WILKES-BARRE -- Gabe Brown scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a 5-yard run with 0:52 to play as King's overcame a 26-21 deficit with under nine minutes to play to post a 30-26 victory over visiting Lycoming College Saturday at McCarthy Stadium.
With the win, King's improved to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the Middle Atlantic Conference while Lycoming fell to 1-5 and 1-4 in the MAC.
King's held 21-13 lead at the half but Lycoming came back to take a 26-21 lead when Blake Bowman capped a seven-play, 62-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run with 14:39 left in the contest.
King's later answered with a 67-yard drive that ened with a 29-yard field goal by Mikhail Kniaziewicz to bring the Monarchs to within 26-24 with 8:25 to play. King's would force a Lycoming punt and asummed possession at its own 28-yard line where it would begin the decisive drive with 6:05 remaining.
An 11-yard pass from Hehre to Mike Palmer was followed by a King's holding penalty. After Hehre completed a 9-yarder to Marquis Miller and a 12-yard hookup with Palmer, King's cross midfield to the Lycoming 47. A second-down 14-yard pass to Miller was followed by a short six-yarder to Matt Demarco. After two incomplete passes forced a fourth-and-four from the Warrior 27, King's coach Jeff Knarr called time-out to discuss what could have been the Monarchs' final offensive play of the game.
But Hehre responded with a perfectly executed quarterback draw, picking up 6 yards for a first down at the Lycoming 21. On the next play Hehre lofted a fade pass to Palmer at the front right end zone pylon, but Lycoming was flagged for pass interference, giving the Monarchs a first-and-goal from the Warrior 6-yard line with 1:07 to play.
A one-yard run by Brown was followed by an incomplete pass. On third-and-goal from the 5, Brown took a hand-off and raced off right tackle, breaking the run outside and reached the football into the end zone just inside the pylon for the go-ahead score. King's failed on the two-point conversion but led 30-26 with 0:52 on the clock.
Lycoming returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 32 and would have to go the length of the field in 0:47. On the first play, Lycoming quarterback Chase Whiteman found Nick Costello over the middle for 19 yards, but in fighting for extra yardage, Monarch safety Anthony Martuccio knocked the ball away from Costello and King's teammate Tyler Cruz fell on the fumble to end any hopes of a Lycoming touchdown.
From there King's used two kneel-downs to run out the final 0:39 to walk away with the victory.
King's started the game quickly, forcing the Lycoming offense to punt the ball away with a three-and-out on the game's first possession. The Monarchs immediately went to work and drove 72 yards on its first possession to find the end zone on an 11-yard run by Hehre. Lycoming then answered with a nine-play, 72-yard drive, capped by a one-yard run by Bowman. But the Warriors missed the extra-point kick to trail 7-6 with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
Later in the quarter Lycoming missed out on a scoring chance when the Warriors blocked a King's punt and took over at the Monarch 22. But facing a third-and-goal from its own two-yard line, King's defense came up big when Jake Mannetti picked off Whiteman to end the Warrior scoring threat.
In the second quarter, King's put together an 11-play, 65 yard drive and reached pay dirt when Hehre found Marquis Miller on a 12-yard pass play to push the lead to 14-6 with 10:36 remaining in the second quarter. But Lycoming again countered and used a eight-play, 65-yard drive to find the end zone on a four-yard pass from Whiteman to Bowman with 6:18 left in the half to trim the King's lead to 14-13.
King's, however, closed out the half with a critical nine-play, 77-yard drive which conclued with a 15-yard scoring pass from Hehre to Palmer with 0:19 on the clock as the Monarchs took a 21-13 lead into the locker room.
In the second half King's would have an opportunity to build on its momentum with the opening possession of the third quarter but was unable to do anything with its possession and was forced to punt the ball away. Lycoming took over and seized the game's momentum with a seven-play, 72-yard drive, capped by a one-yard run by Bowman as the Warriors drew within 21-20 with 10:01 left in the quarter.
After the teams traded punts on the next three possessions, Lycoming took its first lead of the game with a seven-play, 62-yard drive, culminated by another one-yard touchdown run by Bowman. The Warriors failed on its two-point conversion play but Lycoming held a 26-21 lead with 14:39 left in the contest.
King's would then begin its own comeback on its next possession when the Monarchs used a 30-yard pass to Palmer and two completions totaling 13 yards to Miller to get King's within field goal range. The Monarchs advanced as far as the Warrior 10 and were later forced to settle for Kniaziewicz's 29-yard field goal to close to within 26-24, setting the stage for the Monarchs game-winning dive two possessions later.
Game statistics reveal just how close the game was played. Lycoming outgained King's 343-to-342 in total yards while the Monarchs owned a 22-16 advantage in first downs. Lycoming outrushed King's 175-to-111 but King's led 231-to-168 in passing yards. The Monarchs had possession for 34:50 of the game, compared to 25:10 for the Warriors.
Hehre had a big all-around game for King's, completing 24-of-38 passes for a career-high 231 yards with two touchdowns, he also rushed for 37 yards and one score. Palmer had seven receptions for 89 yards and one touchdown while Miller and Demarco added six and five catches respectively. Brown led the King's ground game with 71 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.
Bowman led Lycoming with 142 rushing yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns. Whiteman completed 12-of-18 passes for 168 yards and one score. Ryan Umpleby had a team-high six catches for 93 yards.
Defensively for King's, Michael Martina and Bobby Russell had seven tackles apiece. Manetti had four tackles and an interception
King's will return to the field Saturday when the Monarchs travel up Route 309 to face local rival Misericordia University at 1:00 p.m. in Dallas.
King's Football Rallies for Two Scores Over Final 8:25 to Down Lycoming, 30-26
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151017_nm7m.xml
2015
Lycoming
26
King's
30
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lycoming (1-5) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
| King's (2-4) | 7 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 30 |
Oct 17, 2015