2007 Season Preview

Clarion second year head coach Jay Foster marches toward the 2007 season with a squad that has a total of 16 starters and 29 lettermen returning.

The Golden Eagles are also entering their fifth season with a new stadium playing surface and night football.

Clarion was a deceiving 1-10 overall in 2006 and 0-6 in the PSAC-West. Clarion’s lone victory came against Cheyney in a 21-18 thriller at Memorial Stadium. The Golden Eagles lost 21-13 to a 10-1 Tiffin squad, led NCAA East Region champion Bloomsburg 10-7 at halftime, led IUP 7-6 at halftime, only trailed Cal 21-14 in the fourth quarter before bowing and played a very tough Edinboro team to a 13-0 loss.

After closing the gap in 2006, Foster’s Golden Eagles are looking for an improved season in 2007.

Team strengths for 2007? The offense returns 9 starters including a bevy of talented skill players. The defense returns 6 starters and looks solid up front. The unit must replace all 3 linebackers and 2 starters in the secondary that were lost to graduation.

"We have some quality front line talent, but we’re also going to be very young as evidenced by inviting 60 freshmen to Fall camp," said Foster. "We’ll be improved in 2007, but we must stay healthy and a few of our newcomers are going to have to step up and play key roles if we’re going to challenge in the PSAC-West."

The offense returns 9 starters and 12 lettermen from a unit that averaged 246.5 yards of offense per game. The 2006 Eagles averaged 118 rushing yards and 128.5 passing yards per game.

Sophomore qb Tyler Huether will return in 2007 as the Eagles starting quarterback. As a true freshman Tyler connected on 59 of 154 passes for 755 yards and 4 td’s. A mobile qb with a strong arm, he also ran for 142 yards and 2 td’s. Also looking for time will be red-shirt freshmen Gino Rometo and Adam Young.

Junior tailback Eddie Emmanuel, a first team PSAC-West choice in 2006, returns to lead the backfield. Emmanuel was the #4 runner in the PSAC a year ago gaining 967 yards on 204 carries (4.7 p/c) with 3 td’s. His 967 yards were the 6^th highest in Clarion history. Also returning is senior blocking fullback Kevin Brady. The Eagles have a number of new recruits that expect to play immediately.

Ready to latch onto Tyler Huether’s passes are All-PSAC receivers Pierre Odom and Matt Foradora.

Odom, a three year starter, led the team in 2006 with 46 catches for 798 yards and 3 td’s. He also caught 33 aerials for 418 yards and 3 td’s in 2004, plus had 29 grabs for 366 yards and 1 td in 2003. Pierre begins his senior year with 108 catches for 1,582 yards and 7 td’s.

Foradora, a junior tight end, grabbed 24 passes for 295 yards and 4 td’s in 2006. The duo will be joined by wideouts Herb Carraway (10 catches, 148 yards) and Kyle Mahoney (3 catches, 24 yards), along with tight ends John Dominic (2005- 10 grabs, 137 yards) and Ryan Hart.

Although Clarion’s "O" line graduated All-Region players Zack Snyder and Eric Deliere, the line looks strong up front with the return of starting tackle Mike O’Brien (Sr. 6-5, 290), guard Mike Melampy (Sr. 6-4, 350) and center John Kalchthaler (So. 6-2, 265). Also expecting to battle to start will be senior guard Pete Rodeno (6-3, 320) and tackles Chris Kincaid (So. 6-5, 265) or Danielson Gilbert (Fr. 6-5, 310).

Six starters and 16 lettermen return for a tough Clarion defense that has led the PSAC in tfl’s in 6 of the last 7 seasons. The Eagles were 4^th in the PSAC with 80 tfl’s in 2006, while leading the league the previous six seasons with 98 tfl’s in 2005, 110 tfl’s in 2004, 106 in 2003, 113 in 2002 and 102 in 2001 and 128 in 2000.

Overall the defense improved in 2006 to limit opponents to 323.5 yards per game including 162 on the ground and 161.5 through the air.

Up front senior lineman Jimmy Simmons returns after being named a 2006 Football Gazette All-American. Last year he had 70 stops, including 27 tfl’s (ranked #2 in NCAA) for -100 yards with 1 fumble caused and 1 pass break up. In two seasons Simmons has 93 tackles and 35 tfl’s.

Veterans returning up front are lineman Kory Kusick (7 hits, 2 tfl’s), and ends Corey Giles (14 stops, 1 sack), Jim McHale (24 jolts, 3 tfl’s), Kyle Cathcart (32 tackles, 6 tfl’s, 3 sacks) and Nate Griffin (6 tackles). Junior Bob Kail will make a strong contribution.

All-America linebacker Matt Morris, All-Region choice Kevin Rigby and Zach Gourley all graduated in 2006. Replacing them is the top defensive priority entering 2007. Veterans returning with playing time and are ready to step in their roles include Josh Rytel (10 stops, 1 int) and Colin McDonough (16 hits, 2 tfl’s). Red-shirt freshman Rory Johnson is also vying for time. Several true freshmen will push to start here.

The secondary will be anchored by returning starters Quintyn Brazil at corner and Erik Yonish at safety. Brazil, a quality all-around player, posted 37 tackles and 1 int in 2006. Yonish, who moved to safety from qb a year ago, notched 50 tackles and 2 interceptions in 2006 and is ready for his best year as a senior.

Dane Williams will battling for time in the secondary, along with a host of incoming freshmen.

Junior All-PSAC punter Nick Perla is back to lead the special teams. He averaged 35.8 per boot in 2006 with 8 punts downed inside the 20. In 2005 he averaged 38.4 yard per punt and placed 9 inside the 20. He has a career long punt of 73 yards.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion is tradition rich in football ... 27 straight non-losing seasons from 1961-87, a 46-year (1961-06) record of 262-189-6, (58.0%) and 10 PSAC-West titles (1966, 67, 69, 77, 78, 80, 83, 92, 96 and 2000).