Clarion Golden Eagles (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West) at Lackawanna Falcons (0-2)
Saturday, September 19 // 1 PM
Scranton, Pa. // PENFED Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium
 
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Quick Notes

• Clarion will face off with Lackawanna for the first time in program history, when the Golden Eagles take on the Falcons on Saturday, September 19. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
• Last week Clarion took on one of the top teams in the nation and the presumptive PSAC East favorite, falling by a 45-14 score to #3/4 Kutztown at Andre Reed Stadium.
• Wide receiver Collin Willard made his first big play as a member of the Golden Eagles in Week 2 against Kutztown, taking a pass on the sideline and scoring from 62 yards out. The catch and run by Willard is the longest pass play of the season to date for the Golden Eagles and the second longest play from scrimmage.
• Wide receiver Austin VanHuss scored his first career touchdown last week, catching a third quarter touchdown against Kutztown.
• Quarterback Jase Ferguson now has 12 touchdown passes in the first six games of his career, and has thrown two or more touchdown passes in all four of his career starts.
• Ferguson ranks fourth in the PSAC in total offense at 249.5 yards per game.
• The Golden Eagles offense ranks fourth in the PSAC in Successful Play Rate at 46.8 percent.
• Defensive end Jack Capotosto has contributed to at least one sack in each of the first two games, giving him 1.5 sacks so far.
• Cornerback David Adams-Prince has one of only four interceptions returned for touchdown in the PSAC this year, and his 60-yard return is the longest in the conference to date.
• Wide receiver Davon Jones ranks second in the PSAC with an average of 23.5 yards per punt return this season.

 
Series History

• This will be the first ever meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Falcons.
• Lackawanna is in their first year competing against NCAA Division II programs, as they undergo the transition to full NCAA Division II membership.
• The PSAC announced in June 2025 that Lackawanna would join the conference as it hits milestones to become a four-year degree granting institution.
• Lackawanna is the third NJCAA school in history, and second with a football program, to transition to Division II.
• The Falcons' football program has a history of turning out NFL players, with nine former players taken in the NFL Draft. Two of those players were first round draft picks - Bryant McKinnie (7th Overall, 2002) and Kevin White (7th overall, 2015).

 
Scouting the Falcons

• The Falcons are in their first season under head coach Mark Ross, who replaced longtime head coach Mark Duda, who finished his 32nd season at the helm before retiring due to health reasons.
• Ross is himself a veteran in college coaching, starting as the defensive ends coach at East Stroudsburg 30 years ago. He was the first-ever head coach at Misericordia, winning MAC Coach of the Year in 2018, and also enjoyed a stint as the defensive coordinator at Bloomsburg.
• The Falcons are 0-2 to start the season, with a pair of low-scoring losses. They lost 20-12 to Monroe in the season opener, followed by a 20-10 loss at home to Seton Hill.
• Rashon Giddens has had a strong start to the season on defense; the second-year defensive back has 3.5 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries in two games.

 
Last Week

• Taking on one of the best teams in the nation on Saturday, Clarion lost to #3/4 Kutztown 45-14 at Andre Reed Stadium on Saturday.
• The Golden Eagles did their scoring in the second half, totaling 295 passing yards but just 46 rushing yards, and had trouble slowing the PSAC's most productive offense.
• Clarion's best offensive drive came in the third quarter, when the Golden Eagles drove 93 yards in 10 plays from their own 7 and finished with Jase Ferguson's 10-yard touchdown pass to Austin VanHuss at 2:19, followed by Ty Woods' extra point to make it 31-7.
• The Golden Eagles' other touchdown came late in the came, when Collin Willard pulled in a ball on the right sideline and took it 62 yards for a score.
• Ferguson completed 16 of 28 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Ja'Tawn Williams caught five passes for 95 yards. Najhir Kibidor led the Golden Eagles defensively with 10 tackles, while Jack Capotosto and Jaylin Miller each had sacks.

 
About Al Jacks Field

• As a coach, administrator and professor, the late Al Jacks was an indelible part of the Clarion community for six decades. Now, his name is officially a permanent part of Clarion athletics, as the playing surface at Memorial Stadium was named Al Jacks Field in 2025.
• With Jacks at the helm of the football program, the Golden Eagles went 128-46-5 for a .729 winning percentage, and his 128 wins rank eighth all time for a head coach at a PSAC school. The team captured six PSAC West division titles (1966, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1978, and 1980) and three PSAC Championships (1966, 1977, 1980). Clarion's 1980 team was named the ECAC "Team of the Year."
• Jacks was inducted into the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame – now named for another Clarion graduate, Robert "Tick" Cloherty – in 1979, and in 1980 the Golden Eagles were named the ECAC Division II Team of the Year. In Fall 2022 he went into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
• The Golden Eagles did Coach Jacks justice with a shutout victory over Wheeling.

 
Kevin Magouirk Comes to Clarion

• The Golden Eagles will feature a new offensive coordinator in 2026 as veteran assistant coach Kevin Magouirk joins the staff. Magouirk was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Fayetteville State from 2024-25.
• The Broncos featured a high-performing offense under Magouirk's tutelage. In 2025 they averaged 28.0 points per game and were one of the deadliest teams in the nation in the red zone, scoring points on 91.7 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line. Fayetteville State boasted three First Team All-CIAA selections on offense.
• The 2024 edition of the Broncos ranked sixth in the nation in red zone offense, scoring on 90.6 percent of their trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Fayetteville State made significant jumps across the board in Magouirk's first season as offensive coordinator, including points per game (17.8 to 25.2), yards per game (260.8 to 334.7), passing yards per game (127.9 to 235.6) and third down conversion percentage (32.1 percent to 42.0 percent).

 
Jones Named to D2Football.com Elite 100 Preseason Watch List

• The D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List was selected by the staff of D2Football.com on Aug. 12, with wide receiver Davon Jones named as one of 25 "Squad" members on offense.
• The list was selected by the staff of D2Football.com with input from numerous sitting head coaches and professional football scout Josh Buchanan.
• Last year Jones was one of the most productive receivers in the nation, earning him First Team All-PSAC West and Second Team All-Super Region 1 honors. The top target for Golden Eagles quarterbacks in 2025, Jones was among the nation's most productive receivers, catching 61 passes for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns.
• He ranked second in the PSAC and 16th in Division II with an average of 6.1 receptions per game, and his 80.0 receiving yards per game were second in the PSAC and 20th in the nation.
• Where he really had a knack was reaching the end zone and moving the chains; of his 61 catches, 42 of them went for either first down or a touchdown.

 
Jones Off to Hot Start

• Davon Jones got his season off to a strong start In Week 1, recording 151 all-purpose yards in the win over West Virginia Wesleyan.
• Jones was targeted nine times against the Bobcats, recording five receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball four times for 52 yards, including a 27-yard scamper to the one-yard line that set up a Jase Ferguson touchdown run. He also broke off a 45-yard punt return against the Bobcats.
• He added another five catches for 49 yards against Kutztown in Week 2.

 
Willard Makes His Mark

• Wide receiver Collin Willard made his first big play as a member of the Golden Eagles in Week 2 against Kutztown, taking a pass on the sideline and scoring from 62 yards out.
• The catch and run by Willard is the longest pass play of the season to date for the Golden Eagles and the second longest play from scrimmage, topped only by Tyreeck Hall's 87-yard touchdown run against West Virginia Wesleyan in Week 1.
• Willard is a transfer from Eastern Illinois, where he appeared in 12 games, primarily on special teams.

 
Woods Named PSAC West Athlete of the Week for Sept. 8

• Kicker/punter Ty Woods was named the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week after helping the Golden Eagles to a 52-14 win over West Virginia Wesleyan.
• Woods was strong in both the kicking and punting games in the rout over the Bobcats, including a perfect night on field goals and extra points. He went 7-of-7 on extra point attempts and nailed his only field goal attempt of the game, a 19-yarder at the end of the second quarter to give Clarion a 17-7 advantage.
• When called upon to punt, he was just as effective. Woods kicked six times for an average of 42.7 yards per game, landing three punts inside the 20-yard line and booting two over 50 yards without any touchbacks.

 
Next Week

• PSAC West play kicks off at home next week when the Golden Eagles host Edinboro at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 26. Kickoff is slated for noon.
• Clarion was won two of the last three meetings with the Fighting Scots, including the last meeting in Memorial Stadium; they rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to beat Edinboro 29-28.
• Next week will also be Family Weekend, as well as the culmination of the Paint the Town Gold promotion.