NOVEMBER 15, 2014
 
KING'S FOOTBALL SET TO FACE CROSS-TOWN RIVAL WILKES IN 19^TH ANNUAL
MAYOR'S CUP GAME

Coach Knarr's Weekly Pre-Game Video
 
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College football team will wrap up the 2014 season when the Monarchs battle for local bragging rights with cross-town rival Wilkes University in the 19^th annual Mayor's Cup Game.  Kickoff is set for 12:00 noon at Wilkes' Schmidt Stadium.
 
The game will be televised locally on FOX 56, via Comcast Cable channels 5 or 809 HD; Service Electric Cable channels 5 and 505 HD; and DirectTV and Dish Network channel 56. The game will also be webstreamed over the Internet at www.myfoxnepa.com.   Bob Ide and John Mendola will call the action while Erin Dugan will serve as sideline reporter.
 
Tickets for the game are set at $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for students
 
The annual contest will feature two schools separated by just four street blocks from either side of Market Street in Downtown Wilkes.  While neither team is in contention for the Middle Atlantic Conference title, the game still has tremendous meaning. Numerous players from both squads have played together or against one another for years.

While the game is played with the intensity of a major rivalry, the rivalry has also been one of great respect. Following the game each time arrives at its own 40-yard line for the presentation of post-game awards. One player from each squad is named a team most valuable player.  Afterwards, both teams remain on the field as the winner is presented the Mayor's Cup from Mayor Leighton.
 
ON THE AIR:
LiveStats:   http://www.sidearmstats.com/wilkes/football/
 
Live Video:   http://wilkesathletics.ezstream.com/broadcasts/index.cfm?fuseaction=usrbrd&broadcasterid=60611&mobi=0

Live Audio (WRKC-88.5 FM):  http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html
 
FOX 56 Webstream available at:  www.myfoxnepa.com
 
ABOUT THE GAME:
While Saturday's game wraps up the 2014 season it also signifies the final collegiate contest for 18 King's senior players. Those players include A.J. Hubiak, Chad Curtice, Tyler Hartranft, Vince Albano, Steve Hemmig, Dan Kempa, Derick Brown, Greg Minardi, Kyle McGrath, Bill Ardoline, Kris Matthews, Dylan Kelly, Nick Kaijala, Pete Santorelli, Lionel Rice, Jim Strelecki, Antoine Basquiat, Joe Cole.
                                                       
ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Mayor's Cup Game will take place for the 19th time after being established in 1996. Wilkes holds a 20-7 lead in the overall series between the teams. The Colonels also hold a 13-5 lead in Mayor's Cup games since the teams began playing for the cup in 1996. The Mayor's Cup tradition began with former Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas McGroarty and has remained intact through today with current Mayor Thomas Leighton, a 1982 King's graduate, presiding.

The Monarchs won last year's game in a 35-28 thriller in which the game appeared to be headed for overtime before King's then-sophomore Patrick Robinson returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a touchdown with 0:08 left in regulation. The King's win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Colonels.

2013 Official Game Box Score
 
THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fifth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 13-35 career record. Widener head coach Mike Kelly is in his first year and is 8-0.      
 
LAST WEEK:
King's dropped a tough 24-21 verdict to unbeaten (8-0, 7-0) MAC co-leader and 17th ranked Delaware Valley.  Widener, meanwhile, is ranked 11th nationally and stands at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in the MAC after posting a 34-23 victory over Stevenson.
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE-I
After nine games King's is ranked fifth in the MAC with an average of 340.2 yards of total offense per-game. The Monarchs are ranked eighth in scoring offense at 18.8 points per-game.  The King's ground game stands eighth in the MAC with 128.9 yards each contest while the passing game is fifth with 211.3 yards per-game. Senior quarterback Tyler Hartranft has completed 148-of-263 passes for 1,847 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. Hartranft has also rushed for 223 yards on 78 carries.
 
Senior running back Kyle McGrath has 455 rushing yards on 124 carries with four touchdowns and has caught 20 passes for 172 yards. Junior running back Patrick Robinson, who missed last week's game against Widener due to a mandatory military obligation with King's ROTC program, has rushed for 312 yards on 70 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per-carry. He has also caught 24 passes out of the backfield for an additional 298 yards and one score.
 
Senior wide receiver Dan Kempa has caught 56 passes for 764 yards and six touchdowns. Freshman wide-out Tyler Marroni adds 16catches for 237 yards while sophomore tight end Jay Thomas has caught 10 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown. Freshman wide-out Marquis Miller has 12 receptions for 93 yards while senior Antoine Basquiat chips in with seven catches for 125 yards and one touchdown.
        
WILKES ON OFFENSE:  SPREAD
Wilkes enters the game sixth in the MAC with 331.7 yards of total offense per-game and are also seventh in scoring with 22.6 points each time out. The Colonels are fourth in MAC passing at 234.4 yards and ninth in rushing with 97.2 yards each contest. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Dailey has completed 173-316 of his passes for 1,933 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Senior tight end Jeremy Hartman has a team-high 33 catches for 479 yards with six touchdowns.

Sophomore wide receiver William Deemer follows with 28 catches for 417 yards and one score while chipping with 98 rushing yards on 37 carries. Senior wide receiver Tom Bousson adds 34 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns while fellow senior Jonathan Conklin has contributed 24 receptions for 252 yards and one score.

Wilkes ground game is paced by junior P.J. Incremona who has 281 yards on 92 carries and has also caught 15 passes for 88 yards. Senior Ryan Behrmann follows with 180 rushing yards on 63 carries and has 17 receptions for 136 yards
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE: MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, the Monarchs rank sixth in MAC total defense in yielding 352.6 yards per-game. Kings is also sixth in scoring defense in allowing 25.6 points each contest. The Monarchs rank third in pass defense in surrendering 204.0 yards through the air and are also seventh in rushing defense in permitting 148.6 yards on the ground. 
 
Sophomore inside linebacker Bobby Russell tops the squad with 79 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss and ranks third in the MAC with a 8.8 stops per-game average. Senior inside linebacker Nick Kaijala adds 68 tackles with 5.5 tackles fro loss and is sixth in the MAC at 7.6 tackles per-game. Senior safety Kris Matthews followed with 66 tackles and is seventh in the MAC with 7.3 tackles per-game. He also has one interception and seven pass break-ups.   Junior safety Anthony Martuccio has contributed 48 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss with two interceptions and has broken up five passes.
 
Junior outside linebacker James Burke contributes 40 tackles and a sack while freshman outside linebacker Hassan Maxwell, has made 36 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a sack. Junior defensive end Michael Martina has registered 34 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss while freshman cornerback Justin Foster has 21 tackles and is tied for second in the MAC with four pass interceptions. Junior cornerback Tyler Cruz has posted 16 tackles while senior defensive lineman Peter Santorelli, has made 15 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss.           
 
WILKES ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE
The Widener defense enters the game ranked eighth in MAC total defense, allowing 385.3 yards of total offense each contest. The Colonels are also eighth in MAC scoring defense, yielding 35.2 points per-game. Wilkes ranks eighth in MAC rushing defense in permitting teams to run for 179.2 yards each game. The defense is fourth in pass defense in allowing 206.1 yards per-contest.
 
Sophomore linebacker Tanner Stengel tops the squad with 89 tackles and leads the MAC with an average of 9.9 tackles per-game. Senior linebacker Nick Gray follows with 48 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Junior safety Jared Powell adds 46 tackles and three interceptions while freshman safety Isaiah Robinson contributes with 36 tackles. Junior cornerback Marcus Leaf has posted 31 tackles and has broken up seven passes while senior cornerback Omar Richardson has tallied 31 tackles and two interceptions. Junior safety Michel Paskas checks in with 30 tackles while junior defensive end Jason Ugwu chips in with 28 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.
 
KING'S BIG THREE ON OFFENSE TO LEAVE BIG MARK ON RECORD BOOKS
King's senior offensive trio of quarterback Tyler Hartranft, Dan Kempa, and Kyle McGrath will leave their mark having impacted the team's records books
 
In his three years at King's after transferring from Susquehanna, Hartranft has set Monarch program records with 3,938 passing yards, 436 pass completions 2,666 pass attempts, 35 passing touchdowns.

Kempa, a quarterback in high school, caught only two passes for nine yards as a freshman while transitioning to receiver. He now owns school records of 147 receptions, 2,478 receiving yards, while chipping in with 19 touchdowns, third best in program history (Mike Verbitski-23, Jim Pio-20).

McGrath who has battled injuries the past two seasons, is currently third on King's all-time rushing list with 2,286 rushing yards on 568 carries with 21 rushing touchdowns.
 

King's vs. Wilkes (Wilkes leads 20-7)
1946 - L 7-0
1947 - L 12-6
1948 - L 26-0
1949- L 47-7
1950 - L 14-12
1951 - W 27-7
1952 - W 34-13
1993 - L 41-14
1994 - L 26-7
1995 - L 29-15
1996 - L 13-0* (Mayor Cup begins)
1997 - L 23-0*
1998 - L 31-21*
1999 - L 30-6*
2000 - W 20-0*
2001 - W 28-12*
2002 - W 34-7*
2003 - L 37-0*
2004 - L 12-6*
2005 - L 36-13*
2006 - L 28-7*
2007 - L 35-0*
2008 - L 21-3*
2009 - W 33-16*
2010 - L 21-17*
2011 - L 13-6*
2012 - L 44-32* 
2013 – W 35-28*
*Denotes Mayor's Cup games (Wilkes leads 13-5)