SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

KING'S FOOTBALL LOOKING TO PICK UP FIRST WIN SATURDAY WHEN THE MONARCHS HOST MISERICORDIA IN HOMECOMING GAME

HOMECOMING INFORMATION

WILKES-BARRE – The King's College football team will hope to enjoy a happy Homecoming when the Monarchs host local rival Misericordia University Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex.

Tickets for the game are set at $5 for adults and $2 seniors and students. Children age-12 and under shall be admitted free.

King's is looking to post its first win of the season as the Monarchs enter the matchup with an 0-3 overall record while standing 0-2 in the MAC. Misericordia, meanwhile, is 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.

There are some similarities between this year's game and last season's contest at Misericordia, which the Monarchs won 41-40 in double-overtime.  Last year was Homecoming for the Cougars while this year's contest is Homecoming for King's. A year ago the Monarchs lost their first three game while also dropping their opening three games in 2014. Last year's King's victory over Misericordia catapulted the Monarchs to six wins over their final seven games. King's is hoping a similar result is in store this season if the Monarchs cam emerge victorious on Saturday.

Misericordia, meanwhile, is looking for an opportunity of their own to use a victory to catapult the Cougar program forward. After starting varsity football in 2012, Misericordia lost their first 19 games before winning its 2013 season finale over FDU-Florham 63-40. The Cougars started the 2014 season 0-2 but secured its first shutout with a 35-0 win over FDU-Florham.  Misericordia enters its matchup with King's having gone 2-2 over its last four games.

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ABOUT THE GAME:
Today's game stands as the third week of the Middle Atlantic Conference football schedule. Last year King's was 6-4 overall and 6-3 in MAC play. Misericordia, meanwhile, was 1-9 overall and 1-8 in the MAC.  King's is looking to avoid its first 0-4 start since 2010. Misericordia is looking for its first two-game win streak since varsity football was instituted in 2012.  King's, which began varsity football in 1993, won its first game against Juniata College in week-seven of its inaugural season.  Misericordia's first win came during its 20th game as the Cougars bested FDU-Florham 63-40 in their 2013 season finale. Misericordia has won two of its last four games dating back to last season.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
This is the third meeting between the programs with King's holding a 2-0 advantage. Last year the Monarchs won a 41-40 double-overtime thriller in Dallas.  King's also won the first meeting between the teams 55-17 in 2012.

THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his fifth season of rebuilding the program at King's and owns a 10-33 career record. Misericordia coach Mark Ross is in his third season and is 2-21.

LAST WEEK:
King's fell to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the MAC after a 28-13 loss at Lycoming last week. Misericordia is 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the MAC after a 35-0 home win over FDU-Florham.

KING'S ON OFFENSE: MULTIPLE-I
After three games King's is averaging 295.7 yards of total offense per-game.  The Monarchs have registered 204.3 passing yards each game as well as 91.3 rushing yards each contest. Senior quarterback Tyler Hartranft has completed 50-of-99 passes for 600 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions. Last week against Lycoming he broke King's career passing yards record and enters today's game with 4,509 yards, surpassing the mark of 4.322 yards set by Tom Pierantozzi from 1998-2001.

Junior running back Patrick Robinson has rushed for 123 yards on 25 carries, averaging 5.0 yards per-carry. He has also caught 10 passes out of the backfield for an additional 81 yards. Senior running back Kyle McGrath has 64 rushing yards on 29 carries and has caught six passes for 49 yards. McGrath has rushed for 1,895 yards in his career and is 89 yards away from surpassing Chris Shivery (1,983 yards) to move into sixth-place all-time in King's rushing history. McGrath has found success in his first two games against the Cougars, rushing for a career-high 226 yards in 2012 while adding 151 yards last season. In his two games against Misericordia, McGrath has averaged 188.5 yards per-game with six rushing touchdowns.

King's Career Rushing Leaders
5,365 by Richard Jackson, 2001-04
2,808 by Jim Demaise, 1996-98
2,670 by Damon Saxon, 1997-2000
2,206 by Mike Conaghan, 1995-98
2,159 by John Ortiz, 2003-06
1,983 by Chris Shivery, 1998-2001
1,895 by Kyle McGrath, 2011-present

Senior wide receiver Dan Kempa caught 22 passes for 315 yards and one touchdown, averaging 7.5 receptions per-game. Kempa is five catches away from breaking the Monarchs' career record of 117 receptions set by Julian Walker from 2002-05. Last week he broke the school career receiving yards mark of 1,965 also set by Walker. Kempa has 131 yards against Lycoming and now has 2,029 yards in his career. Freshman wide-out Tyler Marroni adds four catches for 50 yards while sophomore tight end Jay Thomas has caught four passes for 49 yards.

MISERICORDIA ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE PRO
Misericordia enters the game averaging 296 yards of total offense per-game after amassing 400 total yards, including 374 rushing yards, against FDU-Florham last week. The Cougars are averaging 253.0 rushing yards per-game and just 43.0 passing yards.  Leading the Misericordia ground game is junior quarterback Jeff Puckett who has dazzled opposing defense to the tune of 438 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 146.0 yards per-game. Sophomore triple-threat signal-caller Ryan Kurtz has added 109 yards on the ground and caught four passes for 16 yards. Robin Custodio has added 87 yards on 27 carries and made two receptions for 18 yards.  The Cougar receivers are led by sophomore Colton Pyne with four catches for 16 yards while junior Juwan Petties-Jackson has two receptions for 32 yards.
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE 3-4
Defensively, the Monarchs are allowing 315.0 yards of total offense per-game over its first three games. King's has yielded 140.3 rushing yards and 174.6 passing yards each game. Sophomore inside linebacker Bobby Russell tops the squad with 32 tackles thus far, including one quarterback sack and comes off a career-high 16 tackles against Lycoming. Senior safety Kris Matthews followed with 22 tackles and one pass break-up while senior inside linebacker Nick Kaijala has posted 19 stops. Junior outside linebacker James Burke adds 14 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss while junior safety Anthony Martuccio has contributed 11 tackles with two tackles for loss. Junior cornerback Justin Burke has also tallied 11 tackles with an interception.

Freshman outside linebacker Hassan Maxwell checks in with 10 tackles and an interception while senior defensive lineman Peter Santorelli and freshman nose-guard Bob Shaw have nine tackles each. Junior defensive end Michael Martina has 8.0 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss. Junior cornerback Tyler Cruz and freshman cornerback Justin Foster have made six tackles apiece. Freshman Safety Jake Manetti chips in with five stops.
 
MISERICORDIA ON DEFENSE:  4-3
After three games the Misericordia defense has allowed an average of 354 yards of total offense per-game, including 427 passing yards and 637 rushing yards. Last week, however, the Cougar defense registered its first-ever shutout against FDU after holding the Devils to 233 total yards, including 115 rushing yards and 118 passing yards. Sophomore linebacker Chris Hutter tops the unit with 20 tackles while sophomore safety Zak LaNunziata follows with 14 tackles and one tackle for loss.  Sophomore defensive end Donald Bender adds 12 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.  

Sophomore linebacker Rob Hart, junior cornerback Anthony Buffa, and junior linebacker Sean Weg have each made 11 tackles. Junior safety Brandon Salazar has made 10 tackles while junior linebacker Dom Picarillo has posted eight tackles and two tackles for loss. Freshman defensive end Greg Zotian has made 7.0 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss while freshman defensive lineman Fredo Santorelli, younger brother of King's senior captain Peter Santorelli, chips in with six tackles and one tackle for loss.

NEXT WEEK:
King's will play its second consecutive home game when the Monarchs host defending MAC co-champion Lebanon Valley College at 1:00 p.m. in McCarthy Stadium.