KING'S FOOTBALL TEAM SET TO TAKE ON ALBRIGHT COLLEGE
(Monarchs Look to Halt Four-Game Losing Streak)

WILKES-BARRE --  The King's College football team will look to get back on the winning track when the Monarchs travel to Reading to face Albright College in a Middle Atlantic Conference matchup Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Shirk Stadium.

Tickets are listed at $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and students. Children under age six will be admitted free.

King's enters the game looking to snap a four-game losing streak. After winning their first game of the season 34-13 against Randolph-Macon, the Monarchs fell to then-nationally ranked (21st) Ithaca by a 38-28 count before dropped a 22-6 verdict to unbeaten Hampden-Sydney (6-0), the defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion currently ranked 20th nationally by D3Football.com. 

After a bye week, the Monarchs dropped a 34-19 decision to Delaware Valley College in its MAC opener on October 4.  Last week, King's fell 17-3 to defending MAC champion Widener University. 

Against King's will face another quality opponent as Albright was picked to finished second in the MAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll.   Albright enters the game with a 2-2 overall record and is 1-1 in the MAC after falling 23-13 to the surprise team of the MAC, Lycoming College, last week.

KING'S FOOTBALL ON THE AIR:
The game will be web cast live in the Internet by WRKC, 88.5 FM.  The game can be accessed by going to the WRKC LIVE link at the following page:    http://www.kings.edu/IITS/index.htm

A live statistical and play-by-play feed will be available on the Internet at the following link:   http://www.albright.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm

ABOUT THE GAME:   
The game will stand as Hall of Fame Weekend at Albright.  It will mark King's first trip to Shirk Stadium since the 2005 season when the Monarchs played the very first game at the newly constructed stadium, which includes a synthetic turf similar to the newly installed turf at King's Betzler Fields.  This will mark only the second time King's has played away from home this season.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the 14th all-time meeting between the programs with Albright holding a 7-5-1 advantage. In King's last stop at Shirk Stadium, the Monarchs dropped a heartbreaking 29-27 decision when Albright scored the winning touchdown on the last play of the game when a desperation pass thrown into the end zone was batted towards the ground by a King's defender as time expired. But a Widener receiver made a diving catch, corralling the ball just before it hit the turf, for the winning score.  The following year King's gained a measure of revenge by wining the 2006 game 38-14 at Betzler Fields 38-14. The Lions posted a 24-21 win at King's last season en route to an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Atlantic Bowl bid and an 8-3 overall record. The teams return to Reading after two straight games in Wilkes-Barre.

THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Rich Mannello, the longest tenured head coach in the MAC, is in his 16th year at King's and owns a current record of 65-94-1 with the Monarchs, including five post-season playoff appearances since 2000, including the 2002 MAC title.  Albright is coached by second-year mentor John Marzka who is 11-5 with the Pride.       

LAST WEEK: 
In the second week of second day of MAC play, King's dropped a 17-3 verdict to Widener at home.  Albright, meanwhile, fell to Lycoming College 23013 in Williamsport.

KING'S ON OFFENSE:    I-FORMATION
King's is averaging 281.8 yards of total offense per-game, including 88.6 rushing yards and 193.2 passing yards. Since gaining 212 yards on the ground opening week against Randolph-Macon, the Monarchs have amassed only 231 yards over the past four games, averaging 57.8 rushing yards per-game during this. Sophomore quarterback Olayinka Soda leads the team with 211.0 yards of total offense per-game. Soda has completed 58.7 (88-150) percent of his passes for 966 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions thus far this season.  Junior wide receiver Mike Verbitski tops the receivers with 26 catches for 396 yards and five touchdowns. 

Sophomore Bob Lane has 16 receptions for 172 yards while sophomore Rick Ritter checks in with eight receptions for 119 yards. Junior tight end Justin Dalton tallies seven catches for 58 yards.  Sophomore Brandon Murray is expected to return to the lineup after missing the Widener game with an injury. Murray has rushed for 37 yards on 15 carries. Senior tailback Jeramia Jones is expected to miss his second straight game with an injury. Sophomore Corey Zalewski and freshman Richard Maerten could also see action at tailback. Junior fullback Doug Mucha chips in with 27 yards on five attempts while making four catches for 39 yards one touchdown catch.

ALBRIGHT ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE
The Albright offense enters the game averaging 309.0 yards of total offense per-game, including 98.6 rushing yards and 210.8 passing yards. Junior quarterback Tanner Kelly leads the offense by completing 64.6 (93-144) percent of his passes for 948 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. The 6-foot-4 Kelly has also added 162 rushing yards on 56 attempts. Freshman tailback Josan Holmes has a team-high 285 rushing yards on 55 carries while adding 12 catches for 108 yards. Junior wide receiver Nate Romig has 29 catches for 381 yards and five touchdowns. Senior A.J. Hill, a 6-foot-4 senior, follows with 25 catches for 287 yards and three scores.

KING'S ON DEFENSE:    MULTIPLE
King's defense has yielded 339.0 yards of total offense per-game, including 169.8 rushing yards and 169.2 passing yards each contest. Senior linebacker Matt Rhodes tops the team with 39 total tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Tom Tulaney follows with 35 tackles, one interception, and one fumble recovery. Sophomore defensive end Ryan Nelson adds 31 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.  Senior safety Shane McNamara contributes with 28 tackles has broken up five passes. Sophomore defensive tackle Alex Watty has registered 25 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss. Senior defensive end Mike Lovett has tallied 20 tackles with 4.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. Junior cornerback Brian Mitros and sophomore defensive tackle Craig Geibert have registered 19 tackles each. Junior safety Justin Zlotek has 13 tackles while sophomore cornerback Edwyn Edwards chip in with 10 tackles and one interception apiece.    Senior Bob Cirko, who played his first two years at cornerback before being moved to wide receiver, is now back on defense playing safety. He made six tackles in his first game on defense against Widener.

ALBRIGHT ON DEFENSE:    MULTIPLE
The Lion defense is allowing 362.0 yards of total offense per-game, including 198.8 yards on the ground and 163.2 through the air.  The unit is led by junior rover David Harig who has posted a team-high 38 tackles with an interception.  Junior linebacker Robert Harper follows with 32 tackles one interception and one fumble recovery. Junior nose guard Nathanial Linn adds 30 tackles with 6.0 tackles for 31 yards in losses and two sacks. Senior safety Matt Chris contributes 28 tackles with three interceptions while junior linebacker Andrew Kibler chips in with 25 tackles while breaking up three passes.

NEXT GAME:
The Monarchs will celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, October 25 when King's hosts Lebanon Valley College at 1:30 p.m. at Betzler Fields.

 

2008 Middle Atlantic Conference Standings

School                               MAC     Overall
Delaware Valley                   2-0         4-1
Lycoming                            2-0         4-1
Albright                             1-1         3-2
Lebanon Valley                    1-1         3-2
Widener                              1-1         3-2
Wilkes                                1-1         1-4
FDU-Florham                       0-2         2-3
King's                                0-2         1-4