CLARION, Pa. (Oct. 11, 2011) – The Edinboro defense forced five turnovers and Cody Harris threw four touchdown passes to lead the Fighting Scots to an impressive 56-28 win at Clarion on Saturday night. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak for the Fighting Scots as they improved to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC West.  Clarion dropped to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in conference action.
 

The Fighting Scots had forced just two turnovers the last three weeks, but miscues played a major role in handing head coach Scott Browning his 55^th career win. He moves into sole possession of second place in career victories. Edinboro scored touchdowns on four of the five Clarion turnovers, including a 75-yard interception return by Veuntrae Robinson that gave the Scots a 49-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Edinboro led 28-14 going into the fourth quarter, and that was also the point total in a wild fourth quarter. It was in stark contrast to last year's game, a 9-7 win for the Fighting Scots. Delrece Williams scored three plays later on a one-yard run, but Jim Wilson would block Cory McNamara's extra point.

Clarion opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game to take a 6-0 lead. The Golden Eagles surprised the Scots with a 62-yard pass from Connor Simmons to Mike Deitrick on the first play of the game.  

The Scots responded with a pair of scores to take a 14-6 lead. The first drive was an impressive 15-play, 69-yard drive that ate up 7 minutes, 8 seconds. They converted on three third downs. Harris and Darren Massey combined on three occasions for 22 yards, the last a two-yarder for the first of three touchdown connections between the two. Tyler Davis would run in the two-point conversion for an 8-6 lead.

Edinboro was knocking on the door step moments later when Joel Fulton forced Williams to fumble on the kickoff return, with Anthony Principale recovering at the Clarion 9. Edinboro would need four plays to reach paydirt. Harris and Massey once again did the honors, combining on a three-yard scoring pass. Paul Ortiz' extra point attempt was blocked.

Clarion would knot the score at 14-14 early in the second quarter following the first turnover by Edinboro in three games. Harris was sacked and fumbled, with Clarion recovering at the Boro 32. Simmons hooked up with Deitrick on a 21-yard scoring play, and Simmons ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game with 12:13 left in the second quarter.

Edinboro grabbed the lead for good on the ensuing drive thanks to another long march. Harris guided the Scots on an 11-play, 64-yard drive that took 6 minutes, 33 seconds. Harris completed all six of his pass attempts in the drive for 53 yards, with freshman Kolbe Hughes hauling in three passes for 33 yards. The final catch covered 17 yards and gave the Scots a first down at the Clarion 11.
 

Another freshman, Anfreenee Williams, did the rest. He went for seven yards on first down, and then scored his first collegiate touchdown on a four-yard run on the next play. Edinboro would never trail again, and led 21-14 at the half.

Edinboro would score the lone touchdown of the third quarter to take a 28-14 lead. This time the Scots had a short field to traverse after Austin Mietz came up with Edinboro's first interception of the season and his first career interception. The sophomore linebacker picked off Simmons at the Clarion 16.

On 3^rd-and-6 Harris and Ben Eisel combined on a 10-yard pass down to the two. Following an incompletion, Harris and Massey clicked for their short touchdown, a two-yarder, with 6:48 remaining.     

The fourth period started with Edinboro scoring twice in less than three minutes, one on a long drive and the second just four yards. The Scots went 70 yards on 10 plays, with Harris finding Hughes on a 40-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. The drive featured a third down and fourth down conversion. The latter came on a two-yard pass from Harris to Keith Regis.

Another Clarion turnover led to the second score. After driving close to midfield, Simmons was sacked by Domenic Principale and fumbled. The ball was recovered by Kyle Matula, and the former high school running back returned it 42 yards to the four.

A pair of Williams rushes gave Edinboro a 42-14 advantage with 12:18 left in the game. The touchdown came on a one-yard run.

Clarion would drive inside Edinboro territory on its next possession before another turning the ball over again. Robinson picked off a Simmons pass at the Boro 25 and took it back 75 yards for the senior defensive back's first career touchdown. Paul Ortiz' extra point boosted Edinboro's lead to 49-14 with 8:42 to play.

Twenty-four seconds later Clarion had snapped Edinboro's 35-point run. Williams returned the kickoff 67 yards to the Boro 9. On the first play from scrimmage Simmons and Deitrick combined for their second touchdown pass, covering nine yards. Simmons' two-point conversion run failed.

Clarion attempted an onside kickoff, but Robinson recovered and the Golden Eagles were penalized 15 yards for a person foul. That gave the Scots the ball at the Clarion 16. The second team offense built the lead to 56-20 on a two-yard touchdown run by Regis.

The Golden Eagles would score with just under two minutes remaining when Matt Lehman blocked an Edinboro punt and scooped it up the remaining 10 yards for a touchdown. Simmons hit Deitrick for the two-point conversion.      

Despite the high score, neither team finished with impressive yardage totals. Edinboro totaled 285 yards while Clarion ended the night with 245 yards, a season-low for the Edinboro defense. Both teams gained most of their yards through the air. The Scots finished with 200 yards passing as opposed to 85 yards on the ground. The 85 rushing yards still represented a considerable improvement after rushing for a combined minus 36 yards the last two weeks.
 

Edinboro's defense, meanwhile, limited Clarion to just 36 yards rushing. The unit collected five turnovers and recorded five sacks.

The Scots ran off 72 plays compared to 47 for Clarion. It led to a huge advantage in time of possession, as Edinboro totaled 39:59 with Clarion at 20:02. Edinboro was also 7 of 14 on 3^rd down conversions and 3 of 3 on 4^th downs. The 56 points are the most points scored by the Fighting Scots since the famous 84-63 loss to West Liberty in 2009.

Harris completed 23 of 29 passes for 200 yards with 4 TDs. The senior has now thrown for 14 touchdowns with just one interception. Massey had another big day as the sophomore caught three touchdown passes for the second time this season, giving him eight on the season. He had 9 catches for 51 yards. Hughes posted career highs with 8 catches for 112 yards and a score. Williams paced the ground game with 65 yards on 21 carries.  

Simmons completed 14 of 28 passes for 209 yards for Clarion, with Deitrick catching three balls for 92 yards. Williams was the leading rusher with 35 yards on six carries.

Edinboro has a short week of preparation as the Fighting Scots will host Gannon on Thursday, October 16. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sox Harrison Stadium.