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DALLAS TWP. – Tyler Marroni made a pretty side-step on a short slant to juke a Misericordia defender on his first touchdown.
Little did anyone at Mangelsdorf Field know that it was a sign of things to come for the King’s College receiver and his teammates.
Marroni reached the end zone three times, quarterback Zach Whitehead accounted for five scores and the King’s offense rolled up almost 700 yards en route to a 63-37 victory over the Cougars on homecoming afternoon in Dallas.
The 63 points sets a school record, eclipsing the previous mark of 56 scored against Susquehanna in 2005. Marroni finished with 234 yards receiving, which was three away from Dan Kempa’s 237, while the offense’s 655 yards also set a single-game school mark.
“It felt good to have a day like this after being relatively quiet the past few weeks,” Marroni said. “The coaches gave me a chance to make plays, and Zach made some great throws. This offense, it’s awesome. When it’s all clicking, it’s good. And we got rolling early today.”
The high-octane, up-tempo attack was too much for the Cougars’ defense. And it was big-play touchdowns that burned Misericordia.
Marroni beat a defender one-on-one on the right sideline as the senior went 80 yards for the team’s second score in the opening six minutes. The 6-foot-4 receiver added another long touchdown on a 41-yard strike from Whitehead in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 56-31.
And that’s not counting Titus Nelson’s 87-yard run, another school record, to put the icing on the cake with 6:05 left in the game.
For the game, King’s (3-3) finished with a balanced attack of 335 on the ground and 320 through the air.
“Our offense is really good. I give a lot of credit to coach (Skyler) Fultz, our offensive coordinator,” said Whitehead, who threw for 320 yards and three scores. “It’s so much fun. The offensive line is blocking so well for the running backs and myself, and it makes my job so much easier because it opens up things for our receivers. In my opinion, we have the best receiving group in the MAC.”
It’s been a rough season defensively for Misericordia, which has allowed more than 50 points in four of its six games. In the last two MAC contests, the Cougars have been outscored 128-44 after allowing 65 points to Stevenson last week.
“We didn’t play defense well enough, in my opinion,” Misericordia head coach Mark Ross said. “That’s a good offense. And I think Zach is one of the best quarterback’s I’ve had to slow down in my career. Everyone is excited because we are scoring points and moving the ball. But you can’t win if you don’t play defense, and I’m not doing a good enough job coaching on that side of the ball.”
Yet, Misericordia (1-5) found itself with a sliver of hope right after halftime.
The Cougars needed just three plays on their first series of the second half to drive 63 yards as quarterback Brady Williams, who threw for five scores, found Isaiah Williams for the 34-yard TD to trim the deficit to 34-24.
Even after a short, 2-yard jaunt by Jordan Downes increased the lead back to 18, the Cougars found an answer as Brady Williams connected with Josh Dieter for a 13-yard strike, again cutting the lead back to 11.
But there were no more answers for Misericordia, as King’s scored the next 21 points for a 63-31 lead.
“We knew that the offense had to execute,” King’s head coach Jeff Knarr said. “Our offense has been a work in progress. These kids have been working hard to get to this point. You can see them grow and develop. It’s good to get a win and get back to 3-3. We have to keep getting better.”
The Monarchs had two rushers hit the century mark, as Downes finished with 165, while Nelson added 118. Misericordia’s Brady Williams threw for 263 yards and rushed for another 67 on 24 attempts.
King’s 63, Misericordia 37
King’s `21`14`14`14 – 63
Misericordia `10`7`14`6 – 37
First Quarter
K — Marroni 10 pass from Whitehead (Tumminello kick), 11:56
K — Marroni 80 pass from Whitehead (Tumminello kick), 9:40
M — Rainey 48 pass from B. Williams (Davis kick), 9:02
K — Whitehead 3 run (Tumminello kick), 3:59
M — Davis 36 field goal, 0:00
Second Quarter
K — Nelson 1 run (Tumminello kick), 11:16
K — Downes 1 run (Tumminello kick), 5:20
M — Dieter 29 pass from B. Williams (Davis kick), 2:51
Third Quarter
M — I. Williams 34 pass from B. Williams (Davis kick), 13:16
K — Downes 2 run (Tumminello kick), 12:01
M — Dieter 13 pass from B. Williams (Davis kick), 10:13
K — Whitehead 11 run (Tumminello kick), 4:23
K — Marroni 41 pass from Whitehead (Tumminello kick), 12:44
K — Nelson 87 run (Tumminello kick), 6:05
M — Dieter 5 pass from B. Williams (pass failed), 3:37
Team Statistics `King’s`Misericordia
First Downs `28`17
Rushes-Yards `53-335 `33-94
Passing Yards `320`263
Total Yards `655`357
Passing `16-24-0`17-27-0
Sacked-Yards Lost `2-6`5-33
Punts-Average `4-36.2`8-44.6
Fumbles-Lost `1-1`0-0
Penalties-Yards `6-28`8-75
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: KING’S, Downes 23-165, Nelson 12-118, Whitehead 13-42, Boccella 2-15, Walton 1-0, Team 2-(-5). MISERICORDIA, B. Williams 24-67, Rainey 4-14, Vleck 4-7, I. Williams 1-6.
PASSING: KING’S, Whitehead 16-24-0, 320 yards. MISERICORDIA, B. Williams 17-27-0, 263 yards.
RECEIVING: KING’S, Marroni 10-234, Miller 3-27, Campbell 1-47, Flynn 1-7, Downes 1-5. MISERICORDIA, Dieter 6-86, I. Williams 6-85, Rainey 2-67, Cady 2-19, Connolly 1-6.
