Clarion Athletics

Phil Hamilton enters his second season as the offensive coordinator at Clarion, and his third season overall on the offensive coaching staff for the Golden Eagles.  

The Clarion rushing attack was at the forefront in 2017, with freshman running back Mylique McGriff taking charge under Hamilton's guidance.  McGriff posted the sole 200-yard rushing day of the season for the Golden Eagles, going off for 215 yards against Gannon in the penultimate game of the year.  He finished the season just shy of 1,000 all-purpose yards despite the fact he started only in the second half of the season, compiling 852 yards on just 155 carries and adding another 143 catching the ball.  Along the offensive line, Zack Morris was an All-PSAC West and Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region 1 selection for the second straight year.  Morris went on to be a Podyum Preseason Division II All-American pick.

Hamilton was part of an offensive attack in 2016 that, despite many injuries at key positions, still managed to prove dangerous on any given Saturday.  Senior wide receiver Kevin Genevro earned Don Hansen Football Gazette Third Team All-American honors after finishing the year with team-highs in aches (65), receiving yardage (1,096) and touchdowns (13), the last of which ranked as the best on the team at all positions.  Another offensive player, sophomore lineman Zack Morris, earned First Team All-PSAC West honors, the first Golden Eagle offensive lineman to do so since Reggie Wells in 2002.
 
The offense was also capable of breaking records, as well.  Senior wide receiver and Second Team All-PSAC West selection Matt Lehman put a punctuation mark on one of the great careers in Clarion history by tying the Golden Eagles' 21-year-old career receiving touchdowns record late in the year and finishing near the top of the list in all major receiving categories.  He snagged his 25th career touchdown pass against Gannon on Nov. 5, tying Terry McFetridge's record set in 1985, and finish his career ranking third in receiving yards (2,457), fourth in receptions (156) and tied for fourth in career touchdowns (25) among all Clarion offensive players.  Senior quarterback Connor Simmons broke the program record for career touchdown passes late in the season as well, throwing the 66th scoring toss of his career against Gannon. 
 
Hamilton came to Clarion after spending a year in the prep ranks, serving as the offensive coordinator at Greensburg Central Catholic high school.  Before that, he spent nearly five years as the quarterbacks coach, information coordinator, recruiting coordinator and junior varsity coach at Stevenson University in Maryland.  He helped the Mustangs to eight wins and a postseason victory in just their fourth year of existence as a program, and successfully recruited more than 100 student-athletes from eight different states in his time there.  Hamilton also monitored the academic and community service work of the student-athletes in the program. 

As a player, Hamilton was part of the first recruiting class in Saint Vincent College’s modern history in 2006, becoming the first quarterback in school history in 2007.  In his first game, Hamilton completed 15 of 25 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Injuries cut his playing career short after the 2007 season. Hamilton’s coaching career started soon after when he became a student assistant for the Saint Vincent football team, where he also completed his undergraduate work with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in 2010.  He then went on to become a graduate assistant coach at Stevenson University for a year before assuming full-time duties in June 2011. 
 
In addition to his college and high school coaching efforts, Hamilton also spent six years as a coach at Quarterback Factory, developing coaching and teaching abilities to community football players in the Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh areas. 
 
A native of Davidsonville, Md. and a graduate of Archbishop Spalding High School, Hamilton resides in Pittsburgh with his wife Chrissy.