SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

KING'S FOOTBALL FALLS TO WIDENER IN MAC OPENER

WILKES-BARRE -- Senior quarterback Chris Haupt passed for 205 yards and four touchdowns and the Widener University defense held host King's College to 160 total yards as the visiting Pride posted a 41-6 victory Saturday at McCarthy Stadium.

With the win, 25th ranked Widener improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in Middle Atlantic Conference play while the Monarchs fell to 0-2 and 0-1.

King's opened the scoring midway through the first quarter after Dan Kempa returned a punt eight yards and Widener was flagged for a facemask penalty, giving King's the ball at the Pride 39. A Tyler Hartranft 10-yard pass to Kempa was followed by a roughing-the-passer penalty, advancing the ball to the Widener 14. After two rushing plays moved the ball to the two-yard line, King's tailback Kyle McGrath borrowed into the end zone off left tackle to get King's on the board. The conversion kick said wide-left as the Monarchs took a 6-0 lead with 3:20 left in the opening period.

Three possessions later, Widener caught a huge break when the Monarchs attempted to punt from its own 32-yard line and Kempa's offering slipped off the side of his foot and sailed out of bounds, giving Widener possession at the King's 30.

Widener drove to the King's eight-yard line. On second-and-goal, Haupt connected with Anthony Davis for an eight-yard touchdown pass. James McFadden made good on the point-after as Widener took a 7-6 lead with 11:59 left in the second quarter.

After a King's punt Widener took over at its on 33 and used five plays to reach the King's 37. On the next play, Haupt found Davis down the right sideline but the Widener wideout was stripped of the ball at the two-yard line attempting to reach the end zone. The ball caromed into the end zone where Davis fell on his own miscue for a touchdown. McFadden's kick pushed the score to 14-6 with 6:17 remaining in the half.

After a King's three-and-out punt, Widener assumed possession at its own 49. The Pride used nine plays to reach the Monarch 19. Widener would again find the end zone a play later when Haupt hooked up with Terrant Morrison for a 19-yard scoring strike to put the Pride ahead 21-6 at the 3:21 mark, a lead Widener would take into the halftime break.

On Widener's first possession of the third quarter the Pride forced another King's punt from deep in its own territory and a Davis 13-yard return gave the visitors the ball at the Monarch 35. On the second play of the drive Couve LaFate broke a tackle and scampered 35 yards for a Widener score. McFadden's conversion kick increased the lead to 28-6 with 12:47 to go in the third quarter.

Four possessions later Widener took over on downs at its own 34 when the Pride defense stuffed a Monarch fourth-and-three play. The Pride responded by putting together a nine-play, 66-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pergolese with 3:23 to play in the third, upping the lead to 35-6.

Widener would add the game's final score early in the fourth quarter with a defensive touchdown. With King's looking to drive, Monarch tight end Matt Henry caught a short pass from Hartranft at the King's 45. But Widener linebacker Dylan Ditmer stole the ball from Henry and raced untouched into the end zone. The ensuing extra-point was foiled after a bad snap but Widener built a 41-6 lead with 11:16 left in the contest.

The Pride outgained King's 329-to-160 in total yards in the game. Widener's defense was dominant in the second half, holding the Monarchs to just 43 total yards over the game's final 30 minutes. The Pride defense controleld the line of scrimmage, posting eight quarterback sacks in the game.

Haupt completed 15-of-29 passes on the day and hooked up with nine different receivers. Dom DePasquale caught four passes for 41 yards while Davis had three catches for a team-high 60 yards. LaFate led Widener runners with 41 yards and the Pride rushed for 91 net yards on 28 attempts.

For King's, Hartranft made his first career start and completed 16-of-35 for 118 yards and two interceptions, one which came off the hands of a King's receiver. McGrath, who rushed for a career-high 108 last week against William Paterson, was held to 27 yards on 14 carries. Kempa led Monarch receivers with four catches for 62 yards while Josh Sanders added four receptions for 23 yards. Henry chipped in with three receptions for 20 yards.

Defensively, King's was led by Kris Matthews with nine tackles while Nick Kaijla made eight stops.

King's returns to the field Friday when the Monarchs travel to Madison, NJ to face MAC rival FDU-Florham at 7:00 p.m. at Shield Field.