Clarion Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0 PSAC West) at Millersville Marauders (0-0, 0-0 PSAC East)
Thursday, August 29 // 7:00 PM
Millersville, Pa. // Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium

Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagles football team kicks off the 2024 football season on the road when they take on Millersville on Thursday, August 29.
• This will be the 32nd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Marauders, with Clarion owning an 18-13 edge in the all-time series with Millersville dating back to 1929.
• The teams have played each other just 11 times in the past 47 years, with all of those instances coming since 1994. Clarion is 6-5 in those meetings.
• Clarion and Millersville's most consequential meeting came in 1977, when the Golden Eagles beat the Marauders 25-24 for the PSAC championship. 
• Clarion enters the season having returned 16 total starters from a season ago, including eight on defense, six on offense and two on special teams.
• The Golden Eagles bring back a pair of all-conference selections on defense, with defensive end Jake Tarburton and linebacker Griffin Buzzell earning Second Team All-PSAC West honors in 2023.
• On defense, Clarion brings back essentially their entire defensive backfield, led by senior safeties Legend Davis, Shane Kemper and Connor Lyczek.
• The Golden Eagles offense will be bolstered by a slew of returning starters on the offensive line, with four players (Jacob Domer, Josh Steele, Ruric Douglas and Devin Webb) serving as full-time starters a year ago.
• In 2023 quarterback Anthony Guercio was a dual threat for the team, leading the squad in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in addition to the relevant passing categories.
• This will be the second straight year that the Golden Eagles have opened the season on the road on a Thursday night. Last year they defeated Lincoln 30-20 in the season opener.
• Clarion kicks off the home schedule next week when they return to Memorial Stadium to host the aforementioned Lincoln Lions on Thursday, September 5.

Series History

• This will be the 32nd meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Marauders, with Clarion owning an 18-13 edge in the all-time series with Millersville dating back to 1929.
• The teams have played each other just 11 times in the past 47 years, with all of those instances coming since 1994. Clarion is 6-5 in those meetings.
• Clarion and Millersville's most consequential meeting came in 1977, when the Golden Eagles beat the Marauders 25-24 for the PSAC championship. Kicker Bill May made a 26-yard field goal with three second left on the clock after the Golden Eagles rallied from a 17-8 third quarter deficit, and Jay Dellostretto caught a pair of touchdown passes from Bob Beatty.
• The teams have only competed once in the last nine years, a 21-17 win for the Marauders at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 11, 2021. The Golden Eagles held Millersville to just 195 yards of total offense but turnovers derailed things for Clarion, including a pick that led directly to a Marauders touchdown drive in the first half.
• Clarion has not played a game in Millersville since 2014, a 55-16 victory over the Marauders on Sept. 13. The Golden Eagles rushed for 219 yards and four scores on the ground and the defense logged five sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. 

Scouting the Marauders

• Millersville was predicted to finish sixth out of the eight teams in the PSAC East division in 2024. Last year the Marauders posted a 3-8 overall record, including a 1-6 mark in the East.
• The Marauders return just 10 starters from the 2023 season, with four of their five all-conference performers no longer with the program. The lone returning All-PSAC East selection is Jaheim Morris, who last season became the first Marauder running back in 23 years to be named All-PSAC East in back-to-back seasons.
• Last season the Marauders fielded a stout defense, ranking seventh in the PSAC in yards per game allowed (318.6) and fifth in passing yards allowed (180.8).
• Defensively the Marauders have produced nine All-PSAC East linebackers since 2016 and four in the last two seasons, with Hez Faison primed to make that jump in 2024. He totaled 10.0 TFL last season.
• Millersville also returns its top two corners from last season, with Gus Ross and Imir Lilliston making their returns. The Marauders are 8-4 in games that Ross has played the last two years.
• Head coach J.C. Morgan is in his seventh season as the head coach of Millersville, with a 14-41 overall record to date.

PSAC Announces Preseason Coaches Poll

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced the results of their preseason coaches poll on August 8. The Golden Eagles were predicted to finish seventh in the PSAC West division in 2024. 

2024 PSAC Football West Division Preseason Poll

1. Slippery Rock (6)
2. California (PA)
3. IUP (1)
4. Gannon
5. Seton Hill
6. Edinboro
7. Clarion

2024 PSAC Football East Division Preseason Poll

1. Kutztown (6)
2. Shepherd (1)
3. East Stroudsburg (1)
4. West Chester
5. Lock Haven
6. Millersville
7. Shippensburg
8. Bloomsburg

About the Coach

Raymond Monica, a two-time American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 1 Coach of the Year and two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Coach of the Year with more than 30 years of experience at the college level, became the 14th coach in Golden Eagle history on Feb. 17, 2022. He enters his third season at the helm of the program in 2024. 

Schedule Breakdown

Clarion will open the 2024 season on the road for the second straight season when they head east to take on PSAC East foe Millersville for a Thursday night game on August 29. That will be the first of three Thursday night games for the Golden Eagles in 2024, with the second coming one week later when Clarion hosts Lincoln on September 5. Last year the Golden Eagles opened their year with a 30-20 win over the Lions on the road.

The next three games will be on the road as the Golden Eagles head to Shippensburg (Sept. 14), Shepherd (Sept. 21) and IUP (Sept. 28) in succession, with the last of those the 2024 PSAC West opener. Clarion returns home to celebrate Homecoming against California (PA) (Oct. 5), followed by a home meeting with Edinboro (Oct. 19). The month of October closes with two games in five days, when the Golden Eagles head on the road to face Seton Hill (Oct. 26) followed by a Thursday night Halloween clash with Slippery Rock (Oct. 31).

Clarion finishes the season with two straight games at home, hosting Gannon (Nov. 9) and East Stroudsburg (Nov. 16) at Memorial Stadium. The game against the Warriors is set as Senior Day.

Golden Eagles Return Pair of All-PSAC Defenders

The Clarion front seven returns a pair of all-conference players in 2024, with defensive end Jake Tarburton and linebacker Griffin Buzzell part of the contingent of eight returning defensive starters. Tarburton totaled 10.5 tackles for loss in 2023, making him the first Golden Eagle defender to top double-digits in the category since Alec Heldreth in 2019. Buzzell, meanwhile, ranked ninth in the PSAC with 76 total tackles and also recorded 8.0 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Welcome Back

The Golden Eagles welcome back 16 total starters - eight on defense, six on offense and two on special teams - to the fold in 2024. By comparison, only 14 starters returned from 2022 to 2023, and in the year previous only seven Golden Eagle starters returned.

Newcomer Breakdown

In total, the Golden Eagles welcome a whopping 51 new players to camp in 2024. Of that total, five were mid-year transfers that began their time at Clarion in the Spring 2024 semester and trained with the team during their spring season. Twelve other transfers come to camp, and the other 34 newcomers are freshman in their first years as Golden Eagles. 

Offensive Foundation

One of the keys for the Golden Eagles offense in 2024 will be in the trenches, with four starters on the offensive line set to return. Devin Webb, Josh Steele, Jacob Domer and Ruric Douglas all established themselves as starters in 2023, with each starting seven or more games last year. In addition, Mark Mizerak Jr. -‑ the team's starter at left tackle in 2022 - returns to the team after battling injuries last year.

Youth on the Line

The four (essentially five) returning starters on the offensive line are a rare blend of experience and youth. The five players have combined for 58 career games and none are older than a junior in terms of eligibility. Webb and Douglas both established themselves as starters as true freshmen in 2023, Steele is a redshirt sophomore, and Domer and Mizerak are both just juniors. 

Dual Threat

Quarterback Anthony Guercio showed skill with his arm as well as his legs in 2023, leading the Golden Eagles in rushing (416), rushing touchdowns (4), passing yards (661) and passing touchdowns (7). He broke the 100-yard rushing mark in two different games last year, going off for 105 yards and a score against Lock Haven and 155 yards and a touchdown at Edinboro. In the case of the latter, Guercio earned PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance.

#PSACtion

The Golden Eagles will embark on a unique schedule in 2024, with three of their games coming on Thursday nights. Clarion kicks off the season with back-to-back Thursday night games against Millersville and Lincoln, and will play a late-season Thursday night game against Slippery Rock. 

Rush Chairmen

In 2024, Clarion ranked sixth in the PSAC and third in the West division with an average of 154.5 rushing yards per game. They were also efficient in their rushing with an average of 4.2 yards per rushing attempt. That ranked fourth in the PSAC West division.

Solid First Impression

Sophomore kicker Andrew Kurtas appeared in 11 games as a true freshman in 2023, and proved to be a dependable part of the Golden Eagles' special teams. He went 26-of-27 on extra point attempts last year, including 24 consecutive makes to start the season, and was also 6-of-10 on field goal attempts. Kurtas converted a season-long 34-yard field goal against Seton Hill on Oct. 7, 2023.

Off Ball 'Backers Ready for Expanded Role

The Golden Eagles feature a pair of veteran linebackers in Griffin Buzzell and Dillon Tingle, with the pair set to expand their roles in 2024. Buzzell earned all-conference honors a year ago while Tingle, a senior that made his Clarion debut in 2023, finished with 35 tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception last year.

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.

Golden Eagles Return Four Academic All-District Honorees

Last year the Golden Eagles featured four players on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team, with all four returning to the team this season. Legend Davis, Jacob Domer, Mathew McGregor and Dillon Tingle all earned the honors in 2023 after posting a GPA of 3.50 or better and appearing in 90 percent of the team's games.

Next Week

Clarion kicks off the home schedule when they bring Lincoln (PA) to Memorial Stadium on Thursday, September 5. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.