Clarion Golden Eagles (4-1, 0-1 PSAC West) at Gannon Golden Knights (1-4, 1-0 PSAC West)
Saturday, October // 12:00 PM
Erie, Pa. // McConnell Family Stadium
 
Quick Notes

• The Golden Eagles continue their recent string of road games with a trip to Erie when they face off with Gannon at McConnell Family Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon.
• This will be the 17th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights, with Gannon holding a slight 9-7 edge in the all-time series. Gannon has won five straight meetings.
• Clarion lost their first game of the season the last time out, falling 21-20 to Edinboro after the Fighting Scots came back in the final minutes to eke out the victory.
• Through five games, the Golden Eagles rank second in the PSAC West division and third overall in the conference with an average of 36.8 points per game. This also ranks 18th in NCAA Division II.
• Nearly 20 percent of the Golden Eagles' offensive plays run this year have fit in the "explosive" play category as either a 10+ yard run or a 15+ yard pass.
• Running back Khalon Simmons rushed for four touchdowns in the win over Shepherd, marking just the eighth time in program history that a single player has rushed for four touchdowns in a single game.
• Simmons is tied for the lead in NCAA Super Region 1 with eight rushing touchdowns in five games.
• Receivers Davon Jones and Holt Egan both went over 100 yards receiving in the win over Shepherd, the first time two Golden Eagles eclipsed the century mark receiving in the same game since 2021.
• Jones leads the PSAC with an average of 6.3 receptions per game, and leads the team in receptions caught for first downs or touchdowns.
• Zay Brisbane ranks second in D-II and first in the PSAC with an average of 1.80 passes defended per game.
• In five games, the Golden Eagles have allowed just 12 opponent trips into the red zone, the second-lowest total in the conference to date.
• Clarion has been one of the best teams in the country at protecting the ball, ranking seventh in the nation to date with just three turnovers lost.
• Defensive back Zay Brisbane leads the PSAC with nine passes defended in 2025.
• Punter Frankie Passantino III currently leads the PSAC in punts downed inside the 20-yard line (10) and has kicked just one touchback.
• The Golden Eagles boast one of the top punt return coverage units in the country, allowing opponents an average of just 0.7 yards per return to rank seventh in NCAA Division II.
• Kicker Andrew Kurtas has been a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts so far this year, the only player in the PSAC to be at 100 percent with at least four attempts.

 
Series History

• This will be the 17th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Golden Knights, with Gannon owning an 9-7 record over Clarion in the all-time series. The rivalry dates back to the 2008 season.
• Clarion won six of the first nine meetings between the teams but since then Gannon has controlled the series, winning six of the last seven contests and five straight.
• The last two meetings between the Golden Eagles and Golden Knights have been decided by a single possession, with Gannon coming out on top in each. In 2023 Clarion led 20-7 at the halftime break but the Golden Knights scored 20 unanswered points in the second half, including a go-ahead touchdown  early in the fourth quarter en route to a 27-20 win. In 2024 the Golden Eagles trailed by six points with 2:23 remaining but could not finish the drive, falling 34-28.
• The last win in the series for Clarion came on Sept. 22, 2018, a 14-9 decision at Memorial Stadium that included a defensive score for the Golden Eagles. Alec Heldreth recorded a strip sack and recovered the ball in the end zone to tie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter, and Dana Jackson Jr. caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jovante Seard in the third quarter to put Clarion ahead for good.
• Clarion has not won a game at McConnell Family Stadium since Sept. 26, 2015, a 47-31 victory as part of a 7-0 start for the Golden Eagles. Delrece Williams rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, including a 71-yard rush in the fourth quarter.

 
Scouting the Golden Knights

• Gannon was predicted to finish fourth in the PSAC West division in 2025 after going 3-7 overall and 3-3 inside the division in 2024, with the latter mark putting them third.
• The Golden Knights lost a handful of key performers from last year's squad, including PSAC West Freshman of the Year Jayden Whitaker and fellow all-conference pick Charles Calhoun. They brought in 18 players through the transfer portal before the start of the season as well as an incoming freshman class.
• Head coach Erik Raeburn is in his fifth season in Erie and 25th overall as a head coach.
• Gannon enters Saturday's game with a 1-4 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the division, with the "1" being a 38-35 win over #14/16 Slippery Rock at home. Former Golden Eagles quarterback Ty Hurst came off the bench and threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and then rushed for 66 yards and a score, against the Rock.
• Damario Moore is the reigning PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week after scoring an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown against Gannon, the first for the Golden Knights' program since 2013 and the second-longest kickoff return in program history.

 
Buzz at Linebacker

• Linebacker Griffin Buzzell earned his second consecutive Second Team All-PSAC West honor, as the linebacker continued his development into a leader not just on the defense but for the team. He ranked fourth in the PSAC with 90 tackles while also contributing 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception.
• The senior 'backer is off to a quick start in 2025, leading the conference with an average of 10.8 tackles per game, while tying for fourth in the conference with two forced fumbles.
• The team's best run stopper through the first five games of the year, Buzzell has made a team-high 38 tackles on rush plays.

 
The Offense by the (Conventional) Numbers

• Through five games, the Golden Eagles rank second in the PSAC West division and third overall in the conference with an average of 36.8 points per game.
• That jibes well with their total offensive numbers; the Golden Eagles are second in the West and fourth overall with an average of 414.0 yards per game.
• Clarion has scored 25 touchdowns this season, second-most in the conference behind Kutztown (27).
• Clarion has achieved 109 first downs in their first five games, an average of 21.8 first downs per game. That total ranks second in the PSAC and eighth in NCAA Super Region 1.

 
The Offense by the (Nerdy) Numbers

• The offense has been effective at getting yardage in big chunks; through five games the Golden Eagles have totaled 31 "explosive" runs (10+ yards) and 35 "explosive" pass plays (15+ yards) for a total of 66 "explosive" plays. That is an explosive play rate of 19.7 percent.
• The Golden Eagles' 6.2 yards per play average is their best since 2015, when they averaged 6.5 yards per play.
• Clarion has run 334 offensive plays in five games, the second-highest total in the PSAC West this season and the most on a per-game average in the division.
• The offense has reached the red zone more than any other team in the PSAC, and by a wide margin, scoring 20 touchdowns on 23 trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line. By comparison, only two other teams - Millersville (20) and East Stroudsburg (21) - have even reached the red zone 15 times.
• The Golden Eagles have run 158 first down plays to this point in the season; of those, 31 plays have gone for more than 11 yards, with 15 good for 20 or more yards.

 
Digging Into Defensive Stats

• Through five games the Golden Eagles defense has allowed an average of 20.6 points per game, fourth in the conference and second in the West.
• In those five games, the Golden Eagles have allowed just 12 opponent trips into the red zone, the second-lowest total in the conference to date. Opponents have scored just seven touchdowns in the red zone against Clarion, the third-lowest total in the PSAC.
• Clarion has forced opponents into 69 third down attempts in five games, four behind leaders Seton Hill and Kutztown. Their third down defense has allowed opponents to convert at a 31.9 percent pace, third best in the PSAC and second in the West behind IUP (24.2).
• The Golden Eagles have allowed only 32 "explosive" plays in 2025, defined as a 10+ yard rush or a 15+ yard pass play. That is an explosive play rate of just 9.8 percent against for the season.

 
Holt and Catch Fire

• After putting up modest, even minimal numbers, in his first year as a Golden Eagle, Holt Egan has jumped onto the scene as a dangerous target in the Clarion passing game.
• The senior wide receiver has 18 receptions for 335 yards and two touchdowns in the first five weeks of the season, catching scoring passes against Wheeling and West Virginia.
• Egan ranks eighth in the PSAC in receiving yards per game (67.0) and seventh in yards per reception (18.6).
• Against Shepherd on Sept. 20, Egan finished with his first career 100-yard game, catching six passes for 121 yards against the Rams.

 
Two Over the Century Mark

• Against Shepherd on Sept. 20, both Holt Egan and Davon Jones went over the century mark in receiving yards, with Egan catching six passes for 121 yards and Jones eight for 103 yards.
• That is the first time two Golden Eagles went over the 100-yard receiving mark in the same game since Quinn Zinobile (107) and Terrell Ford (115) did it against Shippensburg on Sept. 18, 2021.
• Jones has now gone over 100 yards receiving in back-to-back games; he had nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown against Edinboro on Sept. 27.

 
Money Man

• Receiver Davon Jones has turned into the go-to guy when it it's time to move the chains.
• Jones leads the PSAC with an average of 6.3 receptions per game, and a high percentage of those catches have resulted in either a first down or a touchdown.
• Through four games Jones has recorded four touchdown receptions and 16 catches that would have resulted in first downs; in total, he has 17 total "money" plays.

 
Nose for the Ball

• Through five games, the Golden Eagles' defensive backfield has had a knack for getting their hands on the football.
• Cornerback Zay Brisbane leads the PSAC with nine pass break-ups, while Christopher Shackleford (7) and Adrian Torres (4) both also rank in the top-10 in the conference.

 
Not So Static Kling

• Defensive tackle Owen Kling was the anchor of the Golden Eagles' defensive line in 2024, earning Second Team All-PSAC West honors.
• The numbers were not gaudy – 16 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks – but the cumulative effect was noticeable as he demanded regular double-teams on the interior.
• Clarion held opponents to a 3.9 yards per carry average for the season.
• This year the Clarion defense ranks fourth in the PSAC and second in the West with an average of 98.8 rushing yards allowed per game, and have held three of their five opponents under 100 yards on the ground this year.

 
Finding the Backfield

• Against Edinboro on Sept. 27, the Golden Eagles recorded four quarterback sacks, the second time this season they've reached the quarterback at least that many times. On Sept. 13 against Shippensburg Clarion finished with five sacks.
• Prior to the game against the Raiders, Clarion had not recorded four or more sacks in a single game since the 2022 season, when they had six against Lock Haven on Sept. 17, 2022 - coincidentally, Raymond Monica's first win as Clarion head coach.
• Defensive end Mathew McGregor leads the team and is tied for fourth in the conference with 4.5 sacks through five games.

 
Brisbane Named PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week

• Zay Brisbane was all over the field in the win over Wheeling on Aug. 28, recording four tackles and swatting away a career-high four passes.
• Four passes defended in a single game is the best total for any Golden Eagle defender since the 1992 season.
• For his efforts, Brisbane earned PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week honors for Sept. 2.
• With two more pass break-ups against Shepherd, Brisbane now leads the PSAC with nine passes defended in five weeks of action.

 
Defense Pitches Shutout in Season Opener

• Clarion kicked off the season with a rare feat, shutting out Wheeling 34-0 in the 2025 opener.
• The goose egg represented the first shutout for the Clarion defense since Aug. 30, 2012, when the Golden Eagles beat Fairmont State by a 7-0 score.
• That marked a span of 130 games between shutouts, as well as a 130-game span between shutouts at Memorial Stadium.
• The Golden Eagles have not had a road shutout since Sept. 9, 1995 at Westminster.
• Clarion didn't just keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard, but also from doing much of anything on offense. They limited Wheeling to 180 yards of total offense, their lowest total since permitting just 111 yards to Lincoln on Sept. 15, 2018.

 
Here's One I Bet You Didn't Know
Clarion kicker Andrew Kurtas is tied for the team lead in tackles on kickoff returns with four stops.
 
Coming Up Next
The Golden Eagles will head on the road yet again, this time to take on California (PA) at Adamson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.