CLARION, Pa. — Clarion freshman qb Darelle Carson (Pgh. Perry) passed for 215 yards and 2 td’s, plus rushed for 33 yards on Saturday afternoon but it wasn’t enough as Gannon defeated the Golden Eagles 45-25 at Memorial Stadium.

Also Clarion’s Homecoming Game (ALF Festival), the Golden Eaglesfell to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC-West, while Gannon raisedits record to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Western Division.

Clarion took the opening kickoff and drove 79 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Carson led the drive completing 3 of 5 passes for 34 yards, and running 3 times for 14 yards. On third and 6 at the Gannon 38, running back Bobby Thomas (jr. reading/Exeter Twp.) bounced a running play outside right tackle and sprinted to the endzone for the opening score. Phil Esposito’s (Fr. Brockway) PAT gave Clarion a 7-0 lead at 9:52 of the first quarter.

Gannon answered with 35 straight points with an offense led by quarterback Liam Nadler and running back Jansen Jones. Nadler had an incredible day completing 22 of 26 passes for 291 yards and 3 td’s, while Jones rushed 36 times for 167 yards and 2 td’s, plus caught 5 aerials for 52 yards and 1 score.

Gannon’s Abraham Ocasio caught a 5-yard td pass from Nadler with 7:28 left in the first to tie the score 7-7, then took the led for good on a Jansen Jones 9-yard td run with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

Gannon drove 92-yards in 11 plays the next time they touched the pigskin to go ahead 21-7. Jones capped the drive with a 7-yard td run at 9:43 of the second quarter.

The Golden Knights made it 28-7 later in the second when JustinCaliste took a Nathan Conway punt at the 10, retreated to about the 7, ran left, then ran to open field down the lefty sideline and posted a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown at 7:59 of the second.

Gannon made it 35-7 when Nadler hit Ocasio on a 20-yard td pass in the left corner of the endzone with 1:53 left before intermission.

The Golden eagles had an answer before halftime. Carson led Clarion on a 70-yard, three play drive to paydirt. Carson rushed for 19 yards and a first down at the Gannon 45 with 1:15 left in the second. Carson went back to pass on the next play and lobbed a jump ball to freshman Matt Lehman Lower Burrell/Burrell), who came down with the ball in the left side of the endzone for a Golden Eagle touchdown. The score brought the eagles to within 35-14 at 1:08 of the second.

Clarion’s defense held and got the ball back at the Clarion 46 with 35 seconds left before halftime. Carson hit a 14-yard pass to Thomas, a 16 yarder to Caleb Mancini (So. Beaver Falls/Blackhawk) and an 11-yarder to Mancini putting the ball at the Gannon 13 with 3 seconds left. Phil Esposito came on to hit a 30-yard field goal and Clarion trailed 35-17 at halftime.

Gannon made it 45-17 on a 17yard pass from Nadler to Jones 4:55 left in the third, but Clarion came right back.

Clarion drove 54 yards in only 8 plays to find paydirt again. On second and 4 at the Gannon 27, Carson dropped back to pass and fired a perfect pass to Mark Nicholas (So. Export/Franklin Regional) who made an over the shoulder catch at the goal line for the Eagle td. Carson ran for the 2-point conversion and the lead was cut to 42-25 with 50-seconds left in the third quarter.

Gannon’s Donnie Mann converted a fourth quarter field goal and that made the final score Gannon 45 Clarion 25.

Clarion had 335 yards of offense including 120 rushing yards and 215 passing yards.

Carson hit on 15 of 28 passes for 215 yards and 2 td’s. Mike Deitrick (Jr. Upper St. Clair) caught 5 passes for 60 yards, while Mark Nicholas grabbed 3 for 49 yards and 1 td, and Lehman had 1 catch for 45 yadrs and a td.

Thomas led Clarion runners with 10 carries for 80 yards and 1 td, while Carson rushed 22 times for 33 yards.

The Clarion defense was led by Julian Howsare (Jr. Altoona) and Cory McNamara (So. Ontario, N.Y.) who had 14 tackles each. Howsare also posted 4 tfl’s, 1 sack and 1 fumble caused.

Gannon rolled up 472 yards of offense including 181 rushing and 291 passing. Nadler hit on 22 of 26 passes for 291 yards and 3 td’s. Justin Caliste caught 9 passes for 112 yards. Jones rushed for 167 yards and 2 td’s, while catching 5 passes for 52 yards and 1 td.

Clarion hits the road next Saturday for a 6:05pm game at East Stroudsburg.

The Clarion – Gannon game was produced for television by Sportsfever TV Productions and will air in its entirety on Wednesday, October 2 at 7pm on ROOT Sports.