Clarion, Winners of Four Straight, Step Up in Competition for Homecoming Game vs. Cal (Pa.)

| October 4, 2018


CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – There is excitement surrounding the Clarion University football team for perhaps the first time since head coach Chris Weible’s first season in 2015.

(Photo of Jeff Clemens. Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

After all, the Golden Eagles (4-1 overall, 2-0 PSAC West) are off to their best start since they started that season 7-0, and the current four-game win streak is the longest since that seven-game upswing.

But at the same time, many can say Clarion hasn’t been truly tested since a Week One 35-13 loss to Shippensburg at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburg.

The four wins since that loss – 30-21 over Lock Haven, 44-7 over Lincoln, 14-9 over Gannon and 19-16 last week over Seton Hill – have come against teams that are a combined 1-19 with Lock Haven holding the lone win at 1-4 with the other three a combined 0-15.

It will be a different story this week when California (Pa.) comes to town for the annual 2 p.m. kickoff on Autumn Leaf Saturday (Oct. 6) following the Noon homecoming parade.

The Vulcans are 3-2 on the year and 2-0 in the PSAC West and are coming off a mammoth upset of rival IUP, 36-24, last week in a game that saw the Crimson Hawks enter as the No. 2 team in NCAA Division II. It was the third straight win for Cal after a pair of losses to open the season.

Cal’s offense presents a formidable challenge for a Clarion defense that ranks third in the PSAC in points allowed (17.6 per game) and third in yards allowed per game (316.0).

The Vulcans average 37.4 points per game, which ranks fifth in the PSAC and gain 472.8 yards per game, which ranks second in the conference.

It is a pass-heavy attack with Cal throwing for a PSAC-leading 325.0 yards per game thanks to quarterback Noah Mitchell, who is 115 of 188 for 1,625 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Mitchell has tossed nine interceptions, though, something that an opportunistic Clarion defense, which ranks third in the PSAC with 12 interceptions, could take advantage of.

The top receivers for Mitchell include Jordan Dandridge (40 catches, 418 yards, 3 TDs in just four games), Tyson Hill (29 catches, 465 yards, 2 TDs) and Chad Livingston 24 catches, 370 yards, 4 TDs).

Nelson Brown leads the ground game with 544 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

Clarion’s offense has been pretty stagnant this year and ranks 13th in the PSAC in yards per game (286.8) and yet is eighth in points per game at 24, helped immensely by 74 total points in the wins over Lock Haven and Lincoln. In the past two weeks, Clarion has managed just 33 points but has two wins because it has allowed only 25 points.

Jeff Clemens appears to have recaptured the starting quarterback spot after losing it in the Lock Haven game to Jovante Seard.

Clemens threw all the passes in last week’s win over Seton Hill and is 54 of 102 on the season for 644 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions.

Marcus McCoy (15 catches, 217 yards, 3 TDs) is the top receiver for the Golden Eagles.

Clarion’s running game has had a rough go since leading rusher Mylique McGriff went down in the Lincoln game after just three carries. Despite basically playing in just two games, McGriff leads the Golden Eagles with 167 yards and two touchdowns. No other runner has even cracked 100 yards on the season.

Without McGriff, Clarion has rushed for just 76 yards in its last two games.


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