Second place was on the line as the Clarion Golden Eagles traveled to Edinboro to face the No. 21 ranked Fighting Scots.
That was not the only thing on the line in this game.

With a win, Edinboro would almost certainly lock a spot in the playoffs.
Clarion had other plans though. The Golden Eagles themselves knew they could increase their playoff chances with a huge win over Edinboro.

On a rainy and cold Saturday afternoon, both offenses knew they would have to rely on their running games. Edinboro would have the first threat of the day.

On their first possession, the Fighting Scots moved the ball down the field, taking it to the Clarion two yard line.
On a fourth and goal, the Clarion defense would stand their ground and stop the opposition in their tracks.
“This was a very critical stop early on in the game. It was not able to help us at that point in the game, but it certainly didn’t hurt us,” said Coach Jay Foster.

“The offense also gave us some breathing room by being able to pick up a few first downs on the next drive.”
Edinboro was the first to capitalize on the bad weather, as they scored a defensive touchdown to go up 7-0.

The Golden Eagles offense went back on attack with one of the most impressive drives of the year. Quarterback Tyler Huether drove the offense down the field, mostly running the ball, taking up over seven minutes, before he rushed in for five yards. The extra point was no good, making the score 7-6.

Edinboro would take control for the rest of the first half, increasing its lead to 17-6 at the half.
The second half belonged to the Golden Eagles. The defense took advantage of All-American quarterback, Trevor Harris, not being in the game.

Harris suffered an injury in the second quarter that forced him to be sidelined for the rest of the game.
The Clarion offense quickly got the ball back after forcing the Fighting Scots to punt.

Clarion was on its way to another score, before running back Alfonso Hoggard was stopped short of the goal line on fourth down.
The Golden Eagles quickly got the ball back and started the next drive in Edinboro territory.

Huether would complete passes to Jacques Robinson of 15 yards and Matt Ward of 20 yards bringing them deep into Edinboro’s territory.

Huether took matters into his own hands for a second time as he rushed in for a one-yard touchdown run. Clarion decided to go for two, as Huether completed a pass to tight end Matt Foradora to cut the deficit to 17-14.

With another quick stop by the Clarion defense, the offense was back on the attack.

Huether and Robinson drove the offense down the field, as they connected three times for 24 yards. With the ball down at the one yard line, Huether kept the ball to himself for his third rushing touchdown of the game.

With both teams struggling to move the ball on their next couple of possessions, the Clarion special teams came up with a huge play. Linebacker Reggie Robinson blocked a punt into the end zone, resulting in a safety.

Clarion would tack on another touchdown, with a seven-yard run by Hoggard.

The Golden Eagles outscored the Fighting Scots 24-0 in the second half to win the game 30-17.

“We started winning the field position battles, and I told our players if everyone does their job, we will win. We are clicking on all cylinders right now, and there is no one that can stop our offense,” stated Coach Foster.

Huether earned offensive player of the week honors in the conference, while teammate Reggie Robinson picked up the defensive player of the week.

Clarion will play its last regular season game of the 2009 campaign this Saturday at Cheyney University.

“Anything can happen, if we do our job and win, then we will be hoping to get a call next week telling us we made the playoffs,” said Coach Foster.

Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.