SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
KING'S FOOTBALL TEAM LOOKING TO GET BACK ON TRACK WITH FIRST-EVER MEETING AGAINST WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College football team will look to shake off its first loss of the season when the Monarchs play host to William Paterson University in the first-ever meeting between the programs Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex.
The Monarchs enter the game with a 1-1 record after dropping a 57-30 decision to Springfield College last week. William Paterson, meanwhile, returns to the gridiron after enjoying a bye week. The Pioneers are 0-1 thus far after suffering a 21-19 loss to Brockport Stats University in its opener two weeks ago.
A week ago the Monarchs struggled mightily against Springfield's potent triple-option offense, a system King's has not faced since 2002. The Monarchs performed admirably on offense in gaining nearly 400 total yards against Springfield. In facing William Paterson, King's will see a more traditional offense but must again contend with an opponent with outstanding speed. As a member of the highly-respected New Jersey Athletic Conference, the Pioneers annually face such noted programs as Rowan, Cortland State and Montclair State, along with Kean, and The College of New Jersey.
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:
ABOUT THE GAME:
Today's game is the third of the season for the Monarchs and the second for William Paterson. This is just the third time Kings will have played a regular-season game against a team from the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The Monarchs swept a two-year series from New Jersey City University in 1997 and 1998. The last time King's faced a NJAC team came in the 2006 ECAC Southeast Bowl where an injury-depleted Monarch squad fell to Kean University 37-0.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the first-ever meeting between the programs.
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 68-98-1 with the Monarchs, including five post-season playoff appearances since 2000, along with the 2002 MAC title. William Paterson is coached by Jerry Flora who is in his second season with the Pioneers after going 4-6 during his rookie year in 2008.
LAST WEEK:
A week ago, King's saw its record slip to 1-1 on the year as the Monarchs fell to Springfield College 57-30. King's defeated Randolph- Macon 16-10 a week earlier. William Paterson comes off a bye week. On September 5, the Pioneers dropped a hard-fought 22-19 decision to fellow NJAC member Brockport State.
KING'S ON OFFENSE: I-FORMATION
The Monarchs offense is averaging 369 yards of total offense per-game, including 164.0 rushing yards and 205.0 passing yards each contest. Senior quarterback Corey Lavin has completed 30-of-67 passes for 410 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for another 92 yards on 15 carries. Senior tailback Claude O'Connor leads the rushing attack with 152 yards on 32 carries, averaging 4.8 yards each attempts. Sophomore tailback Phillip Shaw has picked up 69 yards on 12 carries, averaging 5.8 each attempt. Senior wide receiver Mike Verbitski has caught a team-high 11 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 23.7 yards per-catch. Junior wide receiver Rob Lane has six receptions for 73 yards while sophomore receiver Glenn Ford has four catches for 36 yards. Junior tight end Ken Loomis adds two catches with two touchdowns.
WILLIAM PATERSON ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE
The William Paterson offense enjoyed a solid day against Brockport, picking up 350 total yards on the day, including 181 rushing yards and 173 passing yards. Sophomore tailback Marcus McKinney rushed for 99 yards on 21 carries, averaging 4.7 yards per-carry in the season opener. Senior quarterback Matt Marshall completed 15-of-34 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Sophomore tailback Corey Paladino tallied 35 yards on seven attempts. Junior fullback Derrik Rideg rushed three times for 17 yards while catching five passes out of the backfield for 59 yards, averaging 11.8 yards per-catch. Senior tight end Chris Schule caught three passes for 45 yards with one touchdown while sophomore fullback Kyle Hart hauled in two passes for 17 yards
KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
King's defense has yielded an average of 407.0 yards per-game after surrendering 589 yards to Springfield last week. The Monarchs have permitted 292.5 rushing yards per-game along with 114.5 passing yards. Freshman linebacker Ryan Cordingly has posted a team-high 18 tackles, including nine solo stops. Junior defensive end Ryan Nelson follows with 17 tackles, including three tackles for loss. Sophomore linebacker P.J. Nivens has also totaled 17 tackles. Junior defensive lineman Vince Pabst has made 10 tackles with one sack while senior defensive lineman Christian Becker also has 10 tackles with two tackles for loss. Senior safety Justin Zlotek, junior lineman Craig Geibert, and sophomore cornerback Mike Schifalacqua contribute seven tackles apiece. Senior defensive tackle Alex Watty and junior linebacker Nick Bienke chip in with six tackles each.
WILLIAM PATERSON ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE
The Paterson defense allowed 316 yards of total offense against Brockport, including 218 rushing yards and 98 passing yards. Junior linebacker Jim Hamill had a big day with 17 total tackles, including nine solo strops in the game. Senior linebacker Jared Burke posted eight tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss while senior defensive end Keith Sayball also added eight tackles. Junior defensive end Dyon Moore finished with seven tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss while junior safety Steven Bovo also added seven tackles. Sophomore bandit Doug Dudek, junior cornerback Leer Biddle, and freshman defensive tackle Leston Hall all registered six tackles in the contest. Senior linebacker Mike Lamego contributed with five tackles while sophomore linebacker Damian DiIorio and sophomore cornerback Andre Snead chipped n with four tackles each.
NEXT WEEK:
The Monarchs will enjoy a bye week and will return to the field Saturday, October 3 with its MAC opener against Lycoming College at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium. The contest will stand as King's Homecoming Game and will be the second straight year the Monarchs will have hosted the Warriors. King's posted a 24-7 upset win over Lycoming in 2008 in Week-9
