DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Kyle McGrath scored on a nine-yard touchdown run in overtime and the King's College defense stopped host Delaware Valley College on its possession as the Monarchs posted a 21-14 upset victory in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) contest.
The win was the first for King's over the Aggies since 2003 and it was also the team's fourth win in a row as the Monarchs improved to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The loss dropped Delaware Valley out of a tie for first place in the MAC as they fell to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the league.
The Aggies won the coin toss and elected to go on defense to start the overtime. King's picked up eight yards over its first two plays and then got a first down when McGrath picked up three yards to put the ball at the Delaware Valley 14-yard line. After Tom Hehre picked up five yards, McGrath got the call again and he broke three tackles, en route to the end zone. Kevin Mulvhill added the extra-point for the 21-14 lead and forcing the Aggies to have to score a touchdown and convert the point-after to continue the game.
Kyle Schuberth began Delaware Valley's overtime possession with a two-yard gain, but was stopped at the line of scrimmage on the next play. On third-and-eight, quarterback Charlie Marterella, making just his second collegiate start, zipped a pass over the middle that would have been enough for the first down, but it was dropped by Rasheed Bailey and the team faced fourth down. Marterella was then flushed out of the pocket and his pass was knocked down by James Burke at the line to end the game and set up a King's celebration.
Delaware Valley started the game by going 75 yards on 12 plays, which included a pair of third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion. On third-and-goal from the two, Charlie Marterella hit younger brother Bobby Marterella in the end zone. Brandon Snyder added the extra-point for a 7-0 lead just 5:35 into the game.
That was all the scoring in the first half as the two teams combined for five turnovers and five punts the rest of the way. The Aggies also had a golden opportunity midway through the second quarter, but Snyder pushed a 22-yard field goal attempt wide right of the uprights.
Early in the third quarter, Burke intercepted a pass for King's and headed to the end zone for a sure score, but he was called for taunting as he reached the Delaware Valley five-yard line. The Monarchs took over at the Aggie 20 after the penalty was marked off, but roughing the passer and offsides penalties by Delaware Valley put the ball back to the five. Hehre then called his own number on a wildcat play and got the touchdown for a 7-7 score with 10:40 remaining in the quarter.
Later in the third, the Aggies regained the lead as they went on an eight-play, 61-yard scoring drive. Schuberth got the call on five of the last six plays of the drive and netted 54 yards, including the final 13 that put him in the end zone. Snyder's boot made it 14-6 with 1:52 left in the quarter.
Delaware Valley had a chance to make it a two-score game, but Snyder's 32-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Bobby Russell and King's took over at its own 20 with 5:56 remaining. The Monarchs moved down the field and then faced a fourth-and-three from the Aggie 39-yard line. Quarterback Tyler Hartranft hit Dan Kempa around the 30 and Kempa bounced off two defenders and went the rest of the way for the touchdown. Mulvihill added the extra-point to knot the game at 14-14 with 2:06 remaining. The contest then went to overtime where King's pulled out the win.
Schuberth had another big outing for Delaware Valley as he finished with 188 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. Charlie Marterella was just 8-for-21 for 88 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Defensively, the Aggies held the Monarchs to 239 total yards. Freshman linebacker Frank Law made his first start at linebacker and he had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Ken Kenner-English had nine stops and a sack while Chris Vega and Danny Wynne had interceptions.
Hartranft completed 18 of 31 passes for 162 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Kempa caught 10 passes for 114 yards and a score. McGrath was held to 23 yards on 15 carries, but nine of those yards came on the game-winning score. Kris Matthews and Ron Garrett led the way with 14 and 12 tackles respectively while Nick Kaijala recorded nine tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.