Clyde Towns
King's defense will look for a solid effort against a potent DVC offense

King's Football Hosting Delaware Valley Saturday, View LiveStats

10/30/2009 1:22:54 PM

OCTOBER 24, 2009
KING'S FOOTBALL FACING STIFF CHALLENGE WITH MAC CO-LEADER DELAWARE VALLEY ON TAP

WILKES-BARRE, PA -- The King's College football team will look to return to the win column when the Monarchs return home to McCarthy Stadium on Saturday.  However, the task will be an extremely difficult one as King's plays host to Middle Atlantic Conference co-leader Delaware Valley College.  Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.

King's enters the game with a 2-5 overall record and a 1-3 Middle Atlantic Conference mark but hopes to put an end to a two-game losing streak. Delaware Valley, which was an MAC tri-champion last year, stands at 6-1 overall and is tied first-place with Albright in the MAC standings with identical 4-0 marks. The Aggies are ranked 23rd nationally in the D3Football.com Division III national poll and are just outside the Top-25 of the American Football Coaches Association Division III rankings after receiving votes. The Aggies lone loss was a 31-13 defeat on September 19 to Wesley (7-0), which is currently ranked third by the AFCA and D3Football.com.

The Monarchs will be in search of their first home win this year as the Monarchs are currently 0-4 at McCarthy Stadium, while standing 2-1 on the road.  King's last home victory was nearly a year ago when the Monarchs posted a 24-7 victory on November 8, 2008 over eventual MAC tri-champion and NCAA Division III national playoff qualifier Lycoming.   

With Delaware Valley set to host fellow MAC leader Albright (7-0, 4-0) next week in what will likely determine the 2009 MAC champion, King's is hoping to play the role of spoiler.  With its goal of pulling off a late-season upset over an MAC title contender for the second straight year.  The game will also ark the second straight season Delaware Valley will have traveled to play King's at McCarthy Stadium.


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 SERIES:
This is the 24th all-time meeting between the programs with Delaware Valley holding a 13-10 advantage following a 34-19 loss at McCarthy Stadium a year ago. Delaware Valley has won the last six meetings against King's with the last Monarch win coming by a 35-24 decision in 2003. King's enjoyed a six-game win streak in the series from 1998-2003 prior to the Aggies' current win streak.

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 69-102-1 with the Monarchs, five post-season playoff appearances since 2000, and the 2002 MAC title. Delaware Valley is led by fourth-year mentor Jim Clements who is 27-11.

LAST WEEK:
King's comes off a 40-14 loss at Lebanon Valley College on Saturday. The Monarchs held a 3-0 lead, then saw Lebanon Valley use two long tpuchdown passes and an interception return for a touchdown to swing the momentum toward the Flying Dutchmen. The Aggies tallied a 21-7 road victory at Lycoming and enter the contest with a four-game win streak. Delaware Valley fell behind 7-0 two minutes into the game, but outscored Lycoming 21-0 the rest of the way to remain in the hunt for the MAC title.

KING'S ON OFFENSE: I-FORMATION
The Monarch offense is ranked fifth in the MAC with 338.6 yards of total offense per-game. The Monarchs are third in rushing with 163.6 yards each contest while standing eighth in passing at 175.0 yards per-game. Senior quarterback Corey Lavin has completed 52.4 (99-189) percent of his passes for 1,225 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while rushing for 308 yards on 57 attempts. Senior tailback Claude O'Connor ranks third in the MAC with a 101.5 yards per-game average, totaling 609 yards on 134 carries. Sophomore Phil Shaw adds 180 yards on 40 carries.
Senior wide receiver Mike Verbitski ranks third in the MAC with 38 catches for a conference second-best 639 yards. His 10 receiving touchdowns also tops the MAC. Rob Lane follows with 25 receptions for 297 yards. Senior tight end Justin Dalton has registered nine catches for 84 yards.

DELAWARE VALLEY ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE
The Delaware Valley offense ranks fourth in MAC total offense at 347.7 yards per-game. The Aggies are second in rushing with 168.7 yards while standing fifth in passing at 179.0 yards. The unit is led by senior quarterback Mike Isgro who has completed 57.4 (93-162) percent of his passes for 1,169 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. Isgro has also added 197 rushing yards on 52 attempts, injured his throwing shoulder against Lycoming and could miss the game. If so, junior Mark Hatty will likely start. Hatty is 4-12 for 69 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in five games this season. The Aggie ground game is led by junior tailback Matt Cook who tops the MAC with 109.0 yards per-game, totaling 763 yards while also catching 16 passes out of the backfield for an additional 156 yards. The receivers are paced by Chad Peterman with 21 catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Dan Heiland follows with 16 catches for 245 yards.

KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
King's is ranked sixth in MAC total defense, allowing 367.3 yards per-game. The Monarchs stand seventh against the run, yielding 158.9 yards and fifth versus the pass in permitting 208.4 each contest. Sophomore linebacker P.J. Nivens tops the squad with 56 tackles, including 39 solo stops and 2.0 sacks. Junior defensive end Ryan Nelson follows with 48 tackles with 7.0 tackles for 31 yards in losses and 2.0 sacks. Freshman linebacker Ryan Cordingly has tallied 47 tackles but has missed the last two games with an injury.  His status will not be determined until later in the week. Senior cornerback Brian Mitros has tallied 30 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss and an interception. Sophomore cornerback Mike Schifalacqua has also made 30 tackles while junior safety John Cuiffo contributes 28 tackles with an interception. Senior linebacker Eric Fay has registered 27 tackles while junior lineman Vince Pabst posts 25 tackles with 2.0 sacks. Junior lineman Craig Geibert has made 24 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.

DELAWARE VALLEY ON DEFENSE: 3-4
The Aggie defense tops the MAC with fewest points allowed, yielding only 12.3 points per-game. The unit is second in MAC total defense, allowing 258.1 yards per-game. Delaware Valley ranks third against the run (108.9) and first against the pass (149.3). Pre-season all-American junior linebacker Kyle Gesswein posts a team-high 59 tackles with 10.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. Sophomore linebacker Chris James follows with 54 tackles while fellow sophomore linebacker Ken Fowlkes adds 45 stops. Sophomore safety Ryan McCullough tallies 40 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss while sophomore linebacker Mike Jaskowski contributes 39 tackles with 3.5 for loss and 2.0 sacks. Junior safety Rob Eagles has posted 38 tackles with three interceptions while senior defensive end Derek Porter has totaled 29 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Junior end Garret Wooters chips in with 16 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks.

NEXT WEEK:
The Monarchs travel to Madison, NJ to face FDU-Florham. It will mark King's second straight season playing at FDU's Robert T. Shield Field.

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