AUGUST 30, 2017

KING'S FOOTBALL OPENING SEASON THURSDAY NIGHT VERSUS MORAVIAN

Directions to the Robert L. Betzler Athletic Complex

Pet Policy at the Betzler Complex

WILKES-BARRE — The King's College football team will play its first-ever Thursday night game when the Monarchs open the 2017 campaign by hosting Moravian College in a non-conference matchup at 7:00 PM at McCarthy Stadium.

King's is looking to build on a solid 2016 season in which the Monarchs went 5-5 overall and 5-4 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. With several returning players on the roster, King's expects to parlay their experience into a more successful year.  Moravian, meanwhile, was also 5-5 last season and went 4-5 in the Centennial Conference. It will mark the second straight meeting at McCarthy Stadium that the teams played a night game. In 2015 the Greyhounds defeated King's 21017 in a game that kicked off at 6:00 PM.It is also only the second home night game for King's since the program started in 1993.

Ticket prices are set at $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, $2 for non-King's students showing I.D.  In addition, children under age-six shall be admitted free.  King's College students attend free at all ticketed events with the presentation of their current student I.D.

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

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 SERIES:
This is the 16th meeting between the teams with Moravian holding a slim 8-7 advantage. The Greyhound have won all three meetings since the teams resumed playing in 2014, including a 50-35 shootout victory in last year's season opener. Moravian was at one time a long-standing member of the Middle Atlantic Conference along with King's before leaving for the Centennial Conference after the 2006 season. As conference rivals, the team played on 12 occasions with the Monarchs holding a  7-5 lead during MAC play.

THE COACHES:
Monarch mentor Jeff Knarr is in his eighth season at King's and owns a 22-48 career record. Moravian coach Jeff Pukszyn is in his seventh year and is 28-38.
                
LAST SEASON'S GAME:
Moravian built a 33-14 half-time lead en route to a 50-35 home win. The Greyhounds amassed 521 yards of total offense compared to 461 for the Monarchs. Moravian threw for 354 yards and ran for 167 yards. King's passed for 391 yards and rushed for 70 yards.    

KING'S ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE-I
The Monarchs are coming off a record-breaking offensive year as several school records were established. Last season King's averaged 29.1 points per-game to rank fourth in the MAC while leading the conference with 414.8 total yards per-game. The unit is led by senior quarterback Zach Whitehead who enjoyed a record-breaking year of his own as a first-year starter in 2016. Whitehead completed 244-of-404 passes for  2,832 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His totals for completions, yards, and touchdowns were all school records. Dangerous with his feet as well, the dual-threat signal-caller added 502 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Several of Whitehead's top targets also return.

Senior Tyler Marroni caught 53 passes for 749 yards with four touchdowns while fellow senior Marquis Miller added 45 receptions for 428 yards and two scores. Senior Corey Flynn tallied 24 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns while senior H-back Trey Campbell posted 15 receptions for 226 yard and one score. King's does not return a running back with a single carry this season but junior Jordan Downes and sophomore Titus Nelson will get the early-season nods at the position. Senior center Ron Ippolite and sophomore guard Brian Olesen are the lone returning starters on the offensive line.
    
MORAVIAN ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE
The Greyhounds averaged 481 yards of total offense last season and owned a balanced attack with an average of 304.1 passing yards and 177.0 rushing yards each contest. But the Greyhounds must replace starters at both quarterback and tailback this season. Senior quarterback Kordell Theadford played in all ten games with one start last season and proved to be a dual-threat quarterback in his own right. Theadford completed 23-of-48 passes for 296 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.  He also rushed for  250 yards on 34 attempts, averaging 7.4 yards per-carry. But he is battling junior Tyler Shay and freshman Doug Erney for the spot.

The Greyhounds return experience at the receiver positions as senior Aaron Hudson is back after catching 65 passes for 781 yards with seven touchdowns last season, including two against the Monarchs. Senior wide receiver Kyle Ferryman caught 22 passes for 252 yards and three scores while senior tight end Aaron Brown contributed 17 receptions for 233 yards and one score.  Moravian 's ground game will be headed by  junior running back Eli Redmond who missed last season after rushing for 429 yards with seven touchdowns on 87 carries and catching 12 passes for 144 yards and two scores in 2015.
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE 
A year ago the Monarchs ranked ninth in MAC total defense, allowing 426.8 yards per-game. King's is eighth against the run in yielding 177.4  yards while standing second against the pass in permitting 162.6 yards through the air.  The Monarchs welcome back senior linebacker Bruce Damon who led the MAC with 118 total tackles last season. Senior linebacker/rover Jake Manetti was third on the team with 69 tackles and two interceptions while senior defensive end Chris DeGaetano was fourth with 54 stops.

Sophomore safety Joe Davis registered 44 tackles as a rookie while senior defensive lineman Jacoby Foresman added 42 in 2016. Senior linebacker Hassan Maxwell is also back and tallied 34 tackles a year ago. Senior cornerback Justin Foster had 32 tackles last season while sophomore safety Trevor Hill  contributed 26 tackles and three interceptions. Sophomore cornerback Eli Vascos made 24 tackles and broke up nine passes while senior tackle Mike Dohn chipped in with 22 tackles.

MORAVIAN ON DEFENSE:  Multiple 3-4 / 4-3
The Greyhounds lost six of their top-nine tacklers from last season from a unit that allowed 431.0 yards of total offense, including 302.7 passing yards and 128.3 rushing yards each contest. Leading the defense is senior defensive back Nick Zambelli who was third on the team last year with 57 tackles and three interceptions. Junior linebacker  Nick Ewald also returns after standing fourth on the squad a year ago with 57 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 2.0 quarterback sacks.

Sophomore linebacker Joseph Milano played in eight games with four starts and added 36 tackles while junior defensive lineman Nick Tone posted 28 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. Senior defensive lineman Jordan Stout contributed 20 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss while sophomore defensive back Tim Valentine accounted for 18 tackles.    

NEXT WEEK:
King's will officially open MAC play on Saturday, September 9 with a trip to Owings Mills, Md. to face defending MAC champion and 2016 NCAA playoff qualifier Stevenson University in a 12:00 noon matchup.  Moravian will kick off the Centennial Conference season on Saturday 9 with a 1:00 PM home matchup against McDaniel College.