Who: Muhlenberg (7-3) at King’s (7-3)
What: The ECAC Southeast championship game and a matchup of defending ECAC champions. The Mules captured the Southwest title last year with a win against Wilkes, while the Monarchs defeated Ursinus in the Southeast championship game.
When: Saturday, November 17, 12:00
Where: Betzler Fields, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
On the Air: Greg Kadetsky and Justin Deutsch will call the game live on WMUH 91.7 FM. To listen in, go to the WMUH Web site and click on Real Audio.

Series Record: King’s won the only previous meeting, 6-0, but that was in 1962. The Monarchs discontinued their football program after the following season and revived it in 1993. The teams have two common opponents this year: King’s lost to Hartwick (33-26) at home and defeated Moravian (14-13) on the road the first two weeks of the season, while Muhlenberg defeated Hartwick on the road (63-13) but lost to Moravian (17-7) at home the last two weeks of the season.

Scouting the Monarchs: King’s finished third in the Middle Atlantic Conference behind two teams ranked in the top 10 in Division III, Widener and Lycoming. The Monarchs, who have won four in a row, feature a stingy defense that ranks fourth in the nation against the run, allowing only 66.2 yards and averaging nearly five sacks per game. Junior defensive end Steven Wilson and junior linebacker Chris Keene both rank among the national leaders in sacks, with Wilson’s 19.5 at the top of the list. Keene, the team’s leading tackler, has 9.5. Junior safety Sean Frasier set school records with five interceptions and 18 pass breakups. Offensively, King’s led the MAC in rushing at 223.0 yards per game. Senior Chris Shivery rushed for 1,160 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jim Pio had nearly half (45 of 100) of the team’s receptions and caught nine touchdown passes. The Monarch special teams have given up three touchdowns on returns this year.

Scouting the Mules: Muhlenberg tied for its first Centennial Conference championship in 15 years with Western Maryland and has a chance to tie the school record for wins in a four-year span (28, set from 1986 to 1989). The Mules allowed 15.9 points and 275.0 yards per game this season, their lowest averages since 1989. Muhlenberg’s last four opponents are averaging just 73.0 rushing yards per game and 2.2 yards per carry. Senior linebacker Jon-Paul Skarpetowski leads the team with 70 tackles, 6.5 for loss, while senior free safety Erik Hammar has picked off seven passes. Senior wide receiver Joshua Carter and sophomore running back Matt Bernardo were two of the 17 Mules named to the All-CC teams. Carter, believed to be the all-time Division III leader in kickoff return yardage and punt return yardage, set school records for career touchdowns (41) and receiving yards (2,733) and tied the mark for career receptions (169). Bernardo, the MVP of last year’s ECAC game, set a school record with 19 touchdowns on the season and became the first sophomore in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards (1,038).

The women defeated Widener, 85-54, and will face 25th-ranked Springfield, an 88-63 victor against Gallaudet. The men toppled Philadelphia Biblical, 80-51,

Sophomore Susan Marchiano goes up for two of her 26 points against Widener.

to earn a matchup with local rival Moravian, which outlasted Baldwin-Wallace, 94-89 in overtime, in the best game of the day.

The Mule women gave new head coach Ron Rohn an enjoyable first game, sprinting out to a 13-2 lead en route to their 10th straight home win. Muhlenberg forced 14 turnovers in each half and held Widener to 32.8-percent shooting.

Sophomore Susan Marchiano tied a Scotty Wood record with 13 field goals in only 15 attempts and finished with a career-high 26 points. She also had nine rebounds. Senior Jenn Risley scored 15 points, while sophomore

Senior Mark Lesko scored in double figures for the 24th straight game against Philadelphia Biblical.

Lindsay Tis added a career-high nine points. Click here for box score.

Like the women, the men led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 19-6 advantage in the first 10 minutes and breezing to their 19th straight Scotty Wood championship game appearance. All but one of the 14 players the Mules dressed contributed points, and Philadelphia Biblical shot just 28.3 percent from the field.

Senior Mark Lesko led the way with 17 points (on 8-of-9 shooting) and seven rebounds. Senior Bill Cwieka scored 11, including three first-half three-pointers, and junior Aaron Holden had 10 points and six rebounds. Click here for box score.