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THE GAME
The Bald Eagle gridders (2-7, 1-4 PSAC West) will host Clarion University of Pennsylvania (3-6, 1-4 PSAC West) in their final home contest of the season on Saturday, November 3. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. in LHU’s Hubert Jack Stadium.
THE SERIES
This Saturday’s PSAC divisional game marks the 51st time that Lock Haven and Clarion have met on the gridiron, the Golden Eagles holding a 36-13-1 advantage in the series.
The Bald Eagles won the match-up in 1998 (35-28) and 1997 (33-32), while Clarion came away with the 44-41 triple overtime victory in the 1999 season along with last year’s 42-20 win.
THE LAST TIME VERSUS CLARION
Clarion was the winner over the Bald Eagles in the 2000 series match-up, 42-20. Lock Haven jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play off of a 43-yard field goal by Matt Mapes and a 40-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Ed Galiczynski to Marcus
Burkley.
The Golden Eagles assembled a 28-point second quarter, however, taking over the lead before the close of the half, 28-13. Lock Haven put up one more six-pointer on a 3-yard run by Ray Riley in the third quarter, but a 14-point final stanza by Clarion spelled the end of any come-back hopes, bringing the final margin to 42-20 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
Senior quarterback Ed Galiczynski was 19-for-35 for 248 yards with one touchdown pass. Wideout Marcus Burkley, the recipient of that pass, also recorded 113 yards receiving for his third straight game with over 100 yards. Defensively, linebacker Dan Wissinger and cornerback Rob Carey led the squad with 13 and 12 stops, respectively.
Clarion had two 100-yard rushers, Robert Walker (177 yds) and Tab Musser (169 yds). Quarterback Adam Almashy threw for two touchdowns and a total of 104 yards, connecting twice with Mike McCullum in the endzone. Free safety Roosevelt Benjamin led the Golden Eagle defense with 16 stops.
SCOUTING CLARION
The Clarion Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 3-6 overall and 1-4 PSAC West mark, having dropped their last three contests. Clarion will also be looking for its first win on the road, having dropped all four previous away games. In most recent action, Clarion fell to Indiana (Pa.) in overtime, 35-34.
Junior quarterback Adam Almashy led Clarion against IUP, pacing the Indians with 118 yards passing (10-28), 111 yards rushing, and three touchdowns. For the season, Almashy has completed 58-of-165 passes for 904 yards and seven touchdowns. He is also third on Clarion’s rushing chart with a per game average of 48.3 yards.
Top Clarion receivers include Mike McCullum (21 receptions, 363 yds, 4 TDs) and Andy Pore (10 receptions, 205 yds, 2 TDs). The Golden Eagle ground corps consists mainly of Demetric Gardner, Robert Walker, and Glenn Lovelace. Gardner headlines Clarion rushers, averaging 88.1 yards per game and has six touchdowns. Walker leads the team in scoring with 10 touchdowns and averages 58.0 yards per game on the run. Lovelace adds an average of 37.6 yards to the ground game each time out.
The Clarion defense is piloted by linebacker Chris Janson and free safety Korey Eppinette. Janson has recorded 56.5 total stops, including 30 unassisted tackles. He shares the top spot in the PSAC with 16 tackles for loss and is second in the conference and first among Golden Eagles with eight sacks. Eppinette is also among PSAC tackle leaders with 55.0 stops.
Return specialists include Myron Hargon (12 ret., 91 yd, 7.6 ypr) and Ben Culver (11 ret., 108 yds, 9.8 ypr) on punt returns, and Mike McCullum (16 ret., 247 yds, 15.4 ypr) and Culver (16 ret., 310 yds, 19.4 ypr) on kickoff returns. Placekicker Jason Flora has made 4-of-6 field goals and is 15-of-22 in point after attempts.
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(Above) #21 Rob Carey currently leads the PSAC in punt return yardage,
averaging 12.1 yards per return.
(Below) Second-year Bald Eagle
Head Coach Mark Luther looks to lead the LHU squad to a victory in its
final home contest of the season 
THE COACHES
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Second-year Head Coach Mark Luther (Penn State, ‘92) leads the 2001 Bald Eagles into battle. Luther’s gridders compiled a 3-8 overall and 1-5 PSAC West mark in his first season at the helm.
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| He assumed the lead role following five years of service as a Bald Eagle assistant coach from 1994-98, acting as defensive coordinator in the 1997 and ‘98 seasons, recruiting coordinator and administrative assistant to former head coach Nick Polk.
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The Clarion Golden Eagles are led by eighth year heach coach Malen Luke (Westminster, '76).
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| Luke assumed the helm at Clarion after six years at Defiance College, where he turned around a losing program to build a 37-21 record. He is currently 37-39-0, including an 11-3 season in 1997 in which the Golden Eagles advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
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BALD EAGLE NOTES
THE OFFENSE
The Bald Eagles will be looking to recover from last week’s dismal outing against Slippery Rock, where LHU was able to earn only 68 total net yards and was shutout for the second time this season.
Working the ground attack are Maurice Walker (North Braddock/Woodland Hills) and Melvin Kirby (Pittsburgh/Penn Hills). Walker now averages 15.8 carries and 67.3 yards per game, while Kirby averages 53.3 yards on 11.1 rushing attempts per contest. Halfback Dave Mottin (Snow Shoe/Bald Eagle Area) will also hold down a starting role in the LHU offense.
Quarterback Bill Witmer (Bellefonte/Bellefonte) has completed 60-of-139 passes this season for 695 yards and three touchdowns. Johnathan Stahl (Elizabethtown/Lower Dauphin) has connected on 18-of-47 pass for 181 yards, and is also a possibility for the starting role this Saturday.
Haven receivers Marcus Burkley (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills) and John Caldwell (Virginia Beach, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) are the favorite targets of both quarterbacks. Burkley is seventh in the conference in with 3.89 receptions per game, and has posted 385 yards and four touchdowns on 35 catches. Caldwell reels in an average of 3.2 receptions per game, and has recorded 360 yards and three touchdowns this season.
The starting Haven offensive line remains intact, consisting of tackles senior Mike Landis (Quakertown/Quakertown) and freshman Jarrod Hendricks (Rockton/DuBois Area), guards sophomore Bill Cook (York/Central York) and junior Josh Clair (Manheim/Manheim Central), and junior center Jason Popp (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin).
THE DEFENSE
The Haven’s pass defense is rated third in the PSAC, giving up an average of 132.3 yards per game. Part of that success is due to leading Bald Eagle defender and cornerback Rob Carey (North Braddock/Woodland Hills). Carey is sixth in the PSAC in total tackles with 62.0 stops, including a team-best 50 solo tackles, and is among conference leaders with six pass breakups.
A pair of linebackers, Chad Koleno (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) and Derrik Metz (Roaring Spring/Central), are also big contributors to the LHU defense. Metz posted a season-best 15 tackles against Slippery Rock, and now has 58.0 total stops (43s, 30a). Koleno added 12 hits versus SRU, and is second on the Bald Eagles tackle list with 59.0 total, including 46 solo stops. Starting outside linebacker Corey Shaner (Knox/Keystone) has contributed 24.5 tackles this season.
In the secondary, safeties Robert Glielmi (Athens/Athens Area) (38.5 TT, 1 INT, 2 FR) and Jim Hanzely (DuBois/DuBois) (20.5 TT, 1 INT, FF) have secured primary roles, as has cornerback Jamie Thomas (Jersey Shore/Jersey Shore) (28.5 TT, 1 INT, 2
PB).
The defensive line continues to display the maturity and experience of four seniors, Christopher Hileman (Claysburg/Claysburg-Kimmel) (19.5 tkls, 4.5 sacks, 7 TFL), DePhilip Jackson (Harrisburg/Susquehanna Township) (28.5 tkls, 5 TFL, 1.5 sacks), Lloyd Brooks (Williamsport/Williamsport Area) (16.0 tkls, 1 INT, 3 TFL), and Barry Byrd (Harrisburg/Harrisburg) (21.0 tkls, 1 sack, TFL).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Lock Haven’s Rob Carey remains the PSAC’s leading punt returner, averaging 12.1 yards per return. Carey is also among conference leaders in kickoff returns, covering 22.9 yards per return. Placekicker Jonathan Miller (Acme/Meyersdale) is 7-of-14 field goal attempts, and has cleared the uprights on 13-of-14 in point after kicks.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bald Eagles travel to Mansfield University of Pennsylvania for their final game of the season next Saturday, November 10. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Mansfield’s Van Norman Stadium.
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