KING'S FALLS TO WILKES 21-3 IN ANNUAL MAYOR'C CUP GAME
EDWARDSVILLE – The King's College football team put together a spirited effort, but was unable to capitalize on a number of quality scoring chances as the Monarchs dropped a 21-3 decision to cross town rival Wilkes University in the annual Mayor's Cup Game Saturday at Artillery Park.
With the win, King's dropped its seventh straight game, falling to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in Middle Atlantic Conference play. Wilkes, meanwhile, improved to 3-5 and 3-4 in the MAC.
King's came out of the gates looking strong as the Monarchs marched downfield on their first possession of the game. A 13-yard run by Claude O'Connor, followed by a seven-yard carry from the Monarch junior, moved the ball to Wilkes 38. Two plays later Olayinka Soda would pick up a first down at the Colonel 34 with a two-yard carry. O'Connor would then carry for 26 yards to the Colonel eight. On first down, O'Connor would gain three yards to the five- yard line, then added two more to the Wilkes three. On third-and-goal, O'Connor was stopped for a one-yard loss. On fourth-and-goal from the Colonel four, King's settled for an Andrew DeRito 20-yard field goal to give the Monarchs a 3-0 lead with 8:51 left in the first quarter.
Following a Wilkes punt, the Monarchs would again move downfield on their second possession of the game. King's would use a 24-yard screen pass to Doug Mucha to advance to the Monarch 42. After a three-yard loss back to the King's 39, Rich Maerten followed with a 14-yard gain for a first down at the Wilkes 47. Maerten then added a 12-yard run before fumbling the ball. Mike Verbitski would recover at the Wilkes 20 for a first down. On a third-and-two play from the Colonel 11, Maerten would pick up a first down with a four-yard run to the Wilkes seven. On the next play a Soda pass into the flat was deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Wilkes' Kevin Gerhart to end the Monarch threat at the Colonel five-yard line.
Wilkes would begin to march when the Colonels converted an important third-and-eight play with an eight-yard pass to Jason Prushinski at the Colonel 35. Sean Madden would follow up with an 11-yard run to the Wilkes 46. On a third-and-six play from midfield Rob Johnson found Reese out of the backfield for a nine-yard gain and a first down at the King's 41. On third-and-eight from the Monarch 39, Wilkes used a screen pass to Reese for an 11-yard gain and a first down at the King's 28.
Reese would then add a seven-yard run to the 21 before adding one more yard to the 20. On third-and-one, Zack Tivald picked up another first down with a two-yard carry to the 28. After a four-yard run by Tivald to the 14, Johnson found Gennaro Zangardi alone in the left corner of the end zone on the next play for a Wilkes score. Chris Horn would add the point after as the Colonels completed the 15-play, 75-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead with 2:46 left in the first half.
The Wilkes would force a quick Monarch punt on the ensuing possession and the Colonels would take over at midfield with 1:34 left in the half. After an 11-yard pass to Sean Madden at the King's 37. Johnson then found Prushinski for 17 yards to the Monarch 20. On the next play Johnson would avoid a sack, scrambled to his left, and found Zangardi alone again in the end zone for a Colonel score. Horn made good on the conversion as Wilkes took a 14-3 lead with 0:41 remaining in the opening half. It marked the second Colonel score in a 2:05 span.
In the second half King's would force a punt on Wilkes first possession of the third quarter and would again begin to move the ball. An eight-yard pass to Rick Ritter and a 13-yard run by O'Connor gave King's a first down at the Colonel 46. Soda would then follow up a 10-yard pass to Mike Verbitski for a first down at the Wilkes 32. On third-and-12 from the Colonel 34, Soda was flushed from the pocket and threw the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack. The Monarchs would forgo a long field goal and attempted to secure a first down but a hard-charging Colonel defender hit Soda, forcing an intended pass to Rob Lane to sail incomplete over the Monarch receiver's outstretched hands.
Wilkes missed out on a chance of its own when the Colonels moved into King's territory. After a 20-yard pass to Zangardi gave Wilkes a first down at the King's 32, the Monarch defense would come up big. Edwyn Edwards would force a Madden fumble which was recovered by teammate Terrance Osborne at the King's 20.
King's, however, was unable to mount a drive and was forced to punt. The Colonels would respond when Johnson found Prushinski for 16 yards to the King's 44. Reese would add a nine-yard run to the Monarch 35 before Tivald picked up a first down with a two-yard run to the King's 33. Johnson would then find Tivald for nine yards to the Monarch 24. Tivald would then give Wilkes a first down with a 12-yard run to the King's 16. Two plays later from the King's 10-yard line Johnson connected with Jordan D'Emilio at the six-yard line and the Colonel sophomore broke a tackle at the three, diving into the end zone just insides the goal line marker for a Wilkes touchdown. The extra-point kick would up the Colonel advantage to 21-3 with 14:51 left in the contest.
King's would take the ensuing kickoff at its own 35-yard line and marched to the Colonel 21. A pass interference penalty on Wilkes would give the Monarchs a first down at the Colonel six. Two short runs and an incomplete pass would force King's into a fourth-and goal from the two. From there, Soda's slant pass to Verbitski fell incomplete as Wilkes halted another King's scoring chance.
Wilkes would then reach its own 33-yard line before Johnson fumbled the snap from center. Ryan Nelson would recover to give King's possession at the Colonel 39.
A 10-yard pass to Verbitski and a four-yard run by Soda gave King's a first down at the Wilkes 26. Two plays later Soda was intercepted for the second time in the game by Gerhart at the Colonel 10-yard line to end yet another Monarch scoring threat with 3:09 left in the contest.
On the ensuing play, Wilkes' Marc Persing fumbled and Tom Tulaney would recover for King's as the Colonel eight. Maerten would pick up seven yards on two straight runs to give the Monarchs a third-and-goal at the one. But the Colonel defense would end any hopes the Monarchs had of a comeback by stuffing Philip Shaw at the line on two straight rushing as well as a third straight time in the red zone, assuming possession with 1:05 remaining.
Wilkes would out gained King's 274-to-240 in total yards on the day. The Monarchs owned a 174-to-134 advantage on rushing yards, cracking the 100-yard rushing plateau for the first time since the first game of the season. The Colonels would hold a slim 17-to-15 advantage in first downs while the Monarchs owned a 32:35-to-27:25 lead in time of possession.
Johnson completed 14-of-20 passes for 160-yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. Soda was 9-of-22 for just 83 yards with two interceptions on the day.
O'Connor, who was playing his third game at tailback after being moved from linebacker due to injuries in the backfield, rushed for a career-best 88 yards on 20 carries. Maerten added 54 yards on 14 carries. Verbitski made three catches for 33 yards while O'Connor added two receptions out of the backfield.
Reese led Wilkes in rushing with 58 yards on 16 carries. Zangardi led all receivers with four catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns while Prushinski added three catches for 39 yards. D'Emilio made two receptions for 21 yards, including the final touchdown of the day.
Defensively, King's Matt Rhodes led all players with a career-high 19 tackles, earning team most valuable player honors for the Monarchs. Rhodes posted nine solo tackles and 10 assists on the day. Nelson followed with seven tackles and a fumble recovery while P.J. Nivens, making his first career start at linebacker, also posted seven tackles with a sack. Alex Watty also chipped in with seven tackles.
Doug Letcavage earned team most valuable player honors for Wilkes, making 16 tackles, including seven solo stops.
King's will return to the field on Saturday when the Monarchs play their final home game of the season at 1:00 p.m. against Lycoming College at McCarthy Stadium in the Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex.
