The Joe Lodanosky Show

Week 10 Golden Eagle Report Card
Clarion beats #21 Edinboro 30-17
Clarion improves to 7-3(6-1)
By: Joe Lodanosky
www.thejlshow.com

Quarterback- Leadership, guts, and grit… The stats are just an added bonus. Tyler Huether led the Golden Eagles to their first win over the Fightin’ Scots since 2002, and he also earned PSAC-West Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. Huether rushed for 91 yards and 3 TD’s, while connecting on 14 of 24 passes for 169 yards. This kid has guts, he orchestrated a 13 play, 70 yard drive to answer Edinboro’s blocked punt TD. Huether was 5 for 5 on the drive that got Clarion their first lead of the game. He carried it 16 times, averaging 5.7yards per attempt. This season should cement his legacy at Clarion… simply, “just one tough S.O.B.” A

Running Back- That Hoggard kid is terrible! They need a new running back. What happened, only 99 rushing yards, just 1 TD, just 125 all purpose yards? Obviously, I am kidding… the toughness theme doesn’t stop at the QB. Hoggard did in fact have a rough day, 30 carries, in this league, at 5’4” and 145 pounds. That’s a tough day at the office. The strange thing at that, with his size is, he actually gets better as the game goes on. He had 58 yards in the 2nd half. Pound for pound Alfonso Hoggard is the best DII player in the country. A

Wide Receivers- Huether was cheated out of a TD pass and Matt Foradora was screwed out of a TD reception, just wanted to get that off of my chest first. Jacques Robinson grabbed 6 balls for 65 yards. Craig Bunney made some big catches down the stretch, finishing with 5 catches for 68 yards. Matt Ward had 2 catches for 25 yards, while Foradora had a catch for 11 yards, the TD taken away, and grabbed a 2 point conversion. When Clarion needed a conversion, or looked to throw the ball, these guys did a great job of creating openings in the Edinboro secondary. Good route running and ability to find the holes in the zone. B

Offensive Line – At one point in the broadcast I expressed my interest in giving Vinny Bazone the Player of the Game. We couldn’t do that because we would have cheated his 4 other line mates. The Golden Eagles did give up 2 sacks, but they were more like coverage sacks. Bazone and Danielson Gilbert are some road grading guards; no outside backer wants to see these guys pulling. Tackle to tackle, this was one of the top 2 performances all year. A+

Defensive Line- I refuse to get into off of the field stuff, but John Hackel was forced to play defensive end because of some off of the field issues. Kory Kusick was forced to play a lot more snaps at DT because of the afore mentioned situation. Both of these guys were superb. Barrington Morrison earned our Player of the Game, we thought that he blocked the punt, he did add 2 more sacks and 5 solo tackles to his resume though. Hey…they never brought us the final stats, we had no way of knowing! Kusick got his had on a Joe Wanson pass, as well as several other CUP defenders, plus added 4 tackles himself. Hackle and John Reichert each had 4 stops, Hackel also broke up a pass. With the added snaps, position changes, and the off of the field stuff, a very solid effort. Clarion held Edinboro to just 235 yards of total offense. B+

Line Backers – More off of the field issue here, but Reggie Robinson made the best of the opportunity. Robinson earned the PSAC-West Defensive Player of the Week honors for his 8 tackle, 1 TFL, and blocked punt that resulted in a CUP safety effort. Steven Moyemont was starting to look like Wilt Chamberlain out there, he sent back 2 4th quarter pass attempts by Joe Wanson. Moyemont also added 3 tackles, along with Gluvna and Maculis. Sometimes people just rise in the face of adversity. Edinboro’s David Bostick rushed 15 times for just 50 yards. As a team the Scots total 103 rushing yards. A++

Secondary- Nick Sipes record 12 tackles, the other Curwensville kid, Shawn Sopic was 2nd on the team with 8 tackles. CB Chris Wilson was nailed with 2 pass interference calls, but contributed 4 tackles and 2 pass break ups. The opposite CB Daily Whitten also broke up 2 passes. Trevor Harris never returned for the 2nd half, but was really held in check in the 1st half, completing 8 of 11 for 97 yards. The Golden Eagle “D” held Edinboro to just 146 yards on 15 of 29 passing. A

Special Teams- Nathan Conway couldn’t handle the snap from Ray Klinger, and Branden Willams scooped and scored EUP’s first TD. Not a good start for the special teams, who were already missing kicker Robert Mamula. The punt coverage was great, just 11 yards on 2 returns. The KO coverage wasn’t all that great, but by the same token they were missing the kicker, 5 for 145, I will give them a bit of a break. CU special teams did redeem themselves when Robinson blocked a punt that rolled out of the endzone for a safety. Conway, a punter, missed 2 PAT’s, but once again, he is a punter not a kicker. They did enough to win the game. B

Overall- Clarion football sure can be fun. The Golden Eagles are like the cardiac kids, no disrespect to any former coaches, players, or parents that have heart problems. In the last 4 games, CU has outscored their opponents 76-19 in the second half dating back to SRU. Many people complain how lucky the Steelers are. Things always seem to go their way when the game hangs in the balance. Lately to Golden Eagles have had some things go their way late in ball games, that’s why they are a 5 game win streak. As I always say about luck, “Luck is a product of skill and preparation.” Clarion appears to have turned the corner on the field, making plays to win games as opposed to allowing their opponents actions at pivotal times to determine the outcome. They were aided by the Trevor Harris injury, I hope it isn’t serious enough to jeopardize his NFL opportunities, but they were winning 17-6 when he got hurt. Harris doesn’t play defense and the “D” gave up 24 2nd half points. A win at Edinboro is always a good win. A