NOVEMBER 6, 2004
BOB ZIADIE

JACKSON PACES KING’S FOOTBALL OVER JUNIATA, 48-10

  HUNTINGDON – Senior tailback Richard Jackson rushed for 170 yards and equaled his own school-record of five touchdowns to lead King’s College to a 48-10 victory over host Juniata College Saturday at Knox Stadium in Huntingdon.

With the win, King’s improved to 4-5 overall and 4-4 in the Middle Atlantic Conference while Juniata fell to 1-8 and 1-7.
 
King’s would establish itself on the opening possession of the game when Jackson carried for nine yards. Quarterback Chris Barnic then hit Blake Letchford for 15 yards to the Juniata 37 before Jackson then broke free for a 17-yard gain to the Eagle 20. Barnic then found fullback Joe Tassoni for 11 yards and first down at the nine. On the next play, Jackson went off tackle and raced untouched into the end zone.  Bobby Nawrocki’s conversion kick was good as King’s took a 7-0 lead with 12:47 remaining in the first quarter.

King’s would take advantage of excellent field position when the Monarchs took over on downs at its own 43-yard line. Barnic would find Letchford for 24 yards and a first down the Juniata 35. After the Monarchs advanced to the 14, Jackson bulled his way for a nine-yard gain and a first down at the Eagle five.  The Monarchs were then flagged for an illegal procedure call, moving the ball back to the 10. Two plays later, Jackson would run off right tackle and into the end zone for another touchdown. Nawrocki added the point-after to give King’s a 14-0 lead with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.

King’s would again take over on downs at its own 35 and began another scoring drive.  Jackson would rush for six yards, then followed with a 12-yard carry to the Eagle 47. Later in the drive, Barnic would find Nicodemus for 13 yards to the Eagle 20.  After an illegal procedure call on the Monarchs moved the ball back to the 25, Barnic would hit Jackson on a 25-yard screen pass for King’s third score of the day.  Nawrocki’s kick upped the Monarch lead to 21-0 with 9:51 remaining in the second quarter

Following a punt, Juniata assumed possession at its own 20 and would look to answer. Two runs by Duane Ehredt gained 10 yards before quarterback Corey Doyle hit Paul Kozick for a 12-yard gain. Two plays later, Doyle and Kozick hooked up for 10-yards followed by a roughing the passer call on the Monarch defense which moved the ball to the King’s 26. Doyle then found Jason Koch for 22 yards at the Monarch two.  Two plays later Doyle found Koch alone in the end zone for a Juniata touchdown.  Dan Heinlen’s extra-point kick brought the Eagles to within 21-7 with 5:08 left in the half.

King’s was forced to punt on its next possession but the Monarchs special teams came up with a big turnover when Juniata fumbled and Geoff Ashton recovered at the Eagle 19 with 4:04 left in the half.  Jackson would carry for five yards, then added 12 yards.  On the next play, Jackson ran off left tackle and into the end zone for a score. Nawrocki’s conversion upped the Monarch lead to 28-7 with 2:50 on the clock.

On the ensuing possession, King’s took advantage of another turnover when Ashton intercepted Doyle at midfield and returned the ball 18 yards to the Eagle 32. On the next play, Barnic found Nicodemus at the two and the Monarch junior tight end burrowed over a Juniata defender and into the end zone. Nawrocki’s kick increased the King’s lead to 35-7 with 1:39 remaining in the half.

In the first half, King’s gained 275 yards of total offense compared to 93 for Juniata. Jackson scored four touchdowns, rushing for 129 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns coming on the ground.

In the second half, Juniata would take over at its own 20 following a Monarch punt and would begin to drive when Ehredt carried for 14 yards. After two short gains forced a third-and three play, Ehredt picked up the first down with a six-yard run to the Eagle 48.  Juniata added 10 more yards on a run by Ehredt for a first down at the King’s 42.  Doyle then found Koch for 12 yards to the Monarch 29.  After a short run, the Monarchs were flagged for a face making penalty, giving Juniata a first down at the King’s 11.  A pair of incomplete passes and a three-yard run forced a fourth-and-seven play from the Monarch eight. From there, Heinlein kicked a 25-yard field goal to bring the score to 35-10 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter.

King’s would promptly answer when the Monarchs took over at its own 34 following the kickoff.  Jackson would run for seven yards then picked a first down with a four-yard carry.  Barnic then found Letchford for 15 yards followed by a personal foul call on Juniata that moved the ball to the Eagle 25.  Two plays later Jackson would race off left tackle and broke a pair of tackles before finding the end zone to complete a 22-yard touchdown scamper on his fifth touchdown of the day. Nawrocki’s kick pushed the led to 42-10 with 0:22 remaining in the third quarter.

  Juniata would later force a punt and took over at its own 49-yard line. Doyle found Kozick for 10 yards to the King’s 41. Two short runs would force a third-and-eight play where Doyle connected with Lance Tippett for seven yards. On fourth-and-one from the 32 Doyle picked up seven on a quarterback sneak to give the Eagles a first down at the Monarch 25.  After two incomplete passes and a one-yard run, Heinlein would attempt a 41-yard field goal but a high snap from center was fumbled and Monarch defender Craig Haywood scooped up the loose ball and raced off to a 57-yard touchdown return.  The conversion kick was wide as the Monarchs assumed a 48-10 lead with 7:48 left in the contest.

Jackson moved into ninth place all-time in NCAA Division III history with 5,212 yards. He equaled his own school-record of five touchdowns set two weeks ago in a 49-35 victory over Susquehanna University He also broke his own single-season school record with his 20^th touchdown, surpassing his previous best of 18 set in 2003.

King’s amassed 372 total yards, including 216 rushing and 156 passing yards.  The Eagles netted 204 yards, including 91 rushing and 113 passing yards. 

Other top Monarchs included Letchford with five catches for 59 yards while Barnic completed 10-of-22 passes for 156 yards and two scores.

Juniata was led by Ehredt with 99 yards on 32 caries while Doyle completed 14-of-30 passes for 113 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.  Koch led all receivers with eight catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

King’s will close out its season on Saturday when the Monarchs host archrival Wilkes University at 1:00 p.m. at Betzler Fields in the annual Mayor’s Cup Game.

Juniata hosts FDU-Florham at 1:00 p.m. at Knox Stadium.

 

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Questions or comments to:  Bob Ziadie, King's College Sports Information Director
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