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SEPTEMBER 13, 2003
KING’S FALLS TO LYCOMING, 31-21
WILLIAMSPORT -- Lycoming College would overcome a
14-2 second-half deficit with a 22-point third period as the host
Warriors posted a 31-21 lead over King’s College in a key Middle
Atlantic Conference matchup Saturday at a rain saturated Person Field,
Williamsport.
Lycoming, which was picked to finish first in the
2003 MAC Coaches Pre-Season Poll, improved to 1-0 with its
season-opening triumph. King's, the defending MAC champion, fell to
1-1.
The game was tight throughout the opening half with
the Monarchs taking a 7-2 lead into the half-time break.
Early in the second half, however, the Monarchs
jumped out of the gates quickly on its opening possession of the third
period. On just the second play of the period, King’s tailback Richard
Jackson burst off right tackle and raced virtually untouched for a
66-yard touchdown run to extend the King’s lead. Matt VonTanhausen’s
conversion kick would give the Monarchs a 14-2 advantage.
The Warriors, however, would respond and go off on a
22-0 scoring spurt.
Following the Monarch score, Lycoming would assume
possession at its own 27-yard line and counter immediately when senior
quarterback Phil Mann hit Ricky Lannetti with a swing pass on the fourth
play of the drive and the Warrior senior broke free for a 63-yard score.
Chris Schrader’s extra point kick brought Lycoming to within 14-9 with
12:30 left in the third quarter.
Following a King’s punt, Lycoming would take over at
the Monarch 49. After a rush for no gain, Lycoming was flagged for an
illegal procedure penalty, moving the ball back to the Warrior 46. After
an incomplete pass set up third-and-15, Mann hit Sean Hennigar for 19
yards to the King’s 35. Mann found hit Lannetti open on consecutive
plays, advancing the ball to the Monarch 20. Mann would avoid a sack and
scramble to the Monarch 18. Two plays later Bob Miller burst up the
middle for a 12-yard touchdown run. On the two-point conversion attempt,
Mann found Hennigar in the back of the end zone, giving Lycoming a 17-14
lead with 8:50 left in the third quarter.
King’s gained another scoring chance when it would
later assume possession following a Lycoming turnover at the Warrior
47-yard line. On first down, Jackson carried for five yards, but was
stopped for a loss of four on the next play. On third-and-nine, Brian
Kaspick intercepted a Hessler pass at the Lycoming 21 to end the Monarch
threat.
On first down, Mann and Lannetti hooked up for a
31-yard gain. Mann then found Lannetti on the next play for 17 yards to
the King’s 36. After two incomplete passes, Mann again hit Lannetti for
15 yards to give the Warriors and first down at the Monarch 25. Miller
then carried for 10 yards to the 15, before picking up three more to the
12.
After a loss of five yards on a swing pass set up a
third and six play, Mann found Tim Brown for six yards to set up a
fourth-and-one play from the King’s six. Miller then broke free from two
King’s tacklers and picked up a key first down at the Monarch three.
After Drew Corsilli picked up two yards to move the ball to the one,
Mann would score on a quarterback sneak to increase the Lycoming lead.
Schrader’s conversion pushed the advantage to 24-14 with 0:38 left in
the third quarter.
King’s would attempt to respond on its next
possession when Hessler hit Julian Walker for 25 yards to the Warrior
39. Jackson then rushed for five yards, followed by an incomplete pass.
On third-and- five Jackson was stopped for a yard to force a
fourth-and-four play from the Lycoming 24, Hessler was intercepted in
the end zone by Nick Pinto to thwart the King’s drive.
King’s would take over at the Lycoming 29 following
an interception by Casey Meehan. After a short run and two incomplete
passes set up a fourth-and-one play, Hessler kept the drive alive with a
17-yard run to the Lycoming 12. Two short runs by Jackson netted just
one yard. But on third-and-seven from the 10, Hessler found Walker on a
slant for a Monarch score. VonTanhausen’s conversion brought King’s to
within 24-21 with 9:37 left in the contest.
The teams would trade possessions and Lycoming was
forced to punt from the Monarch 35. Dylan Dupuis’ punt rolled to the
King’s five where the Monarchs would be forced to march 95 yards over
the final 2:05 of the contest.
Hessler’s first down pass was batted down at the
line of scrimmage. But on second down Hessler was sacked in the end zone
by Ryan Repko and fumbled. Warrior sophomore Luke Sterling would recover
the loose ball in the end zone for a Lycoming touchdown. Schrader’s kick
upped the lead to 31-21 with 1:48 left.
The first half was a defensive struggle with few
scoring chances. King’s would capitalize first when it pinned the
Warriors deep in their own territory and took over at the Lycoming 17,
following a 19-yard punt return by Derek Zambino. After an incomplete
pass, Hessler found a streaking Walker over the middle and the Monarch
sophomore broke a tackle and raced down the right sideline for a 28-yard
touchdown play. The conversion by VonTanhausen gave King’s a 7-0 lead
with 2:25 remaining in the half.
The Warriors would then drive to midfield before
punting and King’s took over at its own nine yard line. King’s was
unable to move the ball and were forced to punt. VonTanhausen fumbled
the snap and tried to pass from the end zone. The Monarch senior was
called for intentional grounding, awarding Lycoming a safety and
bringing the score to 7-2.
On the ensuing free kick Lannetti returned the
offering to the Monarch 43 but King’s was flagged for a personal foul,
moving the ball to the 28. After an incomplete pass, Mann scrambled for
three yards to the King’s 25. On third-and seven, another incomplete
pass set up a fourth-and-seven play. From there, Mann lost the wet
football while attempting to pass and King’s Jim Fagnani recovered the
fumble at the 35 to end the threat with 0:12 left in the half
Earlier in the game, Lycoming would miss out on a
golden opportunity in the second quarter.
Following a King’s punt the Warriors took over at
their own 31-yard line. Lycoming received a big play when Mann found
Miller out of the backfield for a 30-yard gain to the King’s six-yard
line. Drew Corsilli then carried for two yards to the four but Casey
Meehan made a big defensive stop when he tackled Corsilli for a six-yard
loss back to the 10. On third-and-goal Mann’s pass to Lannetti was
broken up by Zambino forcing the Warriors to send in the field goal
team. The 27-yard attempt by Schrader was blocked by Monarch freshman
Tom Reardon and King’s would take over at its own 19-yard
line.
Later in the second quarter, King’s missed out on a
chance of their own after forcing a Lycoming punt from the Warriors’ own
32-yard line. Dupius fumbled the centered snap and was tackled at the
Lycoming 13 where the Monarchs would take over. Tailback T.D. Callahan
would then rush for six and two yards to set up a third-and-two play.
But King’s was flagged for illegal procedure penalty, moving the ball
back to the nine. On the next play, Hessler found wide receiver Julian
Walker in the end zone for an apparent touchdown catch.
On
the play, Walker caught the ball and came down with both feet clearly in
bounds before falling to the turf on his backside. Walker then held up
the ball to show the official he had possession and still had one foot
in bounds while he sat on the turf. Much to the dismay of the Monarchs
the game official ruled Walker caught the ball out of bounds and the
highly controversial call forced a fourth down. From there,
VonTanhausen’s 26-yard field goal attempt sailed wide, as the game
remained scoreless with 6:02 left in the half.
Still, the
Monarchs had other chances throughout the contest but were unable to
convert.
Two possessions after VonTanhausen's field goal try,
King’s had another failed scoring chance when Zambino picked off a Mann
passing attempt and King’s took over at the Warrior 29-yard line with
5:35 left in the half. After two short runs, the Monarchs would pick up
a key first down when Hessler hit Joe Tassoni with a five-yard gain on a
third-and-four play to the Lycoming 17. But two plays later, Pinto
picked off Hessler in the end zone to thwart the Monarch scoring
opportunity.
Lycoming held a 345-to-326 advantage in total yards.
The Warriors passed for 243 yards compared to 145 for King's. The
Monarchs held a 181-to-102 rushing advantage. Jackson led King's with
157 yards for the second straight week on 30 carries. Hessler, who has
been hobbled with a leg injury since the Monarchs pre-season scrimmage
against Alfred, was 12-of-33 with two touchdowns and three
interceptions. Walker had an outstanding game for King's with seven
receptions for 105 yards and two scores.
Mann completed 17-of-39 passes for 243 yards, one
touchdown and two interceptions. Just as important was Mann's scrambling
ability as the Warrior senior signal caller avoided a number of sacks by
King's defenders gaining crucial yardage on the ground. Lannetti was
stellar for Lycoming with eight catches for 143 yards. Miller led the
Lycoming rushing attack with 73 yards on 14 carries.
King's will return to action Saturday when the
Monarchs make their home debut against FDU-Florham (0-2), a 14-0 loss to
Lebanon Valley.