Clarion Athletics

GREENSBURG, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle football team tied the game late in the fourth quarter with an inspired touchdown drive, but Seton Hill responded with a score of their own as the Griffins won 27-24 at Offutt Field on Saturday.
 
Trailing 24-17 late in the fourth quarter, Clarion pounded the football to tie the score, going on a seven-play, 88-yard touchdown drive where every yard came on the ground. Tyreeck Hall busted two long runs, starting the drive with a 20-yard burst and following it up with a 36-yard scamper into the red zone. Hall converted on 3^rd-and-3 from 10-yard line to get a fresh set of downs, and Jase Ferguson rushed through the left side of the line for a three-yard touchdown to even up the game.
 
However, the Griffins responded with a solid drive of their own, keeping the ball on the ground and eventually rushing down to the Clarion 4-yard line. Rayyan Bataineh kicked a 21-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Griffins a 27-24 win.
 
Hall finished the game with a game-high 102 rushing yards on eight attempts, while Ferguson carried 15 times for a net 45 yards. Davon Jones made a number of chunk yardage plays through the air, catching four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Malcolm Roy had eight tackles and a tackle for loss, while Lenair Butler and Garrett Jasper each had sacks.
 
The Golden Eagles racked up big yardage through the air against the conference's top passing defense in the first half, going for 176 yards in the first 30 minutes to take a 17-14 lead at the halftime break. Niko Signor set up the Golden Eagles' first score of the game, picking off Boden St. Marie at the Clarion 42-yard line to give his team a short field. Jase Ferguson completed two quick passes for big gains, hitting Avante George for 13 yards and Ja'Tawn Williams for 28 yards to enter the red zone. The Griffins stiffened deep in their own end but Keith Baker made hay out of it with a 40-yard field goal make to give the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead.
 
Seton Hill responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive, reaching the end zone on a 20-yard pass from St. Marie to Jayden Llanos, but the Golden Eagles struck quickly with short touchdown drive of their own. Taking over on their own 35-yard line, the Golden Eagles gained 24 yards on 2^nd-and-10 on a pass to Griffin LaRue, reaching the Griffins' 30-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter Tyreeck Hall busted an explosive run, dashing 30 yards to the end zone to give Clarion a 10-7 lead.
 
The Griffins went ahead 14-10 on a pop pass from St. Marie to Zach Schrockman, with Schrockman eluding tacklers for 27 yards en route to the end zone to make it 14-10. It seemed like the deficit may remain heading into the locker room, but a Golden Eagle touchdown at the halftime buzzer put them in the lead instead. With 2^nd-and-12 at the Seton Hill 35-yard line, Ferguson laced a rope into the end zone over the hands of a defender into the waiting arms of Davon Jones, with Baker's extra point making it 17-14 at the break.
 
Seton Hill took the lead back on their first drive of the second half, traveling 82 yards on seven plays and capping the drive with a 39-yard touchdown run from Ahmad Ward. Turnovers derailed the Golden Eagles' next two drives, with Daris Patterson and Demetri Whitehead picking off Ferguson on back-to-back drives. That set up a field goal make by Rayyan Bataineh with 5:36 left in regulation to make it 24-17 for the Griffins.
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