OCTOBER 6, 2011

KING'S FOOTBALL LOOKING TO REBOUND SATURDAY WHEN MONARCHS HOST LYCOMING

WILKES-BARRE --  The King's College football team will look to get back on track Saturday when the Monarchs continue rugged rugged stretch against the top of the Middle Atlantic Conference ladder when Lycoming College travels to McCarthy Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. contest.
                               
The MAC scheduling Gods were hardly kind to King's, which has suffered back-to-back losses to MAC contenders Albright College and Widener University the past two weeks. The Monarchs will now face the difficult task of attempting to right the ship against Lycoming, one of the traditionally best programs in the MAC, before King's faces defending conference champion Delaware Valley in its next game.

The Monarchs struggled mightily the past two weeks against the two premier offensive squads in the MAC. In Lycoming,  King's will now test its wares against the top-ranked defense in the MAC. Lycoming ranks first in the MAC in rushing defense, passing defense, and total defense behind a veteran unit with nine returning starters. King's offense, meanwhile, is ranked last in the MAC in rushing offense, passing offense, and total offense.

The past two weeks the Monarchs have allowed points in a number of different ways. From offensive and defensive touchdowns to safeties off of errant snaps from center while attempting to punt, the result has been a total of 127 points surrendered the past two weeks, factoring into a 63.5 points per-game average.


ON THE AIR:               
King's student radio station WRKC 88.5 FM will broadcast the game, which will also be voice streamed over the Internet at the following link: http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html       

The game will also be available on the Internet via LiveStats at the following link:         
http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football/index.htm

ABOUT THE GAME:   
Today's game marks the week-four in the Middle Atlantic Conference. King's enters the contest looking to rebound after dropping its last two league games to stand at 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the MAC. After suffering a 31-28 loss to Widener in the MAC opener two weeks ago, Lycoming reasserted itself following a bye week to handle previously unbeaten Albright, improving to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.    

ABOUT THE SERIES:   
This is the 21st all-time meeting between the programs with Lycoming owning a 14-5-1 advantage. Last season the Warriors defeated King's 31-24 in Williamsport. Lycoming has won three of the past five games with King's last victory coming by a 24-7 margin in 2008 in Wilkes-Barre.      
      
THE COACHES:      
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his second season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 2-12 career record. Lycoming head coach Mike Clark is his fourth year with the Warriors and is 20-15.         

LAST WEEK:   
A week ago King's  suffered the worst loss in program history with a 70-0 defeat at Widener University. Lycoming, meanwhile, posted a  35-13 decision over a previously undefeated Albright College that defeated King's 57-17 a week  earlier. 

KING'S ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE-I                     
The Monarchs offense struggled last week at Widener, gaining 143 yards of total offense. As a whole this season, King's is averaging 282.0 total yards per-game, including 212.0 passing yards and 70.0 rushing yards. Senior quarterback Joe Kirchon directs the offense and has completed 53.5 (68-127) percent of his passes for 800 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Sophomore tailback Eric Ofcharsky leads the team with 168 rushing yards on 49 carries and two touchdowns while adding seven games out of the backfield. Ofcharsky, however, missed the Widener game with a leg injury and is expected to miss the Lycoming contest. Senior fullback Jordan Haddock has rushed for 80 yards on 12 carries while catching 15 passes for 76 yards. Senior tailback Matt Spencer adds 109 yards on 26 attempts while freshman Kyle McGrath, who will move to the back-up spot if Ofcharsky is able to play, has 43 yards on 13 carries. Topping the receivers is  senior Jay Torres with 19 catches for 358 yards and three touchdowns. Senior tight end Glen Ford adds 10 receptions for 104 yards while sophomore split ends Chris Greene and Tommy Armellino chip in with nine and eight catches respectively.

LYCOMING ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE PRO STYLE   
The Lycoming offense has been steady all season, averaging 318.0 total yards per-game. The Warriors have been balanced with averages of 153.0 rushing yards and 165.0 passing yards each contest. Leading the offensive attack is junior quarterback Zach Klinger who has completed 59-117 (50.4 percent) of his passes for 660 yards with four touchdowns but has yet to throw an interception. Klinger is also a capable runner, totaling 101 yards on 38 attempts. The Warriors running game is paced by the tailback combination of junior Parker Showers and freshman Craig Needhammer.  Showers tops the squad with 237 yards on 68 carries with one touchdown while also catching 12 passes out of the backfield for 67 yards. Needhammer follows with 149 yards  on 26 attempts for a 5.7 yards per-carry average with four scores. Leading the list of receivers is junior split end Jarrin Campman with 16 catches for 159 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Warren Oliver adds 12 receptions for 286 yards and three touchdowns.      

KING'S ON DEFENSE:    MULTIPLE 3-4   
King's defense has yielded an average of 446.5 total yards per-game, but the last two games the units has surrendered an average of 595.5  yards the last two games.  King's is allowing an average of 142.5 rushing yards but is surrendering 304.0 passing yards each contest.  Junior inside linebacker Ryan Kelly tops the squad with 27 total tackles and one sack.  Junior outside linebacker Ryan Cordingly follows with 25 total tackles while  senior safety Jim McHugh adds 22 tackles with an interception and three pass breaks. Senior cornerback Mike Schifalacqua has made 16 tackles while breaking up three passes. Junior linebacker Matt Henry has made 15 tackles while fellow junior linebacker Jake Ksiaziewicz has posted 13 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss.  Junior defensive end Jake Lehnowsky has registered 13 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss while sophomore safety Chris Shuster also has 13 tackles. 
       
LYCOMING ON DEFENSE:    MULTIPLE   
A veteran Lycoming defense has been solid all year and allows opponents 168.0 total yards per-game, the best mark in the MAC. The Warriors have yielded teams a scant 41.5 rushing yards per-game while opponents have passed for 126.5 yards each contest. Leading the defense is junior linebacker Kabongo Bukasa tops the unit with 30 tackles, a sack, and an interceptions. Junior linebacker Corey Schuster follows with 22 tackles with an interception while sophomore defensive tackle Dwight Hentz follows with 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks. Junior safety Ryan Fenningham  has tallied 18 tackles with two interception while junior defensive end Nate Oropollo also has 18 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss with 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble. Senior defensive end Anthony Marascio posts 17 tackles with five tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Senior safety Ray Bierbach and  junior safety Matt Talerico contribute 15 tackles apiece. Junior defensive tackle Roger Jayne chips in with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. As a unit, the Lycoming defense has made 29 tackles for loss with 14 sacks in just four games.

NEXT WEEK:   
King's will enjoy a bye week, but will resume its rugged stretch of MAC games October 22 when the Monarchs travel to Doylestown to face defending MAC champion Delaware Valley College.

King's vs. Lycoming All-Time (Lyco leads 14-5-1)
1947 - T 7-7
1948 - W 12-7
1949 - W 6-0
1950 - W 31-0
1993 - L 41-21
1994 - L 35-0
1995 - L 48-0
1996 - L 51-18
1997 - L 42-3
1998 - L 28-13
1999 - L 41-0
2000 - L 41-24
2001 - L 20-14
2002 - L 24-10
2003 - L 31-21
2004 - W 31-28
2007 - L 6-24
2008 - W 24-7
2009 - L 24-21
2010 – L 31-24