OCTOBER 30, 2010

KING'S FOOTBALL SUFFERS 51-7 LOSS TO 8^TH RANKED DELAWARE VALLEY

BOX SCORE

WILKES-BARRE – Matt Cook rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns and the Delaware Valley College defense held visiting King's College to just nine rushing yards as the eighth-ranked Aggies posted a 51-7 Middle Atlantic Conference victory Saturday at James Work Memorial Field.

With the win, Delaware Valley improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the MAC while King's fell to 0-8 and 0-5 in league competition.

Delaware Valley would strike first following a short King's punt gave the Aggies possession at the Monarch 40. On the first play of the drive, Cook broke free for 34 yards to the King's six. After a five-yard run by Isaiah Hall moved the ball to the one, Cook scored a play later to give Delaware Valley the first score of the game, capping a three-play, 40-yard drive. Jake Sobchak made good on the point-after as Delaware Valley took a 7-0 lead with 7:12 left in the opening quarter.

Later in the first quarter, the Aggies would capitalize on a 26-yard punt return by Pete O'Hara, giving Delaware Valley possession at the Monarch 40. Hall ignited the drive with a 30-yard run to the King's 10-yard line. Cook followed with a nine-yard run, but the Aggies were flagged for an illegal procedure penalty, moving the ball back to the King's six on the final play of the first quarter. The penalty would make little difference, however, as Cook raced untouched into the end zone on the next play to extend the Aggie lead. Sobchak added the extra-point as Delaware Valley built a 14-0 lead with 14:57 left in the second quarter.

Two possessions later Delaware Valley again started with excellent field position following another short punt, assuming possession at the King's 44. Cook carried for four yards, and then added three more to set up third-and-three from the 35. Cook picked up the first down with a seven yard run to the Monarch 29, and the Aggies added another with a 13-yard run by Tyler Neal to the King's 16. After Neal carried for one yard, Hatty found Dan Heiland for 14 yards to the King's one. On the next play Cook hit pay dirt for his third touchdown of the game. Sobchack's extra-point gave the Aggies a 21-0 advantage with 5:34 remaining in the half.

King's looked to answer when the Monarchs drove to the Aggie 48. The drive would stall, however, and King's was forced to punt. The Monarch special teams came up with a big turnover when Pete O'Hara fumbled and Andrew Yablonsky recovered for the Monarchs at the Aggie 19.

A one-yard rushing loss and an incomplete pass forced the Monarchs into a third-and-11 play. From there, Lavin hooked up with Jay Torres at the Aggie three-yard line.  On the next play, Lavin again found Torres, this time on a slant play, just inside the goal line for a King's touchdown. Ryan Cain added the point-after kick as the Monarchs closed to 21-7 with 1:52 left in the opening half. It marked the first time the Aggies surrendered a first-half score at home all season.

The momentum was short-lived however, as Delaware Valley would strike quickly on its next possession. Beginning on its own 34 following the ensuing kickoff. A four-yard pass to Chris Ruiz was followed by a seven-yard completion to Heiland to the Delaware Valley 45. One play later, Hatty found Heiland all alone down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown pass. Sobchak added the extra-point as the Aggies took a 28-7 lead with 1:06 on the clock.

King's was unable to move the ball and the Aggies would get the ball back at their own 47 with 0:35 left following a Monarch punt. Hatty hit Heiland on a second down play for 30 yards to the King's 27 and found Rod Blango for five yards two plays later at the Monarch 22 with 0:07 on the clock.   The Aggie sent in the field goal team and Sobchak connected on a 39-yard attempt to give Delaware Valley a 31-7 lead at the break.

The Aggies amassed 308 yards in the first half, paced by 132 rushing yards by Cook. King's managed just 109 total yards, but was held to -13 on the ground by the Aggie defense.

On the first possession of the second half, King's was unable to move the ball and was forced to punt. The Monarchs caught a break when the Aggies were flagged for a roughing the kicker, giving the Monarch a second wind. Lavin found David Abdalla for 13 yards to midfield and a five-yard pass to Ofcharsky moved the ball to the Aggie 45. But on the next play, Aggie safety John Robinson picked off Lavin and raced 58 yards for a Delaware Valley touchdown. Sobchak's extra-point gave the Aggies a 38-7 lead with 10:34 remaining in the third quarter.

The Aggies would take over at the Monarch 19 following a botched fake punt by the Monarchs. On the first play, Cook would carry for 10 yards to give the Aggies a first-and-goal. Hall was stuffed for a three-yard loss, but King's was flagged for encroachment, moving the ball up to the King's four. On the next play, Cook burrowed up the middle and narrowly broke the plane of the end zone for his fourth rushing touchdown of the contest. Sobchak was good on the conversion kick as the Delaware Valley lead swelled to 45-7 with 2:56 left in the third quarter.

King's continued to fight and used a 17-yard pass to Ken Loomis, followed by an 11-yard completion to Abdalla to the Aggie 27. Lavin then found Ofcharsky for 10 yards for a first down at the Aggie 17.  The drive ended, though, when O'Hara intercepted Lavin at the one-yard line and returned the pickoff 33 yards to the Aggie 34.

Delaware Valley then used a 10-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hatty to Tyler Neal with 6:06 to play. Sobchack missed on the extra points as the Aggies extended the lead to 51-7.

Cook amassed his yardage in three quarters of play on just 17 carries, averaging 8.8 yards per-carry. Hatty completed 10-of-10 passes for 150 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Heiland made three catches for 48 yards while Joe Gionfriddo caught two passes for 69 yards and one score.

For King's, Lavin was 19-of-40 for 195 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Abdalla made seven receptions for 53 yards while Ofcharsky added six catches for 76 yards. Torres chipped in with four receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown. Matt Spencer led King's rushing with 11 yards on six carries while Ofcharsky had nine yards on 10 attempts.