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WILKES FOOTBALL POSTS 13-6 WIN TO CLAIM SECOND STRAIGHT MAYOR’S CUP AT CROSS-TOWN RIVAL KING’S

10/29/2011 10:19:00 PM

WILKES FOOTBALL POSTS 13-6 WIN TO CLAIM SECOND STRAIGHT MAYOR'S CUP AT CROSS-TOWN RIVAL KING'S

WILKES-BARRE – Senior co-captain Zach Tivald (Edison, NJ/Edison) went for his fourth 100+ rushing performance running for a game-high 128 yards and one touchdown to lead visiting Wilkes University to a 13-6 win over cross-town rival King's College in the 16^th annual Mayor's Cup game Saturday afternoon from McCarthy Stadium. It marked the first game in the heated rivalry that the two teams played in a rare late October snow storm. By the end of the contest, over 5.5 inches of snow was left on the ground as the Colonels walked away with their second straight Mayor's Cup triumph.

The Wilkes defense played a huge role early in the game as the Monarchs took possession following the game's opening kickoff at midfield. With King's running a fourth-and-two play from the Colonel 42, King's freshman quarterback Bryant Klein was stripped of the ball and recovered by Wilkes James Moore (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) to thwart the scoring chance.

The Colonels wasted little time on its first possession when Tivald took a third-and-two handoff and raced 52 yards for a touchdown to put the Colonels on top. King's Ryan Cordingly blocked the extra-point kick as Wilkes took a 6-0 lead with 11:26 remaining in the first quarter.

King's used a 21-yard return following a short Wilkes kickoff to again start its next drive in good field possession, beginning at the Monarch 47. King's drove to the Colonel 35. But on a fourth-and-three play, King's Eric Ofcharsky was stopped just shy of a first down, turning possession over to Wilkes.

The Colonels drove to the King's 42 before the drive stalled, bringing out the punt team. King's Tommy Armellino blocked the punt and Andrew Yablonsky recovered the ball, returning it to the Wilkes 31.

The Monarchs drove to the Wilkes 14 before the Colonel defense stiffened. Facing a fourth-and-one play, Klein attempted a pass to Chris Green but Wilkes cornerback Joe Chrismer (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) batted the ball away as the Colonels took over on downs.

Three possessions later Wilkes took over at its own 31 and once again found the end zone. A 15-yard pass from Alex George (York, PA/West York) to Ryan Behrman and a 27-yard run by Auxence Wogu gave the Colonels a first down at the King's 25. On the next play, George broke free on an option keeper and raced untouched into the end zone. Geoff Arnetz added the point-after to put Wilkes on top 13-0 with 3:56 left in the second quarter, a led the Colonels would take into the halftime break.

Late in the third quarter, however, King's took over at its own 49 following a short Colonel punt.A five-yard run by Kyle McGrath and a 14-yard keeper by Klein moved the ball to the Wilkes 32. Two plays later Klein found fullback Jordan haddock for a 11-yard completion and McGrath later added a bruising 16-yard carry to the Wilkes one-yard line. On the next play Klein scored on a quarterback sneak to get the Monarchs on the board with 13:15 left in the third quarter. The extra-point kick went wide left as King's trailed 13-6.

On its next possession when the Colonels were unable to drive and sent out the punt team, King's made a costly error attempting to

block the kick when the Monarchs were signaled for roughing the kicker, giving the Colonels a first-down and keeping the drive alive. Equally as important, Wilkes was able to eat time off the clock. The Colonels would maintain possession, methodically reaching the Monarch 17 before facing a fourth-and-eight play. Wilkes tried to pick-up the first down on the next play, but George was sacked and the Monarchs took over on downs.

The Monarchs used a 10-yard run by Klein and a 15-yard pass to Haddock for a first-down at the Wilkes 49. An eight-yard run by McGrath was followed by a six-yard sack. On a third-and-eight from the Colonel 47, Klein found McGrath for a 17-yard screen pass to the Wilkes 30. Two plays later, with just 0:49 left in the game, Klein dropped back to pass and sighted Jay Torres. Wilkes' defense again came up with yet another big play when Chrismer stepped in front of the throw at the Colonel five-yard line and secured the game-ending interception with 0:37 on the clock.

Statistically, Wilkes held a 349-to-179 advantage in total yards. The topped ranked rushing offense in the MAC, the Colonels managed 258 rushing yards and 91 passing yards. King's had 128 rushing yards and 51 yards through the air.

Tivald led the Colonels with 128 rushing yards on 18 carries while George added 85 yards on the ground while completing 7-of-17 passes for 91 yards.

For King's, McGrath rushed for 51 yards on 11 carries and added one catch for 17 yards. Klein completed 5-of-11 passes for 51 yards and an interception while rushing for 31 yards on 17 attempts in his first career start. Haddock added 20 yards on five carries and caught two passes for 26 yards.

Wilkes defensive end Rob Houseknecht (South Williamsport, PA/South Williamsport) was named Wilkes' game most valuable player, making 12 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack. For King's, Lehnowsky was named King's game MVP, making six tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and a half-sack.

Wilkes will return to action Saturday when the Colonels welcome Lebanon Valley College to Schmidt Stadium for a MAC matchup scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

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