OCTOBER 9, 2004
BOB ZIADIE
DELAWARE VALLEY RALLIES TO KNOCK OFF KING'S 20-19
WILKES-BARRE -- Adam Knoblauch hit David Carmon with
a 33-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play with 0:55 remaining to lead
Delaware Valley College to a 20-19 come-from-behind victory over host
King's College Saturday at Betzler Fields.
With the win, 25th ranked Delaware Valley improved
to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. King's, which
fell to 1-5 and 1-4 in conference play, suffered its fourth straight
devastating loss. King's has now dropped its last four games by five or
fewer points with each loss coming in the final 1:30 of each contest.
The game featured a number of bizarre plays, eight
turnovers, and a near tragedy. George Mangus, the father of Delaware
Valley head coach G.A. Mangus was in attendance and suffered a cardiac
arrest in the first quarter. At the conclusion of the contest, it was
reported George Mangus was in stable condition and breathing on his own at
a Wilkes-Barre hospital.
Trailing 19-13, the Aggies would take over at their
own 19-yard line following a King's punt. Facing a fourth-and-two play,
Knoblauch found Carmon for a 27-yard gain to the Monarch 46. Two plays
later, Knoblauch would scramble for 13 yards to the King's 33. After three
straight passes forced a fourth-and-10 play, Knoblauch found a streaking
Carmon open at the Monarch three-yard line and the sophomore receiver
raced untouched into the end zone to knot the score at 19-19. Bill Miller,
who had two kicks blocked earlier in the game, came through with the
winning conversion to give the Aggies their only lead of the game.
King's would advance the ball to midfield but a
fourth-down desperation pass was batted away as the Aggies posted their
first win over the Monarchs since the 1997 season.
After a scoreless opening period, King's took a 7-0
lead with 10:37 remaining in the second quarter when Blake Letchford
scored on a six-yard pass from Chris Barnic to cap a 10-play, 80-yard
drive. Delaware Valley would answer with a nine-play, 80--yard drive when
Knoblauch found Sean McMahon on a five-yard scoring play with 2:51
remaining in the half.
The Monarchs would immediately respond when the
Monarchs went 67 yards in seven play, culminated by a 39-yard pass from
Barnic to Julian Walker with 0:19 remaining in the half.
In the second half, Delaware Valley would go on a
seven-play, 67 yard drive and drew to within 14-13 on Knoblauch's
seven-yard scoring toss to John Kiphorn. But Casey Meehan, who had blocked
a field goal in the first quarter, blocked the extra-point kick and
teammate Craig Haywood scooped up the loose ball and raced 82 yards to the
end zone to give King's a 16-13 lead.
The Monarchs would later extend the lead to 19-13
when Bobby Nawrocki kicked a 35-yard field goal with 6:59 left in the
game.
Delaware Valley, which amassed 397 yards of total
offense, was led by Knoblauch who completed just 18-of-41 passes for 302
yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Carmon was
outstanding in making six catches for 169 yards, including the
game-winning score. Don Marshall made five receptions for 94 yards while
Steve Cook rushed for 71 yards on 21 carries.
King's which posted 342 yards of total offense, was
paced by Richard Jackson who rushed for 147 yards on 30 carries and
reached the 100-yard plateau for the sixth time this season. Barnic was
15-of-30 for 217 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Blake
Letchford made six catches for 56 yards while Walker added five receptions
for 107 yards.
The game’s end was all too familiar to the
Monarchs who again suffered an excruciating loss while leading in the
finals minutes for the fourth straight time.
On September 18, the Monarchs dropped a 15-10 loss
to FDU-Florham on a touchdown with 1:24 left. King’s then fell to
Widener 34-31 on a score with 1:05 on the clock. A week ago, King’s
dropped a 21-18 verdict with 0:29 left in the game. Additionally, King’s
first loss of the year was a 28-21 defeat to St. John Fisher on a
touchdown with 5:02 remaining.
