ANDRE BURKE, DEFENSE WEAR DOWN CLARION, 21-7

EDINBORO, PA – At 5'10”, 205 lb. Andre Burke (Wilmington, PA/Valley) hardly has the appearance of a workhorse back. Don't tell that to Clarion, however, as Edinboro gave the Golden Eagles a heavy dose of Burke in the second half, plus showcased a stingy defense to ruin Clarion's Homecoming with a 21-10 victory. Edinboro improves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in PSAC West action, while Clarion is now 3-3 and 1-1.

Burke would finish the afternoon with 40 carries for 173 yards with all three Edinboro touchdowns. The junior tailback scored on runs of 1, 21 and 1 yards. The 40 carries is tied for second-most in school history, eclipsed only by Gerald Thompson's 42 carries against Bloomsburg in 1998. It marked Burke's third 100-yard game of the season. He entered the game ranked 20th in Division II in rushing and tied for 13th in scoring.

Edinboro trailed 3-0 at the half, and was very fortunate the margin was that small as it turned the ball over three times in the first half. The turnovers resulted in Clarion having excellent field position in the first half, starting five of their six drives inside Edinboro territory. The Fighting Scot defense was up to the challenge, limiting the Golden Eagles to a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Snoke with 8:38 left in the first quarter.

The defense came up with the key stop early in the second quarter after Clarion's Matt Morris returned an interception 40 yards to the Edinboro 21. The Golden Eagles moved the ball to the Edinboro one with third-and-goal. Marcus Lowe was stopped inches short by Seth Fragale (Emporium, PA/Cameron County) and Chris Amico (Webster, NY/West Irondequoit). On fourth down Brandon Dando fumbled the snap and Edinboro took over with the ball just inches shy of the goal line.

Head coach Lou Tepper turned to Burke in the second half. Neither team had mounted much offense in the first half, with Edinboro showing 100 total yards and Clarion 74. Burke himself accounted for an amazing 29 carries for 129 yards in the second half.

Edinboro took the lead with just 26 seconds left in the third quarter as Burke capped a 9-play, 44-yard drive with a one-yard blast up the middle. The drive was set up by a short Clarion punt, and kept alive when Justin Bouch (Brackenridge, PA/Highlands) hit Justin Lipscomb (Roaming Shores, OH/Grand Valley) for an 18-yad gain down to the Clarion 10 on a 3rd-and-11 play.

After a three-and-out by Clarion, the Fighting Scots boosted the margin to 14-3 on Burke's 21-yard scoring run with 12:02 to play. The drive covered 46 yards on 6 plays following a 14-yard punt return by Lincoln Bufalino (Edinboro, PA/General McLane). Burke carried on all but one play, rushing for 29 yards.

It took Clarion just three plays to pull within four once again, as Pierre Odom beat the Edinboro secondary for a 48-yard scoring pass from Dando with 11:02 to play.

Edinboro scored an insurance touchdown with 2:13 remaining, putting together its best scoring drive of the game. The Fighting Scots went 11 plays for 69 yards, with Burke carrying eight times for 33 yards and catching a pass for 28 yards. He carried on six of the final seven plays, going on off right tackle from a yard out for the touchdown.

Edinboro ended the day with 340 yards while holding Clarion to 169 total yards, 65 of those on the lone touchdown march. Thanks to Burke, the Scots finished with 197 yards rushing. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, were held to just 40 yards on the ground. That helped fuel a 35:29 to 24:31 advantage in possession time for Edinboro. Bouch completed 12 of 21 passes for 143 yards but threw a pair of interceptions. Lipscomb caught 4 passes for 29 yards, extending his streak to 27 straight games with at least one catch.

Fragale paced the defensive effort with a career-high tying 13 tackles, including three for losses, a sack, and a pass broken up. Sophomore Jim Soltis (Garrettsville, OH/Cardinal) and redshirt freshman Tom Davidson (Geneva, OH/Geneva) had interceptions.

After playing three straight games on the road Edinboro returns home to host California(Pa.) on Saturday, October 9. The Fighting Scots will celebrate Homecoming, with kickoff slated for 2:00 p.m.

~ Fighting Scots ~

Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index

Created on ... October 2, 2004