Saturday’s game is being broadcast by ESPN Radio WLYC 1050 AM and 104.1 FM. There will also be a live Internet feed at www.espnwilliamsport.com.

King’s sports information department will also be running a LiveStats feed at http://www.sidearmstats.com/kings/football/

Meet the Coaches

Mike Clark is in his second season as Lycoming’s head football coach. During his rookie campaign, he led the Warriors to a 7-4 overall record, 5-2 mark in the Middle Atlantic Conference and a berth in the 2008 NCAA Division III playoffs. His overall record stands at 8-5. This is his second game against Bridgewater. Clark is a 1993 graduate of Lycoming, where he played and coached under former coach Frank Girardi.

Coach Clark’s career record stands at 8-6 overall and 7-2 in the Middle Atlantic Conference after claiming a championship in his first season.

Rich Manello is in his 17th year at King’s College, after restarting the program at the varsity level in 1993 following a 30-year hiatus. Manello has a career record of 67-97-1 and won the MAC in 2002.

The Series

Saturday’s game will be the 18th meeting between the Monarchs and the Warriors, with Lycoming holding a 12-4-1 record against the Monarchs.

Since 2000, Lycoming has a 5-2 record against King’s, including a 24-10 win over the Monarchs in 2002, the year King’s claimed the Conference title.

Opening the Conference

This weekend marks the opening of the 2009 Middle Atlantic Conference schedule. Last season, three teams, Lycoming, Albright and Lebanon Valley, tied for the conference title. Through a tie-breaking procedure, the Warriors were awarded the MAC’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA playoffs.

Exacting Revenge

With a team that averages 24.3 points per game, Lycoming and its high-powered offense look to avenge last year’s loss at King’s. This game will be the Monarchs’ Homecoming event.

Last season, the Monarchs stunned the Warriors, handing them a 24-7 loss. King’s offense gashed the Warriors for 350 yards and forced Lycoming to turn the ball over five times. Lycoming amassed 222 passing yards, but threw one touchdown against four interceptions.

Sophomore Ryan Wagaman caught nine passes for 139 yards, including a 41-yard play. Senior Brad Shellenberger grabbed the only Warrior touchdown pass of the day, finishing with seven receptions for 28 yards. On the ground, junior Josh Kleinfelter ran for 98 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

The offensive line kept senior quarterback Colin Dwyer’s uniform clean, not allowing a sack in the game, and allowed him to throw for 222 yards, completing 23 of his 48 pass attempts.

Sophomore defensive back/punter Jake Lamphere had a busy day, punting five times for 183 yards, averaging 36.6 yards per punt.

Almost Home…

After traveling 90 round-trip miles to Susquehanna and another 548 total miles to face Bridgewater, the Warriors will finally return home to David Person Field next week for its Homecoming game. With the 174-mile trip to Wilkes-Barre for their third straight road game, the Warriors will have recorded 812 miles in just three weeks.

“Special Teams are Special”

Against Bridgewater last week, the Warriors’ special teams played outstanding football. Freshman Parker Showers picked up Lycoming’s first touchdown of the game on an 85-yard kickoff return. Freshman Dre Purdy had 53 return yards on the day, including a 35-yarder. Lamphere punted for 299 yards, placing four inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line and one for a touchback.

Lycoming’s Last Game

The opening quarter to the Lycoming at Bridgewater was an interesting one, with three of the first four touchdowns of the game scored by non-offensive players. Bridgewater’s first score was on a 52-yard punt return, followed by the ensuing kickoff returned by the Warriors’ Showers. The Eagles scored an offensive touchdown, followed by freshman defensive back picking up and returning a fumble for 22-yards in the second quarter.

Lycoming played with a balanced attack, throwing for 178 yards and rushing for an additional 102. Dwyer completed 15 passes on 29 attempts and tossed two touchdown passes, averaging 11.9 yards per catch. Kleinfelter rushed for 99 yards in the game, averaging 4.0 yard a game and recorded a 24-yard run.

On defense, Kevin Hoben picked up 12 tackles, six solo and six assisted, and caused one broken up pass. Chuck Bellitto had a standout day, tallying seven solo and four assisted tackles, including one tackle for a loss of 14 yards. He also forced the fumble that led to a Matt Talerico touchdown.

A Brief on King’s

King’s rounded out their non-conference schedule against William Paterson University, falling 20-6 in the contest.

The Monarchs faced a tough Pioneer squad, but had bursts of equally tough offense. Running back Phillip Shaw sparked an offensive series on a 22-yard run. A defensive holding penalty got the Monarchs in the red zone, allowing Cory Lavin to throw a nine-yard pass to wide-out Mike Verbitski for the only King’s touchdown of the day.

King’s averages 17.3 points and 135 rushing yards a game. In the air, Lacin has played every snap, throwing for 491 yards on 38 completions; averaging 163.7 passing yards a game. He has thrown six touchdowns and four interceptions.

The receiving core is led by Verbitski, who has gained 286 yards, averaging 20.4 yards a catch and 95.3 per game. He has 14 receptions this season, four of which are touchdowns. Bob Lane is the number two receiver, hauling in nine catches and has 117 receiving yards.

On defense, Ryan Cordingly has a 17 solo and 17 assisted tackles. He has also forced one fumble. PJ Nivens is second on the team in tackles, posting 24 on 14 solo and 10 assisted. In addition to his tackles, Nivens has one pass defended.