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Happy birthday to David Michael Blaine!

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‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ actor to board Trolley of Terror ride at the Electric City Trolley Museum on Halloween

Kevin Bagasevich is adamant when he says Misericordia hasn&#8217;t been waiting for this portion of the team&#8217;s schedule.It would be hard for anyone on the Cougars, or even on the whole campus, not to anticipate the team&#8217;s last four games of the 2015 season because they have a very good shot of making school history.Misericordia entered the season with two wins in three seasons since its inception. The team has a realistic chance of winning twice in its last four games. Going by the standings, the Cougars have played the top five teams in the MAC. The remaining slate begins Saturday afternoon at home against King&#8217;s, which Misericordia has played in one-score games with the last two seasons, followed by FDU-Florham, which the Cougars have defeated two years in a row.The season ends with contests versus Wilkes and Lycoming, which have combined to win just two games this season in down years.&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t really say that,&#8221; said Bagasevich, a Cougars senior cornerback, about the possibility of having an easier schedule to end the campaign. &#8220;I know everyone says that, but we just try to take it week by week because so much preparation has to be done. We definitely have played some good teams, not saying these four teams come up are bottom tier, but we just take it game by game.&#8221;Up first is the Monarchs (2-3 MAC, 2-4 overall), who are coming off a dramatic come-from-behind win against Lycoming and quarterback Tom Hehre, the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week. The last two times the teams met, King&#8217;s won by a total of just eight points. In 2013, the last time they played at Misericordia&#8217;s Mangelsdorf Field, the Monarchs won in double overtime by just one point. Those two results have the campus in Dallas anxious for Saturday&#8217;s matchup.&#8220;There&#8217;s definitely a buzz going on,&#8221; Bagasevich said. &#8220;People are definitely excited to see us and King&#8217;s play.&#8221;While some might not consider this a rivalry due to it only being four years old, and the Monarchs winning the last three contests, it is a rivalry to others due to the previous scores, the close proximity of both schools and the numerous rivalries in every other sport.&#8220;We look at it like they&#8217;re a local team, they&#8217;re 20 minutes away so it&#8217;s a budding rivalry,&#8221; King&#8217;s coach Jeff Knarr said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been very spirited, competitive games the last two years.&#8221;When the series began in 2012, the Cougars were a young and inexperienced program. When the teams take to the field on Saturday, Misericordia is an experienced and hungry team with plenty of senior leadership. The group has seen improvements on both sides of the ball since Sept. 5.A defense, which had struggled in previous seasons, is now helping the team stay in games longer, and even threatened some of the top teams in the MAC.&#8220;I think it has to do with experience. There&#8217;s a lot of juniors and seniors on the field,&#8221; Bagasevich said. &#8220;I think we&#8217;re bigger and stronger than years past and we&#8217;re limiting mistakes throughout the game.&#8221;For assurance, Knarr sees the same type of improvement from the Cougars.&#8220;They are much more sounder and physical up front with bigger guys and playing the run better and their coverages match up with their blitzes,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;They&#8217;re making tremendous improvement and growth and you can just see it in their scores.&#8221;The Misericordia defense will not be facing just any ordinary team this week though. The Monarchs have been hot lately led by Hehre, who hasn&#8217;t turned the ball over in more than a month. He&#8217;s led King&#8217;s to wins in two of the last three games in which he&#8217;s played, and is doing it running the ball as well rushing for 128 yards and five touchdowns in six games.&#8220;I&#8217;ve noticed on film that he&#8217;s a very good scrambler and gives his receivers time to get open,&#8221; Bagasevich said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to be up to our secondary to stay on the receivers because they&#8217;re going to have time to complete passes.&#8221;If the Cougars can minimize Hehre and the King&#8217;s passing attack, it will be up to the Monarchs rush game to carry the load. Knarr is always looking for balance running and passing regardless, but Misericordia&#8217;s run defense is at the bottom of the 10-team MAC giving up more than 260 yards rushing a game.King&#8217;s, meanwhile is seventh in the league in rushing offense, but has improved. Though no runner for the Monarchs has gone over 100 yards in a game this season, the team has rushed for more than 100 yards as a team in half of its games, including last week&#8217;s win over Lycoming.&#8220;If you can run the football then it helps you do what you want to do,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;And we&#8217;ve been able to do it against these guys and it&#8217;s enabled us to do things in the past games to make plays. &#8220;Colonels hope to rebound after bye weekThe last time Wilkes played a football game it got a pounding from nationally-ranked Albright by 53 points. After a much-needed week off, the Colonels are back on the gridiron on Saturday facing Lebanon Valley at 1 p.m. at Schmidt Stadium.&#8220;It was needed, and it was needed for the players to get away from campus and away from us for about 72 hours,&#8221; Wilkes coach Trey Brown said. &#8220;I think they&#8217;re a little fresher, but a little lethargic too because they were out of their routine for a few days.&#8221;This week&#8217;s game won&#8217;t be much easier for the home team, Flying Dutchmen tailback Brendon Irving is the best the MAC has to offer.Irving, a junior, leads the conference with 816 rushing yards and is averaging 136.0 yards on the ground per game helping the Flying Duchmen to the second-best rush offense in the league with an average of 265.8 yards in six games. He has gone over 100 yards in every game this season with a high of 190 in Week 2.&#8220;He&#8217;s got great balance, his footwork is great. His vision&#8217;s good,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;I think he&#8217;s just a really, really good player and they get the ball in his hands whether it&#8217;s a run scheme, or a sprint draw scheme, they do a good job of feeding him. &#8220;King&#8217;s (2-3 MAC, 2-4 overall) at Misericordia (0-5, 0-6)When: 1 p.m. Saturday at Mangelsdorf Field, DallasMonarchs team leaders: QB Tom Hehre 825 yards, 3TD, 6INTs, 56.8 completion percentage, 128 rush yards, 5TD; RB Gabe Brown 335 yards, 3TD; WR Mike Palmer 30 rec, 349 yards, 3TD; Jake Manetti 2INTs; Michael Martina 40 tackles, 6 sacksCougars team leaders: QB Jeff Puckett 762 yards, 5TD, 8 INTs, 48.3 completion percentage, 525 rushing yards, 5TD; RB Ryan Kurtz 251 yards, 13 rec, 107 yards, 1TD; WR Mark McMaster 22 rec, 237 yards, 1TD; Hunter Pates 37 tackles, 1 sack; Kevin Bagasevich 27 tackles, 2INT; Tyler Collins 42 tackles, 1 sackPregame Stat: The Misericordia rush defense is allowing a MAC-high 264.5 yards per game, but the King&#8217;s rush offense is only managing 93.8 yards on the ground per game, the third-lowest number in the league.***Lebanon Valley (3-2 MAC, 3-3 overall) at Wilkes (1-4, 1-5 ) When: 1 p.m. Saturday at Schmidt Stadium, EdwardsvilleColonels team leaders: QB Ryan Dailey 1,469 yards, 7 TD, 8 INTs, 58.8 completion percentage; RB PJ Incremona 297 yards, 1TD; WR Storm Deemer 34 rec, 336 yards; WR Aaron Coyne 30 rec, 317 yards, 4TD; Jordan Stiles 2int; Tanner Stengel 70 tackles, 3 sacksFlying Dutchmen team leaders: QB Tim Pirrone 508 yards, 6TD, 3INTs; RB Brendon Irving 825 yards, 4TD; WR Travis Saylor 18 rec, 306 yards, 1TD; Trevor St. Clair, Ricky Feggins 3 INTs each; Trevor St. Clair 42 tackles, 3.5 sacksPregame Stat: LebVal running back Brendon Irving is averaging 136.o rushing yards per game; no other back in the MAC is averaging more than 95.5 yards on the ground per game.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Misericordia cornerback Kevin Bagasevich, center, gets congratulated by teammates Dom Picarillo, left, and Donald Bender after making a stop against Delaware Valley during a game earlier this season. Bagasevich, a senior, leads the Cougars with two interceptions as they enter this afternoon&#8217;s home game against King&#8217;s College. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Miseri-DelValFB_3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Misericordia cornerback Kevin Bagasevich, center, gets congratulated by teammates Dom Picarillo, left, and Donald Bender after making a stop against Delaware Valley during a game earlier this season. Bagasevich, a senior, leads the Cougars with two interceptions as they enter this afternoon&#8217;s home game against King&#8217;s College. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dave Rosengrantdrosengrant@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>MAC Football StandingsSchool`MAC`OverallAlbright`5-0`6-0Delaware Valley`4-1`5-1Stevenson`4-1`5-1Widener`4-1`4-2Lebanon Valley`3-2`3-3King&#8217;s`2-3`2-4FDU-Florham`1-4`2-4Lycoming`1-4`1-5Wilkes`1-4`1-5Misericordia`0-5`0-6Last Week&#8217;s ResultsKing&#8217;s 30, Lycoming 26Widener 40, Misericordia 10Albright 51, FDU-Florham 6Wilkes, Lebanon Valley, Delaware Valley, Stevenson byeThis Week&#8217;s GamesKing&#8217;s at MisericordiaLebanon Valley at WilkesWidener at StevensonDelaware Valley at AlbrightFDU-Florham at LycomingNext Week&#8217;s GamesStevenson at WilkesMisericordia at FDU-FlorhamAlbright at King&#8217;sLycoming at WidenerLebanon Valley at Delaware Valley</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</shirttailMeta></div>

Could Misericordia football make history?