LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced their weekly football award winners on Tuesday. Clarion boasted two of the three honorees in the PSAC West division on Oct. 13, with Griffin Buzzell earning Defensive Athlete of the Week honors and Andrew Kurtas Special Teams Athlete of the Week laurels. Both were essential pieces of Clarion's 48-46 win over Gannon on Saturday.
 
Buzzell was a force on defense for the Golden Eagles, making a number of huge plays in what turned out to be a shootout win against the Golden Knights. Buzzell had a game-high 14 tackles and three sacks, making him the first Golden Eagle player to record three sacks in a game since Robert Lachmann in 2022. He also forced his third fumble of the season, the best mark in the PSAC West and one off the total conference lead.
 
In total, Buzzell was the first Clarion player to record at least three sacks and one forced fumble in a game since Tyrone Archie on Sept. 19, 2015 against Cheyney.
 
In a game where every point mattered, Andrew Kurtas was locked in. The junior kicker was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts and booted six touchbacks in his nine kickoff attempts, but where he really shined was with the game on the line. Kurtas was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, with both makes coming in the last three minutes of play. That included the game-winning kick with just four seconds remaining on the clock, with Kurtas kicking the ball through the uprights from 33 yards out to complete the fourth quarter comeback for Clarion.

The Golden Eagles will wrap a stretch of three straight games on the road this weekend when they face off with California (PA) on Saturday, October 18.