CLARION Golden Eagles (5-0, 2-0 PSAC West) at EDINBORO Fighting Scots (0-5, 0-2 PSAC West)
 Clarion Game Notes
Radio:  WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on www.edinboronow.com)
TV:  SPORTSfever TV Network (live on ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra)

The Game Story
Edinboro celebrates Homecoming with Clarion providing the opposition. For the second straight year the Fighting Scots enter the Clarion game with an 0-5 record after suffering a 42-21 loss at Indiana(Pa.) last Saturday. What a difference a year makes for the Golden Eagles, however. Clarion is off to its best start since 1983, showing a 5-0 record under first-year coach Chris Weibel after a 41-27 win over Mercyhurst a week ago.  A youthful Edinboro squad opened the season with a 30-10 loss to Saint Joseph's(Ind.), followed by a 20-13 setback to Shippensburg. The first road game of the season resulted in a 56-12 loss at East Stroudsburg. Edinboro began PSAC West play with a 37-30 setback to California(Pa.).

The Homecoming festivities will not only include the annual parade at 11 a.m., but among the various activities is the recognition of the 1995 and 2005 teams during halftime. Members of two of Edinboro's finest teams ever will be honored. The '95 team finished with a 9-2 record under head coach Tom Hollman, winning the PSAC West championship and finishing eighth in the final AFCA Division II rankings. Lou Tepper's 2005 team posted an 8-2 record while also winning the PSAC West crown. An outstanding defense limited seven of ten opponents to seven points or less, including three shutouts.

Clarion has made an amazing turnaround with former star quarterback Chris Weibel at the helm. The Golden Eagles suffered through five straight losing seasons and finished with a 2-9 record in 2014. That included a 56-28 loss to Edinboro at home. They were picked to finish eighth in the PSAC West coaches' preseason poll, right behind Edinboro. The Golden Eagles ran off wins over PSAC East teams Lock Haven, Millersville, and Cheyney in their first three games. It's weeks four and five that Clarion really caught people's attention, with wins over PSAC West preseason favorite Gannon followed by a victory over Mercyhurst. Now the Golden Eagles look to complete the trifecta over the PSAC's Erie County teams while facing Edinboro.   

The Fighting Scots are looking to snap a string of three straight losing seasons. That marks the first time with three consecutive losing campaigns since a stretch of six straight losing seasons from 1997-2002. 

Edinboro will have to find a way to slow down a high-flying Clarion aerial game. The Golden Eagles rank third in the PSAC and tenth in Division II, averaging 336.2 ypg. through the air behind Connor Simmons. The junior quarterback has been near-perfect, throwing 17 touchdowns as opposed to just 2 interceptions. he has already thrown for 1,647 yards while ranking second in the PSAC in both TD passes and passing yards, and fifth and sixth nationally, respectively. His favorite target is Matt Lehman, who has caught 36 passes for 10 TDs, ranking second nationally in the latter category.

Edinboro is staring at another demanding schedule in 2015. Eight of the 11 teams on the 2015 slate posted winning records,
with Slippery Rock and Gannon winning nine games, Saint Joseph's and California(Pa.) eight games, and Mercyhurst seven. The combined record of the eleven 2015 opponents is 65-56, but the combined records of the eight teams with winning records was 59-29. 

The Edinboro defense lost a key member after just one week when Mike Shansky was lost for the season with an injury. The senior was a two-time All-PSAC West second team selection at linebacker, and was Edinboro's leading tackler a year ago. 

The Fighting Scots began the 2015 season with six starters returning on offense and six more on defense. While head coach Scott Browning knew youth would play a major role this year, that has become even more evident, particularly on defense. The defense has started as many as five freshmen in a game already, and as many as ten freshmen are seeing consistent playing time on the defensive side of the ball.
The 2015 roster features 39 true freshman and 10 redshirt freshman. A year ago a total of 43 games were started by true freshman.

Edinboro was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish sixth the previous two years. The Fighting Scots finished in a tie for sixth in 2014. Clarion was picked to finish a spot behind the Fighting Scots in eighth place.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-Clarion game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the commentary. In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on ESPN 92.7 FM in Erie and WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa., in addition to being streamed live. This will mark the second of three Edinboro games that will be televised by the SPORTSfever TV Network. The game will be shown live on ESPN3 and ESPN College Extra. Dan Watson will provide the play-byplay, with Scott Bacon serving as color analyst and Greg Gania, the radio voice of the Erie SeaWolves, on the sideline. 

ESPN Link

Edinboro-Clarion on  SPORTSfever TV Network 
LIVE
ESPN 3 
ESPN College Extra 
WHP 21.2 -- Harrisburg/Lancaster/York/Carlisle/Lebanon
WPNT 22 -- Pittsburgh
WPHL 17.4 -- Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley/South Jersey
WETM 18.2 -- Elmira, NY & Mansfield, PA
WJAC 6.2 -- Johnstown/Altoona/State College
BLUE RIDGE CABLE NETWORK -- Poconos, Eastern and Northern PA

DELAY AND REPLAY
SPORTS TIME OHIO -- Erie/Meadville/Sharon/ Cleveland/Youngstown/Buffalo: Oct. 10 @ 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 14 @ 6 a.m.; Oct. 15 @ 12 noon
ROOT SPORTS  -- PA, OH, NY, WV, MD:  Nov. 4 @ 6 p.m

The All-Time Series 
Edinboro leads 45-38-2
The Fighting Scots made it five straight wins over Clarion with a 56-28 triumph at Memorial Stadium last year. During that period Edinboro has outscored the Golden Eagles 165-72. The Scots have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, interrupted by a 30-17 loss in 2009. 

The Last Meeting  
Edinboro 56, Clarion 28 
Edinboro scored 35 consecutive points to snap a 14-14 tie, capped by Veuntrae Robinson's 75-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Edinboro defense had not interecepted a pass in the first five games, but Austin Mietz came up with Edinboro's first, followed by Robinson's, which included a weaving run for six points. The Fighting Scots also recovered three fumbles. All told Edinboro turned four of the five miscues into touchdowns. Cody Harris paced the offensive effort as he completed 23 of 29 passes for 200 yards with 4 TDs. Three of those were short scoring passes to Darren Massey, covering 2, 3, and 2 yards. Massey would catch 9 passes for 51 yards, while freshman Kolbe Hughes hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass, capping a career-best 8-catch, 112-yard night. Freshman Anfreenee Williams ran for the first two touchdowns of his career on one and four yard runs while totaling 65 yards on 21 carries. The defense held Clarion to 245 total yards, including just 36 yards rushing, and recorded 5 sacks.  

Last Week 
Indiana(Pa.) 42, Edinboro 21 
Chris Temple ran for a school-record six touchdowns to lead Indiana(Pa.) to a Homecoming win over Edinboro.  Edinboro was looking to win for the second straight visit to George P. Miller Stadium, but could never get a handle on Temple. The 220-pound sophomore enjoyed the record-breaking day with the six touchdowns while carrying the ball 28 times for 234 yards. The 234 yards is the fourth-highest total by an Edinboro opponent. IUP blitzed the Fighting Scots with three touchdowns in the first nine minutes of the game to take a 21-0 lead on Temple runs of 22, 6, and 6 yards. He would add an 8-yard TD run in the second quarter for a 28-0 lead at the half. Edinboro's defense accounted for the first points of the second half when freshman cornerback Mitch Thomas stepped in front of a Lenny Williams pass and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown. The return was the fifth-longest in school history. IUP answered with a one-yard TD run by Temple. Edinboro's offense got on the board thanks to a two-yard pass from Jake Sisson to Nick Helmick, and in the final minute Jon Girvin scored on a 5-yard run. IUP ended the day with 492 total yards, most of that coming on the ground. The Crimson Hawks finished with 383 yards rushing. That figure is also tied for the third-highest total ever by an Edinboro opponent. Edinboro, meanwhile, totaled 225 yards. The Fighting Scots had 147 yards passing as Sisson completed 15 of 26 passes with a touchdown and 2 INTs. Alex Caratelli had 5 receptions for 53 yards. 
     
Clarion 41, Mercyhurst 27
Connor Simmons passed for 431 yards and 3 TD's, adding two more touchdowns rushing. and Matt Lehman grabbed 8 passes for 90 yards and a six-pointer as Clarion celebrated Homecoming with a win over Mercyhurst. It gave the Golden Eagles a 5-0 record for the first time since 1983. Clarion totaled 482 yards compared to 314 yards for the Lakers. Clarion jumped out to a 10-0 lead less than five minutes into the game and never trailed after that. Mercyhurst would close to 24-21 midway through the third quarter, but Clarion scored the next 17 points on a Simmons one-yard run, a 15-yard pass from Simmons to Lehman, and a 35-yard field goal by Phil Esposito.  
          
The Coaches
Scott Browning (Ohio State '81) took over as Edinboro's 13th head coach on January 5, 2006, and in his first six seasons he tied the record for most wins by a coach during that period.  Browning is in his tenth season with a 57-48 record, and is in his 30th season as a member of the Edinboro staff.  With the season-opening 35-34 win over Walsh in 2013, he became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 wins, joining Tom Hollman and Bill McDonald.   The 2014 win over Clarion was his 55th, moving him into sole possession of second place in career victories.  Browning was certainly no stranger to Fighting Scot football when he was hired as head coach, serving as an assistant coach for the previous twenty years. While at Edinboro he has coached the offensive linemen, defensive backs and running backs, along with serving as the offensive coordinator.  Browning became the first head coach at Edinboro to debut with a win since McDonald in 1969 when the Fighting Scots opened the 2006 season with a 28-14 win at West Chester.  He went on to lead Edinboro to a 6-5 finish, the most wins ever by a first-year coach.  That was followed by a 7-4 finish in 2007.  His next two Fighting Scot editions recorded a school-record tying nine wins.  In 2008 Edinboro ended the year at 9-2 and was ranked 20th in the final AFCA Top 25.  The Fighting Scots had a 9-4 record in 2009, making the NCAA playoffs for the first time in his tenure.  Edinboro would end the year 24th in the AFCA poll.  The Boro posted back-to-back 7-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011.  The 4-6 finish in 2012 represented Browning's first losing season as head coach.  

Chris Weibel (Clarion '98) is in his first year as the head coach at Clarion, but he had previously made a name for himself with the Golden Eagles. Weibel served as an assistant coach at Clarion for 11 years, and before that was a standout quarterback.  Weibel holds Clarion records for career pass attempts (1,065), completions (586), passing yards (7,845) and passing TD's (65). He also owns the record for single season passing yards (2,880 – 1996) and TD passes (32 – 1996).  His top season came in 1996 when he led the Golden Eagles to an 11-3 overall record, the PSAC West title, the NCAA Division II East Region crown, and a berth in the NCAA "Final Four" before losing in the final seconds to Northern Colorado, 19-18. Weibel earned All-American honors and Clarion was awarded the Lambert Cup, signifying the top team in the East. He has served as an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles for 11 seasons and offensive coordinator the last 2 years, was named Clarion's 12th head football coach on February 6, 2015. A 2010 inductee into Clarion's Sports Hall of Fame, Weibel spent the last 11 seasons coaching at Clarion, the last two as the offensive coordinator.

Browning Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"Defensively we didn't get off to a great start. They went right down the field and scored. from there we had some good moments but too many bad moments. Offensively, we did nothing to help our defense. We fumbled the ball on the first play and gave them great field position. It was an uphill battle after that. We were down 14 before you knew it."

Browning Comments ... on the Golden Eagles
"Clarion is probably the hottest team in the PSAC right now. They are playing with a lot of confidence. They're wide open on offense. Their quarterback is playing very well and they have a lot of big-play people. Defensively, they are stout. It's as good a defense as we've seen. They play hard and with a lot of passion. They are very physical."











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