AUGUST 31, 2017
KING'S FOOTBALL EDGES MORAVIAN 30-27 ON TUMMINELLO FIELD GOAL WITH 1:37 REMAINING
WILKES-BARRE -- Mike Tumminello kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:37 remaining as the King's College football team posted a season-opening 30-27 victory over visiting Moravian College Thursday at McCarthy Stadium in Wilkes-Barre Township. It was King's first season-opening win since 2009.
After Moravian tied the score at 27-27 on a 26-yard pass from Doug Erney to Nick Petros with 5:32 to play, the Monarchs began their game-winning drive from the King's 25-yard line.
A six-yard rush by Jordan Downes and a five-yard completion to Corey Flynn gave the Monarchs a first down at their own 36. Whitehead then found Tyler Marroni for 14 yards before a nine-yard pass to Marquis Miller advanced the ball to midfield.
After a penalty on King's moved the ball back to their own 45, Whitehead found Marroni for seven yards before picking up a first down with a 14-yard keeper to the Greyhound 25. King's would reach the Moravian 18 where the drive would stall and Tumminello's career-long 38 yard field goal squeaked past the cross-bar to put the Monarchs ahead.
Moravian had one last chance and reached midfield. But on a fourth-and-seven play, King's Aaron Vascos registered a game-clinching sack of Erney with 0:51 to play. King's would take a pair of knees to run out the clock.
King's opened the scoring on the third possession of the game when the Monarchs moved 57 yards in eight plays, capped by a two-yard run by Whitehead with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. Moravian countered with a 13-play, 59-yard drive when the Greyhounds reached the Monarch six but settled for a 23-yard field goal by Kenny Kane.
The Monarchs missed out on an opportunity on their next possession when King's marched to the Greyhound 34. But on fourth down King's elected to punt. On its next possession Moravian followed with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that again stalled, this time at the King's five. Kane then converted a 22-yard field goal to brig the Greyhounds within 7-6 with 5:14 to play in the half.
King's responded on the ensuing kickoff with a 76-yard return on a reverse to Jordan Downes to the Moravian 15. The Monarchs reached the seven but were unable to capitalize, forgoing a 24-yard field goal try to attempt to convert a fourth-and-two play. But Whitehead was stopped a yard short as the Greyhounds thwarted the King's opportunity.
After the Monarchs defense forced a Greyhound punt with 0:52 left in the half and Marquis Miller posted a 14-yard return to the Moravian 40. The Monarchs used passes of 18 and 13 yards from Whitehead to Marroni to reach the Moravian six. Two plays later Whitehead scored on a keeper with 0:17 on the clock as King's took a 14-6 lead at the half.
Moravian took the second half kickoff and used a four-play, 59-yard drive, capped by a 34-yard run by Erney. The Greyhounds added a two-point conversion to tie the score at 14-14. King's responded with a 15-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a 36-yard field goal by Tumminello to give the Monarchs a 17-14 lead with 7:50 remaining in the third quarter.
The Greyhounds responded on its next possession when Erney broke free for 58-yard run to put Moravian on top 20-17 with 7:26 to go in the third quarter. But King's answered with a 15-play, 68-yard drive, culminating with with six-yard Whitehead scoring jaunt to put the Monarchs ahead 24-20 with 1:47 left in the third quarter.
Later in the fourth quarter King's put together a five-play, 51-yard drive that ended with a 27-yard field goal for Tumminello, give the Monarchs a 27-20 lead with 6:29 left, setting up the final stages for both squads.
Whitehead completed 27-of-44 passes for 308 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions while rushing for 83 yards on 20 attempts with three scores on the ground. Marroni had nine catches for 155 yards. Titus Nelson rushed for 28 yards on seven carries. King's finished the game with 431 total yards.
Defensively for King's, Mando Sallavanti had eight tackles while Jake Manetti added seven stops, including three for loss.
Erney led Moravian by completing 16-of-29 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown and one interception while rushing for 131 yards on 16 carries with two scores. Moravian amassed 373 total yards.9
King's will travel next Saturday to face defending MAC champion Stevenson at 12:00 noon in Owings Mills, Md. Stevenson dropped its season opener Thursday night to Frostburg State by a 33-7 count.