WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – King’s College put up more than 400 yards of total offense and took advantage of five Lycoming turnovers en route to a 24-7 upset win against the Warriors on Saturday, Nov. 8. The loss, coupled with an Albright win, moves Lycoming out of first-place in the Middle Atlantic Conference.

King’s entered the game without a MAC win (0-5) and with just one win on the season (1-7), while Lycoming entered the game with control of the league (6-2, 4-1 MAC).

The Monarchs totaled 407 yards of offense, including 247 rushing yards, to Lycoming’s 351. King’s was led by quarterback Corey Lavin, making his first career start. Lavin, who hadn’t played all season, completed 11-of-24 passes for 160 yards with no turnovers. He also rushed for 48 yards and one touchdown.

Lycoming had four interceptions and lost one fumble, and was penalized seven times for 56 yards.

King’s won the opening toss and elected to receive. After each team exchanged possessions twice to start the game, the Monarchs struck first when Andrew DeRito connected on a 29-yard field goal with just over three minutes left in the first quarter, capping a 10-play, 57-yard drive.

King’s kept momentum going by stopping the Warriors on their next possession and then capitalized on a Lycoming pass interference penalty to score the first touchdown of the game. Richard Maerten scored on a seven-yard rush, capping an eight-play, 67-yard drive. DeRito’s kick made the score 10-0 in favor of King’s with 11:11 to play in the half..

Lycoming’s offensive woes continued on the next drive when quarterback Colin Dwyer (Dalton, Pa.) was intercepted at midfield, giving the ball back to the Monarchs’ offense.

The Warrior defense forced a punt to give Lycoming the ball at the six-yard line, but a chop block penalty moved the ball back to the three-yard line to start the drive with just under seven minutes left in the half.

Dwyer hit Ryan Wagaman (Aspers, Pa.) on back-to-back passes to move the ball 67 yards to the King’s 30-yard line and Josh Kleinfelter (Bellwood, Pa.) added a 19-yard rush to put the ball on the 11-yard line as Lycoming gained 86 yards in three plays. Two short runs by Kleinfelter moved the ball to the eight-yard line to set up a third-and-7. After a timeout, Dwyer connected with Brad Shellenberger (Lock Haven, Pa.) for the eight-yard score. Scott Erikson’s (New Providence, N.J.) kick brought the score to 10-7 with 4:24 to play. The drive covered 97-yards in six plays and took just 2:16 off the game clock.

Erikson’s kickoff sailed out of bounds on the next play, giving King’s the ball on its own 40-yard line. The Monarchs converted a third-and-long and a fourth-and-one to keep their drive alive, advancing to the Lycoming three-yard line with just over 30 seconds to play in the half. After a timeout, quarterback Corey Lavin ran a draw to the outside and snuck into the end zone. DeRito’s extra point put King’s up 17-7 with 26 seconds on the clock.

Dwyer’s first pass was intercepted and returned inside Lycoming territory, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on King’s brought the ball back to midfield with five seconds left. King’s long pass attempt fell incomplete to end the half with King’s leading 17-7.

Dwyer opened the second half with an 11-yard completion to Kleinfelter and a 15-yard pass to Wagaman before scrambling for 15 yards to the King’s 25-yard line. Kleinfelter added two rushes and Dwyer hit Wagaman for six yards to set up a third-and five from the King’s nine-yard line. Dwyer’s pass was batted down, bringing Erikson on for a 25-yard field goal attempt. Erikson’s kick sailed wide right to leave the score 17-7 with just under 10 minutes to play in the third.

The Warrior defense forced a punt and after a Ray Bierbach (Hunlock Creek, Pa.) return, the offense took over on the 50-yard line.

Kleinfelter rushed for a first down before Dwyer was intercepted for the third time, when Shane McNamara picked the pass at the King’s eight-yard line.

King’s moved down the field into Lycoming territory before the drive stalled. DeRito’s punt sailed into the end zone to give the Warriors the ball on the 20-yard line.

Kleinfelter caught a nine-yard pass and then added a four-yard rush for a first down. After a late hit by the Monarchs, the Warriors were given the ball at midfield. On the next play, Dwyer’s pitch to Kleinfelter went errant and was recovered by King’s.

The Monarchs moved the ball down the field to the Lycoming 18-yard line as time expired in the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth, Lavin was hit out of bounds. The personal foul call on Lycoming gave them a first down at the 12-yard line. King’s’ offense capitalized when Maerten scored on a 12-yard rush to cap the eight-play, 60-yard drive. DeRito’s kick made the score 24-7 with 13:15 to play in the game.

The Warriors offense stalled after gaining just two yards, forcing a punt back to King’s.

After the teams changed possessions twice, Lycoming got the ball at its own 25-yard line with 6:07 remaining in the game, still trailing 24-7.

Dwyer rushed for a first down and completed passes to Shellenberger and Wagaman to advance into King’s territory. The drive moved down to the 11-yard line, but the King’s defense held on fourth down, taking over on downs with 2:24 to play.

The Warriors got the ball back again with under a minute to play, but Dwyer was intercepted in the end zone to end the game.

Dwyer completed 23-of-48 passes for 222 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions.

Wagaman caught nine passes for a career high 139 yards. Shellenberger added seven catches for 28 yards.

Kleinfelter finished the game with 18 carries for 98 yards, leaving him 27 yards shy of the 1,000-yard mark on the season.

The defense was led by Chuck Bellitto (New Holland, Pa.) with eight total tackles, including seven solo stops. Ben Rosa (Honesdale, Pa.) had eight total tackles as well.

With Albright defeating Widener on Saturday, the Lions gain sole possession of first-place in the MAC.

Lycoming's chances of sharing the MAC title and advancing to the NCAA playoffs are still alive. The Warriors have to defeat Lebanon Valley on Saturday, Nov. 15 at home, and Delaware Valley has to beat Albright on the same day (at Delaware Valley). If both of those happen, Lycoming, Delaware Valley and Albright would be co-champions of the league and the Warriors, by way of defeating both teams during the regular season, would get the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 at David Person Field. Lycoming's senior class will be honored prior to the game.

Notes: King's is the only team to outgain Lycoming all season ... King's is the only offense to put up more than 400 yards on Lycoming this year ... the Warriors were 4-for-14 on third down conversions on Saturday after entering the game with the best percentage in the league (44%) ... Josh Kleinfelter needs 27 rushing yards to become the first 1,000-yard rusher at Lycoming since 2002 ... Ryan Wagaman has caught 15 passes for over 200 yards in the last two outings ... 247 rushing yards is the most given up by the Lycoming defense in a game this season ... the Warriors entered the game with the top rush defense in the league (85.0 yards per game) ... Lycoming did not have a sack for the first time all season ... the Warrios ranked sixth in the nation in sacks entering Saturday's game ... both of the Warriors' conference losses camein Wilkes-Barre this season.