NOVEMBER 7, 2013
 
KING'S FOOTBALL TRAVELING TO DEFENDING MAC CHAMPION WIDENER
 
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College football team will once again play a game with major significance when the Monarchs travel to Chester to face defending Middle Atlantic Conference champion Widener University at 1:00 p.m. at Leslie C. Quick Stadium.
 
King's, fresh off a 28-24 upset victory over Lycoming last season, is tied with Widener and Lycoming for second-place in the MAC standings with two regular-season games remaining. It marks the first time since King's won its only MAC title in 2002 that the Monarchs have been in title contention this late in the season.

The Monarchs have 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.  King's is in the midst of the most difficult portion of its schedule and has come away with a 2-0 mark. Two weeks ago King's stunned perennial MAC contender Delaware Valley, winner of four of the last five MAC titles, by a 21-14 count in overtime. Last week, King's shocked Lycoming, another traditional MAC power, 28-24. 

This week King's takes to the road to face the third of the MAC's "Big Three" powers in Widener, which won the 2012 MAC title and reached the second-round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Last week King's tied the second-longest winning streak in program history with its fifth consecutive victory. With a win over Widener, the Monarchs will then be in position to equal the longest win streak ever at King's when the Monarchs earned seven straight games during the team's MAC championship run in 2002.
 
 
ON THE AIR:
 
LiveStats - http://www.muse.widener.edu/~dacrudel/xlive.htm
 
Live Video -  http://widener.wp.icblivetv.com/
 
Live Audio (WRKC 88.5 FM) - http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html
 

ABOUT THE GAME:        
Saturday's game marks the ninth game of the season for both teams. King's and Widener enter the game in a three-way tie for second place in the MAC with two games remaining.  Both squads are 5-3 overall and 5-2 in the MAC. The loser will likely be eliminated from the MAC race.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES:       
This is the 21st all-time meeting between the programs with Widener owning a 17-3 lead. Widener has won the last three meetings, including a 41-6 triumph a year ago in Wilkes-Barre. The last time the Monarchs were victorious was in 2009 with a 35-24 triumph in Chester, the only time King's defeated Widener in Leslie C. Quick Stadium.
 
THE COACHES:           
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fourth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 8-27 career record but is 0-3 against the Pride. Widener coach Bobby Acosta is in his first season after coming to the Pride after serving as an assistant at Rowan and is 5-3.

LAST WEEK:   
King's came out on the good side of a wild ending against Lycoming, posting a 28-24 upset. Lycoming took a 24-21 lead on a touchdown with 0:46 left before the Monarchs rallied with the game-wining touchdown with 0:09 to play.  Widener, meanwhile fell by a 33-19 count to Albright in Reading.
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE-I 
King's enters today's game tied for fourth in MAC scoring, averaging 29.8 points per-game. King's is also ranked eighth in the MAC, averaging 343.1 total yards per-game. The Monarchs rante fourth with 221.7 passing yards and ninth with 122.0 yards each contest. Junior quarterback Tyler Hartranft, who was named MAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week has completed 116-of-219 passes for 1,677 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions and has a 130.49 efficiency rating.
 
Junior tailback Kyle McGrath has rushed for 565 yards on 157 carries with eight touchdowns, averaging 70.6 yards per-game. He has also caught 19 passes for 154 yards. Sophomore tailback Patrick Robinson has 38 rushes for 186 yards while catching seven passes for 127 yards. King's receiving corp is led by junior Dan Kempa with 49 catches for 888 yards and eight touchdowns. Kempa averages an MAC-leading 111.0 receiving yards per-game. Kempa needs 106 yards break the King's single-season record of 993 yards set by Blake Letchford in 2005. He also needs nine catches to break the single-season mark of 57 receptions set by Mike Verbitski in 2009.
 
WIDENER ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE          
The Widener offense currently tied with King's for fourth in the MAC in scoring with 29.8 points per-game. The Pride are ranked first in the conference with 422.3 total yards per-game, while standing first in passing yards (298.5) and seventh in rushing yards (123.8). Freshman quarterback Seth Klein has completed a remarkable 78.1 (2235-301) percent of his passes for 2,278 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also owns an MAC-best 151.9 efficiency rating.  
 
The Pride have utilized four runners in the backfield who have enabled the offense to rush for 1,272 yards as a team. Junior Couve LaFate has a team-high 349 yards on 73 carries with three touchdowns while adding 24 catches out of the backfield for 129 yards. Sophomore Charles Wickes follows with 284 yards on 48 attempts with two scores and averages 5.9 yards per-carry while adding 19 receptions for 102 yards. Senior Terrant Morrison has 187 yards on 51 carries while sophomore Richard Brown chips in with 147 yards on 42 carries with five touchdowns.  Junior Anthony Davis heads a talented group of receivers with an MAC-high 76 catches for 871 yards and seven touchdowns.  Senior Jermain Quattlebaum follows with 334 receptions for 279 yards and two scores. Junior Adam Marucci adds 27 catches for 350 yards.
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, the Monarchs have allowed 28.8 points per-game.  The unit ranks fifth in MAC total defense, allowing an average of 350.3 yards per-game. The Monarchs stand fifth against the run in yielding 139.4 yards are also seventh against the pass at 210.9 yards each contest. Junior linebacker Nick Kaijala leads the team with 61 total tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Sophomore defensive back Anthony Martuccio has contributed with 56 tackles and two interceptions and two forced fumbles while junior safety Kris Matthews has tallied 54 tackles with one interception and a fumble recovery.
 
Senior defensive end Ron Garrett has posted 53 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks and four fumble recoveries, including five defensive touchdowns.  Junior linebacker Chad Curtice has 47 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Ben Ray has made 39 tackles with one sack while junior defensive tackle Pete Santorelli adds 36 tackles with 5.0 tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble. Freshman linebacker Bobby Russell has 20 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception. Sophomore cornerback Tyler Struckus checks in with 16 tackles and a team-high six pass breaks.

WIDENER ON DEFENSE: 4-3       
Widener is ranked fourth in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 19.3 points per-game. The Pride are sixth in total defense in yielding 355.6 yards per-game, including an MAC fourth-best 127.3 yards of rushing while standing ninth against the pass at 228.4 yards per-game.  Pacing the Widener defense is sophomore defensive end Brandon Harper with 57 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. Senior linebacker Dylan Ditmer follows with 46 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Senior safety Colin Masterson adds 45 tackles with two interceptions while Stacy Sunnerville contributes 39 tackles with 12.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive tackle Shakore Philip has posted 33 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 2.0 sacks while junior linebacker Kevin Burns has tallied 33 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore safety Vaughn Nicholas Taylor has recorded 32 tackle while sophomore linebacker Tyrone Bundy has racked up 32 stops. Senior defensive end Darius Johnson chips in with 24 tackles, 4.0 tackles for los, and 2.5 sacks.
 
NEXT WEEK:
King's will close out the regular-season with the annual Mayor's Cup Game when the Monarchs host Wilkes at 12:00 noon at McCarthy Stadium. The game will be televised live regionally on FOX-56.
 
 
 
King's vs. Widener (Widener leads 17-3)
1993 - L 24-15
1994 - L 36-13
1995 - L 50-14
1996 - L 22-21
1997 - L 34-20
1998 - L 41-20
1999 - L 45-14
2000 - L 32-20
2001 - L 48-14
2002 - W 24-6
2003 - L 27-24
2004 - L 34-31
2005 - W 31-24
2006 - L 25-20
2007 - L 21-17
2008 - L 17-3
2009 - W 35-24
2010 - L 36-21
2011- L 70-0
2012 - L 41-6
 
 
 
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