SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
KING'S FOOTBALL DROPS OPENER TO SPRINGFIELD, 31-7
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SPRINGFIELD, MA – The King's College football team dropped its first game of the season by a 31-7 count to 2009 ECAC Northeast champion Springfield College Friday night at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field. The Pride spoiled the head coaching debut of first-year Monarch coach Jeff Knarr who was making his maiden voyage on the King's sidelines.
Springfield struck first, capitalizing on a King's mistake on the second possession of the game when Matt Raymond intercepted Corey Lavin on a third-and-eight play at the Monarch 45.
The Pride struck quickly when Joe Myron picked 18 yards to the King's 22. Antoine King then added 11 yards to the Monarch 11. After Josh Carter followed with seven yards on an option keeper to the four-yard line, Alex Mendez scored on the next play with a carry up the middle. Ricky Peacock added the point after as Springfield took a 7-0 lead with 9:22 left in the first quarter.
Three possessions later with the ball at their own 22, the Monarchs turned the ball over again when Lavin was heavily pressured attempting to roll out and was picked off by Sam Goodwin who posted a four-yard return to the Monarch 18. The King's defense would hold and Springfield settled for a 32-yard field goal by Peacock to give the Pride a 10-0 lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
King's would assume possession at its own 30 and put together its best drive of the half. Lavin started the drive with a seven-yard run. After Eric Ofcharsky picked up two, the Monarchs faced a third and one from the 39. Ofcharsky then secured the first down with a five-yard run to the Monarch 45. On the final play of the first quarter Ofcharsky would carry for six more yards before Lavin found David Abdalla for 12 yards to the Pride 35. A four-yard run by Ofcharsky was followed by a 22-yard scamper by the Monarch sophomore tailback to the Springfield nine. After Ofcharsky followed up with a four-yard carry, Lavin was stopped for a one-yard loss on the next play. On third-and-goal from the seven, Lavin found Glenn Ford in the right corner of the end zone for a Monarch score. Ryan Cain added the conversion kick as King's drew to within 10-7 with 12:06 left in the half.
Springfield, however, quickly regained momentum with a seven-play 56-yard drive that was capped by a 19-yard run by Carter. Peacock added the conversion kick to give the Pride a 17-7 lead with 9:45 left in the half
Springfield would force a Monarch punt and assumed possession at their own 27 following the kick. The Pride then marched 73 yards on five plays as Tim Brady capped the drive with a 28-yard touchdown reception from Carter. Peacock made good on the point-after as the Pride lead grew to 24-7 with 6:52 remaining in the half.
King's caught a break two possessions later when Ryan Cordingly forced a Springfield fumble and Quincy Frederick recovered at the Pride 39 with 1:47 left in the half. The Monarchs, however, were unable to take advantage. A holding penalty forced King's back to the Pride 49 and the Monarchs continued to go backward on the next play when Lavin was sacked for an eight-yard loss to the King's 43. On the next play yet another sack of Lavin pushed the Monarchs back five more yards to King's own 38. The Monarchs were then forced to punt as Springfield took a 24-7 lead into the halftime break.
Springfield amassed 230 yards of total offense, including 151 rushing yards, in the first half compared to 89 total yards for the Monarchs.
On the first possession of the second half King's would begin to drive. Ofcharsky eventually hauled in a 33-yard screen pass down to the Springfield 27. The drive would stall, however, and Cain attempted a 33-yard field goal. The kick would sail wide and Springfield assumed possession at its own 20 as the score remained the same.
The Monarchs would force a Springfield punt and took over at its own 30. King's again began to march and used 14 rushing yards by Ofcharsky to reached midfield. Two short completions to Jay Torres and Ken Loomis then set up a third-and-one play from the Pride 41. On the next play, Lavin rolled out but drew heavy pressure from a strong Springfield pass rush. Lavin attempted to throw the ball away but was flagged for intentional ground, forcing the Monarchs into a fourth-and-11 play where King's punted.
Springfield took advantage on its next possession when Carter found John Schmalz all alone down the middle for a 71-yard scoring hook-up. Peacock added the point after as the Pride built a 31-7 advantage with 2:53 remaining in the third quarter.
King's again failed to convert when the Monarchs reached the Pride 38 midway through the fourth quarter. Springfield, though, put an end to the threat when Goodwin again intercepted Lavin at the Monarch 26-yard line.
Springfield finished the game with a 339-262 advantage in total yards. The Monarchs held the Pride to just 38 rushing yards in the second half.
The Monarchs fared much better this season defensively against Springfield than in 2009. In that game King's allowed a school-record 57 points, yielding 589 yards of total offense, including 488 on the ground.
King's was led offensively by Ofcharsky who rushed for 134 yards on 26 carries while catching three passes for 47 yards. Lavin was 11-of-28 for 101 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions while being sacked three times. Abdalla caught three passes for 27 yardsOf King's 262 yards, 173 came in the second half.
Carter paced Springfield with 65 yards on 13 carries and completed just 3-of-11 passes but managed 150 yards and two touchdowns.
King's will make its home debut Saturday when the Monarchs face Bethany College of West Virginia in a non-conference game at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex.
