The 2003 Clarion University football team has completed their pre-season camp and is in its final preparations to open the new gridiron season.

Clarion opens the 2003 season against East Stroudsburg on Saturday, September 6^th at Memorial Stadium at 6pm. The Golden Eagles will be playing their first game on its newly installed "Sprinturf" playing surface, while the 6pm start will be the inaugural night game at Memorial Stadium. To prepare for that first night game and the new turf, the Eagles scheduled four night practices this week (Monday-Thursday) to get used to the overall conditions.

Clarion returns 30 lettermen and 13 starters from last year's team which compiled a 7-4 overall record and ranked #1 in the PSAC in rushing offense and #1 in the PSAC in tackles for loss (113) and sacks (41) on defense. Tenth year coach Malen Luke has a 48-50 record at Clarion and begins his 16^th year in college football with an overall record of 85-71. Clarion has won the PSAC-West in 1996 and 2000 under Luke, while the 1996 squad advanced to the NCAA semifinals.

East Stroudsburg, under 30^th year head coach Denny Douds, is coming off an impressive 8-2 season and Co-Champs in the PSAC-East with a 5-1 record. Douds has a career record at ESU of 170-122-3.

Clarion's offense only returns 5 starters from a group that averaged 27.1 points per game and 356.5 yards per game in 2002. Clarion ranked 6^th in Division II with 273 rushing yards per game, while also collecting 83.5 passing yards. The Eagles rolled up a school record 519 rushing yards against Glenville a year ago, but that was before graduating four of its top 6 offensive linemen.

Returning to lead the backfield is part-time playing signal-caller Frantz Charles, who backed up starter Adam Almashy last season. Charles, an athletic qb, ran for 293 yards and 4 tds on 56 carries, plus completed two of three passes forf 47 yards. He will be backed up by either red-shirt freshmen Brad Reifsnyder, Grant Gourley or true freshman Felton Woulard, who are truly battling for the backup spot.

The running backs are solid with junior Glenn Lovelace and sophomore Brandon Sweeney back at halfback, and sophomore Jason Warner at tailback. Lovelace gained 358 yards and 4 td's on only 40 carries last year and has an impressive 810 yards and 7 td's on 122 carries in his career. Sweeney had a strong freshman year with 504 yards and 4 tds on 82 tries in 2003. Warner, a backup last year, gained 57 yards on 16 carries. Also seeking running time will be halfback Marcus Lowe and tailback David Coyne.

The receiving corps seems solid with senior Ed Rivers and red-shirt freshman Pierre Odom catching passes. Rivers grabbed 5 passes for 112 yards and 1 td a year ago and is a good blocker. Odom has excellent speed. Also seeking time will be Brandon Devennie and junior Ron Rivage.

The offensive line graduated current NFL lineman Reggie Wells (Arizona Cardinals), All-America guard Ryan Duchon and all-conference tackle Brandon Price. Returning to the line are part-time starting guard Sean Finnerty and Eric Deliere, with letterman Adam Shaffer returning to anchor the center spot. The tackles will be new with red-shirt freshman Zach Snyder and sophomore Steve McCarthy ready for action.

The Clarion defense will be asked to step up early this season and the talent on the defensive side is plentiful with 8 starters and 18 lettermen returning. Clarion yielded only 295.7 yards per game last year including 119.9 rushing and 175.8 passing.

The defensive front is led by consensus All-American Troy Bowers at noseguard. Bowers, the 2002 PSAC-West "Defensive Player of the Year", collected 70 tackles, 12 sacks and 27 tfl's a year ago. In his three season he has collected 144 tackles, 24 sacks and 53 tfl's.

Joining Bowers up front will be Tim Connolly, Ben Heisel and Corey Shaner. Connolly posted 46 hits, 4 sacks and 11 tfl's, while Heisel had 4 tfl's and Shaner 2 tfl's.

The perimeters will be guarded by All-Region outside linebacker Jabari Weatherspoon and freshman Colin Brubaker. Weatherspoon notched 57 tackles, 6 sacks and 15 tfl's last year and is prepared for his best season. Brubaker has had a very good fall camp.

The inside linebacker play will be anchored by junior Shaun Saad and sophomore Brock Luke, son of head coach Malen Luke. Saad had 41 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 tfl's and 2 fumbles caused last year, while Luke earned a letter at outside linebacker. Also ready for time will be Dale McCall, Kyle Brubaker and Matt Morris.

The secondary expects to be strong with senior Myron Hargon starting at corner. Hargon, who begins his fourth year as a starter, notched 13 break-ups and 3 interceptions last year. In his career he has 73 tackles, 8 int's and 29 break-ups. Also playing at the corners will be James Charles (1 int), Kerwin Cledanor (3 int's) and Dwaon Woodard. Free safety Bo Busch (78 tackles, 1 int) and strong safety Emil Johnson (47 hits, 3 tfl's) return to start.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion is planning several pre-game festivities that will be announced next week in honor of the inaugural night game at the stadium... Clarion has a 3-3 record against East Stroudsburg in the history between the two schools... The Warriors have won the last two games, including a 37-33 win over the Eagles in 2000 at Clarion, and a 33-27 win over Clarion at ESU in 2001... East Stroudsburg opens their 2003 season this Saturday, August 30^th, against Lenoir-Rhyne... Clarion will also host Millersville at 6pm the following Saturday at Memorial Stadium... Clarion will have 6 home games this season... Reggie Wells continues to be having a strong showing at the AZ Cardinals pre-season camp... The left offensive tackle who was drafted in the 6^th round by the Cardinals, has started a recent game at left tackle against Chicago. Final cutdown day for all NFL teams for its season roster is Sunday.