OCTOBER 2, 2010
KING'S FOOTBALL FALLS TO LYCOMING 31-24 IN MAC OPENER
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WILLIAMSPORT – Senior tailback Josh Kleinfelter, the leading rusher in the Middle Atlantic Conference, rushed for 216 yards on 29 carries and scored two touchdowns as host Lycoming College posted a 31-24 victory over a game King's College in the MAC opener for both teams Saturday at David Person Field in Williamsport.
With the win, Lycoming won its third straight game while improving to 3-1 and 1-0 in the MAC while King's fell to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in MAC play.
On the first possession of the game Lycoming immediately threatened when Warrior quarterback Zach Klinger hit Mark Brian for 11 yards, and then found Josh Dixon for 32 yards to the King's 18. Controversy would quickly surface on the next play when King's safety Jim McHugh picked off Klinger at the 12-yard line and raced untouched down the left sideline for what would have been an easy touchdown. But an inadvertent whistle by game officials mistakenly ruled McHugh down and nullified the return. The play would later come back to have a large impact in the game.
After King's punted, the Warriors would reach the King's 48. But the Monarch defense came up with another turnover when Andrew Yablosky intercepted Klinger at the King's 36.
The Monarchs would take advantage of the turnover when King's faced a third-and-seven from the 39 and Corey Lavin found Glenn Ford for nine yard and a first down at the Monarch 48. On a third-and six from the Lycoming 47, King's again converted when Lavin hooked up with fullback Jordan Haddock for nine yards to the Lycoming 39. On second down, Lavin hit tailback Eric Ofcharsky out of the backfield for 13 yards to the Lycoming 21. The drive stalled and the Monarchs took a 3-0 lead when Ryan Cain drilled a 37-yard field goal with 1:55 left in the first quarter.
Lycoming took over at its own 30 on the ensuing kickoff and again began to drive. Parker Showers carried for seven yards and a five-yard encroachment penalty on the Monarchs gave the Warriors a first down at their own 42. On third-and-seven from their own 44, Klinger found Ryan Wagaman for nine yards at the King's 47 on the final play of the first quarter. Warren Oliver then followed with a 19-yard run on a reverse to the Monarch 34. A holding penalty on Lycoming, however, would move the ball back to the Monarch 44. After a four-yard sack by Ryan Kelly at the 44, Klinger avoided another sack on the next play and scrambled for 20 yards and a first down at the Monarch 24. But the King's defense held and Lycoming tied the score at 3-3 on a 35-yard field goal by T.J. Chiarolanza with 10:52 left in the half
King's was again forced to punt and the Warriors took over at their own 24. After three Kleinfelter runs for 24 yards were sandwiched around an incomplete pass, Lycoming moved to the King's 48. Another incomplete pass and a three-yard run by Kleinfelter set up a third-and-seven from the King's 49. From there, Klinger hit Oliver for 15 yards to the Monarch 34. Runs of five and six yards by Kleinfelter gave the Warriors a first down at the 24. The Lycoming senior tailback then broke through the middle for 20 yards to the Monarch three. On the next play Kleinfelter would score as the Warriors took their first lead of the game. Chiarolanza made good on the extra-point kick as Lycoming built a 10-3 advantage with 4:50 on the clock, a lead the Warriors would take into the halftime break.
Lycoming forced a King's punt on the first possession of the second half and immediately went to work when Kleinfelter broke free for 54 yards on first down to the Monarch 20. After two run plays netted seven yards, Lycoming face a third-and-three from the King's 11. On the next play Klinger found fullback Mike Reese alone in the end zone for a Warrior touchdown. Chiarolanza added the point-after as the Lycoming lead grew to 17-3 with 11:42 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ofcharsky would rip off a 37-yard return to the Monarch 48. On the first play, Lavin hooked up with Abdalla for 26 yards to the Warrior 26. An 11-yard pass to Ken Loomis then gave King's a first-down at the 15. After a one-yard run by Ofcharsky and a four-yard pass to Haddock, King's would face a third-and-five play from the Lycoming 10. Lavin was forced from the pocket and threw the ball out of bounds. The Monarchs settled for a 27-yard field goal by Cain to cut the Lycoming lead to 17-6 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing possession, Klinger got the Warriors driving again with a 36-yard pass to Wagaman at the Monarch 24. Three plays later, Klinger found Peterson out of the backfield again for a 24-yard scoring play to extend the Warrior lead. Chiarolanza's conversion kick was good as Lycoming's advantage grew to 24-6 with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter.
King's looked to respond when Lavin hit Jay Torres for nine yards to the 48 and a three-yard run by the Monarch signal-caller picked up a first down at the Warrior 49. On a third-and-nine play, Lavin found Abdalla down the middle for 41 yards to the Lycoming seven. After two short runs set King's up with a third-and-goal from the two, King's pulled a rabbit from its hat when Ofcharsky took a handoff and headed to the middle of the line. The sophomore suddenly stopped and leaped into the air tossing a jump pass to tight end John Cuiffo for a Monarch touchdown. Cain converted the extra-point as King's cut the lead to 24-13 with 2:52 left in the third quarter.
Lycoming immediately responded when Klinger hit Wagaman for 34 yards on the first play of the next drive to the King's 46. Four straight carries by Kleinfelter would give Lycoming a first down at the 11. On the next play, Kleinfelter ran off right tackle and found the end zone to cap a six-play, 80-yard drive that lasted just 2:07 as the Warriors extended the lead to 31-13 with 0:51 left in the third quarter.
The Monarchs countered on its next possession as a 15-yard pass to Ford, a seven-yard run by Lavin, and an eight yard pass to Torres helped King's reach the Lycoming 35. But on second down a Lavin pass downfield was batted into the air and was picked off by Chris Kish at the Warrior 19 to end the Monarch threat.
Following a Lycoming punt, King's took over at its own 41-yard line. Lavin then found Torres for 37 yards to the Warrior 22. But after a short run and two straight incomplete passes, Cain drilled a 40-yard field goal, his third of the game, to bring the score to 31-16 with 9:39 left in the contest.
After forcing a punt, King's continued to fight back after Lavin completed two straight passes to Abdalla for 16 and 14 yards to the Warrior 40. A holding penalty on third down would thwart the Monarch drive and a fourth-and-19 attempt from the 49 failed as the Warriors took over.
The Monarchs continued to fight as Nick Goffredo forced a Kleinfelter fumble as Matt Henry recovered for King's at the Lycoming 48-yard line. The used eight plays before Ofcharsky scored on a one-yard run with 0:44 left, followed by a two-point conversion on a Lavin pass to Abdalla, cutting the lead to 31-24.
King's would attempt another onside kick but Lycoming recovered and ran out the remaining time to walk off with a victory.
Lycoming controlled the game statistically, outgaining King's 489-to-343 in total yards. The Warriors amassed 259 rushing yards on 44 carries while holding King's to 37 yards on 24 attempts.
Lavin completed 24-of-46 passes for 304 yards with two interceptions. Ofcharsky, who saw his first action since a week-two injury, rushed for 24 yards on 16 carries while catching five passes for 44 yards. Abdalla caught six passes for 108 while Torres had five receptions for 76 yards.
For Lycoming, Kleinfelter had 130 of his 216 yards in the second half to surpass the 3,000-yard career mark. Also for the Warriors, Klinger completed 14-of-22 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Wagaman caught five passes for 110 yards.
Defensively for King's, sophomore linebacker Ryan Kelly posted a career-high 17 tackles while McHugh and Edwyn Edwards followed with eight each.
The Monarchs will return to action Saturday at 1:00 p.m. when King's hosts Widener University on Homecoming at McCarthy Stadium. It will mark the Monarchs first home game since September 11.
