Matt Spencer
Junior tailback Matt Spencer will look to get King's ground game going against a stingy William Paterson defense

King's Football Set to Face William Paterson on the Road, Listen to Audio or View LiveStats

9/17/2010 11:23:56 AM

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

KING'S FOOTBALL TEAM EYEING FIRST WIN OF SEASON AT WILLIAM PATERSON

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College football team will be looking to register its first win of the 2010 season on Saturday when the Monarchs travel to Wayne, NJ to face William Paterson College in a 1:00 p.m. non-conference matchup at Wightman Stadium.

William Paterson will be celebrating Take a Kid to the Game Day as all children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.

Fans unable to attend will also be able to follow the action on LiveStats at:  http://sidearmstats.com/wpunj/football/

WRKC Radio will also provide an audio webcast at the following link:
http://departments.kings.edu/wrkc/

King's enters the game with an 0-2 mark after a heartbreaking 31-29 loss to Bethany last week. William Paterson, meanwhile,  enters the contest coming off a bye week. Two weeks ago the Pioneers opened their season with a  15-7 road victory at New Jersey Athletic Conference rival The College of New Jersey.  

The two teams met last season for the first time ever and the Pioneers walked away from McCarthy Stadium with a 20-6 triumph. William Paterson returns four offensive starters and eight defensive starters from that 2009 team which compiled a 5-5 overall record and a 4-5 mark in NJAC play. The Pioneers return five all-conference selections from a year ago, were predicted to finish fifth in the 2010 NJAC Preseason Coaches Poll, but were the “dark horse” pick to win the title in 2010.

Offensively, King's enters the game averaging 284.5 total yards per-game, including 123.0 rushing yards and 165.0 passing yards. Senior quarterback Corey Lavin runs the offense and has completed 21-51 passes for 323 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. His top target has been sophomore wide receiver David Abdalla who has made seven catches for 220 yards with all three touchdowns coming last week against Bethany. Abdalla is also averaging a whopping 31.4 yards per-catch. Senior tight ends John Cuiffo and Ken Loomis have both made three catches each.

The Monarch ground game will enter the game with a big question mark as sophomore Eric Ofcharsky, who rushed for 134 yards and registered 258 yards of all-purpose yardage against Springfield in week-one, was injured early in the game against Bethany and is expected to miss the game. Ofcharsky's status remains undetermined but could return for the Middle Atlantic Conference opener at Lycoming on October 2.  King's will enjoy a bye week next week after playing William Paterson.  

In Ofcharsky's absence, the tailback duties will likely be split by junior Matt Spencer and senior Brandon Murray. Spencer has 47 yards on 12 carries while Murray has picked up 24 yards on eight attempts.

Defensively, the Monarchs have allowed a two-week average of 392 total yards per-game, including 288.0 rushing yards and 104.0 passing yards per-game. Sophomore linebacker Ryan Kelly tops the unit with 23 tackles, including 11 solo hits. Sophomore outside linebacker Ryan Cordingly follows with 14 tackles and 2.0 tackles for 16 yards in losses.  Senior safety Edwyn Edwards adds 13 tackles while senior defensive end Craig Geibert has 12 stops. Senior defensive end Ryan Nelson posts 11 tackles while senior nose-guard Nick Bienke and sophomore linebacker Matt Henry chip in with 11 tackles each.

The William Paterson offense managed 347 yards of total offense in the game, rushing for 162 yards and passing for 185. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Gresik played the entire game and paced the offense by going 21-for-30 for 185 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Sophomore tailback Dawys German rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries while freshman Ray VanPeenen, a former walk-on at Rutgers, had 40 yards on 14 rushes while catching two passes for 24 out of the backfield. Leading the receivers was junior Joe Muraglia with seven catches for 70 yards and one touchdown. Fellow junior Matt Reggio followed with four receptions for 59 yards. 

Defensively, William Paterson was outstanding in the opener, allowing TCNJ a scant 135 yards of total offense, including just 17 passing yards.

Senior linebacker Jim Hamill was named the NCAJ Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago after posting a team-high 11 tackles against TCNJ. Senior defensive lineman Dylon Moore followed with eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Junior cornerback back Doug Dudek and sophomore safety German Decena added seven tackles apiece.

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