Offensive Huddle
King's football will look to produce a happy Homecoming when the Monarchs host defending MAC champion Lycoming Saturday

King's Football Hosting Lycoming in MAC Opener on Homecoming, View LiveStats

10/2/2009 2:01:17 PM

OCTOBER 3, 2009

MONARCH FOOTBALL HOSTING LYCO IN MAC OPENER ON HOMECOMING

WILKES-BARRE – A year ago, the Lycoming College football team was closing in on a Middle Atlantic Conference championship when it traveled to Wilkes-Barre Township to face heavy underdog King's at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex. 

The Monarchs, 1-7 at the time, stunned the Warriors with a 24-7 victory as Lycoming would eventually settled for an MAC tri-championship with Albright and Delaware Valley. The Warriors, however, would also garner the MAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III national playoffs by virtue of a pre-determined conference tie-breaking criteria.

When the teams meet again Saturday at 1:00 p.m., once again at McCarthy Stadium on King's Homecoming Day, much will be different as the teams officially open up their respective Middle Atlantic Conference schedules.

First, each team went 1-2 in their three non-conference games to start the season.  Second, both squads will enter the game as if a new season were beginning and, for the final seven weeks of the season, all MAC teams starting Saturday are effectively 0-0.  And third, after last season's upset win, Lycoming will return to King's with vengeance on its mind while the Monarchs will look to prove the decisive victory was no fluke.
 
KING'S FOOTBALL ON THE AIR:
The game will be web cast live on the Internet by going to the WRKC LIVE link at the following address:
http://www.kings.edu/IITS/index.htm
 
Fans can also follow the action on LiveStats, an online statistical program that displays live play-by-play and statistics at the following link: http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football/


ABOUT THE GAME:
Today's game officially opens the 2009 Middle Atlantic Conference season. King's enters the matchup with a 1-2 overall mark after three non-conference games while Lycoming is also 1-2 after a trio of non-league contests. Lycoming was the 2008 MAC tri-champion and received the MAC's automatic berth into the 2008 NCAA Division III national playoffs.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the 18th all-time meeting between the programs with Lycoming holding a 12-4-1 advantage. The teams played last season at McCarthy Stadium with the Monarchs posting a 24-7 upset in a week-nine pairing on November 8.
 
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 68-99-1 with the Monarchs, five post-season playoff appearances since 2000, and the 2002 MAC title. Lycoming is coached by second-year mentor Mike Clark who is 8-6 at the Warriors' helm and won an MAC tri-championship during his rookie year in 2008.

LAST WEEK:
King's comes off a bye week. The Monarchs last played on September 19 at home against William Paterson where King's dropped a 2-6 verdict. Lycoming comes off a tough 32-29 road loss in Virginia to
Bridgewater College a week ago.

KING'S ON OFFENSE:  I-FORMATION
After three games, the Monarch offense is averaging 299.3 yards per-game of total offense, including 135.7 rushing yards and 163.7 passing yards. Senior quarterback Corey Lavin has completed 34-of-89 passes for 491 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions, while rushing for 121 yards  on 23 attempts. Senior tailback Claude O'Connor missed the last game with an injury and stands as a game-time decision. O'Connor is the top rusher with 152 yards on 32 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per-attempt.

Sophomore Phil Shaw follows with 121 yards on 25 carries, averaging 4.8 each per-rush. Senior wide receiver Mike Verbitski has a team-high 14 catches for 286 yards and four touchdowns, including a 20.4 yards per-reception average. Rob Lane follows with nine receptions for 117 yards. Sophomore Glenn Ford has made five catches for 46 yards while senior tight end Justin Dalton has registered three catches for 21 yards. Junior tight end Ken Loomis has two receptions and two touchdowns.
 
LYCOMING ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE PRO-STYLE
The Lycoming offense enters the game averaging 259.0 yards of total offense per-game, including 134.0 rushing yards and 125.0 passing yards. The Warrior attack is led by junior tailback Josh Kleinfelter who has rushed for 300 yards on 66 carries with two touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per-carry. He has also caught four passes for 27 yards. Senior tailback Mark Rosa adds 112 yards on 28 carries with one score.

Senior quarterback Colin Dwyer has completed 38-of-76 passes for 375 yards with four  touchdowns and five interceptions. Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wagaman tops the squad with 11 catches for 162 yards and one touchdown. Junior Josh Dixon follows with seven receptions for 71 yards. Sophomore Sean Saylor contributes with four catches for 33 yards and one touchdown.

KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
King's defense yielded an average of 390.3 yards of total offense per-game, including 239.7 yards on the ground and 150.7 through the air. Freshman linebacker Ryan Cordingly has tallied a team-high 34 tackles, including 17 solo stops. Sophomore linebacker P.J. Nivens follows with 24 tackles, including 14 solo hits. Junior defensive end Ryan Nelson adds 22 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Eric Fay has registered 20 tackles while junior tackle Craig Geibert and junior safety John Cuiffo contribute 14 tackles apiece. Geibert also owns a team-high three fumble recoveries.

Sophomore cornerback Mike Schifalacqua has made 12 tackles with an interception. Senior defensive lineman Christian Becker has 12 tackles with three tackles for loss while junior defensive end Vince Pabst also has 12 tackles with one quarterback sack. Freshman linebacker Ryan Kelly tacks on 11 tackles while senior defensive end Justin Zlotek and senior defensive end Clyde Towns chip in with 10 tackles each.
 
LYCOMING ON DEFENSE: 4-3
The Warrior defense is allowing 321.7 yards per-game, including 134.0 rushing yards and 187.7 passing yards each contest. Junior Chuck Bellito leads the unit with 24 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass interceptions. Sophomore defensive end Anthony Marascio follows with 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles fro loss, and 1.5 sacks. Junior linebacker Kevin Hoben adds 18 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss.

Freshman cornerback Matt Talarico contributes with 16 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Junior linebacker Dan Cassidy has also posted 16 tackles while junior linebacker Pat McAfee has tallied 15 stops. Junior cornerback Jim Daley has garnered 13 tackles and two interceptions while senior defensive end Kyle Murren totals 11 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. Senior tackle Ted Geurds chips in with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

NEXT WEEK:
The Monarchs travel to Chester, Pa. to face Widener University.  Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Leslie C. Quick Stadium.
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