After a disappointing result in their opening week, the Bethany
College football team will head out on the road in search of their
first win this year when they travel to King's College for
non-conference tilt. Kickoff in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is schedule for
1 p.m.
This game is part of the inaugural PAC-MAC Challenge, a series of
games between nine members of the PAC and the Middle Athletic
Conference, which has schools from central through eastern Pa., and
into New Jersey. The Bison and Monarchs will play at King's
this season and square off again next year in the second week at
Bethany.
"We're very excited to be involved in the PAC-MAC
series," said Bethany head coach Tim Weaver.
"King's is a very big, physical football team with a
veteran quarterback and a really tough defense. They were very
competitive against a strong Springfield team, which is a credit to
their new staff for having their team ready to play and not be
intimidated by such a tough opponent on the road right out of the
gate. It will be a very difficult match up for us, and we're
looking forward to the challenge."
Bethany's 2010 season started on a down note last week with
a 28-0 loss to Allegheny. A pair of early turnovers led directly to
Gator TDs and another Allegheny score just before halftime put the
Bison in a 21-0 hole. Despite 73 rushing yards and six receptions
for 42 yards by junior RB Eric Walker, BC's offense managed
only 202 yards in the defeat and committed four turnovers,
including three interceptions in freshman QB Matt Grimard's
first game, which Weaver says can be attributed to a number of
things.
"We had a lot of typical first game stuff happen to us
offensively last week," said Weaver. "First off,
anytime you lose the turnover battle 4-0, you can't expect to
win, especially against a good football team like Allegheny. We had
breakdowns up front and need to make it a little simpler for Matt.
His second pick was 100 percent on the coaching staff because he
followed his reads like he was supposed to and Allegheny
didn't react like we thought they would. And our receivers
can block better on the perimeter because we had things in our
screens, but they need to be better on the point of attack to open
things up.
"The good news to last week is that everything could be
fixed," said Weaver. "We knew Allegheny's scheme
and alignment would cause problems and it did, so give them credit
for being a good football team."
While at first glance, giving up 28 points looked like a bad day
for the Bethany defense, those looks would be deceiving.
Allegheny's worst starting field position in the first half
was their own 40 and they gained just 288 total yards, the
second-lowest total allowed by a Bison defense since 2007. In
addition, BC stalled out two Gator drives that resulted in missed
field goals and stopped another Allegheny possession that started
at the Bison 24. Saturday's results actually gave Weaver and
his staff optimism for the defense in the coming weeks.
"For the most part, the defense played very well, but the
problem is, 65 plays can go well, but if you make four mistakes,
they lead to scores," said Weaver. "We had good
coverage on their first two scoring passes and their guy just made
a play. On the score right before halftime, they had a very good
quarterback who led a solid two-minute drill in which we made two
coverage mistakes and the touchdown came on a great throw.
"But we had to defend their offense on half a field for most
of the day because of the turnovers and our guys didn't pout
and kept playing hard," said Weaver. "We made plays in
the backfield, forced stops in the red zone and did things we
haven't done here before. Overall, we were very, very
encouraged by how the defense played on Saturday."
Although they didn't lead Bethany in tackles Saturday, the
BC defensive ends were big reasons for the improved play. Junior
Kasib Taalib-Din finished with eight tackles, including one sack,
and broke up a pass, while sophomore Robert Baker had three stops,
including a big stop for a nine-yard loss on a reverse that knocked
Allegheny out of field goal range.
"Our two defensive ends seem like they are figuring it
out," said Weaver. "They are both big and fast and made
big plays Saturday, with Robert stopping the reverse and Kasib
batting down a pass and getting a sack. If we get production like
that from our ends, our defense instantly gets better, so that was
a big positive on Saturday."
King's also brings a 0-1 record into the game after
suffering a 31-7 defeat at Springfield last week in their first
game under new head coach Jeff Knarr. The Monarchs trailed 10-7 in
the second quarter following a seven-yard scoring pass from Corey
Lavin to Glenn Ford, but Springfield scored the final 21 points of
the game, including scoring passes of 28 and 71 yards. King's
had just two fewer first downs than Springfield (17-15) and held
the ball for more than 38 minutes, but were done in by three
interceptions.
One player to watch for the Monarchs is RB Eric Ofcharsky, who
piled up 258 all-purpose yards last week with 134 on the ground, 47
receiving and 77 on kick returns. The offensive line he runs behind
is mountainous, with three players over 300 pounds and the unit
averaging 297 pounds per man. The defense's fate was similar
to the Bison in that a solid effort, which included two sacks and
two forced fumbles, was stained by the big plays. Linebacker Ryan
Cordingly posted an impressive line of seven tackles, one sack and
one forced fumble.
"Defensively, King's played very well, especially for
their first game under a new staff," said Weaver. "A
couple big plays hurt them at the end, but Springfield is
perennially very good, so it was a good showing on the road.
"On offense, they are huge and maybe the biggest team
we've played in my time," said Weaver. "Ofcharsky
is a DII transfer and they find a lot of different ways to get the
ball in his hands, whether it's running plays, catching the
ball out of the backfield or on kick returns, so he is dangerous.
They have an experienced senior quarterback they trust and managed
to play keep-a-way from a good opponent for nearly 40 minutes, so
we have a challenge ahead of us Saturday."
This match-up with King's means the Bison will be making a
trip of better than six hours for the contest. However, coming on
the heels of a tough setback in the opener, Weaver thinks this
might be exactly what his young program needs, a chance to get away
and just focus on this football game.
"Getting an overnight trip like this can help us because it
will be just us, all together on the bus, in the hotel and at our
team meals," said Weaver. "It's part of our whole
message for the year: we are young, but we are talented and should
improve significantly every week and be a completely different team
from Sept. 1 to Oct. 1 to Nov. 1. We are not concerned with who our
opponent is, where we are playing or even the final score. If we
focus on getting better every week, the wins will take care of
themselves."