WILKES FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. KING'S

10/27/2011 9:00:00 AM

(Complete Game Notes)

WILKES FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. KING'S

Wilkes Colonels (2-4, 2-3) vs. King's Monarchs (1-5, 1-4)
Saturday, October 29, 2011 / 1:00 p.m.
McCarthy Stadium

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THE MATCHUP
Wilkes University travels to cross-town rival King's College for the 16th annual Mayor's Cup game. Following a bye week, the Colonels are coming off a 40-7 setback against Lycoming College on October 15th.

THE HEAD COACHES
Colonels coach Frank Sheptock (Bloomsburg '85) enters his 16th year on the Wilkes sideline, racking up a 96-69 (.581) record. With the 96 victories, Sheptock is the all-time winningest coach in school history, passing Colonel legend Rollie Schmidt's (1962-1981) 90 wins last season. Sheptock has led the Colonels to two NCAA and seven ECAC playoff berths during his tenure, along with a MAC championship (2006). Wilkes made the NCAA playoffs in 2005 and 2006, going 19-4 overall, including a 42-0 win over Washington & Lee in the first round of the 2006 playoffs. Since 1996, Sheptock has coached 12 All-Americans and 122 All-MAC performers.

Jeff Knarr (East Stroudsburg '94) enters his second season at King's after going 1-9 in his first year with the Monarchs in 2010. He came to King's after serving 11 years as an assistant coach at Muhlenberg where he was instrumental in helping the Mule program to six Centennial Conference championships and five NCAA Division III National Playoff berths, including berths in 2007 and 2008. During his 11 years at Muhlenberg, Knarr helped the Mules to a combined 78-40 record, including a 49-19 mark in Centennial Conference games. In addition, Muhlenberg won or shared six Centennial Conference championships and earned five berths into the NCAA Division III National Playoffs in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008.

THE SERIES
This will mark the 26th meeting between the two schools as Wilkes holds a 19-6 advantage in the series. The Colonels are 11-4 against the Monarchs under Sheptock taking a 21-17 decision in Edwardsville, Pa. last season.

POST GAME CEREMONY
Both teams will line up at their respective 40-yard lines as one member of each squad will be honored with a Team Most Valuable Player plaque. Following the presentations of the MVP awards, the winning squad will be presented with the Mayor's Cup by Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas Leighton.

UP NEXT
The Colonels will host Lebanon Valley College at Schmidt Stadium in a MAC matchup scheduled for 1:00 p.m. It will mark the 39th meeting between the two schools as Wilkes holds a 22-16 series advantage. The Colonels are 12-1 against the Flying Dutchmen under Sheptock suffering their only loss in 2008 (21-28).

ON TOP OF THE RECORD BOOK
Going into today's game against King's, Sheptock's 96 wins stands as the school's all-time leader. Sheptock's 96 career wins has been built up over 15 seasons of work and includes a program-record 11 wins in 2006. In 165 career games, Sheptock has a winning percentage of .581.

MAC PRESEASON POLL
The MAC preseason coaches poll was released on August 11 as Wilkes was picked to finish third. Delaware Valley, last year's conference champion, was picked first, receiving seven first place votes.
1. Delaware Valley (7)
2. Lycoming (1)
3. Wilkes
4. Widener (1)
5. Albright
6. Lebanon Valley
7. King's
8. FDU-Florham
9. Stevenson

THE COLONEL QBs
Sophomore Alex George (York, PA/West York) suffered through a disappointing week at Lycoming throwing for just 70 yards on 6-of-12 attempts. George threw his second interception of the season against the vaulted Warrior defense, while rushing for 35 yards on 12 carries. Junior Tyler Berntsen (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) saw extended time in relief of George, throwing for 50 yards on 4-of-11 attempts. Berntsen added 28 yards rushing on the ground, including a game-high 27-yard scamper mostly off of broken passing plays.

THE COLONEL RBs
Senior captain Zach Tivald (Edison, NJ/Edison), ranked third in the MAC in rushing (96.2 ypg), continues to punish teams on the ground rushing for 100+ yards on three different occasions. His 172-yard, three touchdown day at FDU-Florham marked a career-high in yards and scores. Sophomore Auxence Wogou (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) has posted 259 yards on 48 carries on the year. For the season, the Colonel ground game averages a MAC best 225.0 yards per-game.

THE COLONEL WRs
Senior captain Todd Eagles (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East), in his third season with the Colonels after transferring from West Chester, finished with four catches for 60 yards against Lycoming's secondary. Eagles currently ranks fifth in the MAC in receptions per-game (4.8) and sixth in receiving yards per-game (72.0). Sophomore Tim Bousson (Shamokin, PA/Shamokin) posted four catches for 50 yards and one touchdown, while Andrew Regan (Boonton, NJ/Boonton) made one grab for 16 yards.

THE COLONEL OL
The offensive line returns three of five starters from a season ago, led by senior captain and four-year starter Ben Webb (Shohola, PA/Delaware Valley). The offensive line has shown their dominance this season clearing the way for an MAC-best 225.0 yards per-game on the ground. They have kept George and Berntsen off the ground allowing just ten sacks on 144 passing attempts throughout the season.

THE COLONEL DL
The defensive line took a major hit with the loss of senior co-captain Harry Reese (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) going down with a season-ending injury in week 4 at FDU-Florham. Fellow senior James Moore (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) has been called upon to fill the void left in the middle of the defense enjoying a solid outing against Lycoming with five tackles and 0.5 tackles-for-loss. Moore ranks seventh in the MAC in sacks (4.0) and needs just two stops to reach the 100-tackle plateau for his career. Fellow senior Josh Brito (Little Falls, NJ/Passaic Valley) has been elevated to a starter posting 15 tackles and 0.5 TFL in six games this season.

THE COLONEL LBs
Preseason All-American Tate Moore-Jacobs (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) continues to lead an experienced group of linebackers this season. Moore-Jacobs posted a team-best 10 tackles for the Colonels against Lycoming. It marked the sixth straight game he has hit double figures in tackles. He currently is ranked second in the conference in tackles (70) and 19th in tackles-for-loss (5.5). Sophomore Rob Houseknecht (South Williamsport, PA/South Williamsport) posted nine tackles, 0.5 tackles-for-loss for Wilkes against the Warriors in a homecoming for the Williamsport native. Sophomore DJ Shuttleworth (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley) added four tackles from his outside linebacker position.

THE COLONEL DBs
The secondary has improved greatly from the start of the season allowing just 158 yards passing against Lycoming two weeks ago. The unit was led by freshman Jake Sarson (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) with seven tackles from his safety position. Fellow freshman safety Dylan Mohring (Mohrsville, PA/Schuylkill Valley) recorded six tackles, while freshman corner Justin Pellowski (Mt. Carmel, PA/Mt. Carmel) posted six tackles and one pass break-up. Senior corners Matt Gunther (Easton, PA/Easton) and Joe Chrismer (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) combine for seven tackles and one pass break-up against the Warriors.

THE COLONEL SPECIALISTS
Sophomore Geoffrey Arentz (Stevens, PA/Lancaster Catholic) missed his third field goal attempt of the year, a 23-yard attempt at Lycoming as the wind played a factor throughout the contest. His last successful attempt came at FDU-Florham three weeks ago connecting on a 24-yard strike late in the fourth quarter for the Colonels. Arentz is 2-for-5 on field goal attempts, including a season-long 25-yard field goal at Susquehanna in week one. Arentz missed a 46-yard kick at Albright and a 31-yard kick against Widener in his two other attempts. Senior Shawn Gregson (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) continues to serve as kick-off return specialist averaging 19.9 yards per-return. Freshman Andrew Regan (Boonton, NJ/Boonton) provided a spark for Wilkes in the kick return game with an 85-yard kick-off return for a touchdown against FDU in week 4. For the season, Regan has eight returns for 192 yards, good for 24.0 yards per-return. Gregson has fielded four punt returns averaging 6.0 yards per-return.

SCOUTING THE MONARCHS
On offense, King's is led by quarterback Joe Kirchon who has thrown for 872 yards and four touchdowns on 80-for-158 passing. Eric Ofcharsky leads the Monarchs ground game with 186 yards and two scores on 57 attempts. Jay Torres is Kirchon's favorite target on the outside recording 27 catches for 417 yards and all four touchdowns. King's averages 16.2 points per-contest. On defense, linebackers Ryan Kelly and Ryan Cordingly each contribute a team-high 42 tackles. Jim McHugh follows with 33 tackles, 1.0 TFL and one interception. Jake Lehnowsky leads the pass rush with 17 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and a team-high 3.0 sacks. The King's defense is ranked sixth in the MAC allowing 420.0 yards p/g.

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