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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Back in August, the Lycoming College football team probably looked forward to week eight when it faced a King's program that had won four games in the last three years after a stretch that included four straight games against perennial contenders. Entering November, though, King's doesn't just want to play spoiler - it enters the last three weeks of the season one game out of the three-way tie for first place, making Saturday, Nov. 2's showdown in Wilkes-Barre with Lycoming another critical piece to sort out the Middle Atlantic Conference champion.

The Warriors (5-2 overall, 5-1 MAC) are coming off a 20-17 overtime win against Albright, while the Monarchs (4-3 overall, 4-2 MAC) are flying high after a 21-14 overtime win at Delaware Valley.

Warrior Notes
• Assistant head coach Steve Wiser has been a part of 300 wins with Lycoming College, 291 during his 40 years as an assistant coach and nine during his four years as a player.

• Junior Craig Needhammer has five 100-yard rushing games this season, the most for a Warrior since Josh Kleinfelter did it five times in 2010.

• Needhammer needs 89 more yards to become the 10th player in school history to post 900 in a season.

• Senior Kabongo Bukasa is eight tackles shy of becoming the 25th player in school history to record 200 in a career.

• Senior Matt Atkinson became the 20th player in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards, with the last of his five catches against Albright.

• Atkinson needs nine more receptions to become the 12th player in school history to post 50 in a season

• Senior Zack Czap needs one more field goal to become the third player in school history to make 25 in a career.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
Lycoming enters today's game ranked eighth in the MAC in scoring offense (21.4), ninth in rushing offense (129.4), fourth in passing offense (205.7) and eighth in total offense (336.0).

The team does have one of the most accurate passing attacks in the MAC, though, as junior quarterback Tyler Jenny is second in completion percentage (64.9) and third in passing efficiency (142.3). His two favorite targets are among the top 10 receivers in the league, with senior Matt Atkinson sixth in yards (519) and third in receptions (41) and sophomore Ryan Umpleby eighth in receptions per game (4.3) and ninth in receiving yards (474).

The running game is led by junior Craig Needhammer, who has rushed for more than 100 yards five times this year. He is second in the MAC and 36th nationally with 811 rushing yards.

Defense: 4-3
The Warrior defense, after allowing 30 points to Brockport in the opener, has settled in to allow less than 20 points in each of the last six contests. The team is tied for third in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 17.6 points per game. The team is also ranked third in total defense (309.1), third in rushing defense (113.3) and third in passing defense (195.9).

Senior Dwight Hentz anchors the defensive line and he is tied for third in the MAC with nine tackles for loss and seventh with four sacks. The linebacking crew is led by senior Tyler Denike, who is 15th in the MAC with 48 tackles and he is tied for sixth with two interceptions.

The Warriors are tied for the league lead with 11 picks, and junior Tanner Troutman leads the team in that department and is second in the MAC with six.

Scouting King's
Offense: Multiple
King's enters the game ranked fourth in the MAC in scoring offense (30.0), seventh in total offense (340.9), eighth in rushing offense (133.1) and third in passing offense (207.7).

King's quarterback Tyler Hartranft has completed 97-of-192 passes, throwing 10 touchdowns, which is tied for the second-most in the MAC, and seven interceptions, which is the third-most in the league. He also hooked up with wide receiver Dan Kempa on an 84-yard touchdown, the longest pass play of the year in the conference. Kempa leads the MAC with 773 yards through seven games and his seven receiving touchdowns also leads the conference.

On the ground, the Monarchs will turn to Kyle McGrath, who is seventh in the league with 518 yards on 143 carries and fifth with seven rushing touchdowns.

Defense: 4-3
The Monarchs are ranked eighth in scoring defense (29.4), but fifth in total defense (353.0) and rushing defense (147.6). The team is sixth in passing defense (205.4) and is also tied for fifth in sacks (16) and tied for eighth in interceptions (7).

The King's defense is paced by a tough defensive line that includes Ron Garrett, who amazingly scored a defensive touchdown in five straight games before the streak was snapped last week against Delaware Valley. Garrett is tied for seventh in the MAC with teammate Mark Capetola with eight tackles for loss.

Meanwhile, teammates Chad Curtice and Nick Kaijala are also each in the top 10 in the league in sacks, with Curtice tied for sixth with four and Kaijala ninth with 3.5.

300!
Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Steve Wiser '74 helped Lycoming College win the 300th game of his 44-year career on Saturday, Oct. 26, against Albright. As a player, he helped the team win nine games from 1970-73 and since 1974, he has helped win 291 as an assistant coach.

Czapped
Senior kicker/punter Zack Czap stepped intol the national spotlight again when he hit a game-tying 35-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation and then added a 29-yarder to help the Warriors post a 20-17 overtime win against Albright on Saturday, Oct. 29. For his efforts, Czap earned a school-record eighth MAC Special Teams Player of the Week award and he became the first player in school history to earn two Beyond Sport Network Athlete of the Week awards in a season.

Race for 100
Three Lycoming College defensive players enter today's game with a shot at reaching 100 career tackles. Junior safety Tanner Troutman and senior linebacker Tyler Denike each have 99 and junior linebacker Kyle Sullivan is right behind them with 95.

The hammer report
Junior Craig Needhammer got back on track with a 27-carry, 109-yard game against Albright, giving him five 100-yard performances this season. That mark leaves him tied for fourth in school history, behind Brian Thompson (8, 1997), Troy Erdman (6, 1989) and Jared Morris (2002).

A tough road
All seven of the Warriors' Middle Atlantic Conference games this season have come at times when their opponent was either tied for first in the MAC (Wilkes, 0-0; Widener, 2-0; Delaware Valley, 3-0) or one game behind (Misericordia, 0-1; Lebanon Valley, 3-1; Albright, 3-2; King's, 4-2) in the conference standings.

About the race for 15
The loss to Lebanon Valley on Oct. 12 has dropped the Warriors into a three-way tie for first place in the MAC with Widener and Lebanon Valley heading into week eight. The loss makes several tiebreaking scenarios a possibility at the end of the regular season to decide the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Two things are for certain, though - it is still too early to tell which team in the conference will walk away with the league title and if the Warriors win out, they can do no worse than share a piece of the school's 15th MAC title.