KING’S FOOTBALL FALLS AT WIDENER, 25-20
CHESTER – Matt
Campbell completed 14-of-24 passes for 250 yards and four touchdowns as
host Widener University handed King’s College its first Middle Atlantic
Conference defeat of the season with a 25-20 victory Saturday at Leslie
C. Quick Stadium, Chester.
Widener, which changed
its mascot from the Pioneers to the Pride, three weeks ago, improved to
5-2 overall and 5-2 in the MAC. King’s would slip to 5-2 overall and 5-1
in MAC play.
The first half featured little offense as defense and heavy hitting
highlighted play. The Pride did miss out on a scoring chance on the
opening possession of the game when Widener drove to the King’s 39-yard
line, but King’s safety Craig Haywood posted his sixth interception of
the season at the Monarch 28 to end the threat.
King’s would have a
chance of its own later in the first quarter when the Monarchs drove to
the Pride 41, but the drive would stall as Widener took over at its own
33.
Later in the second
quarter Widener would push across the first score of the game after take
over at its own 20-yard line following a Monarch punt. On a
third-and-seven play from the 23, quarterback Campbell found Elliott
White for a seven yards and a first down at the Pride 30. On a
third-and-eight from the 32, Campbell came up with the biggest play of
the opening half when he narrowly avoided a sack and scrambled free to
find Mike Falkenstein for 30 yards down to the King’s 38.
Campbell converted another third-and-seven play when he connected with
Jamie Schild for 11 yards to the Monarch 24. On a third-and-six from the
21, Campbell found a wide-open White uncovered at the one-yard line for
a Widener touchdown. It was the fourth successful third-down conversion
Campbell executed during the drive. Orlando Brown would miss the
point-after try as the Pride took a 6-0 lead with 3:25 left in the first
half, a lead the Pride would take into the break.
The first half proved
to be a defensive struggle for both teams as the Monarchs would manage
just 70 yards of total offense in the first half, compared to 117 for
Widener.
The Pride would strike
again on the opening possession of the second half when Campbell hit
White for 26 yards to the King’s 42. Two plays later, Campbell would
connect with Mike Schmidt with a 42-yard scoring strike to extend the
Widener lead. The two-point conversion attempt would fail as Widener
took a 12-0 lead with 13:21 remaining in the third-quarter.
After forcing a King’s
punt, Widener drove to the Monarch 41. Two plays later, Haywood would
register his second interception of the game and his eighth of the
season at the Monarch 26, returning the ball 22 yards to the Monarch 47.
King’s would look to take advantage when Ortiz would gain eight yards,
then picked up the first down with a three-yard carry to the Widener 42.
Ortiz would then follow with a 14-yard run to the Pride 28. But the
Widener defense would stiffen as the Pride took over on downs at its own
25-yard line when Searfass was flushed from the pocket and picked up
three yards on a fourth-and-seven play.
Two possessions later
King’s would get a break on special teams when the Monarchs would punt
and Tom Tulaney recovered a Keith Fisher fumble at the Widener six.
After Jeff Field carried for five yards, Searfass would score on a
one-yard quarterback sneak to get the Monarchs on the board. A botched
extra-point play would fail, however, as King’s closed to within 12-6
with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Widener would force a King’s punt and assumed possession at its own 9.
The Pride would face a third-and-one from its own 10-yard line and
Campbell picked up the first down with a two-yard quarterback sneak. Two
plays later Campbell found Schmidt for 40 yards on a crucial third-and-7
play down to the Monarch 36. On the next play, Campbell would hand off
to Prothro who would promptly toss the ball back to Campbell on a
flea-flicker play. Campbell would then find Schmidt wide open at the
two-yard line for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 9:56 remaining.
On King’s next
possession Searfass was picked off by Todd Fairlie, who would lateral to
Orlando Brown to complete a 34-yard return to the Monarch 11. On the
next play, Campbell found Tim Kilkenny in the end zone for the second
Pride score in a 1:26 span. Brown’s conversion gave Widener a 25-6 lead
with 8:30 left in the contest.
The Monarchs would
attempt to rally as King’s executed a nine-play, 57-yard drive, capped
by a 10-yard touchdown run by Ortiz with 1:40 left. Searfass would hit
Joe Winning on the two-point conversion to bring the Monarchs to within
25-14 with 1:40 left. The Monarchs recover a Widener punt, taking over at its own 49-yard line, and would push
in another score when Searfass
found Chris Maloney with a nine-yard touchdown pass with 0:16 left. The
two-point conversion failed as the Monarchs closed to within 25-20.
King’s would attempt an onside kick but Widener would recover to seal
the victory.
Widener would out-gain King’s 302-to-249 in total yards and held a 25-20
advantage in first downs. Schmidt made five catches fro 129 yards and
two scores while White had four receptions for 62 yards and one
touchdown.
The Monarch defense would hold Prothro, the MAC’s second leading rusher,
to 58 yards on 23 carries as Widener would gain just 52 yards in 40
rushing attempts.
Ortiz led King’s offensively with 98 yards on 20 carries. Searfass
finished the game by completing 17-of-32 passes for 129 yards with one
touchdown and two interceptions. Winning had five catches for 46 yards
while Maloney made four receptions for 36 yards.
Mike Lovett led the
Monarch defense with seven tackles with three tackles for loss,
including a pair of sacks. Matt Little and Brendan ireton also added
seven tackles each. Haywood finished with four tackles and two
interceptions
