web1_Hartranft_Billy_Joe.jpg

Homeless man pleads guilty in Wilkes-Barre arson, 2nd suspect awaits trial

web1_Richards2.jpg

Teddy Richards bringing Stanley Cup to Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 7

<p>A last-minute touchdown by Moravian. Four turnovers against Stevenson. A backbreaking play before halftime against Albright. A slow start against rival Wilkes.</p><p>That was 2015. For King&#8217;s football, 2016 represents a chance to swing those contests the other way.</p><p>&#8220;So many close games,&#8221; senior linebacker Bobby Russell said. &#8220;It was just the little mistakes &#8212; a play here and there, that if we made would have been the difference in the game.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re hoping that we close that gap that we had last year.&#8221;</p><p>It&#8217;s a point that the coaching staff has been driving home during training camp. Though the Monarchs finished 3-7 a year ago, the belief in the program is that was plenty of opportunity to flip those numbers.</p><p>Righting the turnover battle &#8212; King&#8217;s had 27 a year ago while forcing 18 &#8212; is an important first step.</p><p>&#8220;The last few years, every game&#8217;s been one score away,&#8221; Monarchs coach Jeff Knarr said. &#8220;And at the end of the day, we usually beat ourselves. And that&#8217;s what we talk to the kids about. &#8230; So we emphasize to the kids about being consistent, sustain, finish and don&#8217;t beat ourselves. Because we&#8217;re in almost every game every year.&#8221;</p><p><strong>ON OFFENSE</strong></p><p>Knarr said he has already seen progress on the turnover front in camp, citing quarterback Zach Whitehead&#8217;s improved decision-making.</p><p>Whitehead enters his junior season as the full-time starter after appearing in seven games a year ago.</p><p>&#8220;Last year, things were flying around for him,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;Now it&#8217;s slowed down a little bit, so he&#8217;s starting to understand things and make better decisions. Just being smarter with the football and not thinking he&#8217;s gotta make this great play every play.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s matured and done a better job of that. He&#8217;s clearly been the best guy.&#8221;</p><p>It will help greatly to have an experienced receiving corps to rely on. King&#8217;s returns its top four targets from a year ago, including senior captain Mike Palmer and Meyers grad Matt DeMarco.</p><p>&#8220;As an offense, we&#8217;re further along than we ever have at the offensive end, especially with the wide receivers,&#8221; DeMarco said. &#8220;I&#8217;m definitely more comfortable. I feel back to my normal self like I was in high school, playing the receiver position and not moving all around.&#8221;</p><p>Junior captain Ron Ippolite anchors the offensive line and will be opening holes for senior Zack Funk, who takes over as the feature back.</p><p><strong>ON DEFENSE</strong></p><p>Between his first six years leading King&#8217;s and an 11-year stint as an assistant at Muhlenberg, Knarr had only previously had one player who served more than one year as a captain.</p><p>The second to earn that honor is Russell.</p><p>&#8220;That was pretty impressive for him last year,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;And then he was also our best player. &#8230; He&#8217;s backed it up. When you recruit kids and figure out who&#8217;s your top guy, he was the top kid in his class. He&#8217;s lived up to that and more.&#8221;</p><p>The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder has been one of the top linebackers in the MAC and has led King&#8217;s in tackles the last two years.</p><p>More than just his play on the field, Russell has been learning to be more of a vocal leader.</p><p>&#8220;Definitely more confident with the words I&#8217;m choosing to talk to the team,&#8221; Russell said. &#8220;Last year, there were four other senior captains, so I wasn&#8217;t really a voice as much. This year, I&#8217;ve really learned to use my voice and I&#8217;ve earned the respect of my teammates.&#8221;</p><p>King&#8217;s will have to replace its leading pass rusher from a year ago in Michael Martina (8.5 sacks). Knarr mentioned Pittston Area&#8217;s Hassan Maxwell, an outside linebacker, and Bruce Damon, who will line up next to Russell in the middle of the team&#8217;s 3-4 scheme.</p><p>In the secondary, senior cornerback Tyler Mejasic is a captain after leading the team in interceptions a year ago.</p><p><strong>OUTLOOK</strong></p><p>The Monarchs will learn a lot about themselves in the first month, opening up with road games against Moravian and Lycoming.</p><p>That will be followed by Week 3 and Week 5 contests against preseason top-25 squads Delaware Valley and Albright, respectively.</p><p>The route to improvement is there, and all of those tight finishes from a year ago are serving as motivation.</p><p>&#8220;Losing,&#8221; Russell said, &#8220;hurts the most. I hate losing more than I love winning.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL090116Kingsfootball1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">King&#8217;s fullback Cale Kitchenman (26) reaches up for a tough grab against linebacker Joshua Burkavage during practice on Wednesday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL090116Kingsfootball1.jpg</photo0><caption0>King&#8217;s fullback Cale Kitchenman (26) reaches up for a tough grab against linebacker Joshua Burkavage during practice on Wednesday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL090116Kingsfootball2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Monarchs are looking to cut down on their 27 turnovers from a year ago to turn close losses into close wins. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL090116Kingsfootball2.jpg</photo1><caption1>The Monarchs are looking to cut down on their 27 turnovers from a year ago to turn close losses into close wins. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL090116Kingsfootball3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">King&#8217;s linebacker Brennan Ryan, left, squares off against Brian Atkinson in practice ahead of Saturday&#8217;s opener at Moravian. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL090116Kingsfootball3.jpg</photo2><caption2>King&#8217;s linebacker Brennan Ryan, left, squares off against Brian Atkinson in practice ahead of Saturday&#8217;s opener at Moravian. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>SCHEDULE</strong></p><p>Sept. 3`at Moravian`1 p.m.</p><p>Sept. 10`at Lycoming`1:30 p.m.</p><p>Sept. 17`Delaware Valley`1 p.m.</p><p>Sept. 24`Lebanon Valley`1 p.m.</p><p>Oct. 1`at Albright`1 p.m.</p><p>Oct. 8`Misericordia`1 p.m.</p><p>Oct. 22`at FDU-Florham`1 p.m.</p><p>Oct. 29`Stevenson`1 p.m.</p><p>Nov. 5`Widener`1 p.m.</p><p>Nov. 12`at Wilkes`Noon</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

King’s football ready to rebound this fall