Clarion Athletics

SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Golden Eagles' offense exploded for just shy of 500 total yards while the defense forced five turnovers on the road, as Clarion defeated Lackawanna 59-13 in the first ever meeting between the two teams. Clarion never trailed in the game and racked up 45 unanswered points while shutting out the Falcons in the second half.
 
The offensive attack was as balanced as it was dynamic, with the Golden Eagles ripping off multiple chunk plays. Clarion registered 12 explosives on offense, with six rushing plays over 10 yards and another half-dozen pass plays that accumulated 15 or more yards. Of those, five of Clarion's eight touchdowns in the game came on explosive plays, including a 54-yard run for Tyreeck Hall in the fourth quarter to put a bow on the afternoon.
 
Defensively, the Golden Eagles capitalized on numerous Lackawanna miscues, forcing five turnovers and turning them into 17 points. They intercepted four Falcons passes, with Najhir Kibidor and Ky'ian Mims shutting down scoring drives with picks in the end zone, and Connor Shephard's fumble recovery in the second quarter set up the first of two touchdown runs for Davon Jones.
 
The eight touchdowns recorded by Clarion, as well as 59 points scored, were the most in a single game since the Golden Eagles beat Cheyney 59-6 on Sept. 19, 2015. The five turnovers was the most in a single game for Clarion since forcing five turnovers against Lock Haven on Sept. 3, 2015.
 
The first half was an offensive bonanza for the Golden Eagles, who racked up 294 total yards and averaged 9.2 yards per play. The only offensive category where the Falcons held the advantage was in time of possession, though more than half of that time came on their second drive of the game, a 16-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 9:25 of game clock and ended on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Jefferson Jr.
 
That scoring drive evened the game at 7-7, after the Golden Eagles drove the ball down the field on seven plays on their first possession of the game. Kaevon Gardner pounded the Falcons on the ground game, but it was a 49-yard rainbow from Jase Ferguson to Tsirell Curry that put Clarion in scoring position, carrying them to the 4-yard line. Gardner scored two plays later to make it 7-0.
 
Clarion matched Lackawanna's touchdown with another scoring drive, including a 23-yard rush by Garnder to put the ball in Falcon territory and concluding with another scoring through from Ferguson, this one finding Austin VanHuss in the back left corner of the end zone over the defensive back. Kaeon Jenkins made a terrific one-handed grab in the end zone on Lackawanna's ensuing offensive drive but the extra point was off the mark, and the Golden Eagles kept them from the end zone for the remainder of the half.
 
Ferguson threw his second touchdown pass in as many possessions with 10:10 left in the second quarter, lofting one to Collin Willard from 27 yards out for a touchdown, and Avante George scored his first touchdown as a Golden Eagle with 4:16 left to go in the half. Davon Jones scored his first touchdown since the season opener just inside the two-minute warning, taking a handoff 15 yards to the end zone to make it 35-13.
 
The Falcons racked up nearly 200 yards of offense themselves in the first half, but two second quarter interceptions halted their chances of keeping pace with Clarion. Cameron Thomas snagged a prayer ball from David Naniewicz at midfield after the latter was flushed from the pocket, and Najhir Kibidor picked off Naniewicz at the goal line late in the quarter to again keep the Falcons off the scoreboard.
 
Ferguson added a touchdown run on Clarion's first drive of the third quarter, following a pair of blocks by Tyreeck Hall for an 18-yard scramble that upped the lead to 42-13. Ky'ian Mims derailed another Falcons drive early in the fourth quarter, pulling down an interception in the back corner of the end zone, and the Golden Eagles followed up with an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that was capped with Davon Jones' second rushing score of the game. Hall broke off his second long touchdown run of the season with 7:27 left in the game, scoring from 54 yards out, and Ty Woods capped the scoring with a field goal in the waning moments.
 
The offensive line was one of the stars of the show for the Golden Eagles, not allowing a sack to the Falcons while knocking open holes for the running backs and buying Ferguson time to survey the field for big plays. The quarterback was efficient while keeping his eyes downfield, completing 16 of 21 passes for 298 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He added five total rushes for 37 yards and a score without being sacked. The run game was balanced with six different players combining for 30 carries, 201 yards and six touchdowns. It is the first time Clarion has recorded six rushing touchdowns as a team in a single game since matching that mark on Nov. 13, 2010 against Millersville. Gardner led the backfield with nine carries, turning them in 53 yards. Tsirell Curry was the lead receiver with 143 yards on five catches.
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