NOVEMBER 10, 2007
KING'S DOWNS FDU-FLORHAM 17-14 ON DERITO FIELD GOAL
WITH 0:18 LEFT
WILKES-BARRE -- Andrew DeRito kicked a 26-yard
field goal with just 0:18 remaining as the King's College football team
posted a 17-14 victory over visiting FDU-Florham Saturday at Robert L.
Betzler Fields.
With the win, King's avoided its first winless season ever as the
Monarchs concluded the year with a 1-9 overall record and a 1-6 mark in
the Middle Atlantic Conference. FDU-Florham, meanwhile, fell to 2-8
overall and 0-7 in the MAC while dropping its seventh straight game to
end the season.
With the game tied 14-14 and FDU in possession, the Devils faced a
fourth-and six situation from the King's 39-yard line with 2:59 left in
the contest. FDU would bypass a punt or field goal try and elected to
register a first down. But Monarch safety Justin Zlotek intercepted
Devil quarterback Bill Winters at the King's 25 and returned the ball 24
yards to the Monarch 49 with 2:38 remaining.
From there King's quarterback Olayinka Soda, who was making his first
career start, hit Rick Ritter for 17 yards to the Devil 34. Soda would
then run for carries of 12 and nine yards to the FDU 13. After two short
runs advanced the ball to the Devil nine-yard line, King's, which was
out of time-outs, would send in the field goal team on third down.
DeRito, who had a 37-yard field goal blocked early in the fourth
quarter, calmly stepped forward and drilled the game winning kick down
the middle to give the Monarchs a 17-14 lead with 0:18 on the clock.
FDU would mount one final attempt when Winters hit Kyle Bukowiec and Ray
Kwiatkowski for 17 and 13 yards respectively to move the ball to
midfield with 0:01 left. On the final play of the game Winters pass
downfield fell harmlessly to the ground as King's would walk away with
the victory.
King's would take a 7-0 lead when Soda led the Monarchs on a 14-play,
67-yard drive in which he carried for 56 yards on a variety of runs. A
16-yard scamper by Soda would give the Monarch a first-and-goal from the
Devil seven. Three plays later Soda would score on a two-yard run to get
the Monarchs on the board.
After the teams traded punts, FDU would begin to drive thanks to a
41-yard run by Dan Harrison, advancing the ball to the Monarch 21. After
Winters found Tim Durkin for 10 yards and first down at the Monarch six,
Harrison would score from two yards out for the Devils' first score of
the day. The extra-point failed, however, as Mike Barnard's kick bounced
off the left upright, enabling King's to hold on to a 7-6 lead with 11:16
remaining in the second quarter.
King's would immediately answer when Soda hooked up with Ritter for 16
yards to the Devil 40. After the Monarch freshman signal-caller ran for
eight yards, he would find Bob Cirko in the back of the end zone for a
32-yard touchdown pass. DeRito added the conversion as King's extended
the lead to 14-6 with 9:42 left in the half.
In the third quarter FDU took advantage of a King's turnover when DeRito
was unable to handle the snap on a fourth-down punt and fell on the
loose ball, giving the Devils possession at the Monarch 31. From there,
Winters would find Bukowiec alone in the back of the end zone for a
15-yard Devil score. FDU would attempt a two-point conversion and made good when
Winters hooked up with Kwiatkowski to tie the game at 14-14 with 10:03
remaining in the third quarter.
Late in the quarter, King's would march to the FDU
18-yard line but the Devil defense would hold. On the second play of the
fourth quarter, DeRito's 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Kevin
Hatcher-Puryear as the game remained tied.
After a FDU punt, the Monarchs would create another scoring chance with
a 52-yard drive to the Devil 12. The Devils, however, would stuff King's
for losses of eight and four yards on consecutive plays to force a
fourth-and-20 from the Devil 24. King's would forgo the field goal and
Soda's pass fell incomplete as FDU took over at their own 24 with 7:35
left in regulation.
After the Devils marched to the King's 39, a four-yard run and two
incomplete passes set up a fourth-and-six play with 2:49 left. From
there, Zlotek posted his fourth interception of the year, leading to DeRito's
game winning kick.
Statistically, the game was an evenly played contest as FDU registered
16 first downs compared to 15 for King's. The Devils also held a
281-to-258 advantage in totals yards, while the Monarchs held onto the
ball for 31:59 compared to 28:01 for FDU.
Soda accounted for 217 all-purpose yards, completing 8-of-21 passes for
127 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 90 yards on 20 carries.
Ritter had four catches for 55 yard while Cirko added two receptions for
68 yards and one score.
For FDU, Winters was 12-of-26 for 188 yards with
one touchdown and two interceptions. Harrison rushed for 89 yards on 15
carries but left the game for good midway through the third quarter with
a knee injury. Adam LaValley would add 65 yards on 16 attempts while
Kwiatkowski made five catches for 57 yards. Bukowiec chipped in with
four receptions for 43 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively for King's, senior linebacker Tore Alaimo concluded his
brilliant career with a team-high 13 tackles in his final game with the
Monarchs. Alaimo will graduate as King's all-time tackles leader,
making 127 stops on the year, surpassing the mark of
118 by Chad Ormond in 1996.
Matt Rhodes was also outstanding with 10 tackles while Alex Watty had
seven stops. Shane McNamara chipped in with five tackles and an
interception.
