NOVEMBER 1, 2014

KING'S FOOTBALL FACES CHALLENGING TASK IN HOSTING UNBEATEN DELAWARE VALLEY SATURDAY AT McCARTHY STADIUM

WILKES-BARRE – With three weeks left in the 2014 season, the King's College football team will take on the toughest portion of its schedule when the Monarchs play host to Middle Atlantic Conference co-leader Delaware Valley College at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium.

Tickets for the game are set at $5 for adults, $2 for non-King's students, while children under age-six will be admitted free.

As King's enters week-eighth of its season the Monarchs stand at 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the MAC. With three games left King's will face the meat of its schedule with MAC front-runners Delaware Valley and Widener on tap the next two weeks, while the Monarchs close out its season November 15 against cross-town rival Wilkes in the annual Mayor's Cup Game.

Delaware Valley is ranked18th in the American Football Coaches Association poll and are also 21^st in the D3football.com poll. Widener, meanwhile, is 12^th nationally in both polls.

King's is looking to pull off a major upset of the Aggies for the second straight season. A year ago the Monarchs downed the Aggies in Doylestown 21-17 in overtime. In that game, however, Delaware Valley star quarterback Aaron Wilmer did not play. King's will face a much more difficult task this time around as Wilmer is playing at an all-American level.

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ABOUT THE GAME:
It is week-seven of the 2014 season and King's is looking to post a fourth straight win this season while also looking to snap a seven-game losing streak at the hands of Albright.  The Lions, meanwhile, is looking to secure a second straight win following a bye week.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the 28th meeting between the programs with Delaware Valley holding a 16-11 advantage. Last year the Monarchs won a 21-14 overtime thriller in Doylestown.  The win snapped a nine-year Delaware Valley win streak from  2004-through-2012. Prior to the Aggies' streak, the Monarchs had won  six straight meetings between 1998-through-2003.   King's last home win over Delaware Valley was a 38-28 triumph in 2001.

THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fifth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 13-34 career record. Delaware Valley head coach Duke Greco is in his  first year as the Aggie boss after serving as an assistant for several years and is 7-0. Delaware Valley defensive coordinator Kory David was King's defensive coordinator last season.                    

LAST WEEK:
King's fell to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the MAC after dropping a heartbreaking 30-24 double-overtime decision at Albright. Delaware Valley handled Misericordia 41-7 after building a 41-0 lead after three quarters. The win enabled the Aggies to maintain a first-place tie with Widener as both teams at 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the MAC.

KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE-I
After six games King's is ranked fifth in the MAC with an average of 339.9 yards of total offense per-game. The Monarchs are ranked eighth in scoring offense at 20.3 points per-game.  The King's ground game also stands fifth in the MAC with 140.0 yards each contest while the passing game is sixth with 199.9 yards per-game.

Senior quarterback Tyler Hartranft has completed 110-of-201 passes for 1,369 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Hartranft has also rushed for 228 yards on 59 carries. Junior running back Patrick Robinson has rushed for 296 yards on 64 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per-carry. He has also caught 22 passes out of the backfield for an additional 275 yards and one score. Senior running back Kyle McGrath has 330 rushing yards on 92 carries and has caught 14 passes for 111 yards.

Senior wide receiver Dan Kempa has caught 43 passes for 612 yards and five touchdowns while ranking second nationally in kick return yardage, averaging 34.4 yards each return. Freshman wide-out Tyler Marroni adds 10 catches for 138 yards while sophomore tight end Jay Thomas has also caught nine passes for 120 yards and one touchdown. Freshman wide-out Marquis Miller has six receptions for 52 yards.

DELAWARE VALLEY ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE
Delaware Valley enters the game leading the MAC with 516.7 yards of total offense per-game and are also tops in scoring with 46.7 points per-game. The Aggies are first in MAC passing at 314.1 yards and second in rushing with 202.6 yards each contest. Senior quarterback Aaron Wilmer has completed 65.6 (118-180) percent of his passes for 2,195 with 21 touchdowns and three interceptions. Wilmer, who throws for a 313.6 yards-per-game average, is also dangerous on his feet, rushing for 181 yards on 56 carries.

Senior receiver Rasheed Bailey has 51 catches for an NCAA-leading 1,195 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bailey averages a whopping 23.43 yards every reception.  Junior Bobby Marterella has 12 catches for 188 yards while sophomore Tyler Bing also adds 12 receptions for 118 yards while rushing for 151 yards on 20 carries. Sophomore tight end Stephen Greco chips in with nine catches for 249 yards and two scores. Senior tailback Chris Smallwood has 921 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on 152 carries and has caught 18 passes for 193 yards.  

KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, the Monarchs rank fifth in MAC total defense in yielding 318.1 yards per-game. Kings is also fourth in scoring defense in allowing 21.6 points each contest. The Monarchs rank first in pass defense in surrendering 186.4 yards through the air and are also sixth in rushing defense in permitting 131.7 yards on the ground.

Sophomore inside linebacker Bobby Russell tops the squad with 60 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss and ranks second in the MAC with a 9.9 stops per-game average. Senior safety Kris Matthews followed with 50 tackles and is eighth in the MAC with 7.1 tackles per-game. He also has one interception and four pass break-ups.

Senior inside linebacker Nick Kaijala adds 49 tackles and is ninth in the MAC at 7.0 tackles per-game. He also adds 4.5 tackles for loss.  Junior safety Anthony Martuccio has contributed 32 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss with two interceptions. Junior outside linebacker James Burke contributes 31 tackles and a sack while freshman outside linebacker Hassan Maxwell, has made 30 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a sack.

Junior defensive end Michael Martina has registered 22 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss while freshman cornerback Justin Foster has 16 tackles and is tied for first in the MAC with four pass interceptions. Junior cornerback Tyler Cruz has made 13 tackles while senior defensive lineman Peter Santorelli, has made 13 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss.

DELAWARE VALLEY ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE 3-4
The Aggie defense enters the game seventh in the MAC in total defense, allowing 375.9 yards per-game. Delaware Valley is sixth in scoring defense, yielding 26.0 points per-game. The past two games, however, the Aggies have allowed an average of 10.0 points per-game. The DVC defense is ranked seventh against the run (149.3) and eighth against the pass (226.6). Junior safety Danny Wynne has 71 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss and leads the MAC with 10.1 tackles per-game.

Sophomore linebacker Ethan Snyder follows with 45 tackles with four pass breaks. Sophomore linebacker Frank Law adds 42 tackles with 7.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks while junior linebacker Matt Smith has made 38 tackles with three fumble recoveries. Junior linebacker Rashaad Lighty contributes 35 tackles with 7.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks while Chris Kitchen has posted 34 tackles. Junior free safety Ryan Gordon has 24 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss while sophomore defensive end Aric Boyes chips in with 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks.

NEXT WEEK:
King's will return home for its final home game of the season when the Monarchs host MAC co-leader Widener University (7-0, 6-0 MAC) at 1:00 p.m. on Senior Day at McCarthy Stadium.