WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 8, 2018) – The King's College football team will look to keep its bowl game hopes alive on Saturday afternoon with the 23^rd annual Mayor's Cup game against Wilkes University at Schmidt Stadium in Edwardsville, PA. The Monarchs will attempt to break a two-game skid over the last two weeks, falling to Misericordia University and No. 13 Delaware Valley University the two previous Saturdays. Wilkes was off last weekend but is coming off a 14-7 win at home two weeks ago to Lycoming College.

Event Details
Opponent: at Wilkes University (5-4, 4-3 MAC)
Date: Saturday, November 10, 2018
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Edwardsville, PA – Schmidt Stadium (Directions)
Tickets: Adults - $5, Seniors & Non-Wilkes' Students - $2, Students & Children 6 and under - Free
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Things To Know:
Pet Policy & Tailgating Policy

That's What He Said: "You're three blocks apart…it's two schools-one city and for 60 minutes your fighting for supremacy for that deal. Within that…there's a lot of people that have ties to both schools that makes it special. There's only a handful of schools that are closer than three blocks that are rivals, but not many and that puts us to me as one of the most unique and special rivalries and then you add a trophy adds to it…" – Head coach Jeff Knarr on Mayor's Cup.


For A Cause: On Saturday, November 10th at Noon at Schmidt Stadium during the annual Mayor's Cup game between Wilkes and Kings, Palermo Heart to Heart will be highlighting our involvement with Beads of Courage and the Carry a Bead program.

All this week players of both teams will be wearing beads in honor of children with cancer and other serious chronic diseases. To start the game for the coin toss a child from our area and enrolled in Beads of Courage will do the toss. His name is Wyatt and is a 3-year-old boy with a heart condition. It so happens his mom is a King's College alum.

Then on Nov 12th from 1-2 pm in the lobby of Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital near the turtle foundation both teams again will be joining children to play games and have the players show off their football equipment.

Last Time Out For King's: Visiting Delaware Valley University, recently ranked No. 13 by the American Football Coaches Association and No. 16 by D3football.com, used a strong defensive performance to knock off hosting King's College 49-0 on Senior Day in play from McCarthy Stadium in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play.

The Monarchs honored its eight seniors on Saturday, as Robbie Wachter, Will Cameron, Devrin Baynard, CJ Curry, Josh Burkavage, Brennan Walsh, Ben Bakanas and Justin Wenner were celebrated prior to the contest. After the kickoff, King's would struggle to get much going offensively against the conference's best defense.

Senior Jordan Downes rushed for 28 yards on the day, as the Aggies keyed on the standout Monarch running back. Freshman Quincy Clark added 16 yards on the ground as well. Moore finished 12-for-28 through the air for 109 yards, tossing three interceptions in his most extensive action of the season.
Costantino had two catches for 34 yards, while Gabe Boccella made three catches for 27 yards. Defensively, Charles McCall led the way for the Monarchs with 10 total tackles, while Mando Sallavanti added eight tackles along with a forced fumble. Sophomore Tommy Gilmore also finished with eight stops, and Gene Gibbons posted a sack for the Monarchs.

Junior Gabe Brown made a career-high five stops at linebacker for King's (4-5, 3-4 MAC), and Mikal Butler had a very strong game, with three pass break-ups and six tackles. Freshman punter Samuel Hoom boomed King's longest punt of the season with a 69-yard blast, as it was the second-longest punt in program history since a 73-yarder back in 1999 by Tom Pierantozzii against Albright.

The Book on the Monarchs (4-5, 3-4 MAC):

• King's can still make a MAC-Centennial Conference Bowl Series appearance with a win and some help Saturday, needing Delaware Valley, Stevenson and Misericordia to all win their games as well.
• The Monarch offense has continued to move the ball this season, and despite last week's struggles still ranks No. 2 in total offense behind Misericordia with an average of 400.4 yards per game.
• King's has run the ball more than any team in the MAC this season with 405 attempts through nine weeks, which is 23 attempts more than Misericordia. The Monarchs are averaging a league-high 188.2 yards on the ground per game.
• Much of that number is attributed to All-MAC tailback Jordan Downes, as the junior has league-bests of 94.6 yards per game along with 851 yards and 172 attempts. '
• Sophomore signal caller Tommy Klock missed much of last week's game against Delaware Valley, but is still third in the conference in passing efficiency with a mark of 149.1.
• The Monarchs have continued to be one of the steadiest teams in the conference in holding onto the ball, fumbling just five times this season which is first in the conference and 49^th nationally.
• King's has now blocked five kicks this season, which is best in the MAC as Devrin Baynard had a deflection last week against Delaware Valley.
• Sophomore linebacker Mando Sallavanti currently ranks third in the country in forced fumbles, as he also knocked another one out last week against DVU. Sallavanti has five for the season. He also ranks third in all of NCAA football in forced fumbles per game for his career with 0.37 a game.
• Sophomore Tim Costantino is currently ranked No. 12 in the conference in yards per game receiving, as he has 50.2 through the air.
• Sallavanti is seventh in the conference in solo tackles, fifth in the MAC in assisted tackles and fifth in total tackles with 76.
• Freshman Dhedhus Anumgba and junior Mikal Butler are tied for fifth in the MAC in pass breakups with six, while Anumgba is eighth in passes defended with eight.
• Baynard comes into the game seventh in sacks in the MAC with seven.
• King's this season is 4-0 when scoring first on the day but has yet to earn a win in a contest it didn't get on the scoreboard first.
• The Monarchs do have two come-from-behind wins though, having trailing in victories against Hartwick College and Lycoming College.
• Freshman punter Samuel Hoon hammered the longest punt of the year by any punter in the MAC this season with a 69-yarder last weekend.

Last Time Out For Wilkes: On a dreary, rainy Saturday afternoon back on October 27 at Schmidt Stadium, the defense proved to be the largest beam of sunlight as the Wilkes University football team shined over Lycoming College with a 14-7 victory in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action.
The Colonels improved to 4-3 in conference and 5-4 overall with the win. Wilkes is guaranteed at least a .500 record for the first time since the 2012 team finished at 5-5.

The conditions appeared to favor the Warriors offensive style, as they have used a grind-it-out rushing attack to wear down opponents. They entered the game averaging just over 34 rushing attempts-per-game for a little over 101 yards-per-game, but Wilkes' defense was the true story, holding Lycoming to just 24 yards on 26 rushing attempts on top of 162 yards passing.

Tabora overcame the elements to finish 18-of-32 for 241 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Tabora led the ground game with 61 yards on 15 attempts. Steeber hauled in four passes for 87 yards and touchdown while Yanik contributed a game-high seven catches for 70 yards. Bryce Harrison (Hunlock Creek, PA/Northwest) set a new career high with three catches for 39 yards including an impressive 17 yard gain where he dragged a couple defenders along for the ride.

Woods had an outstanding game, finishing with a team-high nine tackles, one interception, three pass break-ups, and a tackle-for-loss. Ricci added six tackles, 1.5 sacks, and three tackles-for-loss while Tarantelli and Schneider each added at least half a sack.

The Book on the Colonels (5-4, 4-3 MAC):

• Wilkes comes into the game knowing that it can win and earn a spot in a bowl game next Saturday for the MAC-Centennial Bowl Series.
• The Colonels have the conference's third-best total offense number this year, posting 398.6 yards per game.
• Wilkes like to pass the ball and has the best passing offense in the MAC, throwing for 290 yards per game which is 21 yards more on average than FDU-Florham and its 269 yards.
• The kicking game for the Colonels has been a solid aspect of the squad this season, posting seven made field goals along with making 31 of 32 extra-point attempts in 2018.
• Jeff Steeber, brother of King's women's basketball player Alexis Steeber, is sixth in the MAC in scoring with 10 touchdown receptions. Steeber is second in the MAC in yards per game receiving with 99.0 a contest.
• Quarterback Jose Tabora has been sensational for Wilkes, as he is leading the conference in yards passing with 2564, while his 23 touchdown tosses is second-most in the conference.
• Tabora has thrown 11 interceptions as well this year, while also rushing for the eighth-most yards per game with 58.4 a contest.
• Jason Wiley has also rushed for 292 yards this season, scoring a pair of touchdowns.
• Linebacker Bud Moyer is second in the conference in tackles with 87, making 9.7 per game. He is also 10^th in tackles per loss with nine this year.
• Nahjir Woods leads the lead in passes defended per game with 1.22, posting eight breakups and three picks. Teammate Devon Fink also has three interceptions this year on the back-end.

Kings vs. Wilkes All-Time: The Monarchs are 10-23 all-time with the Colonels dating back to 1946, a 7-0 loss for King's to their three-block neighbors. King's has had success of late in the series, as the Monarchs are 4-1 in the last five including a 40-26 win last season in McCarthy Stadium. King's is looking to earn a three-year win streak for only the second-time ever in the series.

Up Next: If King's earns a spot in a bowl game, it will be on the road November 17 to play a team from the Centennial Conference. As of right now, the likely teams that King's would take on in a bowl game would be either Franklin & Marshall, Ursinus College or Susquehanna.