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WILKES-BARRE – The King's College football team will face perhaps its biggest challenge of the season Saturday when the Monarchs host traditional Middle Atlantic Conference contender Lycoming College Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex.

Ticket prices for the King's-FDU matchup are set at $4 for adults, $2 for seniors and non-King's students with I.D. Children under age-six shall be admitted free.

Last week King's emerged as an unlikely challenger for the MAC crown after being picked ninth among the 10 conference squads in the MAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll. The Monarchs entered the fold Saturday after posting a 21-14 overtime upset over then-MAC co-leader Delaware Valley College, which won or shared four of the last five MAC titles.

Now, on the heels of a four-game winning streak, King's enters the game with a 4-3 overall record and is 4-2 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. The Monarchs are only a game behind conference co-leader Lycoming (5-2, 5-1 MAC), which is tied with both Lebanon Valley and Widener with identical league marks.  

King's looks to win a fifth straight game for the first time since the 2006 season when the Monarchs were 6-3 overall and 6-2 in the MAC heading into the final regular-season game of the season. King's eventually finished 6-5, including a loss to Kean University in the ECAC Southeast Bowl. It marked the last time the Monarchs played a post-season game.
 
For the Monarchs to remain contention the team must overcome a brutal final month schedule.  With perennial power Delaware Valley off the board, King's now faces Lycoming at home before heading to Chester to play 2012 MAC champion Widener University. If the Monarchs manage to continue winning, King's will wrap up the regular-season November 16 when King's hosts the annual Mayor's Cup Game against crosstown arch-rival Wilkes University.
 
 
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ABOUT THE GAME:        
Saturday's game marks the eighth game of the season for both teams. Lycoming enters the game tied for first place in the MAC (5-1) with Lebanon Valley and Widener while King's (4-2) is a game behind in the league standings. Delaware Valley is also 4-2 in the MAC  
 
ABOUT THE SERIES:       
This is the 23rd all-time meeting between the programs with Lycoming owning a 16-5-1 lead. Lycoming has won the last four meetings, including a 33-10 win a year ago in Williamsport. The last time the teams played in Wilkes-Barre, Lycoming posted a 42-12 win in 2011. King's last win over the Warriors was a 24-7 triumph in 2008 in Wilkes-Barre.          
 
THE COACHES:           
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fourth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 7-27 career record but is 0-3 against the Warriors. Lycoming coach Mike Clark is in his sixth season and owns a 38-20 record.  

LAST WEEK:   
King's came behind on the road from deficits of 7-0 and 14-7 to post a 21-14 victory in overtime over perennial MAC contender Delaware Valley. Lycoming also used overtime to walk away with a hard-fought 20-17 victory over Albright.   
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE-I 
King's enters today's game averaging 30.0 points and 18 first downs per-game. The Monarchs are seventh in the MAC, averaging 340.9 total yards per-game, ranking third with 207.7 passing yards and eighth with 133.1 yards each contest. Junior quarterback Tyler Hartranft has completed 97-of-192 passes for 1,382 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
 
Junior tailback Kyle McGrath has rushed for 518 yards on 143 carries with seven touchdowns, averaging 74.0 yards per-game. He has also caught 13 passes for 112 yards. Sophomore tailback Patrick Robinson has 37 rushes for 185 yards while catching five passes for 88 yards. King's receiving corp is led by junior Dan Kempa with 44 catches for 773 yards and seven touchdowns. Kempa averages an MAC-leading 110.4 receiving yards per-game,.
 
LYCOMING ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE PRO-STYLE   
The Warriors currently rank eighth in the MAC in scoring with 21.4 points per-game. The Warriors are eighth in the conference with 336.0 total yards per-game, ranking ninth in rushing yards (129.4) and fourth in passing (206.6). Junior quarterback Tyler Jenny is one of the top all-around signal-callers in the conference, completing 64.9 (113-174) percent of his passes for 1,415 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions while also standing as a dangerous situational runner.
 
Junior tailback Craig Needhammer ranks third in the MAC with 115.9 yards per-game, totaling 81 yards on 160 attempts while scoring six touchdowns. He has also caught eight passes for 79 yards and one score. Freshman Blake Bowman chips in with 103 yards on 28 carries. The Warrior core of receivers is paced by senior Matt Atkinson who has posted 41 receptions for 519 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore Ryan Umpleby follows with 30 catches for 474 yards and three scores. Junior split end John Sibel has caught 15 passes for 185 yards.         
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, the Monarchs have allowed 29.4 points per-game.  The unit ranks fifth in MAC total defense, allowing an average of 353.0 yards per-game. The Monarchs stand fifth against the run in yielding 147.6 yards are also sixth against the pass at 205.4 yards each contest. Junior linebacker Nick Kaijala leads the team with 53 total tackles with 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Kaijala was also named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Delaware Valley. Sophomore defensive back Anthony Martuccio has contributed with 48 tackles and two interceptions while junior safety Kris Matthews has tallied 47 tackles with one interception.
 
Senior defensive end Ron Garrett has posted 46 tackles with 8.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks while seeing his five straight games scoring a defensive touchdown end last week.  Junior linebacker Chad Curtice has 42 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Jake Ksiazkiewicz follows with 40 total tackles but may miss a second straight game with an injury. Senior linebacker Ben Ray has made 35 tackles with one sack  while junior defensive tackle Pete Santorelli adds 31 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss and one interception. Senior defensive end Billy Beinke has also registered 23 stops with 4.0 tackles for loss and two sacks.

LYCOMING ON DEFENSE: 4-3     
An always stout Lycoming defense is ranked third in the MAC in allowing just 17.6 points per-game while also standing third in total defense, yielding just 309.1 total yards per-game. The Warriors are third in MAC run defense (113.3) and  third in pass defense (195.9). Senior linebacker Tyler Denike leads the team with 48 tackles, including gout for loss and two interceptions.
 
Junior safety Tanner Troutman follows with 46 tackles with four interceptions. Senior defensive tackle Dwight Hentz adds 33 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks while junior linebacker Kyle Sullivan  also has 43 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Kabongo Bukasa has tallied 33 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception. Sophomore cornerback Matt Malecki chips in with 31 stops.     
 
 
GARRETT TOUCHDOWN STREAK ENDS AT FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES
King's College senior defensive end Ron Garrett saw his remarkable streak of five straight games scoring a defensive touchdown come to an end against Delaware Valley College. Garrett did come close to recovering a fumble in the second quarter of the game but teammate Nick Kaijala jumped on the loose ball first, beating Garrett and a Delaware Valley player to the ball and ending the play when he went to the ground.
 
 
King's vs. Lycoming (Lycoming leads 16-5-1)
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
2011- L 42-12
2012- L 33-10