NOVEMBER 14, 2008
KING'S POSTS 16-8 WIN OVER FDU-FLORHAM IN SEASON FINALE
(Monarchs Win Final Two Games of 2008 Campaign)
MADISON, NJ – Richard Maerten rushed for 128 yards on 30 carries and the King's College defense kept the FDU-Florham offense in check as the Monarchs ended the seoasn with a 16-8 victory Friday night at Robert T. Shields Field in Madison, N.J.
With the win King's ended its season with a 3-7 overall record and a 2-5 Middle Atlantic Conference mark. The Devils finished with an identical record.
On the fourth possession of the game, King's quarterback Cory Lavin would ignite the drive with runs of 11 and nine yards before Maerten broke off a 25-yard carry to the Devil 15. Maerten picked up four yards, Lavin added three on a bootleg to set up a third-and-three from the eight. The Devil defense would hold and Andrew DeRito would convert a 25-yard field goal to give the Monarchs a 3-0 lead with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
The Devils looked to counter on the next possession when Bill Winters hit Brandon Schoonover with a 30 yard completion to the King's 11. The Monarch defense would hold and Mike Barnard's 27-yard field goal sailed wide right as King's would maintain the lead with 1:46 remaining in the opening period.
Late in the first half, the Devils would take over at their own 45 following a King's punt. Winters would hit Kyle Buckoweic on an eight-yard completion to the King's 44. Two plays later, however, King's senior linebacker Tom Tulaney would recover a fumble by Winters at the Devil 39, giving the Monarchs excellent field position with 3:17 remaining in the half.
On first-down, Maerten would burst free up the middle for 12 yards to the 27. After two runs netted six yards, King's would face a third-and-four from the Devil 21. FDU would stuff Maerten for no gain on the play and the Monarchs would forgo a field goal chance to attempt a fourth-down conversion.
From there, Lavin would keep the drive alive with a four-yard run to the Devil 17 with 1:10 on the clock. An incomplete pass in the end zone to Bob Lane was followed by a fumble by Lavin, who recovered his own loose ball for a two-yard loss. Lavin would then find Matt Ihlein at the Devil two-yard line for a King's first-down with 0:23 on the clock. On the next play Lavin would throw a fade pass to the right corner of the end zone where King's 6-foot-2 wide receiver Mike Verbitski out leaped his FDU counterpart for a Monarch score with 0:17 remaining in the half. DeRito added the point after as King's took a 10-0 lead into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, neither team could muster any offense as the squads combined for seven punts with neither squad mounting a serious scoring threat.
On the second possession of the final quarter, the Devils assumed possession at their own 20 following King's punt. Three plays later, King's safety Shane McNamara would come up with a huge defensive play when he stepped in front of a Winters pass into the right flat and raced down the left sideline for a 32-yard interception return for a Monarch score. DeRito missed on the conversion kick as the Monarchs build a 16-0 led with 10:15 remaining in the contest.
On the ensuing possession FDU would look to counter when Winters hooked up with Bob Eck for 31 yards to the Monarch 29. After three plays netted just one yard, the Devils would attempt a fourth-down conversion from the 28. The drive was thwarted, however, when Ryan Nelson swatted down Winters' pass at the line of scrimmage as the Monarchs would take over at their own 28.
FDU would take over at their own 23 following a King's punt and began to march downfield, using five plays to reach the Monarch 42-yard line. The Devils would come up with their biggest play of the day when Winters tossed a 36-yard pass to Kyle Bukowiec to the King's six-yard line. Three plays later Winters would get the Devils on the board with a three-yard run with 3:55 left in the contest. The Devils would then make good on the two-point conversion when Winters found Brandon Schoonover in the end zone as the Devils cut the lead to 16-8.
The Devil defense would force a three-and-out and took over at their own 29 with 2:39 left in the game after another King's punt.
After two incomplete passes and a sack, the Devils would face a fourth-and-19 from their own 21-yard line. From there, McNamara would secure his second interception of the game at midfield with 1:56 left in the contest, sealing the win for the Monarchs.
Maerten posted his second straight 100-yrd performance to close out his freshman season. Lavin, who made just the second start of his career, completed just 6-of-21 through the air but did not throw an interception. He also rushed for 39 yards. Dalton led King's receivers with two catches for 19 yards.
Winters was 18-of-36 for 173 yards while rushing for 61 yards on 23 attempts.
P.J. Nivens led King's defensively with eight tackles while McNamara added four stops along with his two interceptions.
