WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Tim Lust kicked a 21-yard field goal with 9:23 left in the game, and Jeff Searfass threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mike Verbitski 1:30 later as King's College broke open a scoreless game late to defeat Lebanon Valley 10-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Robert L. Betzler Field.
John Ortiz and Jeff Field combined for 144 yards rushing for King's (1-1, 1-0 MAC), with Ortiz running for 78 yards on 19 carries and Field finishing with 66 yards on 16 rushes. Senior fullback John Smith led the Flying Dutchmen with a career-high 67 yards on 10 carries.
The Monarchs prevented LVC Head Coach Jim Monos from picking up his 50th career win at Lebanon Valley.
The Dutchmen (1-1, 0-1 MAC) were shut out for the first time since their 38-0 loss at Wilkes on Oct. 30, 2004.
An extremely quick game that featured just 37 combined pass attempts, the contest lasted only 2:15.
Lebanon Valley advanced inside the King's 40-yard line five times, but lost the ball on downs three times, missed one field goal, and threw one interception.
With the game tied 0-0, King's drove 72 yards on 16 yards to the LVC-2, where it faced a third-and-goal. Lebanon Valley forced the Monarchs to attempt a field goal when sophomore defensive tackle Jimmy Selfinger tackled Ortiz behind the line of scrimmage.
On the ensuing kickoff, Brian Mitros recovered a fumble forced by Matt Little at the LVC-23. Two plays later, Searfass lofted a pass down the left sideline, where Verbitski juggled in a catch and trotted in from the 1-yard line for the game's only touchdown.
Lebanon Valley regained possession with 7:41 left and took over at the LVC-29. The Dutchmen went on to drive to the King's-2, converting a pair of third downs along the way, before Shane McNamara intercepted a pass in the end zone on a second-and-goal with 2:48 left. The Monarchs were able to run out the clock the rest of the way.
The two teams combined for just 191 yards passing. Searfass finished with 109 yards on 11-for-19 passing while senior Dan Kelly completed 9 of 18 passes for 83 yards. Junior Adam Brossman had three catches for 47 yards for the Dutchmen, giving him 99 receptions for his career.
Lebanon Valley and King's exchanged punts after each team went three-and-out on their first possession of the game. The Monarchs then put together a 14-play, 53-yard drive that ended with 5:08 left in the first quarter. Searfass attempted a pass from the LVC-27 on fourth-and-12, but senior cornerback Keith Comrey made a hit on the receiver as the pass fell incomplete.
After the two teams traded punts again, the Dutchmen put together its first drive of the game after receiving the ball at their own 20-yard line. Lebanon Valley moved the ball 65 yards on 14 plays spanning 6:41, converting three straight third downs at one point, before the march stalled at the King's-15. Freshman Dan DiBona then came on to attempt a 32-yard field goal with 6:20 left in the half, but his kick was wide left.
The Monarchs went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and the Dutchmen appeared to be in prime scoring position when junior Clint Vinju returned a punt 40 yards to the King's-30. But an illegal block penalty forced LVC to start the drive back at its own 26-yard line, and the Dutchmen would turn the ball over on downs at the King's-37.
Sophomore cornerback Bill Dixon thwarted King's final possession of the opening half, picking off a deep pass down the right sideline and coming down at the LVC-13 with 21 seconds on the clock.
Vinju gave the Dutchmen excellent field position to start the second half, returning the opening kickoff 35 yards to the Monarch-49. However, King's took over on downs five plays later at its own 30.
After the Dutchmen forced King's to punt, Lebanon Valley went on its fourth drive into Monarch territory, moving 47 yards on 11 plays to the King's-26. But on fourth-and-1, Kelly's pass into the end zone fell incomplete with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
King's then embarked on the first scoring drive of the game, going 70 yards on 18 plays before Lust's field goal, capping a drive that lasted 9:24.
Sophomore linebacker Brian Cottone finished with 10 tackles to lead the Dutchmen defensively. Freshman linebacker Will Keylor, sophomore safety Andrew Shambach, and junior linebacker Terry Kaufman all finished with eight tackles for LVC. Cottone and Keylor also had 1.5 tackles for loss and their first collegiate sacks.
The Dutchmen return to action next Saturday, when they host Juniata at 1 p.m. in another MAC showdown.
[Photo - Sophomore safety Andrew Shambach, who had eight tackles against King's on Saturday]
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