OCTOBER 14, 2006
FIELD, ORTIZ EACH SURPASS 100 RUSHING YARDS TO POWER
KING'S PAST JUNIATA, 23-7
WILKES-BARRE -- Junior tailback Jeff Field rushed
for a career high 179 yards on 15 carries and scored three touchdowns
while senior tailback John Ortiz added 134 yards on 28 attempts to power
host King's College to a 23-7 victory over Juniata College Saturday at
Betzler Fields.
With the win, King's won its fifth straight game to improve to 5-1
overall and 5-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. Juniata, meanwhile,
slipped to 1-6 and 1-5 in league play.
The Monarchs would push across the first score of the game when Craig
Haywood's 31-yard punt return gave King's possession at the Juniata 27.
Ortiz would pick up 26 yards on a first-down carry to set up a one-yard
scoring run by Field. Tim Lust missed his first point-after of the
season as King's took a 6-0 lead with 5:08 remaining in the first
quarter.
On its next possession following another Eagle punt, Field broke off a
59-yard run to give King's possession at the Juniata 20. Ortiz would
pick up 13 yards on successive carries, while Field added 12 more to
move the ball to the Eagle one. On the next play, Field borrowed into
the end zone to cap a six-play, 79-yard drive to extend the Monarch
lead. Lust added extra-point as the Monarchs took a 13-0 lead with 14:45
remaining in the second quarter.
Juniata would take over at midfield following a King's punt and looked
to answer when Jay Leonard hit David Nicklaus for 15 yards to the
Monarch 33. Duane Ehredt would then take off on a 30-yard carry to the
King's three-yard line. Three plays later Ehredt would score from a yard
out to get the Eagles on the board. Nicklaus kicked the point after to
cut the King's lead to 13-7 with 9:00 left in the second quarter.
After a King's punt, Juniata threatened when the Eagles advanced to the
King's 11, but sophomore linebacker Tom Tulaney intercepted Leonard at
the Monarch six-yard line with 3:44 left in the second quarter, enable
King's to hold onto a 13-7 lead at the halftime break. The drive proved
costly to the Eagles as Ehredt would leave the game with an injury after
running for 99 yards on 13 carries and did not return.
King's would add to its lead on the opening possession of the second
half when Jeff Searfass hit Chris Maloney for 18 yards, followed by a
28-yard run by Field to the Juniata 29. A seven-yard run by Ortiz and a
nine-yard Searfass completion to Maloney would move the ball to the
Eagle 13. From there the drive would stall and Lust booted a 28-yard
field goal into a stiff wind to extend the King's advantage to 16-7 with
11:31 remaining in the third period.
On Juniata's next possession the Monarch defense would then come up with
a crucial turnover when Craig Haywood intercepted Leonard at the King's
49 and followed with a 40-yard return to give the Monarchs possession at
the Juniata 11. Field would eventually score his third touchdown of the
day from a yard out and Lust added the conversion to push the Monarch
advantage to 23-7 with 8:26 left in the third period.
Later in the fourth quarter Juniata would reach the King's 35-yard line,
but a fourth-and-five pass play fell incomplete with 2:29 left, allowing
the Monarchs to run out the remainder of the clock.
King's would total 391 yards on the day including a season-high 321
rushing yards. Field averaged a whopping 11.9 yards per-carry to pass
his previous career-high of 96 yards set during a 28-23 victory over
Moravian on September 16. The Monarch running attack more then
compensated for an unproductive passing day that was greatly affected by
heavy wind as Searfass completed just 6-of-16 attempts for 70 yards.
Maloney led the Monarch with two catches for 27 yards while Mike Sheil
added two receptions for 11 yards.
An opportunistic King's defense yielded 304 yards of total offense,
including 224 rushing yards, but the Monarchs came up with three
interceptions, including a two by Haywood who has five interceptions
over the last two games. Haywood and Matt McGovern led the way with 10
tackles each while Tulaney added eight stops for the Monarchs.
Kiel Knisely led Juniata with 116 rushing yards on 23 carries. Jason
Koch made four catches for 24 yards while Nicklaus added three
receptions for 54 yards. Leonard completed 8-of-23 passes for 81 yards
and three interceptions
Andy Miller, Alex Waleski, and Andrew Knittle each
had seven tackles to pace the Juniata defense.
