Published: August 28, 2008 01:46 am            

Falcons open season tonight at Clarion

FAIRMONT — Weeks of hard work will come to fruition this evening at 6 p.m. when Fairmont State University and Clarion (Pa.) University open the 2008 college football season at the Golden Eagles’ Memorial Stadium.

Much is at stake for both programs. For the Falcons it’s continued success. Fairmont snapped a five-game losing skid and started a four-game winning streak last fall which it will carry into this evening’s contest when it rallied for a 21-14 victory over Clarion last Oct. 20.

However, second-year FSU head coach Mike Lopez, who guided his team to a 6-5 finish a year ago, knows full well what’s in the past is in the past and that tonight’s contest is a new chapter and new beginning for the 2008 Falcons.

“We’re anxious to see what’s going to happen once the ball is kicked off,” said Lopez. “Our guys experienced some success last season. We won six ball games and had a winning season, but you can’t carry those wins over from year to year. This is 2008 and we’ve got to leave what we’ve done in the past behind us and focus on achieving success this year one play at a time.

“Clarion is going to be a very tough test for us. They probably feel like they should have won the game with us last year. That’s what we’re up against. We’ve got to go on the road to their place and deal with that.”

Clarion, on the other hand, is determined to turn its program around. The Golden Eagles were 0-11 last fall and 1-10 the previous season. They’ve dropped 16 straight contests dating back to a 21-16 win over Cheyney in 2006.

The good news for the Golden Eagles is that a wealth of young talent, which got valuable playing experience in 2007, returns this fall.

“They were 0-11 last year, but by no means does that indicated what type of team they are,” said Lopez. “In fact, I think it’s safe to say that if we played their schedule last season we may have endured similar results and if they had played our schedule they might have been a six or seven-win team. I mean that.”

Clarion coach Jay Foster, who is in his third season at the helm of the Golden Eagles, says the advantage Fairmont State has over his squad coming into tonight’s game is that the Falcons have experienced winning, while his team has not.

“Anytime you play any team in an opener you kind of hold your breath because you really don’t know what you have,” said Foster. “Both sides are hoping and you’re always optimistic, but until you get kids in a ball game you really don’t know how they’re going to react.

“I know Fairmont lost some kids from last year, but when you can win games there’s a confidence that builds in your program. I’m sure there’s a feeling in their program right now that they can win and they want to build on that. For us, we didn’t win last year and our expectations are to win, but we haven’t proven that. That’s something we have to do this season.

“The unknowns in this game are what I think is going to make it a great game. Fairmont’s got a lot of new kids and they don’t know how they’re going to react in a game and to be honest I’m not real sure how our kids are going to react after coming off a no-win season. There’s a lot of question marks, but I really think it’s going to be a great ball game.”

Lopez feels a lot of things will obviously factor into the outcome of tonight’s contest, but noted that one of the most important matchups will be his young defense against Clarion’s high-powered offense.

“To me that’s the marque matchup,” he said. “If you’re looking for something to keep an eye on which may determine the outcome it’s that right there. We have to play well defensively.”

        

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