OCTOBER 9, 2010
WIDENER FOOTBALL HANDS KING'S 36-21 SETBACK ON HOMECOMING
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WILKES-BARRE – Chris Haupt completed 16-of-31 passes for 169 yards and four touchdowns to lead the visiting Widener University football team to a 36-21 victory over host King's College on the Monarchs' 2010 Homecoming day.
With the win, Widener improved to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in Middle Atlantic Conference play. King's, meanwhile, fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in conference games.
After a scoreless first quarter, Widener took advantage of a short King's punt, assuming possession at the Monarch 39. The Pride would use three plays to reach the King's 20. On the next play, Haupt found Cedrick Clayton at the Monarch five and the Pride receiver raced into the end zone. Matt Breslin added the point-after as Widener took a 7-0 lead with 10:25 left in the second half.
Three possessions later Widener came up with a big turnover when Shane Szumski forced a fumble and Greg Walsh recovered at the King's38. On third-and-seven, Haupt holed up with Taylor again for a 35-yard touchdown to extend the Pride lead. Breslin again added the extra-point to give Widener a 14-0 lead with 5:46 remaining in the half.
King's responded on the next possession when Corey Lavin connected with David Abdalla for 10 yards and a six-yard hook=up to Jay Torres. On the next play, Lavin found Abdalla alone in the middle of the field and the King's sophomore raced untouched for a 59-yard scoring strike, Ryan Cain's extra-point was good as the Monarchs drew to within 14-7 at 4:10 of the second quarter, trailing by the same score at the halftime break.
In the third quarter, King's came through with a big special teams play when Evan Crisman blocked a Widener punt at the Pride one-yard line and Edwyn Edwards, who had just been named King's 2010 Homecoming King at halftime, fell on the ball in the end zone for a Monarch score. Cain's conversion was good as King's knotted the score at 14-14 with 9:14 remaining in the third quarter.
Widener answered three possessions later when the Pride drove 63 yards on five plays, hooking up with Clayton for the duo's third scoring combination of the day, this time from six yards out, as the Pride recaptured the lead. Breslin's point-after gave Widener a 21-14 advantage with 5:57 left in the third period.
With King's forced to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter, Widener came up with a huge special team play of its own. With the Monarchs forced to punt from its own seven, the Pride came up big when James Showell blocked the kick and Courtland Bragg fell on the ball in the end zone for a Widener score. Breslin's kick pushed the score to 28-14 with14:55 left in the contest.
The Monarchs refused to quit and used 12 plays to reach the Pride six-yard line. On the next play, Lavin found Glen Ford in the back of the end zone to cut into the Widener lead. Cain's conversion was successful as the Monarchs clawed back to within 28-21 with 9:34 left.
Two possessions later King's was forced to punt from its own 32 and a short 25-yard kick gave the pride possession at the Monarch 47. Widener drove to the King's 13 before Haupt tossed his fourth scoring pass of the day, this time to Adam Smith, to give the Pride a two-touchdown lead. Breslin made good on the extra-point kick to give the Pride a 34-21 lead with 2:14 on the clock.
Widener would add its final two points when Joe Wojceichowski sacked Lavin in the end zone for a safety to with 1:44 left to bring the final score to 36-21.
King's outgained Widener 365-313 in total yards on the day. The Pride amassed 185 rushing yards and 169 passing yards while King's could muster only 97 yards on the ground.
Clayton finished with seven catches for 97 yards and three scores for Widener while Adam Smith led the ground game with 46 yards on 14 carries.
For King's, Lavin completed 25-of-49 passes for 303 yards with two touchdowns but was sacked three times. Abdalla made seven catches for 106 yards while Ford added five receptions for 42 yards. Eric Ofcharsky rushed for 76 yards on 15 carries while catching five passes for 50 yards.
King's returns to action Saturday when the Monarchs travel to reading to play Albright College at 1:00 p.m.
