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Plymouth High School Class of 1952 holds reunion

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Harris Pond in Sweet Valley being re-filled after dam checks out OK

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; In Jeff Knarr&#8217;s seven years as head coach of the King&#8217;s football program, the Monarchs haven&#8217;t been able to put together consecutive winning seasons in the MAC.</p><p>Year eight has the makings of that happening.</p><p>The Monarchs are coming off the 2016 campaign where they finished 5-4 in the conference and 5-5 overall, and led the league in total offense and passing offense.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re at the point where we&#8217;re relevant,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;We did a lot of really good things last year. And when a long season ends and another begins you wanna begin that season where you ended not slide back, and continue to grow. We emphasized that to our kids, and they&#8217;re upbeat and optimistic as there&#8217;s a lot of kids back that can learn and build on what they did in &#8216;16.&#8221;</p><p>No longer the team that runs the ball all over opposing defenses, King&#8217;s returns seven offensive starters from that dynamic unit of a year ago, including quarterback Zach Whitehead.</p><p>Whitehead punished opponents last season through the air and with his feet. As a passer, he set school records in completions (244), passing yards (2,832) and touchdowns with 19, while topping the MAC in completions, attempts, passing yards and yards per game. He also ran for 502 yards (tenth in the MAC) and 12 more scores (tied for second).</p><p>Whitehead was far from the only big contributor.</p><p>Receiver Tyler Marroni returns for his senior season after hauling in 53 receptions for 749 yards and four touchdowns a season ago. Marquis Miller, Corey Flynn and Devin Ringler also return to solidify an experienced receiving corps.</p><p>While starting running back from 2016 Alvonte Thompson moved back to his home state of Washington, several other backs will be vying for playing time. Thompson led the team in rushing last year with 507 yards.</p><p>They should be helped by a big offensive line despite losing three starters. Among those on the O-line are a pair of transfers in Tyler Irwin coming over from Lackawanna College, and Brennan Walsh from Division II Pace University. Both combine to add 660 pounds to the line as Knarr hopes his running game improves.</p><p>&#8220;We need to run the ball more consistently than last year,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;I&#8217;d like to have a little more balance. But then again, when we get into a game and figure out what it&#8217;s gonna take to win &#8211; if it takes throwing it 60 times, we will &#8211; we had to run 60-some times in a game last year. It&#8217;s a combination of the whole totality if it all. If we can run the ball better, that helps your pass game.&#8221;</p><p><strong>ON DEFENSE</strong></p><p>The unit finished in the lower half of the 10-team MAC in just about every stat last season. But the group was still young. And despite allowing 30.4 points per game, they went out on a high note, allowing no more than 14 points in two of the last four games.</p><p>With eight players back on defense, the experience will pay off big this season, Knarr hopes.</p><p>One of the losses for the defense is a big one in linebacker and three-time All-MAC selection Bobby Russell, who graduated. His partner in the middle last year was Bruce Damon, who led the league in tackles with 118 and returns for his senior season.</p><p>&#8220;He was a two-time captain and was there for so long, but Bruce has been there for as long as Bobby was,&#8221; Knarr said. &#8220;Bobby brought experience and leadership, but that just falls on Bruce and the rest of the seniors to pick up that pace.&#8221;</p><p>It also helps that three-year safety Jake Manetti returns as a starter to close out his career. He&#8217;s played in 30 games for the Monarchs in his career and has been a starter since his sophomore season. An Old Forge product, he&#8217;s amassed 129 tackles and four interceptions in his career.</p><p><strong>AN EARLY START</strong></p><p>During Knarr&#8217;s tenure, the Monarchs have started the season mostly on the usual Saturday afternoons. They&#8217;ve also began on a Saturday night, and played a few games on Friday nights throughout the season.</p><p>This season, King&#8217;s starts Thursday night when it hosts Moravian.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a good thing for us because it&#8217;s a home game and we wanted to play at night,&#8221; the coach said. &#8220;We&#8217;re not gonna play on Friday because high school football in Pennsylvania is a big deal, and we support that.&#8221;</p><p>The Greyhounds are the only non-conference foe on the the schedule for King&#8217;s as the team starts its MAC slate on Sept. 9 versus reigning conference champion Stevenson.</p><p>Picked fifth in the MAC Preseason Poll, King&#8217;s is away for two straight weeks after the opener and returns for homecoming on Sept. 23 against Lycoming.</p><p>The Monarchs travel to rival Misericordia on Oct. 7 and host crosstown rival Wilkes in the Mayor&#8217;s Cup on Nov. 11, the last week of the regular season.</p><p>The Monarchs will look to not only have a winning season, but will try to take their talents to the next level and finish atop the standings or qualify for the postseason. To do that, Knarr has had a message to his team.</p><p>&#8220;They wanna break the mold of just being relevant and try to become the top team, a great team. To do that, we challenge them to be great,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And to be something special, you gotta do everything right and put the work in that it takes to do something extraordinary. If you truly wanna be up there with the teams at the top of the MAC, you have to break the mold we&#8217;re in. And to break that mold, the only way to do that is prepare yourself to be great.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Record-setting King&#8217;s quarterback Zach Whitehead is back for another season leading the Monarchs. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Kings-StevensonFB_2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Record-setting King&#8217;s quarterback Zach Whitehead is back for another season leading the Monarchs. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

King’s football opens Thursday, aiming for a breakthrough year