Ken Loomis

Monarch Football Traveling to Face Lebanon Valley, LiveStats & Radio Available

10/23/2009 11:18:25 AM

OCTOBER 24, 2009
 
KING'S FOOTBALL LOOKING TO FIND COMFORT ON THE ROAD SATURDAY VS. LEB-VAL
                                  (King's 2-4 on season, but 2-0 in away games)

WILKES-BARRE – When the King's College football team travels to Annville on Saturday to face Lebanon Valley College at 1:00 p.m., the Monarchs are hoping to continue a pattern that has worked in the team's favor thus far this season – success on the road.

King's enters the contest with a 2-4 overall record but both wins have come on the road. The Monarchs have gone 0-4 in home games this year but have posted a 2-0 record away from McCarthy Stadium. King's won its season opening contest with a 16-10 victory over Randolph-Macon College, before registering a 35-24 triumph at Widener, the team's first-ever victory in Chester, two weeks ago.
 
At LVC, the Monarchs will look to end a two-game losing streak to the Flying Dutchmen, who will be celebrating Homecoming 2009 at the Annville campus.


KING'S FOOTBALL ON THE AIR:
The game will be web cast live on the Internet by going to the following address:
http://www.wmssfm.com/live.shtml

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/lvc/football/

ABOUT THE GAME:
This game is the seventh of the season and the fourth week of Middle Atlantic Conference contests. King's enters the game with a 2-4 overall record and a 1-2 Middle Atlantic Conference mark. Lebanon Valley is 5-1 overall and 2-1 in MAC contests.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the 11th all-time meeting between the programs with King's holding an 6-4 advantage after a 34-7 loss to LVC a year ago in Wilkes-Barre.  In King's last trip to Lebanon Valley in 2007, the Monarchs dropped a 13-9 decision.  King's last win in Annville came by virtue of a 27-6 conquest during the 2005 campaign.

THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Rich Mannello, the longest tenured head coach in the MAC, is in his 17th year at King's. Mannello owns a current record of 69-101-1 with the Monarchs, including five post-season playoff appearances since 2000, along with the 2002 MAC title. Lebanon Valley is coached by Jim Monos who is in his 15th year over two different stints at LVC, posting a 64-93-2 mark.

LAST WEEK:
A week ago King's fell to unbeaten and 24th ranked Albright (6-0, 3-0) at home by a 34-6 margin.  Lebanon Valley went on the road to secure a 40-14 victory over FDU-Florham.

KING'S ON OFFENSE: I-FORMATION
The Monarchs offense is ranked sixth in the MAC with 337.0 yards of total offense per-game. King's stands third in rushing offense with 154.0 yards each contest while ranking sixth in the MAC with 182.8 yards through the air each contest
 
King's offense is directed by senior quarterback Corey Lavin, who has completed 54.2 (88-168) percent of his passes for 1,097 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions passes for 861 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for another 240 yards on 50 carries.  Senior tailback Claude O'Connor ranks third in MAC in rushing with a 105.7 yards per-game average, totaling 526 yards on 114 attempts and a 4.6 yards per-carry average. Sophomore tailback Phillip Shaw has picked up 145 yards on 32 carries, averaging 4.5 each attempt.
 
Senior wide receiver Mike Verbitski is second in the MAC with 34 catches, ranking first in the conference with 582 receiving yards, while scoring a school-record 10 receiving touchdowns, which ranks first among all MAC position players. Junior wide receiver Rob Lane has 23 receptions for 274 yards while sophomore receiver Glenn Ford has seven catches for 65 yards. Senior wide receiver Matt Ihlein has six receptions for 62 yards while senior tight end Justin Dalton also has six catches for 55 yards and one score.

LEBANON VALLEY ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE
The Flying Dutchmen enter the contest ranked second in the MAC in total offense, averaging 399.5 yards per-game. Lebanon Valley comfortably stands atop MAC rushing teams with 224.5 yards per-game on the ground, averaging 47 yards per-game more than second-ranked Delaware Valley (177.5).  The Dutchmen, however, rank last in MAC passing at 175.0 yards each contest, a misleading number directly affected by the team's success on the ground.
 
The LVC offense is directed by junior quarterback Caleb Fick who has completed 59.6 (65-109) percent of his passes for 837 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions.  The Dutchmen possess the deepest backfield in the MAC with junior tailback Ben Guiles and senior tailback Charlie Parker ranked second and fourth respectively in MAC rushing yardage. Guiles has tallied 107.3 yards per-game, totaling 644 yards on 87 carries, averaging a whopping 7.4 yards per-carry. Parker, meanwhile, has 437 yards on 98 carries, averaging 4.5 yards each attempt. In the team's victory over FDU-Florham last week, he tallied 81 yards to become the all-time leading rusher in Lebanon Valley history with 3,178 yards. The Dutchmen receivers are led by senior wide receiver Joe Donovan who has 25 catches for 274 yards. Fellow senior wide-out Joe Brennan has made 18 receptions for 427 yards with five touchdowns while averaging 23.7 yards each catch.

KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
King's defense is ranked fifth in MAC total defense, yielding an average of 359.7 yards per-game. The Monarchs are sixth in rushing defense in allowing 148.7 yards on the ground. Excluding the 488 rushing yards allowed to Springfield in week-two, the King's defense has surrendered just 80.8 rushing yards per-game in the remaining five games. King's also ranks third in pass defense, allowing 211.0 yards per-game through the air.

The defense has been led by freshman linebacker Ryan Cordingly has posted a team-high 47 tackles, including 24 solo stops. Sophomore linebacker P.J. Nivens has notched 44 tackles with 3.0 for losses and two sacks. Junior defensive end Ryan Nelson follows with 41 tackles, including 7.0 tackles for loss and two sacks. Senior cornerback Brian Mitros adds 30 tackles, with 4.0 for loss. Sophomore cornerback Mike Schifalacqua and junior safety John Cuiffo have posted 27 tackles each. Senior linebacker Eric Fay has 26 tackles while junior tackle Craig Geibert tallies 20 tackles, including 4.0 for loss and 2.0 sacks. Junior defensive lineman Vince Pabst and senior safety Justin Zlotek have made 19 tackles apiece while senior lineman Christian Becker contributes 16 stops with 4.0 tackles for loss. Senior tackle Alex Watty and freshman linebacker Ryan Kelly chip in with 14 tackles each.
 
LEBANON VALLEY ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
The LVC defense is ranked third overall in the MAC in allowing 315.8 yards of total offense per-game. The Dutchmen stand first in rushing defense, yielding only 79.5 yards on the ground per-game. LVC is also sixth in pass defense, permitting teams to throw for 236.3 yards each contest.
 
Senior linebacker Will Keylor tops the squad with 45 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for 28 yards in losses and 2.5 sacks. Junior linebacker Alex Gilchrist follows with 31 tackles, 9.0 tackles for losses of 55 yards, and 4.5 sacks.  Senior linebacker Bruno Iozzo adds 30 tackles while sophomore defensive end Cory Homer contributes 29 tackles, 6.0 for losses of 20 yards, and 2.0 sacks. Senior cornerback Matt Lillis has 127 tackles while junior defensive end Zach Bleiler has registered 26 tackles, 10.0 for loses of 52 yards, and an MAC-leading 7.5 sacks. Senior linebacker Jeff Ochoa also chips in with 26 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Overall, the LVC defense has tallied a conference-best 21 sacks.

NEXT WEEK:
The Monarchs host second-place Delaware Valley College at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex.
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