EDINBORO — Trevor Harris expected Saturday to be an emotional day.

He had spent days preparing himself for that final march onto Sox Harrison Stadium in a Fighting Scots uniform where he would be greeted by his parents, Tom and Suzanne Harris, and the hundreds of Edinboro faithful, who have made it a tradition to watch Harris on Saturday afternoons for the last four years.

Nothing, however, could have prepared Harris for his exit.

Harris suffered a knee injury with 36 seconds to play in the second quarter and never returned as Edinboro fell to Clarion, 30-17, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West football action.

The loss all but ends Edinboro’s playoff hopes as it fell to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the PSAC West. Clarion improved to 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the conference.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said. “I didn’t even know what to say to the team. They didn’t want to hear anyone talk and I understand; and I didn’t want to talk. It’s just …”

Edinboro came into the contest in a must-win situation against the Golden Eagles. And that was pretty obvious from the get-go with the Scots, who elected to go for it on fourth down and one to go at the Clarion two-yard line on their opening drive.

The Scots failed to convert on the fourth-down play, but it served as a solid message that Edinboro was there to win.

Clarion’s ensuing possession ended when its punter was forced to pick up and hold on to a bad snap. Cochranton graduate Donnie Marsteller forced a fumble on the play and sophomore cornerback Branden Williams picked up the loose ball and ran it three yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Alex Romanias’ point-after-touchdown kick gave the Scots a 7-0 lead with 3:49 to play in the first quarter.

Clarion answered with a touchdown of its own on a five-yard run by quarterback Tyler Huether, but missed the extra point as Edinboro maintained the lead at 7-6.

The Scots added a 20-yard field goal by Romanias with 5:11 to play in the half and elected for the onside kick which Edinboro recovered.

That is where things went awry for the Scots.

On the sixth play of the drive, Harris took off running and picked up four yards before being pushed out of bounds by defensive end Barrington Morrison. Harris came up limping and favoring his left knee, but remained in the game, in obvious pain, for four more plays, the last of which was a two-yard run by David Bostic for a touchdown.

While Edinboro celebrated the touchdown, trainers were forced to meet Harris near the sidelines, the senior unable to put any pressure on the knee.

Trainers tended to Harris briefly on the sidelines before carrying him to the locker room with 36 seconds to play in the half.