CLARION, Pa. --- It was a tight game from beginning to end, but turnovers and miscues ultimately led the Golden Eagle football team to a 26-20 double-overtime defeat against California (PA) at Memorial Stadium's Al Jacks Field on Saturday. Clarion tied the score early in the fourth quarter but could not pull ahead of the Vulcans at home.
The Golden Eagles and Vulcans were relatively even on the stat sheet just as they were on the scoreboard, but four Clarion turnovers—all lost fumbles—proved costly for the home team. The Vulcans only turned one of those drives into points—the winning touchdown in the second overtime—but the giveaways defused Golden Eagle offensive drives in a tight game.Â
Neither team lit the scoreboard in the first quarter, but Cal kicked a field goal early in the second quarter to briefly take a 3-0 lead. The Golden Eagles responded with a methodical touchdown drive, traveling 75 yards on 10 plays to take the lead. The chunk play on that drive came on 2nd-and-10 at the Clarion 36-yard line when Jase Ferguson connected with Davon Jones for a 34-yard gain into Vulcan territory. A pair of facemask penalties against Cal put the Golden Eagles in short distance, and Davon Jones took a handoff from 1 yard out to make it 7-3.
Clarion added a field goal from Keith Baker before the end of the first half to make it 10-3, and the Vulcans responded with a touchdown drive that concluded on a 1-yard run to knot the game at 10-10 at the break. California scored again late in the third quarter on a 3-yard run to take a 17-10 lead. Avante George responded on the Golden Eagles' first drive of the fourth quarter, punching it in from the 1-yard line to tie the game at 17-17.
Subsequent Clarion drives in the fourth quarter were derailed by turnovers, including one that gave the Vulcans the ball in Clarion territory near the end of regulation. A 30-yard field goal attempt as time expired missed wide right, sending the game to extra frames. The offenses traded field goals in the first overtime—with Keith Baker connecting from 32 yards out—to send it to a second overtime. A fumble on Clarion's offensive possession in the second frame put the Vulcans in position, and Cal scored on a 4-yard run on the next drive to close out the game.
Ja'Tawn Williams had five catches for a game-high 103 yards, including a big 42-yard reception, while Ferguson completed 17 of 35 passes for 208 yards. He also rushed for a team-high 76 yards. Gabriel Laws logged 17 total tackles – five solo, 12 assisted – while Malcolm Roy had nine stops and a tackle for loss. Isaac Kim had a sack, with the play coming on an intentional grounding call against Cal quarterback Eric Gibson.
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