The Golden Eagle football staff knew entering the season their young and relatively inexperienced team was facing an uphill challenge. They hoped their senior leadership and raw talent could pull them through.

Although the team finished 2-4 in the always tough PSAC-West and 3-8 overall, the extremely young team easily could have won six or seven games this season and did receive tremendous leadership from its small group of veterans. Closing the season with two consecutive wins gives the Eagles a springboard for 2004.

Tenth year head coach Malen Luke, who has a Clarion record of 51-58 and who has two PSAC-West titles to his credit (1996, 2000), knows what it takes to win in the PSAC. "There’s no substitute for experience," said Luke. "We had some key injuries early in the season that forced us to play freshmen, and with that, especially on offense, we were inconsistent. I thought our captains (seniors) did a great job of keeping this team together through some difficult times. They knew we were close to having something special and we needed to stay together. Now with playing all those close games, two big wins to end the season, and dedicated off season program, we hope to be right back in the mix in 2004.

How young were the Golden Eagles in 2003? A total of 44 players will receive letters. Of those 44

, 17 freshmen and 15 sophomores will earn letters, while 8 juniors and only 4 seniors will gain recognition. Even further than that, 22 lettered for the first time and 20 of those were starters during the season.

In 2003 Clarion’s 2-4 record in the PSAC-West was good enough for a 4^th place tie. The Eagles also lost five games by a total of 24 points. The season started with a 31-21 loss to eventual PSAC-East first place finisher East Stroudsburg, followed by a 13-10 overtime loss to Millersville. After winning 23-20 at Glenville, Clarion lost a tough 20-19 decision to Kutztown, then a heart-breaking 24-20 loss to #4 ranked Indiana. Clarion led 20-17 late when a long IUP td pass with 2:54 remaining got them the win. The Eagles then lost 35-17 at West Cehster and 35-6 against Edinboro, before dropping a 13-0 decision at Shippensburg and a 13-7 loss at California. Final season wins over Lock Haven (22-9) and at Slippery Rock (19-17) have the Eagle headed back in the right direction.

Clarion’s offense ended the year averaging 276.3 yards per game (#10 in PSAC) including 183.5 rushing yards (#7 in PSAC) and 92.8 passing yards (#14 in PSAC).

The season started with senior Frantz Charles expected to start at qb. An injury to Charles in camp however left him only able to play sparingly in four games. He rushed for 151 yards on 41 carries. That left the

position in the hands of four freshmen. Felton Woulard led the team in rushing with 464 yards and 3 td’s on 132 carries, plus completing 39 of 83 passes for 644 yards and 3 td’s in 10 games. Starting the last three games however was Brandon Dando, who guided the Eagles to two victories while completing 29 of 56 passes for 242 yards and 1 td. He also rushed for 165 yards on 53 carries. The other two qb’s who also started games were Brad Reifsnyder (21 rushes, 16 yards; 9 of 19 passing for 81 yards) and Grant Gourley (2 of 6 passing for 15 yards). Although Dando and Woulard figure to have an edge, the battle to start at qb for next season will be loaded with competition.

The running backs are solid with Brandon Sweeney and Glenn Lovelace returning at halfback and Jason Warner and Marcus Lowe back at fullback. Sweeney gained 416 yards and 5 td’s on 87 carries, while also catching 11 passes for 95 yards and 1 td. In his two year career Sweeney now has 169 carries, 920 yards and 9 td’s, while also catching 14 aerials for 129 yards and 1 td. Lovelace, meanwhile, rushed for 269 yards on 62 tries, plus grabbed 7 passes for 154 yards and 1 td. In his three-year career he has 184 rushes, 1,079 yards and 7 td’s, while catching 17 passes for 254 yards and 1 td.

Warner rushed 70 times for 283 yards and 1 td, while Lowe had 278 yards and 2 td’s on 72 carries.

The receiving corps was headed by senior captain Ed Rivers who grabbed 10 passes for 76 yards and 1 td. Newcomers Pierre Odom and Ron Rivage had very good seasons. Odom led the team with 29 catches for 366 yards and 1 td, while also returning 7 punts for 70 yards and7 kickoffs for 141 yards. Rivage grabbed 13 aerials for 210 yards. Tight end John Dominic caught 4 passes for 64 yards.

The offensive line were led by tackle Zach Snyder (Fr.) and guard Eric Deliere (So.). Also starting up front were freshman John Bozsan and sophomore Steve McCartney at tackle and juniors Adam Shaffer (center) and Sean Finnerty (guard). Freshman Anthony Marshall (guard) also saw plenty of time.

Clarion’s defense had a very good season in 2003 limiting opponents to 317 yards per game (#4 in the PSAC) including only 128.5 rushing yards (#4 in PSAC) and 188.5 passing yards) #10 in PSAC).

Leading the way up front was All-America noseguard Troy Bowers. Troy finished the season 65 tackles, led the PSAC in tfl’s with 24 for -60 yards, tied for second in the PSAC with 9 sacks for -34 yards, 1 interception returned 22 yards for a td, 1 fumble caused, 1 recovered and 1 blocked kick. For his career Bowers finished with 209 tackles (105 solo), 77 tfl’s for - 278 yards, 33 sacks for -183 yards, 6 fumbles caused, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 int.

Also leading the way up front was Tim Connolly, Ben Heisel and Matt Niedbala. Connolly, an all PSAC-West pick last year, had 44 stops with 10 tfl’s (-34 yards), 4 sacks (-26 yards), 1 int, 2 break-ups, 1 fumble caused and recovered and two blocked PAT’s. In his career he now has 104 tackles, 24 tfl’s, 10 sacks, 3 fumbles caused and recovered and 4 break-ups.

Heisel also had a strong year collectng 36 stops with 13 tfl’s and 5 sacks. Niedbala also chipped in with 14 hits and 2 tfl’s.

Jabari Weatherspoon led the linebacking corps with his second straight outstanding year. He led the Eagles with 88 tackles (48 solo), posted 14 tfl’s, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions including 1 returned for a touchdown, 3 break-ups and 1 fumble recovery. A first team PSAC-West player last year, Weatherspoon has career numbers including 185 tackles, 31 tfl’s for -97 yards, 9 sacks for -50 yards, 4 interceptions, 3 fumbles caused and 1 recovery.

Also helping the linebacking corps were Matt Morris (Fr.), Dale McCall (Jr.), Kyle Brubaker (Fr.) and Brock Luke (So.). Morris contributed 59 tackles, 6 tfl’s, 1 sack, 4 fumble recoveries and 1 fumble caused in his first year, while McCall come on to start from mid-season on and collected 31 hits, 11 tfl’s for -41 yards, 4 sacks and 1 fumble caused. Brubaker added 23 jolts, 2 tfl’s and 1 sack, while Luke, who was injured during the year, had 11 tackles and 1 tfl. The Golden Eagles surely missed the pre-season starting inside linebackers in Shaun Saad and Zach Gourley who were injured. Gourley injured his leg in Fall camp and missed the entire year. Saad suffered a leg injury during the Millersville game (game 2) and also missed the remainder of the season.

The secondary was led by free safety Bo Busch (So.) And strong safety Emil Johnson (Sr.). Busch was second in tackles with 80, plus had 2 tfl’s, 1 sack, 3 interceptions, returned a blocked punt for a td and caused 4 fumbles. In two seasons he was 158 stops, 3 tfl’s, 1 sack, 6 fumbles caused, 4 int’s, 6 break-ups, 2 fumble recoveries. Johnson had 65 tackles including 10 tfl’s and 2 sacks, 1 int, 2 fumbles caused, 1 recovered, 1 blocked kick and 2 break ups. A 4-year letterwinner, Emil finished with 184 tackles, 15 tfl’s, 3 sacks, 9 break-ups, 2 int’s, 4 fumbles caused and recovered. Also seeing plenty of playing time was Kevin Rigby (13 hits, 1 int).

Playing the corners were James Charles (So.), Kerwin Cledanor (So.) and Dwaon Woodard (Fr.). Charles posted 35 stops, 10 break-ups, 1 int, 2 blocked kicks, 1 fumble caused and recovered. In two seasons he has 54 tackles, 15 break-ups, 2 int’s, 1 fumble caused and recovered. Cledanor added 29 stops, 3 int’s, 4 break-ups, 1 fumble caused and 1 blocked kick. In two years he has 52 jolts, 6 int’s, 7 break-ups, 1 fumble caused and 1 blocked kick.

The Clarion special teams got a big lift from freshman placekicker Mark Hofmeister. Hofmeister booted 8 of 13 field goals, the ninth most in a single season in Clarion history. That total included a Clarion record tying 49-yarder against Slippery Rock and a 48-yarder against West Chester. The record is now shared with John Desmond who kicked a 49-yarder against Cheyney in 1985. Hofmeister also booted 2 of 19 PAT’s. The punting game was headed mostly by Joe Farkas who averaged 34.4 yards per boot, including 10 inside the 20 yard line.

CLARION NOTES: The PSAC has made a schedule change to start the 2004 season... Thus Clarion will open the 2004 season hosting West Chester on Saturday, August 28^th at 6pm... The Golden Eagles will be at home in four of its first five games including hosting Glenville Sept. 18, California Sept. 25 and Edinboro October 2^nd... Ten games currently dot the overall schedule... The Eagles are seeking an 11^th game on September 11th.