Clarion U. Football Falls on the Road at California (Pa.)

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published October 13, 2019 4:18 am
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gildeaCALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Golden Eagle football forced three turnovers and held the Cal U offense in check for stretches of the afternoon, but Clarion was unable to top the Vulcans on the latter’s Homecoming in falling 35-20 at Adamson Stadium on Saturday.

(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

Clarion (3-3 overall, 1-2 PSAC West) will return to Memorial Stadium next week when they host IUP in a kickoff.

The defense was once again a major factor on Saturday, with cornerback Corey Wells picking off Cal U’s Noah Mitchell and the Golden Eagles recovering a pair of lost Vulcan fumbles. The first came in the first quarter and led directly to points for the Golden Eagles as Chris Gildea knocked the ball loose from Jordan Dandridge and set up a Clarion touchdown drive. The second came in the second half on a mishandled punt by the Vulcans, with the kick coming down on a Cal U player and into the hands of the coverage team.

Clarion was able to turn one of those turnovers into points, with Gildea’s forced fumble setting things up for the Golden Eagle offense. On a 1st-and-10 at the Cal U 26, quarterback Jeff Clemens connected with Kahliq Muhammad for a 22-yard completion to get near the goal line, and two plays later he found tight end Jacob Whitenight for the latter’s second touchdown catch of the season. That pulled the Golden Eagles even with the Vulcans at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. James Metzgar put Clarion ahead with one of his two field goals on the afternoon, booting one through from 37 yards out to make it 10-7.

Clemens connected with Muhammad for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter as well, with Muhammad spinning around Jamal Martin, Jr. and winning a race to the pylon for the score. That slashed the Vulcans’ lead to 35-20 with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.

Clemens finished 25-of-43 for 254 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the afternoon, and Muhammad was his top target with six catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Amari Johnson led the team with 12 tackles, while Vaughn Wallace recorded his fourth sack of the season as part of a four-tackle performance.

The Golden Eagles held the lead until the 12:03 mark of the second quarter when the Vulcans (4-2, 2-1) closed a 15-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Nelson Brown to make it 14-10. They made it 20-10 with a pass from Mitchell to Derrick Carraway at the 1:53 mark of the second quarter, and Clarion’s last opportunity to score in the first half went to the wayside on a missed field goal.

Cal U scored a touchdown in the third quarter while Clarion saw another field goal from Metzgar, and though the teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, it was not enough for a Golden Eagle rally.

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