Complete King's Game Notes (PDF) | Live Audio | Live Stats

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - On an emotional high after beating No. 13 Ithaca on a  field goal with seven seconds left, the Lycoming College football team will open its Middle Atlantic Conference season today when King’s comes to David Person Field for a 1 p.m. game. The contest will also be Lycoming’s Tackle Breast Cancer event.

The Warriors (2-1 overall) feature the league’s top rusher, senior Josh Kleinfelter, who has racked up 493 yards in three games, and two of the MAC’s four defensive players of the week in senior Chuck Bellitto and junior Anthony Marascio.

King’s (0-3 overall), which is led by first-year coach Jeff Knarr, has lost two straight heartbreakers, falling at William Patterson, 14-7, on a fumble returned for a touchdown.

Warrior Notes
• The win over Ithaca was the second over a ranked opponent in the Coach Clark era and the first over a team ranked in the top 15.
• Senior Josh Kleinfelter leads the MAC and is fifth nationally in rushing, averaging 164.3 yards per game.
• Kleinfelter needs just 54 yards to become the second player in school history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards.
• Senior #T.J. Chiarolanza# leads MAC kickers in scoring, averaging 7.7 points per game.
• Senior Ryan Wagaman needs five catches to tie Rich Kessler (1983-86) for third in school history with 127 career receptions.
• Junior Anthony Marascio is currently tied for fourth in the MAC in sacks, getting to the quarterback three times.
• The Warriors are second in the MAC in scoring offense and defense.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
In the past two games, the Lycoming offense has come to life, rolling up 832 yards in wins over Westminster and No. 13 Ithaca. Along the way, senior Josh Kleinfelter has accounted for 412 of those yards, with all but nine of the yards coming on the ground. Kleinfelter, the defending MAC Player of the Week, leads the MAC in rushing by a nearly 40-yard per game margin, averaging 164.3 yards per game.

The passing game has been incredibly consistent behind the guidance of sophomore Zach Klinger, as the slinger from Halifax, Pa., has rolled up at least 138 yards of passing offense each game. Through three games, Klinger has completed 52 percent of his passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns while being intercepted just once. He has also balanced out his targets, with senior Ryan Wagaman leading the team with 11 catches but four others have at least four receptions.

Defense: 4-3
The Warriors’ signature hard-edged defense is once again currently among the best in the MAC, sitting second with an average of 19.3 points allowed per game. The defense also seems to get better as the game goes along, allowing only 17 points in the second half during the first three games.

Senior safety Chuck Bellitto leads the Warriors and is eighth in the MAC in tackles with 26 on the season. Junior Anthony Marascio is fourth in the league in sacks with three and he also sits second on the team with 16 tackles.

The secondary has been active early this year, as both junior safety Ray Bierbach and sophomore cornerback Matt Talerico are tied for the league lead with six passes defended, an average of 2.0 per game.

Scouting King's
Offense: Pro-I
Averaging 14.3 points per game, the Monarchs are currently seventh in the MAC in scoring.  They have rolled up 229.0 yards of offense per game in their first three games.

Sophomore Eric Ofcharsky is currently fifth in the league in rushing, averaging 74.5 yards per game while senior Corey Lavin is fourth in the MAC in passing yards per game, averaging 131.7 yards per game. Lavin is has five touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He has completed 46 percent of his passes.

Sophomore David Abdalla has emerged as a bright spot for the Monarchs, leading the MAC in receiving yards per game, at 77.7. He has found the end zone three times this year and he is averaging 3.7 catches per game.

Defense: Multiple 3-4
King’s defense has allowed 25.3 points per game, which currently sits sixth in the MAC, while teams have rolled up 352.3 yards per game against the Monarchs. The Monarchs rushing defense has allowed 222.7 yards per game while they lead the MAC in passing defense, allowing just 129.7 yards per game.

King’s also leads the MAC in fumbles recovered, forcing five turnovers by getting the opponent to put the ball on the turf, as sophomore Ryan Cordingly is tied for the league lead with two recoveries. He is also eighth in the league with 2.5 sacks and fifth with 4.5 tackles for a loss.

Three King’s players are in the top 15 in the league in tackles, with sophomore Ryan Kelly sitting fourth with 29 tackles and Cordingly sitting sixth with 27 stops. Junior Edwyn Edwards is 15th with 21 stops.

Up The Chart
With 2,946 yards, senior Josh Kleinfelter is second in school history in rushing yards, just 54 yards from becoming the second player to reach 3,000 career yards at Lycoming. Kleinfelter is 321 yards away from breaking the school record of 3,267 set by Brian Thompson from 1995-98.

A Clean Sweep
Thanks in large part to their roles in the final three-minute comeback in Lycoming’s 26-24 upset of No. 13 Ithaca College, senior T.J. Chiarolanza, senior Josh Kleinfelter and junior Anthony Marascio  earned Middle Atlantic Conference Special Teams, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Chiarolanza hit the game-winning field goal from 23 yards out with seven seconds left. He finished the game with eight points on two field goals and two extra points.

Kleinfelter crossed 200 yards of all-purpose yardage for the second straight game, rolling up 202 yards on 193 rushing and nine receiving. He set up the game-winning field goal by rushing for 18 yards on three carries with less than a minute left to get the ball to the seven-yard line.

Marascio finished with just four tackles against Ithaca, but he made two of the biggest defensive plays. In the final Ithaca possession of the game, Marascio batted down a pass on 2-and-8 from the Ithaca 37-yard line to stop the clock. He followed that with a nine-yard sack to force a punt with 2:10 left.

No Hanging Chads
Thanks to the 26-24 upset against Ithaca, Lycoming has earned votes in the American Football Coaches’ Association Division III poll, released on Sept. 27. Lycoming, which received two votes in the poll, is one of two MAC schools that received mention in the poll, along with Delaware Valley, who is ranked 12th.  If the poll were extended out to Lycoming’s position, the Warriors would be tied for 49th in the nation.

Conference Openers
Since joining the MAC in 1957, the Warriors have accumulated a 31-21-1 (.594) record in conference home openers. Head coach Mike Clark has won both his conference openers, with the Warriors beating Widener, 21-17, in 2008 and dropping King’s 24-21, in 2009. Lycoming has opened the MAC schedule with King’s nine times, winning eight of the meetings.