SEPTEMBER 28, 2002
BOB ZIADIE
BOX SCORE
LYCOMING RALLIES FOR 24-10 VICTORY OVER KING’S
WILKES-BARRE - Lycoming College took advantage of a
pair of King’s College special teams mistakes to overcome a 10-0 deficit
as the Warriors posted a 24-10 victory Saturday at Betzler Fields.
With the win, Lycoming, ranked eighth in the AFCA
national poll, improved to 4-0 overall and in the Middle Atlantic
Conference while King’s fell to 2-2 and 2-1 in conference play.
King’s capitalized on a Lycoming fumble on the
opening kickoff as the Monarchs took a 3-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by
Bobby Nawrocki. After forcing a Lycoming punt, the Monarchs would strike
again when quarterback David Hessler hit Chris Rispoli with a 17-yard
touchdown pass and Nawrocki’s conversion gave King’s led 10-0 with
7:00 remaining in the first quarter.
Lycoming would answer midway through the second
quarter with a seven-play, 61-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard pass from
quarterback Phil Mann to Ray Withelder. Dave Christenson’s point after
cut the Monarch lead to 10-7 with 3:55 remaining in the half.
On the ensuing possession, King’s was forced to
punt from its own 41-yard line when a bizarre sequence of plays occurred
which would weigh in favor of Lycoming, turning the game in the Warriors
favor.
With Nawrocki poised to punt, the center snap from
King’s sophomore Geoff Ashton sailed over the outstretched arms of the
Monarch punter, bouncing back to the Monarch 10-yard line. But rather than
fall on the loose ball, Nawrocki kicked the ball out of bounds and King’s
was subsequently penalized for an illegal kick, moving the ball to the
five-yard line.
On first down, Lycoming fullback Jon Neve fumbled
the ball into the end zone where Whithelder recovered for a Warrior
touchdown with just 1:21 left in the half. Christensen’s kick gave
Lycoming a 14-10 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, both teams would struggle to
move the ball as the defenses dominated. King’s would muster just 47
yards of total offense in the second half, while Lycoming gained only 107.
Lycoming had a scoring chance late in the third
quarter when the Warriors drove to the King’s four-yard line. But the
Monarch defense stiffened and Christensen’s 22-yard field goal attempt
was blocked by Derek Zambino.
On the ensuing possession, King’s made another
costly mistake during an attempted punt when Nawrocki fumbled the snap
from center and was tackled at King’s eight-yard line. King’s defense
held and Christensen’s 25-yard field goal attempt was successful to give
the Warriors a 17-10 lead with 10:12 left in the contest.
Lycoming would push across the game’s final score
when Jon Slemmer capped a 12-play 50-yard drive with a one-yard scoring
run to give the Warriors a 24-10 lead with 2:40 left in the contest.
The Warrior defense held King’s to 138 total
yards, including just 86 on the ground. Lycoming gained 224 total yards
with 108 yards of rushing offense. King’s Richard Jackson led al rushers
with 76 yards on 22 carries. Lycoming’s Jon Neve picked up 66 yards on
20 carries while Jared Morris added 59 on 14 attempts.
Warrior quarterback Phil Mann completed 11-of-20
passes for 116 yards and one touchdown. King’s quarterback David Hessler
completed 7-of-22 passes for 52 yards.
All-American defensive end Steven Wilson turned in
an outstanding game for King’s defensively with eight tackles, including
four tackles for 25 yards in losses and two sacks for 20 yards.
