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Sports

King Wants To Deliver Crown to Francis Howell

GAC South's leading receiver has been hard for opposing teams to contain

With senior receiver Corey King leading the charge, the Francis Howell football team's offense hasn't lost a step from its dynamic 2010 form.

Much of the buzz surrounding this year's Vikings team centered around new varsity quarterback Eric Siebenshuh. As a senior he's been given the assignment of filling the role of graduated star athlete Brett Graves and has been efficient in leading Howell (2-0) to back-to-back blowout wins to start the season.

But ask anyone in the program who the unit's vocal and emotional leader is, and they'll tell you that unmistakable title belongs to King, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster.

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"When he was a freshman we knew he'd be a great player for us," Howell coach Bryan Koch said of King. "He's a captain for us, a three-year starter and a three-year all-conference kid. Corey just does a great job getting everyone on board with what we're doing."

Through two games in which the Vikings have outscored their opponents 102-24, King has been the go-to player through the air. Entering their Week 3 game against Timberland, King was the Gateway Athletic Conference South leader in receptions (16) and receiving yards (269) with four touchdowns. He's well on his way to becoming his team's leading receiver for a third consecutive season.

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"He's great," said Siebenshuh, who first became acclimated with King when they played together on the freshmen squad. "He's got great hands, runs great routes and works hard in the offseason. It's great to have that kind of connection with someone."

And while King continues to post impressive receiving totals, the only statistic he concerns himself with is how many notches the Vikings make in the win column.

"If I go for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a game and we lose, it means nothing," King said. "It's not about the stats -- it's about the team."

That team-first approach mirrors the message Koch has worked to convey since taking over as head coach in 2007.

"We can rush for negative yards and throw the ball backward all game," he said. "If we win, we're happy."

But there's little doubt that when King is at his best, so too is his team. He's demonstrated an uncanny ability to come through in clutch situations, like when he caught fourth-quarter touchdown passes of 70 and 18 yards to lead Howell to a 41-33 comeback win over Fort Zumwalt West last year in a GAC South showdown.

"He steps up when the game is on the line," Koch said. "He's the kind of kid that looks at you in the huddle and says, 'Give me the ball.' He's the kind of kid that you're just thankful he's playing for you instead of a player you have to game-plan against."

The Vikings went on to lose to the Jaguars 34-28 in the Class 6 quarterfinals. But King again showed off his clutch play-making ability, albeit in a losing effort, by hauling in a late touchdown pass that tied the score at 28 with less than five minutes to play. West would go on to score the game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left and put a halt to Howell's first 10-win season since 1998.

Howell, which had won 14 straight league contests entering its Week 3 game against Timberland, will have another crack at Zumwalt West on Sept. 16 at Howell Stadium.

The Vikings, King especially, can't wait for the opportunity.

"When we lost that last game, I was devastated. The whole team was," King said. "I remember coming up to school the next day and meeting in the weight room. None of the seniors or coaches were there; just the kids who were returning. It was an emotional time for us. We all sat there and decided that this is going to be our year. This is payback time."

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