NOVEMBER 14, 2009
KING'S FOOTBALL REGAINS MAYOR'S CUP WITH SEASON-ENDING 33-16 TRIUMPH OVER WILKES
WILKES-BARRE – The Cup has returned!
Senior quarterback Corey Lavin (left) accounted for 246 yards of total offense while senior tailback Claude O'Connor rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns as the King's College football team saved its best effort of the season for last as the host Monarchs ended the 2009 campaign with an emotional 33-16 victory over cross-town rival Wilkes University Saturday at McCarthy Stadium.
With the win, King's concluded the season with a 3-7 overall record and a 2-5 Middle Atlantic Conference mark while snapping a six-game losing streak at the hands of the Colonels. Wilkes saw its Eastern College Athletic Conference bowl aspirations take a hit as the Colonels fell to 6-4 and 4-3 in the MAC while seeing its three-game win streak come to an end.
King's, which has started out of the gates slowly the majority of the season, came out on fire with an opening drive that set the tempo for the rest of the day. The Monarchs marched 69 yards on five running plays as O'Connor capped the drive with a 35-yard touchdown run, totaling 66 yards on the opening drive. The extra-point kick by Andrew DeRito was good as King's took a 6-0 lead with 12:40 left in the first quarter.
Wilkes answered right away with a seven-play 60-yard drive that concluded with a 22-yard touchdown run by Zach Tivald. Chris Horn added the point-after kick as the Colonels took a 7-6 lead with 9:43 remaining in the opening quarter.
After Wilkes forced a King's punt, the Colonels took over possession at their own 27-yard-line. The Colonels moved to the Monarch 32 before King's was flagged for a pass interference penalty, giving the Colonels a first-down at the King's 17. Two plays later Tivald would score from 11 yards out to extend the Wilkes lead. Horn's point-after kick was wide as the Colonels took a 13-6 with 1:44 left in the first quarter.
King's immediately answered on its next possession when Lavin hooked up with Mike Verbitski for a 45-yard completion to the Colonel seven. Two plays later O'Connor would score his second touchdown of the day from two-yards out close the scoring gap. DeRito added the extra-point kick as King's knotted the score at 13-13 with 14:57 remaining in the second quarter.
The Monarchs would regain possession at their own 29 following a Wilkes punt. On the first play of the drive. O'Connor rushed for six yards but was stripped of the ball struggling for extra yardage as the Colonels would recover at the King's 35.
An 11-yard pass from Rob Johnson to Gennaro Zangardi would move Wilkes to the Monarch 24. King's defense would stiffen and after two short runs and an incomplete pass, the Colonels were forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Horn, recapturing a 16-13 lead with 10:43 left in the half.
The Monarchs again looked to counter and used a 45-yard run on a reverse by Verbitski to reach the Colonel 19. King's would reach the Wilkes five-yard line but the Colonel defense held firm.. The Monarchs sent out the field goal team but DeRito's 23-yard attempt was blocked by Corey Gilroy as the Colonels maintained their three-point lead. The Monarchs would force a Colonel punt and took over at their own 40-yard line where King's would begin a decisive drive. A 13-yard pass to Verbitski and an eight-yard run by O'Connor were sandwiched around runs of six, eight, and six yards by Lavin.
On a critical fourth-and-three-play form the Colonel 34, the Monarchs would bypass the field goal and used a key seven-yard pass from Lavin to Matt Ihlein to keep the drive going. King's would then reach the Wilkes three on an eight-yard run by Lavin. Three plays later Lavin found the end zone on a one-yard quarterback sneak with just 0:09 left in the first half. DeRito's extra-point kick, though, was blocked by Ryan Clifford but the Monarchs entered the halftime break with a 19-16 lead and all the momentum it would need.
In the second half, King's defense came through with a huge play on the third-possession of the third quarter after the Colonels drove to the Monarch 28. On a key third-and-eight play, the Colonels would attempts a short crossing pass but King's senior defensive tackle Alex Watty posted his first career interception, shutting down the Wilkes scoring opportunity.
King's would take advantage thanks to Lavin. The senior signal caller used a 10-yard run on first down before coming up with the play of the day. Dropping back to pass, Lavin was forced to scrambled out of the pocket and barely avoided a sack with a stiff arm on a Wilkes defender. Lavin proceeded down the right sideline before cutting all the way across the field before being driven out of bounds on the left sideline for a spectacular 46-yard run. Three plays later Lavin found Ihlein wide open in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown. DeRito's kick stretched the Monarch lead to 26-16 with5:42 remaining in the third quarter.
The teams traded punts over the next three possessions before the Monarchs would push across the final score of the day. Beginning at its own 18-yard line, This time it was O'Connor who did the damage, carrying seven times for 46 yards in the first eight plays of the possession. King's would eventually face a fourth-and-10-play from the Wilkes 33 when King's head coach Rich Mannello inserted back-up quarterback Joe Kirchon into the game. Lavin, who had separated his throwing shoulder during the team's previous possession but returned to the game, was unable to throw, prompting Mannello to insert his young reserve. Kirchon came through in a big way when he tossed a precise 21-yard pass to Verbitski to give King's a crucial first-down at the Colonel 12. Two plays later O'Connor would scored the final touchdown of the game from one-yard out and DeRito added the extra-point as King's built a 33-16 lead with 9:23 left in the contest.
On Wilkes next possession the Colonels reached the King's 36, but on a fourth-and-10 play Johnson was sacked by Watty and Vince Pabst to end the threat with 8:10 on the clock. Two possessions later, King's cornerback Mike Schifalacqua intercepted Colonel back-up quarterback Marc Persing with 5:46 left to snuff out any possibility of a Wilkes comeback.
Statistically, King's controlled the game, outgaining Wilkes in total yards 518-to-209. The Monarchs amassed 396 rushing yards in the game while adding an additional 180 yards through the air.
Lavin was named King's most valuable player of the game, rushing for 142 yards on 17 carries with one touchdown while completing 6-of-12 passes for 101 yards and an additional touchdown. O'Connor, who rushed for 97 yards in the first half, gained a career-high 167 yards on 37 attempts in his final career game. Verbitski added three catches for 79 yards and broke King's single-season reception record, securing his 57th catch of the season, surpassing the previous mark of 56 receptions by Blake Letchford in 2005.
The Monarch defense was paced by Watty, Brian Mitros and Ryan Kelly with seven tackles each while King's defense accounted for five quarterback sacks and two interceptions.
Wilkes was led by Tivald who was selected as the Colonel's game MVP after rushing for 77 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. Johnson, meanwhile, completed 17-of-30 passes for 167 yards and an interception. Jordan D'Emilo and Zangardi finished the game with five catches each.
