GOLDEN EAGLES BATTLE SLIPPERY ROCK IN SEASON FINALE

13 CLARION SENIORS HONORED IN PRE-GAME CEREMONIES

Clarion posted its seventh win of the season last Saturday in a 34-31 victory at Lock Haven. The 2002 season finale is set for Saturday, November 16th, when the Golden Eagles return home to Memorial Stadium to host Slippery Rock. Kickoff is set for 1pm.

13 SENIORS HONORED IN PRE-GAME

The Golden Eagles will honor 13 seniors in pre-game ceremonies starting at 12:40pm. This year's seniors include Adam Almashy (QB, Newton Falls, Oh.), Ryan Duchon (OG, Alliance, Ohio, Korey Eppinette (SS, Ephrata/Cocalico), Scott McGrady (LB, Mechanicsburg/Jackson), George O'Brien (DE, Abbottstown/New Oxford), Kevin Platz (OLB, Chardon, Oh.), Tom Pore (TE, Shippenville/Keystone), Brandon Price (OT, Delaware, Oh./Hayes), Chris Roberts (RB, Warren, Oh./Champion), Justin Sickeri (RB, Brockway), Chad Thompson (DB, Brookville/Hempfield), Robert Walker (RB, Miramar, Fla./Western) and Reggie Wells (OT, Library/South Park).

HEAR EAGLES ON WCCR-FM & REDZONE

Saturday's game can be heard on WCCR-FM, 92.7 and on the internet at Redzonemedia.com with Mike Kalinowski and Dave Katis describing all the action.

CLARION 7-3 OVERALL & 3-2 in PSAC-WEST

Ninth year Clarion head coach Malen Luke enters the game with a 7-3 overall record and an 3-2 mark in the PSAC-West. The Golden Eagles are tied for second in the West and can guarantee at least a tie for second with a win. Clarion opened the season with a quality showing in a 27-14 loss at #8 ranked and NCAA D-IAA power Youngstown State. The Eagles rattled off three straight wins against Millersville 24-3, Glenville State (59-38) and Kutztown (31-7). Then the Eagles went toe to toe against IUP before falling in the fourth quarter 28-14. The Eagles rebounded with two solid wins against West Chester 34-28 and Edinboro before dropping a tough 20-19 decision to Shippensburg. Clarion was ranked 7th in the East Region three weeks ago and is hoping to make a return appearance this week. Coach Luke enters the game with a 48-49 record at Clarion and a PSAC-West mark of 25-28. Luke's 15-year career collegiate record is 85-70, including a 37-21 mark in 7 years at Defiance.

S.R. 6-4 OVERALL & 3-2 in WEST UNDER DR. GEORGE MIHALIK

Slippery Rock is led by 15th year head coach Dr. George Mihalik who enters the game with a career record of 106-54-4. The Rockets opened the 2002 season with a 35-11 loss at #14 ranked NCAA I-AA power Eastern Kentucky, then bounced back with wins over Gannon (17-14) and Fairmont State (45-0). The Rock then lost at Bloomsburg (38-14), defeated California (41-16) and lost at Shippensburg in overtime 13-7. SR then came back to knock off Millersville (33-9), Edinboro (7-3) and Lock Haven (14-7), before losing in overtime to Indiana last week 34-28. The Rockets had a 17-7 halftime lead.

S.R. LEADS SERIES 35-22-3 DATING BACK TO 1928

Slippery Rock leads the overall series between the two schools by a 35-22-3 margin dating back to 1928. In the last ten seasons Slippery Rock leads by a 7-3 margin. Clarion wins over that span came in 1992 (49-37), 1993 (29-24) and 1996 (54-28). Slippery Rock has won the last five games in a row with victories in 1997 (28-7), 1998, 28-14), 1999 (45-7), 2000 (27-14) and 2001 (33-24). The Rock also won in 1994 (34-31) and 1995 (41-17).CLARION RANKS #1 IN PSAC IN RUSHING OFFENSE

Clarion is averaging 28.4 points per game (#4 in PSAC) and 371.5 yards of total offense (#5 in PSAC). The Eagles ranked fifth in the nation last week in rushing offense and are currently getting 286.3 yards per game (#1 in PSAC), while averaging 85.2 yards per game passing (#14 in PSAC).

Directing the Eagle offense is senior quarterback Adam Almashy. He has rushed for 507 yards and 5 td's on 129 carries. He has also hit on 57 of 130 passes for 738 yards and 5 td's. In his 4-year career he currently has 1,333 rushing yards and 17 td's on 544 carries. He also has hit on 352 of 800 passes for 4,849 yards and 41 td's. He is tied for second on the all-time td pass list with Jim Alcorn (41; 1966-67).

The running backs include Robert Walker at tailback, plus Glenn Lovelace, Brandon Sweeney, Kareem Shelton and Justin Sickeri at the halfbacks. Walker leads the team with 926 yards and 11 td's on 165 carries. Walker now has 2,064 career yards and 26 rushing td's on 337 carries. He is 5th on the all-time rushing list and is second on the career rushing td list with 26 td's, passing former great Elton Brown's 23 from 1981-84.

Lovelace has gained 358 yards and 4 td's on 40 carries and now has 810 career yards at Clarion as a sophomore. Sweeney, a freshman, is third on the team with 451 yards and 4 td's on 74 tries, while Shelton (174 yards, 2 td's) and Sickeri (1 receiving td) see plenty of time.

Clarion's receivers include Ben Culver (16 catches, 290 yards, 2 td's), Ed Rivers (5 catches, 112 yards, 1 td) and tight end Tom Pore (11 receptions, 177 yards).

CLARION DEFENSE LEADS PSAC IN SACKS & TFL'S

Clarion's defense is yielding 20.6 points (#8 in PSAC) and 314 yards (#8 in PSAC) of total offense per game. Opponents are getting 133.7 rushing yards (5th in PSAC) and 180.3 passing (#8 in PSAC) yards per game. Clarion leads the PSAC with 37 qb sacks and 99 tfl's.

Up front the Golden Eagles are led by noseguard Troy Bowers (58 hits, 22 tfl's, 10 sacks) and tackles Tim Connolly (46 stops, 11 tfl's, 4 sacks), George O'Brien (33 tackles, 10 tfl's, 5 sacks) and Ben Heisel (16 hits, 4 tfl's).

The perimeters are protected by Jabari Weatherspoon (52 jolts, 13 tfl's, 6 sacks, 1 int), Kevin Platz (20 hits, 8 tfl's, 5 sacks), Brock Luke (15 stops) and Derek Puchalsky (4 tfl's).

Inside linebackers Scott McGrady and Shaun Saad anchor the middle. McGrady leads the team with 78 stops, 9 tfl's, 4 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries, while Saad has 39 tackles and 3 sacks. Also seeing time is Zach Gourley (17 hits).

The secondary is led by free safety Bo Busch (71 hits, 6 break-ups), strong safety Emil Johnson (39 tackles, 1 int) and corners Myron Hargon (22 stops, 3 int's, 10 break-ups), Kerwin Cledanor (23 tackles, 3 int's) and James Charles (18 tackles, 1 int).

The special teams have played consistently well. Punter Ken Crawford is averaging 39.2 yards per boot , while freshman placekicker Chris Carlton is 7 for 11 in field goals and 31 of 33 PAT's. Culver, Clarion's punt return specialist, is averaging 11.3 per return.

SRU OFFENSE LED BY VALENTINO & McKAVISH

Slippery Rock's offense is averaging 21.7 points per game (#8) and 305.2 yards of total offense (#9 in the PSAC). The Rockets are getting 141.2 rushing yards (#7 in PSAC) and 164 passing yards (#9 in PSAC) per game.

Directing the Rock's attack is junior qb Jeff Valentino. He has clicked on 107 of 232 passes for 1,597 yard and 11 td's. He has also rushed for 68 yard and 1 td.

In the passing game Valentino's favorite target is receiver Ryan McKavish. McKavish has grabbed 56 passes for 955 yards and 5 td's. He is joined by Tim Arthurs (10 grabs, 168 yards, 2 td's) and Alan Steinman (10 receptions, 112 yards, 1 td) and tight end Brandon Richardson (14 catches, 102 yards, 2 td's).

The running game is paced by running backs Brandon Markus and Josh Kniess. Markus has 422 yards and 7 td's on 131 attempts, while Kniess also has 422 yards on 5 td's on 106 tries. Mike Vernillo also has 165 yards and 2 td's.

SR DEFENSE LED BY FOOR, HANZELY & WOODARD

Slippery Rock's defense is leading the PSAC by yielding only 16.9 points per game (#1 in PSAC) and 290.5 yards (#4 in PSAC) per game. Rock opponents are only getting 121.6 rushing yards (#4 in PSAC) and 168.9 passing yards (#6 in PSAC) per game.

Up front the Rockets are led by noseguard Brian Godfrey (35 stops, 6 tfl's, 3 sacks), tackle Matt Mager (25 hits, 2 tfl's) and ends Mike Jennings (20 stops, 4 tfl's) and Lou Jamison (36 tackles, 5 tfl's, 3 sacks).

The linebacking corps is solid with Dan Woodard (61 hits, 12 tfl's, 6 sacks), Jesse Kelley (29 tackles, 4 tfl's) and Chris Petrarca (41 stops, 8 tfl's) leading the way.

The secondary is led by strong safety Brad Foor (69 tackles, 3 int's) and free safety Shawn Hanzely (62 stops, 9 breakups). Corners Vic Strader (4 int's, 9 break-ups) and Pete Dreher (2 int's) cover the secondary.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion has a chance to finish with 8 wins, the most since it went 11-3 in 1996 and lost to Northern Colorado on the final play of the game in the NCAA semi's ... No. Colorado went on to win the D-II title that season ... Robert Walker can become only the fourth runing back at Clarion to reach 1,000 yards in a season ... He needs 74 yards on Saturday ... The others to reach 1,000 were Steve Witte (1,352 yards - 1996), Ron DeJidas (1,231 yards - 1996) and Elton Brown (1,214 yards - 1983) ... Last year's game was also held at Clarion ... The Golden Eagles outgained SR 455-267, had a 20-10 advantage in first downs and a time of possession advantage of 33:06 - 26:54... Clarion rushed for 318 yards including a single game Clarion record of 257 yards by Demetric Gardner ... Almashy hit on 8 of 19 passes for 137 yards and 1 td ... Slippery Rock got a big performance from Dorrian Glenn who gained 200 yards and 3 td's on 28 carries ... His 44 yard td to open the game and 25 yard td run on fourth down to close the game were huge plays ... Another big play was D.J. Flick's 97-yard kickof return for a td with 14 seconds left in the third quarter ... Clarion had scored with 3:57 left to draw within 26-24, but failed on the two-point conversion to try and tie the game ... Clarion's last win over Slippery Rock came at SRU in 1996 when the Eagles notched a 54-28 victory ... In that game the Eagles rushed for 407 yards ... Ron DeJidas ran for 231 yards and 2 td, plus caught a td pass ... Steve Witte also dashed for 143 yards and 2 td's, grabbed 4 passes for 70 yards, and returned a kickoff 43-yards late in the game for a td ... Clarion had 577 yards in that game and SR had 453 for a combined total of 1,030 yards of total offense ... The last win over Slippery Rock at Memorial Stadium came back in 1993 by a 29-24 margin.