OCTOBER 22, 2010
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College football team will return to action Saturday at 1:00 p.m. when the Monarchs play host to Lebanon Valley College at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium.
King's (0-6, 0-3 MAC) enters the game looking to post their first victory of the season under rookie head coach Jeff Knarr. Lebanon Valley is 2-4 and 1-2 in the MAC.
King's went 0-3 in their three non-conference games in preparation for the opening of MAC play. After a 31-7 loss to powerful Springfield College on opening day, the Monarchs fell 31-28 to Bethany, followed by a 14-7 loss to William Paterson. Three weeks ago, the Monarchs dropped their MAC opener with a 31-24 loss at Lycoming College. Two weeks ago, King's trailed Widener 28-21 in the fourth quarter before eventually falling 36-21. King's then suffered its third straight MAC game at Albright last week 38-14.
ON THE AIR:
The WRKC radio broadcast of the game will be voice streamed over the Internet at the following link: http://departments.kings.edu/wrkc/
The game will also be available on the Internet via LiveStats at the following link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football
ABOUT THE GAME:
The game represents week-four of the Middle Atlantic Conference schedule. King's will be playing the third of just four home contests this year. Lebanon Valley, meanwhile, is making only its second road trip this year as the Flying Dutchmen's schedule consists of a whopping seven home contests.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the 12th meeting between the two programs with King's holding a 6-5 advantage. Lebanon Valley has won the last three contests, including a 40-19 victory last season in Annville. The last time the teams played at McCarthy Stadium, Lebanon Valley posted a 34-7 victory. The Monarchs' last win over the Dutchmen was a 10-0 home triumph in 2006.
THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his first season at King's after spending the past 11 years as an assist at Muhlenberg College, serving the final four as offensive coordinator.
Lebanon Valley coach Jim Monos is in his 17th year with the Dutchmen but is in the seventh year of his second different term as head coach. Overall, he sports a 75-99-2 mark.
LAST WEEK:
King's traveled to Reading where the Monarchs suffered a 38-14 loss to Albright College. Lebanon Valley, meanwhile, rallied past FDU-Florham at home by a 33-21 count
KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE - I
The Monarch offense is averaging 285.8 yards of total offense per-game, including 93.2 rushing yards and 192.7 passing yards. Senior quarterback Corey Lavin runs the show and has completed 103-of-212 passes for 1,154 yards with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The ground game is paced by sophomore tailback Eric Ofcharsky who tops the squad with 371 rushing yards on 82 carries with one touchdown, while catching 18 passes for 163 yards. Junior tailback Matt Spencer adds 59 rushing yards on 16 carries. Sophomore David Abdalla tops the receivers with 26 catches for 486 yards and averages 18.7 yards per-reception with three touchdowns. Senior split end Jay Torres adds 17 catches for 215 yards and one touchdown while junior wide-out Glenn Ford also contributes 17 catches for 144 yards and one score.
Senior tight end John Cuiffo has caught eight passes for 47 yards and one touchdown while junior fullback Jordan Haddock chips in with eight receptions for 42 yards. The Monarchs are still in search of a consistent running game which has resulted in the lack of a run-pass balance. A young offensive line, which has only one returning starter from last year, continues to attempt to gel as a unit.
LEBANON VALLEY ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE
The Lebanon Valley offense enters the game averaging 343.3 total yards per-game, including 186.8 rushing yards and 156.5 passing yards. Leading the offense in junior tailback Ben Guiles who has rushed doe 688 yards on 124 carries with 10 touchdowns and a 114.7 yards per-game average.
The quarterback duties are manned by senior Caleb Fick who has completed 56-of-121 passes for 774 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing for 82 yards on 20 carries. Senior wide receiver Tim Picerno is the top target with 18 catches for 272 yards and one touchdown. Senior tight end Brendan Riley adds 12 receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore split end Kevin Greene also has 12 catches for 165 yards with one score.
KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
King's has allowed 389.3 yards of total offense per-game, including 216.2 rushing yards and 173.2 passing yards. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Kelly is third in the MAC with 68 tackles, including 2.0 sacks. Fellow second-year linebacker Ryan Cordingly follows with 44 tackles with 7.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks for 17 lost yards.
Senior safety Edwyn Edwards adds 39 tackles and an interceptions. Senior nose-guard Nick Beinke has posted 30 tackles with 2.0 sacks. Junior safety Jim McHugh has posted 28 tackles with two interceptions. Sophomore cornerback Andrew Yablonsky contributes 26 tackles with an interception. Senior defensive end Ryan Nelson has 25 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss, while sophomore linebacker Mike Briggs checks in with 25 tackles.
Senior defensive end Craig Geibert has made 24 tackles with 2.5 sacks while sophomore linebacker Matt Henry chips in with 23 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss.
King's defense will face a tall task in attempting to slow down one of the premier running games in the MAC. The Monarch defensive front will be at a large size disadvantage as the Dutchmen offensive line averages 272 pounds per-man compared to King's 228 pounds per-game average.
LEBANON VALLEY ON DEFENSE: 3-4
The Flying Dutchmen defense allows 342.0 yards of total offense each game, including 155.2 rushing yards and 186.8 passing yards per-contest. Junior defensive end Cory Homer tops the squad with 46 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Senior linebacker Jason Gigous follows with 43 tackles and three interceptions.
Senior defensive end Zach Bleiler adds 37 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks for 61 lost yards. Senior linebacker Alex Gilchrist contributes 36 tackles with 10.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. Junior nose-guard Nick Bowne has posted 34 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss. Senior safety Dane Eichelberger registers 29 tackles with two interceptions.
NEXT WEEK:
King's will travel to Doylestown on Saturday to face defending MAC champion Delaware Valley College in a 1:30 p.m. contest.
