NOVEMBER 14, 2008
KING'S FOOTBALL TEAM CLOSING OUT 2008 CAMPAIGN WITH FRIDAY NIGHT GAME AT FDU-FLORHAM
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College football team will look to close out the 2008 season on a high note when the Monarchs travel to Madison, NJ to face FDU-Florham Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Robert T. Shields Field.
King's (2-7, 1-5 MAC) is looking to end the season with a two-game winning streak while improving last season's victory total by two games (1-9).
The Monarchs are coming off their best effort of the season as King's knocked favorite Lycoming College from the first-place ranks with a 24-7 home victory at McCarthy Stadium. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for King's which had not win since a season-opening 34-13 victory over Randolph-Macon College.
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
ABOUT THE GAME:
The game stands as the final contest of the 2008 season. It marks the second straight year the teams have played on the final day of the season. The game was originally scheduled fro Saturday, but was moved to Friday due to FDU-Florham hosting a men's basketball tournament Saturday and Sunday, creating game personnel issues.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the 16th all-time meeting between the programs with King's holding an 11-4 advantage. The Monarchs posted a 17-14 decision in the last meeting a year ago 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 66-97-1 with the Monarchs, including five post-season playoff appearances since 2000, including the 2002 MAC title. FDU-Florham is coached by seventh-year mentor Rich Mosca who enters the game with a 17-55 record.
LAST WEEK:
A week ago, King's snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 24-7 victory over then-first place Lycoming. FDU fell to Lebanon Valley College 38-3 in Annville, Pa. The Devils played Lycoming a week earlier and fell 48-28 to the Warriors. Lavin performed well in the contest with 208 yards of total offense, having completed 11-of-24 passes for 160 yards while rushing for 48 yards on 11 carries.
KING'S ON OFFENSE: I-FORMATION
King's is averaging 271.4 yards of total offense per-game, including 105.2 rushing yards and 166.2 passing yards. Red-shirt sophomore quarterback Cory Lavin made his first career start against Lycoming, seeing his first varsity action in two seasons. Junior wide receiver Mike Verbitski tops the squad with 34 catches for 532 yards and five touchdowns while sophomore Bob Lane follows with 23 receptions for 232 yards. Sophomore receiver Rick Ritter checks in with 13 catches for 182 yards. Freshman receiver Rodney Blango chips in with 12 catches for 60 yards. Junior fullback Doug Mucha has tallied 49 yards on 10 carries while making 10 catches for 98 yards. King's running game, which had gained 100 yards or more only once over the course of the first seven games, has done so in each of the last two contests. The Monarchs come off a season-high 247-yard effort against Lycoming. In that game, freshmen tailback Rich Maerten gained a career-high 121 yards and was rewarded with MAC “Offensive Player of the Week” honors. Maerten, who missed the first four games of the season with an injury, has 237 yards on 69 carries. Junior Claude O'Connor, was also outstanding in the game with 60 yards on 11 carries before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury midway through the third quarter. O'Connor, who played linebacker before moving to tailback beginning with King's October 18 game at Albright, had 153 yards on 34carries prior to the injury
FDU-FLORHAM ON OFFENSE: PRO-STYLE
The FDU-Florham offense enters the game averaging 294.0 yards of total offense per-game, including 95.7 rushing yards and 198.3 passing yards. Senior quarterback Bill Winters leads the Devil attack as both a passer and a runner. The junior signal-caller has completed 56.7 (60-282) percent of his passes fro 1.785 yards with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also stands as the team's leading rusher with 544 yards on 188 carries with nine touchdowns on the ground. The aerial attack is paced by senior Rob Eck with 47 catches for 615 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Kyle Bukowiec follows closely with 45 receptions for 514 yards and four scores. Junior tight end Beau Reed chips in with 19 catches for 272 yards and one touchdown. In the backfield, senior tailback Dale Arena trails Winters in rushing with 141 yards on 72 carries.
KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
King's defense has yielded 335.8 yards of total offense per-game, including 169.0 rushing yards and 166.8 passing yards each contest. Senior linebacker Matt Rhodes tops the team with 93 total tackles, including 9.0 tackles for loss. Senior safety Shane McNamara adds 57 tackles with three interceptions and has broken up six passes. Senior linebacker Tom Tulaney follows with 50 tackles, one interception, and two fumble recoveries. Sophomore defensive end Ryan Nelson posts 49 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Sophomore defensive tackle Alex Watty has made 46 tackles with 5.0 tackles for loss. Senior defensive end Mike Lovett has tallied 31 tackles with 4.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive tackle Craig Geibert also has 30 tackles. Sophomore cornerback Edwyn Edwards chips in with 24 tackles respectively. Senior safety Bob Cirko and junior cornerback Brian Mitros each have 28 tackles with an interception.
FDU-FLORHAM ON DEFENSE: 4-3 MULTIPLE
The Devil defense has allowed an average of 338.0 total yards per-game, including 148.0 rushing yards and 190.0 passing yards. Senior linebacker Vinny Russo tops the defense with 75 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks. Kevin Hatcher-Puryear follows with 58 tackles, including 13.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Junior safety Jason Glezman adds 53 tackles with an interception while senior middle linebacker Jason Stopper contributes 52 tackles with one interception. Senior safety Mark Waller tallies 45 tackles while sophomore cornerback Matt Porricelli chips in with 41 tackles, two interceptions, and has broken up seven passes.
2008 Middle Atlantic Conference Standings
School MAC Overall
Albright 5-1 7-2
Lycoming 4-2 6-3
Delaware Valley 4-2 6-3
Lebanon Valley 4-2 6-3
Wilkes 3-3 3-6
Widener 2-4 4-5
FDU-Florham 1-5 3-6
King's 1-5 2-7
