OCTOBER 13, 2007
ALBRIGHT HOLDS OFF KING’S 24-21 TO REMAIN UNBEATEN IN
MAC
WILKES-BARRE -- Sophomore quarterback Tanner Kelly
completed 16-of-29 passes for 205 yard and two touchdowns and visiting
Albright College held off a late King’s College rally to hold on for a
24-21 victory Saturday at Betzler Fields.
With the win, Albright improved to 5-1 and
remained unbeaten in the Middle Atlantic Conference with a 3-0 mark.
King’s, meanwhile, fell to 0-6 for the first time since 1995 while
slipping to 0-3 in the MAC.
King’s would push across the game’s first score
after Albright had driven to the Monarch one-yard line. Kelly would
attempt a quarterback sneak, but in struggling to cross the goal line,
was stripped of the ball by King’s safety Shane McNamara. The Monarch
junior would emerge from the pile and raced 99 yards for a touchdown.
Tim List added the point-after and King’s held a 7-0 lead with 7:35
remaining in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Albright would come
up with a big special teams play deep in King’s territory when Brett
Gaul blocked a Monarch pun and Brett Czarnicki recovered at the King’s
15. Four players later Nate Romig would score on a nine-yard run and
John Whelan’s converted the extra-point, knotting the score at 7-7 with
11:07 left in the first half.
Following a King’s punt, Albright would take over
at its own three-yard line and would come with perhaps the biggest play
of the game. Facing a third-and-six from the Lion 17, King’s would blitz
and nearly sacked Tanner. But the Albright cornerback barely avoided the
sack and lofted a high desperation pass down the right sideline to
Stephen Asay who was double-covered on the play. Asay out leaped both
Monarch defenders to make the catch, then fought off a would-be tackle
near midfield and sprinted down the sideline and into the end zone for
the go-ahead score. Whelan’ conversion kick would give the Lions a 14-7
advantage with 5:32 on the clock, a lead it would take into the halftime
break.
On the first possession of the second half,
Albright marched from its own 39 to the King’s five-yard line where the
drive stalled. Whelan entered the game to attempt a 25-yard field goal.
King’s linebacker Tore Alaimo would block the attempt, but was flagged
for leaping on a teammates back, giving Albright a second chance. From
there, Whelan made good from 22 yards out, giving the Lions a 17-7 lead
with 11:41 remaining in the third quarter.
King’s, which was playing without injured starting
quarterback Jeff Searfass, were unable to mount much offense in the
first half, registering just 72 first-half yards. On its first
possession of the second half, the Monarchs sent in third-string
quarterback Blaine Fox to replace John Cuiffo, who started in place of
Searfass.
Fox would give the Monarchs an immediate boost
when he found Bob Cirko for 44 yards on his first pass of the game to
the Albright 24. Two plays later, Fox and Cirko would hook up again for
a 23-yared scoring strike. Lust added the extra-point and King’s drew to
within 17-14 with 10:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Later in the period, Albright would take over at
the King’s 48 following a short punt. A 21-yard run by Romig and
subsequent facemask penalty on King’s would move the ball to the
Monarch21. Kelly would later find Romig out of the backfield for an
18-yard touchdown to stretch the Lion Lead. Whelan’s kick would give
Albright a 24-14 advantage with 0:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter, King’s would
get a break when Whelan missed on a 37-yard field goal attempt. The
Monarchs would drive to midfield where King’s faced a critical
fourth-and-five-play. The Monarchs would bypass the punt and Fox found
Brandon Murray for exactly five yards to keep the drive alive. Fox would
find Rick Ritter for 23 yards to the Lion 32. After a one-yard loss on a
running play, Fox connected with Ritter gain, this time for a 33-yard
touchdown. Lust converted the extra-point to bring King’s to within
24-21 with 8:54 left.
King’s would force an Albright punt and assumed
possession at its own 15 with 3:59 remaining in the contest. A 19-yard
pass from Fox to Ritter was followed by a 19-yard screen pass to Dennis
Dahms, moving the ball to the Albright 47. After three straight plays,
including a penalty, would result in nine yards in losses, King’s faced
a fourth-and-24 from its own 39. The Monarchs would catch a break when
Albright was flagged for pass interference, giving King’s a first down
at the Lion 46.
A 12-yard pass to Dahms would give King’s another
first down at the Lion 34. After two straight incomplete passes, Fox
would break free on a third-down scramble and picked up nine yards,
missing a first down by inches. On fourth-and-one from the Albright, Fox
would attempt a quarterback sneak, but collided with a Monarch offensive
lineman attempting to spin off a tackler and fell to the ground inches
short of the first down and 0:45 left in the game.
From there, Albright would run out the clock to
escape with its fifth straight win since a season-opening loss to
12-ranked Salisbury.
King’s would out gain Albright 323-to-274 yards in
total offense while holding an 18-12 advantage in first downs. The
Monarchs held Albright to just 69 rushing yards on 34 attempts.
Romig joined Tanner as Albright’s offensive
leader, rushing for 69 yards on 19 carries with one touchdown while
catching four passes for 32 yards and another score. Asay made six
receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown.
In his collegiate debut, Fox enjoyed a solid
effort in completing 11-of-16 passes for two touchdowns and an
interception while rushing for 17 yards in six attempts. Ritter made
four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown while Cirko had three
receptions for 79 yards and a score. Jeff Field rushed for a game-high
98 yards on 26 carries while Dahms contributed two receptions for 31
yards and 15 rushing yards on five attempts.
NEXT GAME:
King’s will visit Lebanon Valley College Saturday October
20, before returning home on October 27 to host Wilkes University on
Homecoming Day at the annual Mayor’s Cup Game slated for 1:30 p.m. at
Betzler Fields.
