OCTOBER 29,
2005
BOB ZIADIE
KING’S FALLS TO 8TH RANKED DEL-VALLEY,
28-19
DOYLESTOWN – Senior
tailback Steve Cook rushed for 204 yards and senior quarterback Adam
Knoblauch passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, as defending Middle
Atlantic Conference champion Delaware Valley College remained unbeaten
with a 28-19 victory over visiting King’s College Saturday at James Work
Memorial Field in Doylestown.
With the win,
Delaware Valley, ranked eighth nationally in Division III, improved to
8-0 overall while standing 7-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
King’s saw it’s three-game win streak come to an end as the Monarchs
slipped to 4-4 and 4-3 in the MAC.
Delaware Valley would
look to establish itself offensively on the opening possession of the
game when Adam Knoublauch opened with a 19-yard pass to David Carmon to
the King’s 40. Knoblauch then would later carry for 16 yards on a
bootleg to the Monarch one-yard line to give the Aggies a
first-and-goal. On the next play Cook would find the end zone to cap a
nine-play, 56-yard drive. Bill Miller added the conversion as the
Aggies took a 7-0 lead with 10:04 remaining in the first period.
King’s would look to
answer when Blake Letchford returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the
Delaware Valley 28. After a short run, senior quarterback Chris Barnic
found Sean Viers for 18 yards to the Aggie nine to set up a
first-and-goal situation. Fullback Nick Shute would carry for four yards
before John Ortiz was stacked up for a one-yard gain. On third-and-goal
from the four, Barnic would find Letchford alone in the end zone for a
King’s touchdown. Tim Lust’s conversion kick, however, sailed wide left
as the Monarchs trailed 7-6 with 7:52 left in the opening stanza.
Delaware Valley would respond on its next possession when Knoblauch
found Don Marshall for 16 yards to the King’s 49. Jake Sheffield would
then add an 11-yard run to the 38. On third-and-seven from the King’s
35, Knoblauch ran a quarterback draw and raced to the King’s five-yard
line. Knoblauch, however, was stripped by Tore Alaimo and Monarch safety
Mike Lyons would recover in the end zone for a touchback to thwart the
drive.
The Monarchs would take advantage on the second play of the drive when
Ortiz burst through a huge hole up the middle and raced 80 yards for a
Monarch score. Lust would again miss the conversion when the kick
caromed off the left crossbar as King’s took a 12-7 lead with 3:48
remaining in the first quarter.
The Aggies would again counter on its next possession when Cook would
run for 21 yards to the Aggie 49. On third-and-nine from the 50,
Knoblauch found Marshall for 21 more yards to the Monarch 29. Knoblauch
would pick up four yards on a keeper before Cook added three yards on
the final play of the first quarter to set up third-and-three from the
22-yard line. Three plays later Knoblauch found Marshall alone in the
end zone for a 15-yard score to cap a nine-play, 72-yard drive. Miller’s
kick would give the Aggies a 14-12 lead with 13:38 remaining in the
second period.
After the teams
traded punts, King’s would take over at the Aggie 43 and would
immediately threaten. Sophomore tailback Jeff Field would carry for
seven yards, then picked up a first down with a five-yard carry to the
Aggie 31. On the next play, Field would fumble the handoff from Barnic
and the Aggies would recover at their own 30-yard line.
Delaware Valley
would take advantage when Knoblauch found John Kiphorn for 22 yards to
the King’s 48, then followed with an 18-yard pass to Cook at the 35. Two
plays later, Cook picked up a first down with a nine-yard run to the 18.
Knoblauch would then connect with Kiphorn for 10 yards to give the
Aggies a first-and-goal at the eight. On the next play, Knoblauch hooked
up with tight end Jason Rorer in the end zone for an Aggie score.
Miller’s kick upped the Delaware Valley advantage to 21-12 with 7:30
left in the second period, a lead the Aggies would take into the
halftime break.
In the third period,
King’s would take the second half kickoff and began to march. Ortiz ran
for 29 yards to the midfield, then added five yards to the Aggie 45. A
six-yard pass to Julian Walker would give King’s a first down at the
Aggie 36. Barnic then found Letchford for 18 yards to the Aggie 18-yard
line. On a third-and-11 play, Barnic narrowly overthrew Letchford to
force King’s into a fourth-down play. From there, Barnic would find
Walker alone deep in the corner of the end zone but the Monarch senior
was unable to hold on to the ball while trying to keep his feet
inbounds.
Later in the third period, King’s would take over at its own 15-yard
line following an Aggie punt. After runs of eight and 10 yards by Jeff
Field moved the ball to the Monarch 45, Letchford would get behind the
Aggie secondary and haul in a pass from Barnic for a 55-yard scoring
pass to cap a six-play, 85-yard drive. Lust’s conversion kick would
bring the Monarchs to within 21-19 with 1:07 remaining in the third
period.
Delaware Valley
would then use a 13-play drive to move the ball to the Monarch 13-yard
line where the drive would stall. King’s would come through with a
crucial defensive play when Alaimo blocked Bill Miller’s 30-yard field
goal attempt with 12:11 remaining.
King’s would assume
possession at its own six-yard line following an Aggie punt with 7:28
remaining in the contest. The Monarchs were unable to move the ball and
were forced to punt. Delaware Valley would take over at the Monarch 39
with 5:51 remaining.
The Aggies would come up big when Marshall ran a reverse from his wide
receiver position and picked up 16 yards down to the King’s 23. On a
key third-and-10 play, Knoblauch would find Joe Foreman for 14 yards and
an important first down at the Monarch nine with 3:52 left in the
contest. After Cook picked up eight yards to the one-yard line,
Knoblauch would look to put the game away when he scored on a
quarterback sneak with 2:49 remaining. Miller’s kick would up the Aggie
lead to 28-19
King’s attempted to answer when Letchford returned the ensuing kickoff
to the Monarch 46. An 18-yard screen pass to Ortiz would advance the
ball to the Aggie 36. An 11-yard pass to Ortiz was followed by a
seven-yard completion to Letchford at the 14. A short run by Ortiz and
two incomplete passes would force a fourth-and-nine play with 1:28 left.
From there, Barnic would loft a pass into the end zone toward Tim
Wacker, but the Monarch sophomore became entangled with an Aggie
defender as the ball fell to the ground incomplete as officials ruled
incidental contact on the play.
Delaware Valley
would run out the clock as the Aggies earned its 19 straight
regular-season victory and its 14 consecutive home win.
Knoblauch completed 17-of-29 passes while Marshall made six receptions
for 94 yards to join Cook as the top Aggies statistically.
Ortiz rushed for 123 yards on 13 carries while Barnic was 12-of-29 for
178 yards and two scores. Alaimo led the Monarch defense with 17
tackles.
The Aggies outgained King’s 508-to-356 in total yards while registering
28 first downs compared to 19 for the Monarchs. Delaware Valley enjoyed
a huge the time possession, holding onto the football for 40:04,
compared to just 19:56 for King’s.
King's will play its final home game of the season Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
against FDU-Florham at Betzler Fields.
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