SEPTEMBER 21, 2002
BOB ZIADIE
BOX SCORE
KING
’S
FOOTBALL DEFEATS DELAWARE VALLEY, 50-14
DOYLESTOWN – Richard Jackson rushed for 142 yards on 26 carries and
threw a
touchdown pass in little over a
half and King’s College scored 43 unanswered points
as the Monarchs posted a victory over host Delaware Valley College in
a Middle Atlantic Conference matchup Saturday
in Doylestown.
With the win, King’s improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in MAC action.
The
Aggies fell to 0-3 overall and in
the MAC.
Delaware Valley struck quickly on the first possession of the game.
After
moving the ball to their own
42-yard line, freshman quarterback Adam Knoblach hit
Rich Gear with a 58-yard touchdown reception. Tom Rady’s conversion gave
the Aggies a 7-0 lead with 13:17 left in the
first quarter.
On King’s first play from scrimmage, quarterback David Hessler hit
tight end
Harry Dickey with a 34-yard
reception to the Aggie 46. After a short gain and
a sack, King’s faced a third-and-14 from midfield. Hessler then
scrambled to the 37 to set up a
fourth-and-one-play. From there, Richard Jackson kept the
drive alive with a four-yard gain for King’s first down at the Aggie 33.
Jackson would later give King’s a first-and-goal at the five with a
six-yard
pick-up. Two plays later,
Hessler hit tight end Geoff Ashton with a three-yard
scoring pass. Bobby Nawrocki’s conversion tied the scored at 7-7 with
6:05 left in the first quarter. The 15-play, 80-yard drive would be a
prelude of things to come.
The Aggies would respond quickly when Knoblach found Gear on second
down with
a 18-yard pickup to the
Monarch 45. Knoblach then found Gear alone down the left
sideline for a 45 yard scoring pass. Rady’s conversion gave Delaware
Valley a 14-7 lead with 5:31 remaining in the
first quarter.
King’s missed a scoring opportunity when Kamau Woolard returned the
ensuing
kickoff 36-yards to give the
Monarchs possession at their own 47-yard line. King’s
would move to the 11-yard line but the drive would stall and Nawrocki’s
35-yard field goal attempt sailed wide as the Aggies maintained the
lead.
King’s defense would stiffen and following a short Aggie punt the
Monarchs
would take over at the
Delaware Valley 48-yard line. Jackson would carry for 14
yards to the 34 but was stuffed for no gain on the next play. King’s
would move the ball to the 18 and would
face a critical fourth-and-14 play. The Monarchs
would attempt an apparent option play, but Jackson pulled up and hit
split end Chris Rispoli with a perfectly
executed 22-yard scoring toss.
Nawrocki’s conversion tied the score at 14-14 with 7:46 left in the
second
quarter.
On their next possession, the Aggies would take a calculated risk which
backfired. Assuming possession at their own
19-yard line, Delaware Valley would
advance the ball eight yards on three plays. On fourth-and-two from
their own 27, the Aggies gambled and would
attempt to pick up the first down.
With Knoblach settled back in the shot-gun position, the snap from
center
sailed high over the rookie
signal-caller’s head, giving the Monarchs a first-and-goal
at the Aggie three-yard line. Two plays later, Jackson would score
from one yard out to put the Monarchs on top for the first time in the
game. Nawrocki’s conversion pushed the lead
to 21-14 with 5:35 left in the half.
King’s would force the Aggies to punt, and assume possession at its
own 35.
On first down, Jackson would
carry for 11 yards before a roughing the passer penalty
on the Aggies pushed the ball across midfield to the Delaware Valley
39. Jackson carried for five yards before
picking up a first down with a nine-yard
run to the 25-yard line. Hessler would scramble for seven yards before
an offside penalty gave King’s a first down at the 13.
Jackson would run
for six yards, then add five to give the Monarchs a first-and-goal at the
two-yard line. The drive would stall and
Nawrocki converted a 20-yard field goal
to give King’s a 24-14 lead with 0:06 left in the half. Jackson
led King’s offensively in the first half with 117 rushing yards on 24
carries. The Monarchs also held a commanding
21:21-to-8:39 advantage in possession
time.
In the second half, the Monarchs continued to dominate the line of
scrimmage. Jackson carried 11 yards to
the King’s 47 before Hessler hit Clyde McCullough for
11 yards to the Aggie 42. Hessler would later find Ryan Gennaro for 22
yards to give King’s a first down at the
Aggie five. The junior quarterback would
carry for four yards before tailback Silas Moore found the end zone on
the next play to complete a 10-play, 64-yard
drive. Nawrocki’s kick gave the Monarchs
a 31-14 lead with 11:18 remaining in the third quarter.
King’s would force a punt and take over at the Aggie 45-yard line. On
first down, Hessler would scramble for
a 10-yard gain before finding McCullough for 24
yards to the 11. Moore would rush for seven yards. before racing untouched
into the end zone on the next play to pad the
Monarch advantage. Nawrocki’s conversion
was blocked but King’s still led 37-14 with 8:17 remaining in the
third quarter.
Following another Aggie punt, King’s would mount a, eight-play,
75-yard drive which concluded when
Hessler hit McCullough with a 56-yard scoring strike with
0:12 left in the third quarter. Nawrocki’s conversion upped the Monarch
lead to 44-14.
On King’s next possession, Dante DeSantis carried for 21 yards on two
carries to move the ball to the Aggie
43. Two plays later, back-up quarterback Andy French
hit Matt Nicodemus for a 36-yard touchdown pass and the game's final
score. Nawrocki’s kick was wide as the
Monarchs lead grew to 50-14 with 7:03 remaining.
Hessler completed 11-for-19 for 185 yards yards. The Monarchs totaled
492 yards with a balanced effort. King’s
rushed for 244 while passing for 248 yards.
The Monarchs had six scoring drives of at least 60 yards.
After surrendering 177 total yards in the first quarter, the Monarch
defense dominated, holding the Aggies
to 105 yards over the final three quarters. King’s
held the Delaware Valley to 67 rushing yards.
The Monarchs will return to action Saturday with an important MAC
contest against powerful Lycoming
College (3-0, 3-0 MAC) at 1:30 p.m. at Betzler Fields.