NOVEMBER 11, 2006
WILKES USES SECOND-HALF SURGE TO DOWN KING'S IN 11TH
ANNUAL MAYOR'S CUP GAME
WILKES-BARRE -- Senior wide receiver Jim Jordan
caught six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns and senior tailback
Tom Andreopoulos rushed for 117 of his 158 rushing yards in the second
half as Wilkes University closed out a perfect regular-season with a
28-7 victory over host King's College in the 11th annual Mayor's Cup
Game Saturday at Betzler Fields.
Wilkes, which clinched the Middle Atlantic Conference championship and
an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Playoffs a week
ago, improved to 10-0 overall and 9-0 in MAC play. Cross-town rival
King's ended the regular-season at 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the MAC. The
Monarchs must now await word on a possible ECAC berth.
King's would push across the game's first points late in the opening
quarter when the Monarchs executed a six-play, 68-yard scoring drive.
The big play of the drive was a 49-yard pass from Jeff Searfass to
King's starting cornerback Bob Cirko, who was inserted into the game at
wide receiver for a number of plays during the contest.
The pass play would give King's a first-down at the Wilkes 32. Five
plays later, John Ortiz would hit paydirt on a five-yard run as the Monarchs
scored the first touchdown against the Wilkes defense in three games.
Tim Lust's conversion gave King's a 7-0 lead with 1:33 remaining in the
opening stanza.
Wilkes missed on a scoring chance when the Colonels drove 62 yards to
the Monarch nine-yard line. The drive would stall and Ryan Yurewicz's
27-yard field goal missed wide right to keep Wilkes off the scoreboard.
The Colonels would force a King's punt and assumed possession at its own
40-yard line. Three straight running plays would net 15 yards, advancing
the ball to the Monarch 45. From there, Colonel junior quarterback Al
Karaffa found Matt Pizarro at the Monarch 10 and the senior tight end
would break a tackle to find the end zone. Yurewicz made good on the
conversion to knot the score at 7-7 with 9:08 left in the second
quarter.
After the teams entered the locker room deadlocked at the break, Wilkes
began to assert itself early in the third quarter. After forcing a
King's punt on the first possession of the quarter, a 17-yard run by
Andreopoulos would help Wilkes drive to the Monarch 17. But the Colonels
came away empty when a 35-yard field goal attempt by Yurewicz sailed
wide left as the game remained tied at 7-7.
Wilkes defense would force another King's punt and the Colonels took
over at the Monarch 47. An 18-yard run by Andreopoulos gave the Colonels
a first-down at the King's 34. Three plays later, Karaffa found Jordan
on a 31-yard scoring pass to give Wilkes its first lead of the game. Yurewicz
added the point-after as the Colonels took a 14-7 advantage with
5:55 remaining in the third quarter.
The Colonel defense would continue to keep King's offense at bay and forced the Monarchs
third straight punt of the half. John Darrah would come up a critical
special teams play when he returned the King's punt 27 yards to the
Monarch 20. A 10-yard carry by Andreopoulos, was followed by a 10-yard
touchdown pass from Karaffa to Jordan. Yurewicz would convert the
point-after as Wilkes' lead grew to 21-7 with 1:46 left in the third
quarter.
Wilkes would add the final score of the game when Andreopoulos scored on
a 37-yard scamper with 0:54 left in the contest to close out the
scoring.
The Colonel defense was outstanding in the second stanza, forcing the
Monarchs to punt on their first five possessions of the half, while also
stopping the Monarchs on downs on a fourth-and-two play at the Wilkes
45. King's crossed midfield just twice in the second half, the final
time coming on the Monarchs' final possession of the game when King's
reached the Colonel 32 as the clock expired. Wilkes held King's ground game in check
as the Monarchs netted just 46 yards on 29 carries.
Wilkes out gained King's 393-to-218 in total yardage and the Colonel
defense held the Monarchs to only two first-downs and just 91
second-half yards.
Jordan's performance earned him team most valuable player honors for the
Colonels. Jordan had plenty of help, however, as Karaffa completed
14-of-21 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns while Pizarro made
two catches for 63 yards to aid the Colonel attack.
For King's, Searfass completed 10-of-24 passes for 172 yards with an
interception. Cirko made two catches for 85 yards in his first action at
wide receiver all season. Sean Viers registered two receptions for 23
yards while Chris Maloney also had two catches for 21 yards. John Ortiz
had 34 yards on 13 carries while Jeff Field netted 22 yards on 12
attempts.
Tyler Henninger led the Wilkes defense with 10 tackles while Anthony
Serafin added seven stops and a sack. Kyle Follweiler and Jake Grande
chipped in with six tackles each.
King's defense was paced by Matt McGovern who was named the Monarchs'
game most valuable player after posting a game-high 12 tackles while Tom
Tulaney followed 11 stops. John Haller contributed eight tackles while
Craig Haywood added six stops, including his school-record 12th
interception of the year.
