Game Preview - Clarion

The Golden Rams (6-4) close the 2022 campaign with a long road trip to Clarion (3-7) to take on the Golden Eagles. Kickoff in Memorial Stadium is set for noon. This will be the third consecutive senior day event in which West Chester will participate.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series with the Golden Eagles 20-3. Despite being in the west division of the PSAC, West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan has already faced Clarion eight times in his 20 years at the helm and is perfect against them, winning those eight contests by an average score of 38-16. The Golden Eagles' last two wins in the series happened in 2000 and 2002, and both of those games were in Clarion.

Former Kutztown head coach Raymond Monica is in his first season with the Golden Eagles. From 2006 to 2012, Monica accumulated a 45-34 record at Kutztown, including playing into the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2010 and 2011. Monica then spent five seasons as head coach of Arkansas Tech where he went 31-26.

Believe it or not, these two schools played for the conference championship three times in four seasons back in the late 60's. The Golden Rams lost by two in 1966, but won in 1967 by a score of 27-7 and in 1969 in a 41-34 game. All three of those games were played in West Chester. One of the most memorable moments in recent history between these two schools was at Clarion in 2012 when kicker Shawn Leo narrowly missed a 57-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half. However, he did convert on his four other attempts - 40, 32, 45, 36 - in the game.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2001	Home	Win	16-14	2006	Away	Win	49-21
2002	Away	Loss	34-28	2007	Home	Win	49-21
2003	Home	Win	35-17	2012	Away	Win	33-12
2004	Away	Win	20-17	2014	Home	Win	41-14
2005	Home	Win	43-14	2016	Away	Win	37-10

Last Meeting:

11/12/2016 West Chester 37- Clarion 10

The Golden Ram offense generated 237 yards rushing while the defense nabbed four interceptions to dominate time of possession by 19 minutes. West Chester's 17-0 halftime lead expanded to 31-10 in the fourth quarter. Any thought of a Clarion comeback was thwarted by senior safety Kevin Malone's 85-yard pick six.

The other interceptions came from Pete Galiano, Jarey Elder, and Ted Patton. On offense Jordan Banks had only two catches but both were touchdowns. Running backs Mike Class (15 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD) and Jarel Elder (21 carries, 83 yards) and quarterback Andrew Derr (10 of 17, 188 yards, 2 TD's, 1 rushing TD) all had a memorable final game of the season.

Scouting the Opponent:

The strength of the Clarion offense comes from their running game, specifically All-PSAC West running back Khalil Owens (149 carries, 623 yards, 5 TD's; 32 catches, 245 yards). Quarterback Zach Benedek (91 of 179, 938 yards, 3 TD's, 5 int's; 69 carries, 335 yards, 5 TD's) is more effective running than throwing and Elon transfer quarterback Will Alexander (16 of 36, 213 yards, 1 TD, 4 int's) has played in five games this year.

Corahn Alleyne is the Golden Eagles' multi-purpose player on offense. The Delaware State transfer is listed as a wide receiver (18 catches, 314 yards, 1 TD), has played running back (45 carries, 296 yards, 3 TD's), is effective throwing the ball (2 of 3, 39 yards, 2 TD's) and has returned kickoffs (20 returns, 23 yard average). Unfortunately, Alleyne got injured in the the third quarter of the Edinboro game and, although he left the field under his own power, has not played since. So besides Owens, receiving options are Andy Martin (7 catches, 204 yards, 1 TD), Regan Schleicher (9 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD) and Ty Corbin (9 catches, 111 yards).

Shippensburg transfer defensive back Drew Blon (64 tackles, 8 TFL) and Don Hansen Football All-America Honorable Mention linebacker Kareem Hamdan (64 tackles, 5.5 TFL) are the leading tacklers for the Golden Eagles. Shane Kemper (55 tackles, 2.5 TFL) and Bloomsburg and South Carolina transfer Jordan Villafane (33 tackles, 3.5 TFL) patrol the secondary. Blon, Hamdan, Kemper and Villafane each have two interceptions this season.

The defensive line is paced by Albany transfer Robert Lachmann (28 tackles, 5.5 sacks), Jake Tarburton (25 tackles, 4.0 sacks) and Daryl Davis (16 tackles, 2.5 sacks).

On 37 kickoffs, Trent McDowell has two touchbacks and has kicked four out of bounds. Jarrett Esposito averages 35 yards on 42 punts and has dropped 18 inside the opponent 20. McDowell (2 of 5 FG, long of 24, 2 blocked; 4 of 5 on PAT's) started the season as the points kicker, but has given way to Esposito (6 of 6 FG, long of 39; 17 of 17 PAT's).

Analysis:

Clarion's three wins have come against Lock Haven, Mercyhurst and Seton Hill, three teams that are a combined 5-25. The Golden Eagles average only 18 points per game on offense and have not scored in the past two weeks. With the worst passing offense in the PSAC, expect Clarion to run and run some more, especially if Alleyne is still out this week. It will be interesting to see how the WCU offense chooses to attack Clarion. Despite having 11 interceptions, Clarion has the worst passing defense in the conference, allowing over 250 yards per game. But passing isn't necessarily West Chester's forte this season, and the weather looks to be cold and windy, so the Golden Rams may stay with the running game. If it can be as effective as it was last week at Kutztown, West Chester should control the scoreboard and the clock.

Massey Ratings is projecting a 35-17 WCU win and Versus Sports simulates a similar 33-15 Golden Ram victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video  

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes, Week 11

Clarion Athletic Site - Clarion Football Game Day - Week 11 vs. West Chester

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Eleven Preview