CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion University football team will look to get its first win of the season when it hosts Shippensburg at 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
Two-Minute Drill
The Clarion Golden Eagles play their second straight game at home when they host the Shippensburg Red Raiders at Memorial Stadium
This will be the 56th meeting between Clarion and Shippensburg, with the Golden Eagles holding a 33-21-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Red Raiders
The last Clarion win against Shippensburg came 17 years ago, when Clarion won by a score of 56-49 during the 2000 season
The Golden Eagles forced two more turnovers in the game against Bloomsburg, and have already recorded six takeaways in two games this year
Corner Myles Edmonds leads the team and is tied for second in the PSAC with two interceptions this season
Transfer defensive lineman Alec Heldreth already has 10 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery this season
Linebacker Layne Skundrich is fourth in the PSAC with a 12.0 tackles per game average, and recorded a career-high 14 tackles against Bloomsburg
Running back and returner Kyle Evans had 245 all-purpose yards against Bloomsburg, including 161 total return yards
Quarterback Asiantii Woulard was effective in his first home start, throwing his first two touchdown passes as a Golden Eagle and no interceptions
Receiver Clay Byerly recorded his first collegiate touchdown on a 16-yard reception in the second quarter
Junior offensive lineman Zack Morris was a Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region 1 selection in 2016, and was one of only two Clarion offensive linemen to start every game last year
An extremely young team in 2017, the Golden Eagles have 31 players with either freshman or sophomore eligibility on their offensive and defensive two-deep chart
Clarion has once again renewed its fruitful partnership with Sports Fever and will have two games televised locally and streamed nationally on ESPN3 — 9/23 vs. Mercyhurst and 9/30 at Edinboro
Starting in 2017, all five Golden Eagle home contests will be available as free web streams via ClarionGoldenEagles.com
The Lead
The Clarion Golden Eagles play their second straight home game on Saturday, Sept. 16 when they host the Red Raiders of Shippensburg. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
Mike Kalinowski and Joe Lodanosky will have the radio call for the game on 92.9 WCCR-FM and 96.3 WKQW-FM an hour before kickoff. Live audio streaming will be available via the C93 website and linked on the schedule at ClarionGoldenEagles.com.
Scouting the Red Raiders
Shippensburg went 7-4 a season ago and is off to a good start this year as well, winning each of their first two games against American International (41-7) and Gannon (41-33). The Red Raiders actually held a 34-13 advantage over the Golden Knights after three quarters, but gave up three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and had to make two stops in the red zone late to hold on for the win.
Running back Cole Chiappialle is averaging 101.0 yards per game rushing thus far with two touchdowns. Last year he went off for 137 yards and two touchdowns against the Golden Eagles. Quarterback Ryan Zapoticky has been efficient, completing 59.7 percent of his passes for an average of 304.5 yards per game with no interceptions. The Red Raider defense has already totaled 14.0 tackles for loss and seven turnovers this year.
Series History
This will be just the 56th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Red Raiders, with Clarion owning a 33-21-1 advantage in the all-time series with Shippensburg. However, the Red Raiders have won 10 straight meetings between the two teams, with the last Clarion win coming during the 2000 season.
Last year, Shippensburg won a 41-17 decision at home that saw them take a 34-14 advantage at halftime. Clarion actually led 17-14 in the middle of the second quarter, but three Golden Eagle turnovers late in the half put Shippensburg ahead for good.
About the Coach
Chris Weibel enters his third season as the program’s head coach after spending many of the previous years as an assistant. Weibel has an overall record of 11-13 at Clarion, including a 7-7 record in PSAC West play. A 2010 inductee into the Clarion Sports Hall of Fame, Weibel graduated with every major Clarion passing record to his credit.
Last Week
The Golden Eagles went into the halftime break with a 20-17 lead, but a second half dominated by the defenses led to a 29-20 Bloomsburg victory on Saturday.
Clarion held the Huskies to just 315 yards of total offense, including a paltry 114 yards in the second half. However, the Huskies dominated time of possession in the second half, finishing with 37:07 total time with the ball and limiting the Clarion defense while adding 12 points of their own. Both teams struggled with penalties, combining for 28 infractions and 297 penalty yards.
Early Season Takeaways…Literally
Through two games this year, the Golden Eagles have already forced six turnovers, including four against Division I opponent UT Martin and a pair against Bloomsburg in their home opener. Last year Clarion forced only 15 turnovers all season. All told, the Golden Eagles are +2 in turnover margin so far.
Senior cornerback Myles Edmonds has already tied his career high for interceptions in a season with two, posting one each in the first two games of the year.
Where He Left Off
Junior linebacker Layne Skundrich picked up the 2017 season right where he left off from a season ago, recording the game-high in tackles in each of the first two games of the year. Skundrich finished with a career-high 14 tackles against Bloomsburg and is averaging 12.0 tackles per game so far.
Jack of All Trades
Running back Kyle Evans once again showed his ability to contribute in multiple facets of the game, racking up 245 all-purpose yards against Bloomsburg on Sept. 9. Evans posted 161 combined kick and punt return yards, including the highest kick return total (146) in the PSAC to date.
Immediate Impact
Transfer defensive lineman Alec Heldreth has already made an impact on the Golden Eagle defense, providing another talented defender to what was already a strong group. Through two games Heldreth has 10 tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.
Home Cookin’
For the second straight year, the Golden Eagles will enjoy a three-week stretch of home games, starting last week against Bloomsburg. Last year Clarion went 2-1 during their three-game homestand, including wins over Slippery Rock and Gannon.
But Now the Inverse…
Clarion will play three straight games away from home to end the season, starting with an Oct. 28 showdown at Slippery Rock. They then travel to take on Gannon and West Chester, respectively, to close out the slate.
Home Field Advantage
In his short time as head coach, Chris Weibel has shown difficult to beat at Memorial Stadium. The Golden Eagles are 7-5 at home under Weibel.
Sunshine State Transfer
Junior transfer Asiantii Woulard seized the quarterback reins after the completion of fall camp, taking the starting job in time for Week 1 against UT Martin. Woulard was once a four-star recruit out of Florida who originally signed a National Letter of Intent at UCLA. He transferred to South Florida in order to be closer to family but after the 2016 season decided to transfer to Clarion.
Woulard has made progress in his first two starts, finishing the game against Bloomsburg with 175 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His first collegiate touchdown pass came in the second quarter against the Huskies, when he threw a 16-yard score to Clay Byerly for what was also the latter’s first career touchdown. His second touchdown was a beautiful 44-yard catch-and-run connection with Greg Leonard.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Clarion University will continue its fruitful partnership with the Pennsylvania Sports Fever Television Network in 2017, with two contests – 9/9 vs. Bloomsburg and 9/30 at Edinboro – airing live on affiliates across the state of Pennsylvania and made available to millions in the Keystone State. The selected games will also be streamed on ESPN3 via the Watch ESPN app.
Eagle Media to Stream Clarion Home Games
In a joint venture between Eagle Media Productions and the athletic department, all Clarion home football games in 2017 will be available via free video streaming. Viewers will be able to access the video streams via the schedule page on ClarionGoldenEagles.com.
What’s Next
The Golden Eagles close out their stretch of three consecutive home games with their first PSAC West division game of the year. Clarion hosts Mercyhurst on Saturday, Sept. 23 with a 1 p.m. kickoff.
