NOVEMBER 8, 2003
BOB ZIADIE
HESSLER SETS MARK AS MONARCH RALLY TO DOWN
JUNIATA 41-16
WILKES-BARRE -- Senior quarterback David Hessler set
a new single-season passing yardage mark and rallied King's College from a
13-0 first quarter deficit to a 41-16 triumph over visiting Juniata
College on Senior Day at Betzler Fields.
With the victory, King's won its fifth straight game
and remained in a tie for second place in the Middle Atlantic Conference,
improving to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Juniata fell to 2-7
and 6-2.
Juniata took a 6-0 lead with 8:41 left in the first
period when freshman quarterback Michael Meadows, making his first career
start in place on injured junior Greg Troutman, broke off a 70-yard run on
an option play to move the ball to the King's 19. Four plays later,
Meadows scampered in from four yards out to put the Eagles on top. Dan
Heinlein's conversion kick sailed wide right.
After the teams traded punts, the Eagles would
extend their lead when Craig Moshier took the handoff on a draw play and
raced 85-yards into the end zone. Heinlein's kick extended the lead to
13-0 with 0:15 remaining in the opening period.
King's would answer with an 80-yard drive, keyed by
a 26-yard run by Mike Novia and a 24-yard run by Richard Jackson. Jackson
would later score from nine yards out to put the Monarchs on the board.
Matt VonTanhausen's kick brought Kings' to within 13-7 with 10:08 left in
the half.
The Monarchs would take over at their own 16
following an Eagle punt and mounted an impressive 84-yard drive. A 48-yard
pass from Hessler to Matt Nicodemus gave King's possession at the Juniata
10. Two plays later T.D. Callahan scored from six yards out to tie the
score. VonTanhausen's kick would give King's its first lead at 14-13 with
3:02 left in the half.
Juniata would respond on its next possession when
Meadows carried for 51 yards on another option play to advance the ball to
the King's eight. The drive would stall and Heinlein drilled a 26-yard
field goal with 0:47 left, giving the Eagles a 16-14 half-time lead.
The tide of the game would change early in the third
quarter when Meadows suffered a serious leg injury on a third-down play
and did not return. On fourth-and-five, Juniata punter Jess Leonard
fielded a low snap and attempted to rush for a first down but was dropped
for an 11-yard loss, giving the Monarchs possession at the four yard line.
On the first play, Jackson raced into the end zone to put the Monarchs on
top. VonTanhausen's kick pushed the score to 20-16 with 11:33 left in the
third quarter.
After a nine-yard punt by Leonard, King's assumed
possession at the Eagle 35 where Jackson would take a handoff on a
fourth-and-two play and score from 27 yards out. VonTanhausen's kick gave
the Monarchs a 27-16 lead with 7:12 remaining in the third period.
King's would force another Eagle punt and take over
at the Juniata 49. Hessler would hit Jimmy Snelling for 22 yards before
finding Julian Walker for a 25-yard scoring strike. VonTanhausen's kicks
upped the margin to 34-16 with 4:17 left in the third period.
The Monarchs would later add a 14-yard touchdown
pass from Hessler to Nicodemus with 11:19 left in the game .
Hessler completed 8-of-16 passes for 157 yards and
broke Tom Pierantozzi's single-season mark of 1,368 yards set in 2000.
Hessler now has 1,405 yards this season.
Jackson rushed for a team-high 141 yards and three
touchdown on 26 carries while Novia added 44 yards. Nicodemus led King's
receivers with three catches for 91 yards.
Meadows led Juniata with 175 rushing yards on 17
carries before his third-quarter injury. Moshier added 133 yards rushing
on 28 attempts. Meadows and Lee combined for 11-of-21 passing for just 81
yards.
King's will next travel to face cross town rival Wilkes Saturday at 1:00
p.m. in the Mayor's Cup.
Wilkes defeated Delaware Valley 39-16 on Saturday, and along with King's,
the three are locked in a three-way tie for second-place in the MAC.
Lycoming routed Widener to move into sole possession of first place in the
MAC with a 7-1 mark. Lycoming will face Susquehanna while Delaware Valley
meets Widener. Should Lycoming fall and Delaware Valley down
Widener, the King's-Wilkes winner would be locked into a three-way
first-place tie with Lycoming and DVC. An MAC tiebreaking procedure
would then be implemented to determined the MAC representative in the NCAA
playoffs.
