Corey Lavin 5
Senior quarterback Corey Lavin will lead King's against Springfield in the Monarchs' season-opener Friday night

King's Football Team to Open 2010 Campaign Friday Night at Springfield

9/2/2010 1:57:42 PM

SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
 
KING'S FOOTBALL TEAM TO OPEN 2010 CAMPAIGN AT SPRINGFIELD

*Please note: Springfield will not be offering LiveStats. Nor will either team be performing a radio broadcast/webcast.  Updated scores will be posted periodically on the King's Home Page at top under "Upcoming Events".

SPRINGFIELD, MA --  The King's College football team will officially begin a new era on Friday when the Monarchs, under the guidance of first-year head coach Jeff Knarr, kick off the 2010 campaign with a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game at Springfield College at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Springfield, MA.

The  game will mark the first for Knarr as a head coach after the rookie boss took over at King's after an 11-year stint as an assistant coach at fellow NCAA Division III member Muhlenberg College.    

King's comes off a 3-7 campaign in 2009 while Springfield went 8-2 and won the 2009 ECAC Northeast Bowl. Springfield owns one of the deepest football traditions in the nation as football began at the college in 1890.     


ABOUT THE GAME:    
The game stands as the 2010 season-opener for both teams  and is the first of three-non-conference games to start the season for the Monarchs.  With Jeff Knarr taking over the reigns of former coach Rich Mannello, who stepped down after the 2009 season, it will mark the first  time since King's has had a new coach since the varsity program was reestablished in 1993 after a 30-year  hiatus after football was discontinued in 1963 during the Vietnam War era. Springfield, which began football in 1890, played its 1,000th game during its 2009 season-finale and has an overall 517-428-55 record.    
 
ABOUT THE SERIES:     
This is the second meeting between the teams as Springfield won a 57-30 shootout  last season at King's. The Pride's 57 points established a new record for points allowed in a game by the Monarchs in the modern era (1993-2009) of King's Football.

THE COACHES:    
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr makes his head coaching debut after  serving as a top assistant at Muhlenberg College since 1999. Springfield head coach Mike Clark enters his 29th year as a collegiate head coach and his 27th at Springfield, where he stands as the program's all-time winningest coach with a 150-110-2 record, as well as a 102-53 mark since the Pride dropped from being an NCAA Division II program to the Division III ranks.    
           
KING'S ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE - I     
The Monarch offense will have a vasty different look as King's will utilize more formations in   Coach Knarr's version of the I-Formation. The Monarchs  will be an extremely young squad on the offensive side of the ball as the team was hit hard by graduation, losing 9-of-11 starters. Leading the way will be fifth-year senior quarterback Corey Lavin who returns behind center. A year ago, Lavin  completed 131-of-262 passes for 1,675 yards and a school-record 18 touchdown passes.    

In the backfield, sophomore Eric Ofcharsky, a  transfer from Division II Kutztown, gets the start at tailback while senior Brandon Murray and junior Matt Spencer will share the back-up role.  At fullback, juniors Dan DiClementi  and Jordan Haddock will provide lead blocking.    

King's receiving corps lost  both starting receivers and its right end last season and will also have a much different look. Junior Glenn Ford is the most experienced receiver after making  11 catches a year ago. Sophomore David Abdalla, a sophomore transfer from Division I AA Monmouth has earned  a starting slot while senior Jay Torres, who has  served as a top return specialist, moves to wide receiver after missing the last five games if 2009 with an injury.  The tight end duties will be shared by senior Ken Loomis, who made three catches with two touchdowns in 2009, along with senior John Cuiffo, who moves from the safety position.    

King's biggest question mark lies in the offensive line as the Monarchs graduated four starters, including two all-conference  players. Senior Mike Stampone, who started at left tackle last year, moves to left guard in 2010.  Senior Phil Marinelli, a second-stringer in 2009, will get the start at left tackle.  At center, King's will start massive 6-7, 365-pounder Mike Blessing while junior Colvin  Forde  makes his first career start at right guard, as does senior left tackle Vince Pabst.       

SPRINGFIELD ON OFFENSE:  TRIPLE OPTION
Last season Springfield's potent triple option offense ran roughshod over the Monarch defense, amassing 589 total yards, including 488 rushing yards in winning the first-ever matchup between the programs. The Pride finished the year with a whopping 347.0 rushing yards per-game average, ranked second in Division III, while scoring at a 39.5 points per-game clip.     

Springfield is led by junior quarterback Josh Carter who completed  40 of only 84 passes all season long but tallied 719 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Carter, however, is masterful in running the Pride's split wishbone attack, running for 966 yards on 151 attempts, scoring 15 touchdowns and averaging 6.4 yards per-carry.     

Senior halfback Joe Myhren, who missed three games with an injury in 2009, is the top returning running back with 471 yards on 57 carries, averaging 8.3 yards each attempt. Against King's, however, he had an outstanding game with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, while catching two passes out of the backfield for 46 more yards and another score.    

Senior wide-out Tom Brady was the top pass-catcher with 19 receptions for 329 yards and five touchdowns.     
  
KING'S ON DEFENSE:    3-4      
King's defense will be asked to carry the load until its young offense matures. Fortunately for the Monarchs, defense is the team's greatest area of experience. King's will  also instill a new defensive philosophy under Knarr as the team switches to a 3-4 base after playing a 4-3 since the program's return.    

Leading the defense will be senior defensive end Ryan Nelson who was second on the team in tackles a year ago with 61 stops and 11.0 tackles for loss, including 4.0 sacks.  Senior Craig Geibert will move from defensive tackle to end and made 36 tackles with 3.0 sacks  in 2009. At nose guard, King's will start senior Nick Beinke, who made 15 tackles with 3.0 sacks as a second-string outside linebacker a year ago.    

King's strength would appear to be at linebacker with  the return of talented sophomores in Ryan Cordingly and Ryan Kelly.  Cordingly,  a rare starting linebacker as a freshman, was third on the team with 57 tackles despite missing three games with an injury.  Kelly, meanwhile, played in all 10 games and started the final five contests, finishing sixth on the team with 43 stops.  Two more sophomores will round out the other two starting spots as Nick Goffredo and Mike Briggs will both make their first career starts.    

In the secondary, King's will be bolstered by the return of  standout free safety Edwyn Edwards who missed the entire 2009 season with a leg injury. Edwards was granted an NCAA medical red shirt and maintains junior eligibility. Junior Christian Reese will make his first career start at strong safety, while junior Mike Schifalacqua, a returning starter, and  fellow junior Quincy Frederick, will man the cornerback slots.        

SPRINGFIELD ON DEFENSE:    4-3     
Last season the Springfield defense allowed 307.5 yards of total offense per-game, including just 113.8 yards on the ground. The Monarchs managed 399  total yards  but just 88  rushing yards as Lavin passed for a career-high 311 yards.

The Pride defense is led by fifth-year senior linebacker Ken Goodwin who was second on the squad in 2009 with 78 tackles, including 10.0 tackles for loss. Senior cornerback Tim Schumacher followed with 51 tackles and five passes broken up. Fifth-year senior defensive end Cody Flanigan  was fourth on the team with 48 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 5.0 sacks. Senior defensive end Chris Kulcsar chipped in with 39 tackles, 90 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.    
     

NEXT WEEK:    
The Monarchs will make their home debut under Coach Knarr as King's hosts Bethany College of West Virginia in the MAC-PAC Football Challenge at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex.    

The game is the first of a two-year agreement the Middle Atlantic Conference has made with the President's Athletic Conference. The series is similar to the ACC vs. Big 10 Basketball Challenge in that the first place MAC team from 2009 will play the first-place team from the PAC. The second-place teams will then square off against one another as the matchups continue  through the entire place standings. Both King's and Bethany were seventh in their respective conferences last season.
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