OCTOBER 4, 2013
 
KING'S FOOTBALL LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN WITH ROAD TRIP TO MISERICORDIA

DIRECTIONS TO MISERICORDIA
 
WILKES-BARRE --  The King's College football team will be looking for its first victory of the season when the Monarchs travel to face local rival Misericordia University Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Mangelsdorf Field in Dallas. The game will also serve as Misericordia's Homecoming contest.
 
Ticket Prices are set at $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students.

King's enters the game with a 0-3 overall record while standing 0-2 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. Misericordia, meanwhile, is 0-4 and 0-3 in league competition. It will mark King's first-ever appearance at Mangelsdorf Field.

While the game will be only the second meeting between the programs, King's and Misericordia have played one another for many years in a wide variety of other sports. Misericordia had previously been a member of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and the colleges had engaged in numerous non-conference matchups. The Cougars would join local rivals King's and Wilkes in the Middle Atlantic Conferences when Misericordia gained membership into the league beginning in the 2008-09 academic year.
 
The Monarchs are looking to pick up their first win of the season. After an opening-week 21-19 loss to William Paterson on September 7, King's was forced endure a bye week on September 14. The Monarchs appeared rusty during its 38-17 loss at Lebanon Valley September 21 and showed improvement last week in a 48-29 defeat at the hands of a veteran Albright College squad.
 
With Misericordia starting varsity football in 2012, King's can relate to the challenges of starting a football program from scratch. The Monarchs rode their own path to building a program when King's made its varsity debut in 1993. 

The Cougars are searching for their first-ever victory after dropping their first 14 games. King's was able to manage its first victory in its inaugural season in 1993, posting a 20-18 victory over Juniata College in the seventh game of the season.


ON THE AIR:

LiveStats:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/misericordia/football/xlive.htm
 
Live Video:
http://mac.ezstream.com/
 
Live Audio:
http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html
 
 
ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the second all-time meeting between the programs with King's winning last season's contest 55-17 in Wilkes-Barre.
 
THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fourth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 4-29 career record. Misericordia coach Mark Ross is in his second year with the Cougars and is 0-14.
                                                           
LAST WEEK:
A week ago the Monarchs dropped a 48-29 decision to Albright College at King's Homecoming at McCarthy Stadium.  Misericordia, meanwhile, fell to the area's other local rival in Wilkes by a 33-14 margin.
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE-I
King's enters today's game averaging 21.7 points and 14.7 first downs per-game. The Monarchs have an average of 298.7 total yards per-game, including 223.3 passing yards and 75.3 rushing yards each contest.  King's is looking to get its running game on track. Through the first three games of the 2013 season the Monarchs have managed 226 net rushing yards, compared to 330 yards through the opening three games a year ago. Conversely, King's has passed for 670 yards through three games this season compared to 400 in 2012.

Junior quarterback Tyler Hartranft has completed 39-of-95 passes for 602 yards with three touchdowns and two interception. Junior tailback Kyle McGrath, the MAC's second-leading rusher in 2012,  has 163 yards on 52 carries, averaging 54.3 yards per-game and 3.1 yards per-carry. Senior tailback Judens Goimbert chips in with 61 yards on 19 carries with one score. Last season against Misericordia, King's rushed for 341 yards on 40 carries, averaging 8.5 yards each attempt.  McGrath posted a career-high 226 yards on 20 carries and averaged 11.3 yards each attempt. Goimbert, meanwhile, also posted a career-best 103 yards on 12 carries, averaging 8.6 yards each attempt.

King's receiving corp is led by junior Dan Kempa with 18 catches for 385 yards and three touchdowns with a 128.3 yards per-game average.  Senior wide-out Josh Sanders adds six receptions for 131 yards and one touchdown. With senior tight end Matt Richelmi to miss the game with an injury, King's will be relying on its freshmen tight end combination of Jay Thomas and Brian Atkinson.


KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, the Monarchs have allowed an average of 396.0 yards of total offense per-game. King's has performed well against the run in limiting teams to just 122.7 rushing yards, the fourth best figure in the MAC, but has surrendered 273.3 passing yards, ranking last in the conference. Junior linebacker Nick Kaijala ranks sixth in the MAC with 8.3 tackles per-game, totaling 25 in three games with 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Sophomore safety Anthony Martuccio follows with 22 tackles and a forced fumble while junior safety Kris Matthews contributes 21 tackles.
 
Senior linebacker Jake Ksiazkiewicz adds 19 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack while senior defensive end Ron Garrett has made 18 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss and one sack while scoring two defensive touchdowns on a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal.
 
Junior linebacker Chad Curtice has tallied 16 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks while junior defensive tackle Pete Santorelli adds 14 tackles, one sack, and an interception. Senior linebacker Ben Ray has made 12 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack while senior defensive end Billy Beinke has also registered 15 stops with 1.5 tackles for loss. 
 
 
Scouting Misericordia

Offensively, the Cougars are fifth in the MAC with 365.5 yards of total offense per-game running a read-option attack. Misericordia is first in MAC rushing yardage at 305.3 yards each contest. The Cougars stand last in passing with 60.3 yards through the air.  Sophomore quarterback Jeff Puckett leads the MAC in rushing with 131.5 yards per-game with seven touchdowns. He has also completed 25-of-47 passes for 234 yards and two scores. Senior running back Frank Santarsiero follows with 233 yards on 56 carries.

Juwan Pettis Jackson tops the receivers with 10 catches for 110 yards and one touchdown. Pettis also a capable return man and averages 16.1 yards on 10 kickoff returns.
 
Defensively, Misericordia is last in the MAC, allowing 518.0 yards of total offense per-game. The Cougars are also ranked last in allowing 273.3 rushing yards per-game while standing seventh in pass defense, yielding 116.3 yards each contest.

Freshman linebacker Rob Hart tops the squad with 30 tackles in four games with 2.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore safety Ben Camacho follows with 25 tackles and two interceptions while sophomore linebacker Hunter Pates adds 24 stops with 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
As a unit, Misericordia has posted 4.0 quarterback sacks in four games and intercepted three passes.


Next Week:
King's returns home to host FDU-Florham in a Freedom Conference matchup set for 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium.