OCTOBER 29, 2016
 
KING'S FOOTBALL FACING MAJOR TEST AGAINST UNBEATEN STEVENSON
 
WILKES-BARRE – The King's College football team will face its biggest test of the season when the Monarchs host nationally-ranked, Middle Atlantic Conference front-runner Stevenson University Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium.
 
King's enters the game with a 4-3 overall record and a 4-2 MAC mark after going on the road to defeat FDU-Florham 52-13 on Saturday. Stevenson, meanwhile, posted an impressive 19-0 win over perennial MAC contender Delaware Valley to improve to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the MAC.
 
Fans unable to attend the game can follow online at the links below:
 
Live Video:  http://livestream.com/kingscollege
 
LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football/
 
WRKC, 88.5 FM:  http://wrkc.kings.edu/list/current.html
 
ABOUT THE GAME:           
This week-eight matchup is important for both teams. Stevenson, ranked 12th nationally by the AFCA and 14th by D3Football.com, looks to take another step towards winning its first-ever MAC championship and qualify for the NCAA National Playoffs in just its sixth season of varsity football.  King's is looking to remain in the hunt for an MAC vs. Centennial Conference Bowl Game.

Stevenson has already mowed down what were believed to be the top contenders for the MAC title this season. Along with its win over Delaware Valley last week, the Mustangs also own victories over defending MAC champion Albright (31-26) and Widener (45-21). King's will be the last MAC team Stevenson will play in the regular-season with a winning record as games against Wilkes and Lycoming, both 1-6, remain. The Monarchs have game left against Widener (5-2) and Wilkes.

ABOUT THE SERIES:        
This is the sixth meeting between the teams with King's holding a 3-2 advantage. The Monarchs won the first three meetings while Stevenson has captured the last two matchups. This will be the third meeting between the teams at McCarthy Stadium with each squad owning one victory. In the last meeting at McCarthy Stadium in 2014, Stevenson won a 7-0 defensive battle.                    
 
LAST SEASON'S MEETING:          
Last season King's traveled to Owings Mills, Md. and held a 7-3 lead at the half but the Mustangs rallied to score 10 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 13-7 victory.                                          
THE COACHES:   
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his seventh season at King's and owns a 21-46 career record. Stevenson head coach Ed Hottle is in his sixth year of building the Mustang program and is 32-27.                   
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE:   MULTIPLE
The King's offense is ranked fourth in scoring in the MAC with 30.3 points per-game while also standing second in total offense at 406.0. The Monarchs are second in MAC passing with 270.4 yards each contest while moving up to sixth in rushing at 135.6 yards per-game after a season-high 397 yards against FDU-Florham last week.

Junior quarterback Zach Whitehead has completing 59.1 (162-274) percent of his passes for 1,852 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. In his first two games of the season he set new single-game school-records in pass completions (40), pass attempts (63), and passing yards (421), while equaling the King's mark of single-game touchdown passes (4). He enters the game 24 completions away from breaking the school-record of 185 set by Corey Lavin in 2010.

Last season Whitehead made his first career start for injured starter Tom Hehre at Stevenson and completed 13-of-26 passes for 11 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Returning senior all-MAC receiver Mike Palmer has a team-high 38 catches for 417 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Tyler Marroni follows with 32 receptions for 474 yards and two scores while junior Marquis Miller has 31 receptions for 275 yards. In the backfield, freshman Alvonte Thompson has 458 yards on 84 attempts and averages 5.6 yards per-carry while adding 10 catches for 114 yards. Senior Zack Funk has 187 yards on 48 carries with four touchdowns while catching nine passes for 62 yards. Whitehead is a capable runner who has gained 359 yards on 84 carries with 11 touchdowns.          

KING'S ON DEFENSE:   3-4           
Defensively, King's ranks seventh in the MAC in allowing 31.3 points and is sixth in yielding 414.7 total yards per-game. The Monarchs are seventh against the run in allowing 189.9 yards and stand sixth against the pass in  permitting 224.9 yards. Leading the King's defense thus far is junior  linebacker Bruce Damon who tops the MAC with 96 tackles, while adding 9.5 tackles for loss, and 6.0 sacks. Senior linebacker Bobby Russell, a two-time All-MAC selection, follows with 60 tackles and two interceptions.
 
Junior safety Jake Manetti adds 46 tackles and two interceptions while freshman safety Joe Davis and sophomore defensive end Chris DeGaetano contribute 30 tackles apiece. Junior defensive lineman Jacoby Foresman has 25 tackles while junior linebacker Hassan Maxwell contributes 23 stops. Senior linebacker Brandon Gonzalez posts 21 tackles while sophomore linebacker, C.J. Curry and freshmen defensive backs Eli Vascos and Trevor Hill all chip in with 18 tackles.  
 
STEVENSON ON OFFENSE:   MULTIPLE 
The Mustangs rank first in the MAC in scoring with 37.6 points per-game while standing sixth in total offense with 359.1 yards each contest. Stevenson's offense is ranked fifth in MAC passing with 228.4 yards while standing seventh in rushing with 130.7 yards. Junior quarterback Dan Williams runs the Mustang offense and has completed 65.6 (128-195) percent of his passes for 1,492 yards with 18 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
 
Junior wide receiver Devin Salisbury in second in the MAC with 46 receptions for 450 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Preston Ado follows with 26 catches for 467 yards and eight scores while averaging 18.0 yards per-reception. Junior Dequan Ellison contributes 23 catches for 281 yards and three touchdowns. The running game is paced by sophomore Jainard Crawley-Lambert with 516 yards and nine touchdowns.           
 
STEVENSON ON DEFENSE:   4-4 
The Mustangs are second in MAC scoring defense in yielding just 14.7 points per-game and handed Delaware Valley its first shutout loss since 2002. Stevenson is also third in total defense in allowing 272.7 total yards per-game. The Mustangs own the top-rated pass defense in permitting just 133.9 yards per-game while standing fourth against the run in yielding 138.9 yards each contest.
 
Sophomore linebacker Ashton Leschke tops the unit with 46 tackles  while sophomore defensive back Izaiha Pitts follows with 37 stops. Senior defensive back Austin Tennessee adds 36 tackles with three interceptions while junior linebackers Thomas Camper and reigning MAC "Defensive Player of the Week" Mike Datu chip in with 34 and 32 tackles respectively.

Senior safety Billy Lewis has 21 tackles and six interceptions while senior cornerback Jimmy Lauer has 21 stops with four picks. The Mustang defense has been a big-play unit, leading all of NCAA Division III with 18 interceptions and have returned five to the end zone.
             
 
NEXT WEEK         
In the last home game of the season, King's hosts MAC rival Widener on Saturday at 1:00 PM on Senior Day at McCarthy Stadium.
 
 
King's vs. Stevenson All-Time:  King's leads 3-2
2011:   King's 51 – Stevenson 26 (Owings Mills, Md.)
2012:   King's 34 – Stevenson 21 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
2013:   King's 31 – Stevenson 24 (Owings Milld, Md.)
2014:   Stevenson 7 – King's 0 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
2015:   Stevenson 13 – King's 7 (Owings Mills, Md.)