SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

KING'S FOOTBALL HEADING TO NJ TO FACE FDU-FLORHAM FRIDAY NIGHT

WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College football team will resume Middle Atlantic Conference play in its only Friday night matchup of the season when the Monarchs travel to Madison, NJ to face FDU-Florham at 7:00 p.m. Robert T. Shields Field.

The Monarchs are looking to rebound from its second loss in as many games after dropping a 41-6 verdict to 25th ranked Widener University Saturday in Wilkes-Barre.  The Devils, who did not make their season-debut until a week after the rest of the MAC, fell to The College of New Jersey 45-14 on Friday night.

The game matches up two programs in the midst of rebuilding. Monarch coach Jeff Knarr is in his third year at King's while Devil coach Brian Surace, a one-time King's assistant coach, is in his second season at FDU.         
       
ON THE AIR:      
FDU will voice stream its radio broadcast at: 
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fdu-football
   

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


ABOUT THE GAME:   
The game will stand as King's lone Friday night game of the season as the remaining seven games will played on Saturday afternoons. In the 2012 MAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll, King's and FDU were tied for eighth-place in the rankings.

ABOUT THE SERIES:   
This is the 20th all-time meeting between the programs with King's holding a 13-6 advantage, including nine of the last 12 matchups. FDU won last season's contest  17-3 in Wilkes-Barre. The Monarchs have won two of the last three games at FDU. King's last win at FDU was in 2008 when the Monarchs registered a 16-8 victory. The Monarchs also won at FDU 21-17 in 2006  King's last loss at FDU  was a 28-21 decision in  2009.   

THE COACHES:      
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his third season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 2-20 career record. FDU coach Brian Surace, a one-time King's assistant coach in 1995, is in his second year and is 1-10. His lone victory came against the Monarchs last season.     

LAST WEEK:   
The Monarchs fell to 0-2 on the year with a 41-6 loss to 25th ranked Widener University in King's 2012 home debut. FDU, meanwhile, dropped its season opener 45-28 at home to The College of New Jersey. The Devils led 21-14 until a one-hour and 10 minute lightening delay just prior to halftime. FDU lost its momentum during the delay and were outscored 31-7 the rest of the way.      

KING'S ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE-I                     
The Monarchs offense enters the game averaging 224.0 yards of total offense, including 131.5 passing yards and 92.5 rushing yards. Last week the Monarchs struggled against a veteran Widener defense, totaling 160 yards on 59 plays. Leading the offense will be sophomore quarterback 
Tyler Hartranft, a transfer from Susquehanna University. Hartranft, who alternated every two series in King's season-opener against William Paterson two weeks ago, made his first career-start against Widener a week ago.  Hartranft was effective in the first quarter but was sacked nine times, finishing the game  16-of-35 for 118 yards with two interceptions.  Overall, he is  23-51 for 214 yards and three  picks. 

Fellow sophomore Bryant Klein started the opener and was  5-for-8 for 43 yards while being sacked three times. Klein, however, was injured in the game and missed the Widener contest.  He will stand as a game-time decision against FDU but will not start. Freshman Tom Hehre is currently listed second on the depth chart.    

The running game has been paced by sophomore tailback Kyle McGrath as the 5-11, 215-pounder has totaled 135 net yards on 41 carries  with one touchdown. Junior Juden Goimbert as 49 carries on 10 attempts

Junior Dan Kempa tops the receivers with six catches for 85  yards while junior Josh Sanders follows with five receptions for  40 yards. Senior tight end Matt Henry has registered four catches for 34 yards while junior split end Jordan Buford also has four receptions for 34 yards.    
  
FDU-FLORHAM ON OFFENSE:    SPREAD   
In its opener last week FDU-Florham amassed 446 yards of total offense against TCNJ, including 342 passing yards and 104 rushing yards. Leading the offense is 5-7, 160-pound junior quarterback Mike Santos. A first-year starter, Santos was solid in the Devils' opener, connecting on 23-of-42 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Also leading the FDU offense in the opener was freshman running back Craig Kimbrough.  At 5-7, 156, Kimbrough makes up for a lack of size with speed and elusiveness. Against TCNJ he proved to be a multiple threat, rushing for 74 yards on 16 carries while catching seven passes for 108 yards and one score.

Senior Joe Tauriello  tops the wide receiving corp with seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown while Anthony Fruncillo, a 6-4, 222-pound junior, made four catches for 42 yards.  Fellow junior Bryan Soletto caught two passes for 31 yards  while sophomore James Ognibene  caught a 24-yard touchdown.     

KING'S ON DEFENSE:    MULTIPLE 3-4   
King's defense performed admirably against a potent Widener offense, allowing 329 yards of total offense.  On the year the Monarchs have yielded just 290.0 yards of total offense per-game, including 192.5 passing yards and 97.5 rushing yards.

Leading the way defensively for King's is sophomore safety Kris Matthews who has posted a team-high 16 tackles, including nine solo stops and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Ryan Kelly follows with 13 total tackles and a forced fumble. Senior defensive end Ron Garrett has registered eight tackles  while freshman cornerback Tyler Cruz checks in with seven tackles while breaking up three passes. Junior Ben Ray also has seven tackles while sophomore linebacker Chad Curtice contributes six stops.

King's is looking to the hopeful return of two  of its top defensive players who missed the Widener game with injuries. Junior linebacker Jake Ksiaziewicz posted a team-high eight tackles while adding two quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Ryan Cordingly followed with seven tackles and two tackles for loss. Both will likely be game-time decisions.       

FDU-FLORHAM ON DEFENSE:    3-4   
Defensively, FDU-Florham allowed 535 yards of total offense last week, but the majority came after action resumed following the lightening delay. The Devils allowed 227 rushing yards and 308 passing yards.

Junior linebacker Mike Mancino topped the Devils with 17 tackles in the game. He was followed by senior linebacker Charlie Thomas with 14 stops and two tackles for loss. Senior safety Joe Mancini has made eight tackles with nine tackle for loss while senior linebacker Dan Hicks and senior cornerback Shane Roland both add eight tackles apiece. Sophomore linebacker Nick Barber and  sophomore safety Anthony Alecci chipped in with seven tackles each.   

NEXT WEEK:   
King's will return home on Saturday when the Monarchs host first-year varsity football program Misericordia University at 1:00 p.m. in McCarthy Stadium in a matchup of local sports rivals. The first-time meeting between the two teams will take place on King's 2012 Homecoming.