OCTOBER 12, 2017

KING'S FOOTBALL TRAVELING TO FACE 6TH RANKED DELAWARE VALLEY

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College football team will face its stiffest challenge of the season when the Monarchs travels to Doylestown to face nationally-ranked Delaware Valley University at James Work Memorial Stadium.

King's (3-3, 2-3 MAC) comes off its biggest victory of the season in a 63-37 victory over Misericordia University last week. It was the first time since the second week of the season the Monarchs were not involved in a game decided in the final minute of play. That week King's fell 38-9 to Stevenson but two wins over Moravian and Lebanon Valley, as well as a pair of losses to Lycoming and Albright, were all decided with less than a minute to play. Stevenson

Delaware Valley, meanwhile, stands at 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the MAC after an impressive 41-6 road victory over previously unbeaten and 24th ranked  Albright, a squad which defeated King's 34-31 two weeks earlier. Del-Val is ranked 6th nationally by the American Football Coaches Association and 10th by D3Football.com. The game  will also hold an even greater level of pageantry as the contest stands as the Delaware Valley Homecoming Game.    

King's and Misericordia have two common opponents so far this season. Stevenson defeated Kings  38-9 on September 9 while the Mustangs downed Misericordia 65-7 last  week. Albright defeated the Cougars 50-17 on  September 9 before the Lions bested King's 34-31 last week.

Ticket prices are set at $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $4 for students, while children under age-12 are free.

Fans unable to attend can follow the game online at the following links:

Live Video:  https://livestream.com/DelValAthletics

LiveStats:   http://www.sidearmstats.com/delval/football/

ABOUT THE GAME:
The game will be the seventh of the season for both teams with the Aggies looking to take one step closer to an MAC title as well as an NCAA Division III National Tournament. The Monarchs are still in contention for a MAC-Centennial Conference bowl game.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES:
Delaware Valley holds a 19-11 advantage in the all-time season series. Last season the Aggies won 49-14 in Wilkes-Barre. Delaware Valley has won 12 of the last 13 games in the series with King's last victory coming by virtue of a 21-14 overtime triumph in Doylestown in 2013.     

THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his eighth season at King's and owns a 25-51 career record. Aggie coach Duke Greco is in his fourth year and is 33-6.

LAST SEASON'S GAME:
Monarchs gained a season-low 125 total yards in the game while surrendering 440 to the Aggies.    

KING'S ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE-I
The Monarchs enter Saturday's game ranked second in the MAC in scoring with a 36.3 points per-game. King's is first in total offense, averaging 474.2 yards per-game. The Monarchs are second in MAC passing yards with 309.5 per-game and are second in rushing with 164.7 yards each contest. Senior quarterback Zach Whitehead has completed 141-of-235 passes for 1,845 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 299 yards on 106 carries with 10 more touchdowns. Whitehead stands in second place all-time at King's with 5,082 passing yards, trailing only Tyler Hartranft who had 5,943 from 2012-14.    

After a career-high 165 yards against Misericordia on Saturday, junior running back Jordan Downes has 453 yards on 89 carries with four touchdowns while adding 17 receptions out of the backfield for 164 yards and one score.  Junior Titus Nelson has 218 rushing yards on 46 carries with two touchdowns while making two catches for 81 yards and one score. The receivers are paced by senior Tyler Marroni who has 41 catches for 727 yards with five touchdowns. Marroni was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday after a 10-catch, 234-yard, three-touchdown effort against Misericordia. Fellow senior Marquis Miller follows with 35 catches for 263 yards while senior H-back Trey Campbell has posted 23 receptions for 295 yards and four touchdowns. Senior receiver Corey Flynn has caught 19 passes for 278 yards and two scores.       
    
DELAWARE VALLEY ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE    
The Aggies are first in MAC scoring with 36.7 points per-game. Delaware Valley stands fourth in MAC total offense, averaging 376.3 yards per-game. The are first with 197.8 rushing yards and are eighth with 178.5 passing yards. Junior quarterback Dashawn Darden has completed 85-of-144 passes for 1,030 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also rushed for 276 yards on 59 carries and two scores. Senior running back Devauntay Ellis has rushed for 567 yards on 101 attempts with five touchdowns while sophomore Khalil Roane adds 94 yards on 20 carries and averages 4.7 yards each run while also catching nine passes for 77 yards and two scores.

Junior wide receiver Marquis Ellis tops the team with 20 catches for 258 yards and six scores. Sophomore tight end Dan Allen follows with 14 receptions for 273 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore wide-out LaQuille Nesbitt also has 14 catches for 67 yards. Junior wide receiver John Graham has posted 10 receptions for 100 yards .
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE    
King's entered the week ranked seventh in MAC scoring defense, allowing an average of 36.5 points per-game. The Monarchs are seventh in total defense in yielding 401.5 yards of total offense per-game. King's is second in rushing defense in allowing 111.2 yards each game while standing ninth in passing defense at 290.3 yards. Freshman linebacker Mando Sallavanti tops he squad with 44 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Bruce Damon follows with 38 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Jake Manetti adds 33 tackles, including  10.0 tackles for losses of 29 yards.

Sophomore cornerback Eli Vascos has also registered 33 tackles with an interception while sophomore safety Trevor Hill contributes with 21 tackles and three interceptions. Senior nose-guard Chris DeGaetano has registered 25 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks while  senior  defensive end Jacoby Foresman has tallied 22 tackles with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Senior cornerback Justin Foster has made 20 tackles with eight pass break-ups. Senior lineman Mike Dohn chips in with 16 tackles.    
 
DELAWARE VALLEY ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE 3-4    
The Delaware Valley defense ranks first in the MAC in yielding just 9.3 points per-game. The Aggies also top the conference in total defense, allowing opponents just 241.5 yards each contest.   The units is first against the run in permitting only 70.5 yards on the ground. The Aggies are also second versus the pass in giving up 171.0 yards through the air each week.

Senior linebacker Nicholas DiGati has made a team-high 44 tackles with 2.0 tackles for loss. Senior safety Shawn Miller follows with 33 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and an interception. Senior linebacker Nick Wright adds 30 tackles with 7.5 tackles for 25 yards in losses and 3.0 sacks while senior linebacker T.J. Waters contributes 28 tackles with two for loss. Senior linebacker Michael Ockimey has posted 25 tackles with 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks while junior defensive end Christian Snowden has made 22 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

NEXT WEEK:
King's will enjoy a bye week before hosting FDU-Florham October 28.