SEPTEMBER 7, 2017
 
KING'S FOOTBALL TO OPEN MAC SCHEDULE SATURDAY AT DEFENDING CHAMPION STEVENSON
 
WILKES-BARRE --  The King's College football team will be thrown right into the fire when the Monarchs open their Middle Atlantic Conference schedule this weekend.  Fresh off a 30-27 victory over non-conference foe Moravian College on Thursday night, King's will now jump into conference play Saturday with a 12:00 noon matchup against defending MAC champion Stevenson University.
 
The Monarchs will be looking to open 2-0 for the first time since varsity football was reinstated at King's in 1993. King's will also be looking to win its conference opener for the second straight season against a team it has lost to the last three years.   Stevenson, which entered the season ranked 18th nationally in Division III, dropped its season opener last week on the road to 17th ranked Frostburg State by a 33-7 count in a non-conference game Thursday night.
 
Last season the Mustangs finished the season with a 9-2 overall record, including a 8-1 MAC mark, and received an automatic berth for the NCAA Division III National Playoffs.
 
Tickets for the game are $7.00 for everyone. Fans unable to attend can follow the game online via Live Video and LiveStats at the following links:
 
Live Video:  http://gomustangsports.com/sports/fball/2017-18/livevideo/20170909
 
LiveStats:  http://gomustangsports.com/sports/fball/2017-18/boxscores/20170909_oxm2.xml
 
 
THE COACHES:
King's coach Jeff Knarr is in his eighth year as the Monarch mentor and owns a 23-48 career mark. Stevenson coach Ed Hottle is in his seventh year with the Mustangs and is 34-30.
 
THE SERIES:
The series between the two teams, which began in 2011, is tied at 3-3. King's won the first three meetings before Stevenson took the next three, including a 41-20 trump last season en route to winning its first MAC title. King's has a 2-1 record playing at Mustang Stadium with its last win coming by a 31-24 verdict in 2013. The last time the teams played in Owings Mills, Stevenson won by a score of 13-7 in 2015.
 
LAST YEAR'S GAME:
At King's McCarthy Stadium, the teams played in week-eight of the season with Stevenson jumping out to a 27-7 half-time lead en route to the victory. The Mustangs outgained King's 412-386 in total yards while posting 21 first downs compared to 19 for King's. But the Monarchs had two costly turnovers in the game and had a blocked punt deep in its own territory that led to a Mustang score.
 
KING'S ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE SPREAD
The Monarchs amassed 431 yards of offense against Moravian, including 122 rushing yards and 309 passing yards. Senior quarterback Zach Whitehead accounted for much of King's offense,, completing 27-of-44 passes for 309 yards while rushing for 83 yards with three touchdowns. Senor wide receiver Tyler Marroni posted a team-high 155 yards on nine receptions while fellow senior Marquis Miller followed with six catches for 40 yards. Senior H-back Trey Campbell caught four passes for 23 yards while senior wideout Corey Flynn chipped in with three receptions for 46 yards. Sophomore running back Titus Nelson rushed for 28 yards on seven carries while junior running back Jordan Downes contributed 15 yards on seven carries while catching four passes for 31 yards.
 
STEVENSON ON OFFENSE:  MULTIPLE
Stevenson had a tough day offensively against the Frostburg defense, gaining 144 total yards in the game. The Mustangs passed for 174 yards, but were held to minus-30 rushing yards in the game, in large part due to five quarterback sacks. Junior quarterback Dan Williams completed 14-of-26 passes for 174 yards with one touchdown, but suffered 40 lost rushing yards due to sacks. Senior receiver Preston Addo caught four passes for 80 yards and had one carry for 29 yards. Fellow senior wideout Devin Salisbury added five receptions for  65 yards and one score. Junior Jainard Crawley-Lambert had six carries for 15 yards but was not listed on the team's two-deep. Bennett Okoro had three rushes for 10 yards in the game.  Sophomore T.J. Massey is listed as the starter in the team's two-deep for the game but did not have a carry against Frostburg.
 
KING'S ON DEFENSE:  MULTIPLE 3-4
The King's defense allowed 373 total yards to Moravian, including 161 rushing yards and 212 passing yards. The Monarchs allowed just 7-of-16 third-down conversions and forced Moravian into three field goal attempts while deep in King's territory and blocked a field goal in the process. Freshman linebacker Mando Sallavanti led the team with eight tackles including a forced fumble and one tackle for loss. Senior safety Jake Manetti followed with seven tackles, including three for loss. Senior linebacker Bruce Damon and senior cornerback Justin Foster both contributed five tackles, while senior defensive end Aaron Vascos also posted five tackles with 1.5 sacks. The sophomore secondary trio of Eli Vascos, Joe Davis, and Trevor Hill chipped in with three tackles apiece.
 
STEVENSON ON DEFENSE:  4-4
The Stevenson defense yielded 344 yards of total offense to Frostburg, including 145 passing yards and 177 rushing yards. Senior linebacker Cory Pietrzyk led the Mustangs with 11 tackles and one tackle for loss. Sophomore linebacker  Izaiah Pitts had none tackles with one quarterback sacks while junior cornerback D.J. Broxton also posted nine stops. Sophomore safety Zach May and junior linebacker Adam Leschke both registered eight tackles. Junior cornerback Daniel Flow contributed six tackles while junior defensive end Brendan Flaherty  had six tackles and a fumble recovery.
 
 
NEXT WEEK:
King's remains on the road when the Monarchs travel to Annville to face MAC rival Lebanon Valley College in a 1:00 PM contest.