SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

KING'S FOOTBALL TEAM HOSTING MISERICORDIA SATURDAY ON HOMECOMING, MEMBERS OF 2002 MAC CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM TO BE ON HAND FOR 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

King's Tailgating Policy

WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College football team will  return home Saturday when the Monarchs play host to Misericordia University in the first-ever meeting between the programs. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex. The game will also serve as King's 2012 Homecoming Game.

The game will stand as the inaugural meeting between a pair of local colleges who are situated just 9.6 miles from one another. It will also feature two teams celebrating their own milestones of sorts. 

King's is in its 20th year of varsity football after reinstating the program in 1993 This season, King's is also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its 2002 MAC championship and NCAA Division III National Tournament  “Sweet 16” appearance. Misericordia, meanwhile, is in its first season of varsity football and is in search of a historical first victory.
 
       
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 be available on the Internet via LiveStats at the following link:         
http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football/scoreboard.aspx              

The King's Mass Communications Department will also perform a first-time video webstream of the game. The game can be viewed at the following link:
http://streaming.kings.edu/kcsports


ABOUT THE GAME:   
The game is part of King's 2012 Homecoming and the first-ever meeting between King's (0-3, 0-2 MAC) and Misericordia (0-3, 0-2 MAC) on the football field.  King's was the last regional college to add varsity football, doing so in 1993.  Nineteen years later, Misericordia joins the ranks of MAC football.               

ABOUT THE SERIES:   
This is the historic first meeting between King's and Misericordia, colleges which stand 9.6 miles from one another. The colleges  have regularly played each in numerous sports over the years.   
 
THE COACHES:      
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his third season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 2-21 career record. Misericordia coach Mark Ross is in his first season with the Cougars after previously serving as defensive coordinator at Ithaca College.         

LAST WEEK:   
Both teams fell to MAC opponents. King's dropped a 30-14 decision on the road at FDU-Florham. Misericordia suffered a 67-0 setback at the hands of nationally-ranked Widener in the Cougars' first-ever home game.  King's fell to Widener 41-6 two weeks ago.      

10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MAC TITLE TO BE RECOGNIZED
Members of King's 2002 MAC championship team will be on hand in recognition of the 10-year anniversary of the program's lone MAC title. Among the players expected to return and serve as honorary captains are two-time Division III All-American defensive end Steven Wilson, the 2002 National Defensive Player of the Year, as well as fellow Monarch All-American defensive linemen Rubin Doster and Chris Keene.

KING'S ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE-I                     
Through three games the King's offense has averaged 243.3 yards of total offense per-game. The Monarchs have rushed for 110.0 yards each contest while passing for 128.0 yards. Offensively, the unit has been led by sophomore tailback Kyle McGrath who has rushed for 249 yards on 64 carries with one score. In his last game against FDU, he rushed for a career-high 114 yards on 23 carries. The offense will be directed by sophomore quarterback Tyler Hartranft who has started the past two games. Hartranft has completed 36-of-79 passes for 351 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions. Sophomore Bryant Klein, who started the season opener at William Paterson, missed the last two games with an injury but might be cleared to play against Misericordia. Klein was 5-for-8 for 43 yards in the opener. Sophomore split end Dan  Kempa has a team-high seven receptions for 106 yards while junior Jordan Buford follows with six catches for 63 yards.    Senior fullback Steven Duncan also has six catches for 59 yards while senior tight end and junior wide receiver Josh Sanders chip in with five receptions apiece.     

MISERICORDIA ON OFFENSE:    MULTIPLE   
The Misericordia offense enters week-four averaging 197.3 yards of total offense per-game.  The Cougars are averaging 99.0 rushing yards and 98.3 passing yards each game. Directing the Misericordia offense is  freshman quarterback Jeff Pickett who has completed 35-of-66 passes for 291 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He has also rushed for 51 yards. Junior tailback Cody Lamoreaux tops the running game with 174 yards on 40 carries. Freshman wide receiver Paul Brace has a team-high 14 catches for 140 yards. Freshmen receivers Shannon Johnson , Kurt Kowalski, and Tyler Rowe chip in with four catches apiece.     

KING'S ON DEFENSE:    MULTIPLE 3-4   
King's defense has allowed an average of 342.0 total yards per-game. The Monarchs have yielded 128.0 rushing yards and 214.0 passing yards each contest. Leading the way defensively for King's is senior linebacker Ryan Kelly who has posted a team-high 22 tackles this season. Sophomore safety Kris Matthews has also performed well with 22 tackles, including a team-high 13 solo hits. Junior linebacker Ben Ray follows with 15 tackles while junior linebacker Jake Ksiaziewicz also has 15 tackles with two sacks. Senior defensive end Ron Garrett and sophomore linebacker Nick Kaijala contribute 14 and 13 tackles respectively. Sophomore linebacker Chad Curtice has 10 tackles while rookie cornerback Tyler Cruz has 10 tackles ith a team-high three pass break-ups. Freshman safety Charles Fitch III chips in with nine tackles. King's is hoping for the return of standout senior linebacker Ryan Cordingly (7 tackles) who missed the last two games with an injury.       

MISERICORDIA ON DEFENSE:    3-4   
Defensively, Misericordia has yielded an average of 628.7 total yards per-game, including 335.7 rushing yards and 293.0 passing yards.  Freshman safety Brandon Salazar tops the unit with 16 total tackles.  Fellow rookie safety Ben Camacho follows with 14 tackles and an interception. Freshman linebacker Jordan Weber has registered 14 tackles while junior linebacker Angelo Scaffido contributes 13 stops. Freshman safety Michael Comerford has tallied 12 tackles while freshman linebacker Hunter Pates posts 11 tackles. Freshman linebacker Dom Picarillo and rookie cornerback Kevin Bagasevich chip in with 10 tackles each.   

BY COMPARISON:    YEAR ONE vs. YEAR ONE   
A quick glance at King's first season in 1993 versus Misericordia's first season in 2012 shows:               

• Back in 1993, it took King's until week-seven to pick up its first win when the Monarchs posted a  20-18 victory over visiting  Juniata College.  The Cougars are hoping their first win will come sooner.  

• Through three games this season Misericordia has been outscored 184-7 while the Monarchs were outscored  106-35 through three games in 2003.               
• In 1993, King's offensive line lacked size, averaging only 228 pounds per-man. Misericordia's offensive line currently averages 268 pounds.