memorial Stadium. Clarion held the ball with just over two minutes to play and had a chance to go ahead but could not finish off the comeback.

The teams combined for five touchdowns in the second half, with Gannon going ahead 34-21 late in the fourth quarter to establish what was the only two-score lead of the day for either side. Jay'Den Birch capped a 17-play, 93-yard touchdown drive with a one-yard plunge, giving the Golden Knights a 13-point lead with 2:42 to go.

The Golden Eagles needed two quick scores to come back, and they got the first of those two in short order. Logan Kent took the ensuing kickoff 83 yards down to the Gannon seven-yard line, and quarterback Anthony Guercio quickly capitalized by throwing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Ray Jackson in the back of the end zone. Hunter Robertson's extra point made it 34-28, with just 19 seconds expired on the clock.

The next play was a work of art for the Golden Eagles special teams unit. Robertson executed a perfect onside kick, with Jackson falling on the ball at the Gannon 47-yard line. The Golden Knight defense stood tall, though, forcing a turnover on downs on 4th-and-5 with 1:10 remaining. Gannon kneeled out the clock for the win.

It was an offensive showcase between the two teams, with both sides showing the ability to punch the ball into the end zone. Guercio finished the day with four total touchdowns, completing 16 of his 24 pass attempts for 186 yards and three scores, and also rushing 12 times for 37 yards and a touchdown. Trevon Tate and Davon Jones also caught touchdown passes against the Golden Knights.

Clarion Context for Trevon Tate

• Trevon Tate has seven 100-yard receiving games thus far in 2024. That is the most for a Golden Eagle since Alvin Slaughter had eight 100-yard receiving games during the 1998 season, which is believed to be the most 100-yard receiving games for a Golden Eagle in a season.
• With nine catches for 134 yards and a touchdown against Slippery Rock, Tate became the first Golden Eagle to go over 1,000 yards receiving in a season since Kevin Genevro (1,096) in 2016. 
• Only four players in program history have gone over 1,000 yards receiving in a season - Tate, Genevro, Slaughter (1,369 - 1998) and Bob Green (1,018 - 1984).
• Now with 1,112 receiving yards on the season, Tate ranks second for a single season at Clarion behind only Slaughter.

The National Perspective on Tate

• Through 10 games, Trevon Tate has been one of the most productive receivers in the region as well as the country.
• Tate ranks fourth in NCAA Division II and first in Super Region 1 with 1,112 total receiving yards through 10 games, and his 111.2 receiving yards per game ranks fifth in the nation and first in the region.
• He also ranks 15th in the nation, fourth in Super Region 1 and second in the PSAC with an average of 6.3 receptions per game.

Finding the Balance

• The Golden Eagles offense has been among the conference's leaders in rushing under head coach Raymond Monica, and this year the explosion of the passing game has turned it into a more dangerous unit.
• Clarion ranks fifth in the PSAC in total offense with an average of 370.0 yards per game. The passing game ranks 13th in the region and fifth in the conference at an average of 223.1 yards per game.
• Oh yeah, and the run game is still nothing to sneeze at; the Golden Eagles average of 146.9 yards per game on the ground.

More Notes on the "O"

• After not going over 400 total yards of offense in a game during the entire 2023 season, Clarion has now done so in four of their last five games and in five total this year;
• Part of the Golden Eagles' success in moving the ball on offense is, simply put, that they do it more than most anyone else in the PSAC. Clarion ranks fourth in the PSAC and second in the West in offensive snaps per game, at an average of 64.0 and their average of 5.8 yards per play run is sixth in the conference and second in the West only to Slippery Rock.

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 still ranks second in the PSAC with seven sacks and leads with 13.0 tackles for loss, despite having missed two games due to injury;
• Tarburton is third in Super Region 1 with an average of 1.60 tackles for loss per game, and his average of 0.88 sacks per game ranks fourth in the region. Those averages both rank ninth in NCAA Division II this season.
• 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.

Bust it Big

Over the last few weeks, running back Logan Kent has turned into a dangerous weapon in the kick return game. In games against Slippery Rock and Gannon he has returned seven kicks for 239 yards, an average of 34.1 yards per return. That includes the longest kick return for any Golden Eagle this season, an 83-yard return against Gannon on Nov. 9 that set up a one-play touchdown drive for Clarion in the fourth quarter.

• Kent's 83-yard return against Gannon is the longest for a Golden Eagle since Terrell Ford took a kick 90 yards for a touchdown against Seton Hill on Oct. 5, 2019.
• The 83-yard return is the fifth-longest in the PSAC 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 (14) and is fourth in punts downed inside the 20-yard line (16). 
• With a 43.1 yards per kick average - second in Super Region 1 and 14th in the country - Robertson 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 ranks second in the conference and Super Region 1, as well as 13th in the nation, in net punt average, at 39.4 yards per kick.
• In addition to his punting duties, Robertson now has the Golden Eagles' longest field goal of the season, kicking a 43-yarder against Seton Hill on Oct. 26. That is the longest field goal for a Clarion player since Phil Esposito made a 44-yarder in a win over Gannon on Sept. 26, 2015.

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 49.8 yards per contest. 
• The Golden Eagles have also committed just 59 penalties on the year, the third-lowest total in the PSAC West.

He Can Do It All

Anthony Guercio ranks third in the PSAC and eighth in NCAA Super Region 1 in total offense with an average of 261.9 yards per game;

• Guercio's 225.6 passing yards per game ranks third in the conference and ninth in NCAA Super Region 1;
• Guercio's 11 rushing touchdowns the most for a Golden Eagle since Alfonso Hoggard rushed for 17 scores during the 2009 season;
• Those 11 rushing touchdowns for Guercio rank second in the PSAC behind only Seton Hill running back Ky'Ron Craggette and are the most for any quarterback in the region this year;
• He hasn't been afraid to go down the field with the ball. Guercio ranks seventh in the region and third in the PSAC with an average of 14.52 yards per completion, a mark that also ranks 18th in NCAA Division II;
• 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.