SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
 
KING'S FOOTBALL TO KICKOFF SEASON SATURDAY VERSUS WILLIAM PATERSON
 
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College football team will begin to write its next chapter in fourth-year head coach Jeff Knarr's rebuilding process when the Monarchs open up the 2013 season on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against William Paterson University.
 
A year ago the Monarchs featured a youthful squad in a number of skill positions and the Monarchs struggled in the early going. The team made strides over the final month of the 2012 campaign and look to continue building upon the momentum gained. Those players who lacked collegiate playing experience last season have now had a full 2012 season, spring practices, and a training camp to prepare for the 2013 slate.
 
The Monarchs return a number of players back, including eight starters on offense and eight on defense, along with a cast of others who started at least one game a year ago. A potentially strong recruiting class has added much needed size, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines, and the new talent and will go a long way in helping the Monarch program to continue its growth under Knarr.


ON THE AIR:
Follow the game online or on your mobile device on LiveStats at the following link:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football/

Watch the live video webcast of the game at the following link:
http://www.kings.edu/mykings/streaming

King's Student Radio Station WRKC 88.5 FM will broadcast the game over the airwaves and the Internet. Listen to the online voicestream at:   http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html


ABOUT THE GAME:
Saturday's game marks the opening day of the 2013 season for both King's College and William Paterson. The game is part of the second year of the MAC-NJAC Challenge, pitting teams from the Middle Atlantic Conference against members of the highly-respected New Jersey Athletic Conference.  King's looks for its first season-opening win since 2009, a 16-10 victory at Randolph-Macon.  The Monarchs last home season opening triumph was in 2008, a 34-13 victory over Randolph-Macon.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the fifth straight meeting between the programs with William Paterson owning a 4-0 advantage. The series has been closely contested the last four years. After posting a 20-6 in the first meeting between the programs in 2009, the Pioneers have won the last four contests by scored of 14-7, 13-6, and most recently 9-3 in the 2012 matchup.
 
THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fourth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 4-26 career record. Jerry Flora is in his sixth year at William Paterson and sports a 22-28 mark.
 
LAST SEASON: 
King's finished the 2012 season with a 2-8 overall record while standing 2-7 in the MAC. William Paterson, meanwhile, was  5-5 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC.
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE:   MULTIPLE-I 
Last season the King's offense averaged 18.3 points and 315.1 yards of total offense per-game. The Monarchs posted averages of 125.5 yards and 189.6 passing yards each contest. The King's offense is under the direction of junior quarterback Tyler Hartranft who started the final nine games last season.
 
Hartranft completed 137-of-268 passes for 1,806 yards and 10 touchdowns but was at his best the final three games where he combined to complete 53-of-92 passes for 786 yards and eight touchdowns.  Junior  tailback Kyle McGrath ranked second in the MAC in rushing with 96.0 yards per-game and a total of 960 yards on 198 carries with eight touchdowns. He has also caught 19 passes out of the backfield for 154 yards and one score. Senior tailback Judens Goimbert was solid off the bench, adding 243 yards while  also contributing 13 receptions out of the backfield. Sophomore split end Dan Kempa had a team-high 31 receptions for 648 yards with four touchdown. Junior split end Josh Sanders made 21 catches for 253 yards.
 
On the offensive line, the Monarchs have two full-time returning starters in senior guard Andrew Sandt and sophomore center Mark Vetterlein. Junior tackle Jim Strelecki also started five games last season. The Monarchs will start a pair of freshmen up front. Freshman Mike Clausen will start at left tackle and is an intriguing prospect from Hedensted, Denmark and stands 6-5, 325 pounds. Fellow rookie Jake Dever will start at right guard and is 6-1, 277-pounds. 
 
WILLIAM PATERSON ON OFFENSE:   MULTIPLE
The William Paterson offense averaged 331.4 yards of total offense a year ago. The Pioneers threw for 222.0 yards while rushing for 109.4 yards  per-game. Leading the WPU offense is senior quarterback Ryan Gesik, a 2013 pre-season all-American according to USA Football Network Online. Last season Gresik started all 10 games, finishing 178-for-295 for 2,097 yards and 13 touchdowns.  He ranked fourth in the NJAC in passing yards per-game (209.7), pass efficiency (129.8) and total offense (224.1 yards/game), he was named the Pioneer Offensive Player of the Year. 
 
Over his career, Gresik has started 23 times in 28 games, completing 366 of 631 passes for 4,069 yards and 23 touchdowns, and is tied for the most completions in program history. A year ago against King's he completed 15-of-27 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown. His top target is senior wideout Mick Payne who  caught 39 passes or 553 yards and four touchdowns. Senior tight end Brian Winfield is back after posting 20 receptions for 310 yards.  Senior split end Julian Frazier is expected to get the start opposite Payne and made 12 catches for 122 yards in 2012.  The Pioneer backfield is relatively inexperienced as sophomore Darius Kersey had seven rushes for 49 yards while senior Chris Bachand  added seven carries for 41 yards.
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
A year ago the Monarch defense battled through a number of injuries and  performed admirably, allowing an average of 361.9 total yards per-game. The Monarchs yielded 150.6 rushing yards and 218.5 passing yards each contest. Leading the way defensively for King's is junior safety Kris Matthews who posted a team-high 78 total tackles with two interceptions. Senior linebacker Jake Ksiazkiewicz was third on the squad with 71 tackles, a team-high 10.0 tackles for loss, and 4.5 quarterback sacks.
 
Fellow senior linebacker Ben Ray was fifth on the team with 45 tackles. Senior defensive end Ron Garrett, an All-MAC selection last season, registered 42 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Junior outside linebacker Chad Curtice made 32 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss while junior defensive lineman Peter Santorelli tallied 27 stops. Sophomore cornerbacks Tyler Mejasic and Tyler Struckus  posted 27 and 26 tackles respectively  while fellow sophomore cornerback had 14 tackles. Senior defensive end Billy Beinke chipped in with 22 tackles while junior linebacker Nick Kaijala added 19.
 
WILLIAM PATERSON ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, William Paterson yielded an average of 331.4 yards of total offense per-game in 2012. The Pioneers allowed 206.5 rushing yards while holding opponents to just 163.6 yards each contest. Senior David Zurla is the top returning tackler with 78 stops a year ago. Senior defensive tackle  Webb Greer is a USA Football Network pre-season all-American after making 43 tackles with 3.0 sacks. Junior linebacker Jedd Blackowski added 42 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss  while senior cornerback Andre Snead tallied 37 tackles and two interceptions. Junior outside linebacker Ben Allen contributed 36 tackles while junior safety Elijah DeGuzman posted 14 stops. Senior cornerback Stanley Howard  contributed 14 tackles.
 
 
UP NEXT:
King's will have a bye week next week and will return to the gridirion on Saturday, September 21 when the Monarchs open up MAC play on the road against Lebanon Valley College in Annville.
 
 
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