READING, PA (September 21, 2024) -- Another dominant offensive performance coupled with some explosive defensive plays lifted the King's College football team to a 35-10 win in their first road contest of the year at Alvernia University. With the win in their Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game, the Monarchs improve to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the MAC, while the Golden Wolves fall to 0-3 and 0-2 in the MAC.
It was a quick first quarter as neither team could finish off a drive despite an interception from Amir Gibson midway through the first. King's (2-1, 2-0 MAC) regained possession with 3:13 left in the period and used a big 20-yard catch from Shemar Ellis and an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Golden Wolves to have the ball at the Alvernia 19-yard line to start the second.
On the first play of the quarter, Russell Minor-Shaw connected with Brennan Robinson for a 19-yard touchdown reception with 14:41 left in the half. The Monarchs forced a punt on the following Alvernia (0-3, 0-2 MAC) drive to set up another score. Minor-Shaw threw to Mike DiGregorio on four straight plays, totaling 54 yards, before finding McCombs from 17-yards out for the second touchdown in the game.
A three-play drive that saw the Monarchs defense push Alvernia back 11 yards and force another punt put the ball back in the hands of the Monarchs with 9:15 left. King's connected for four plays and 38 yards to score their third touchdown on a six-yard run from Minor-Shaw, increasing their lead to 21-0 with 7:20 remaining in the half.
The Golden Wolves found some momentum after recording a safety on a Monarch miscue and totaling 47 yards on three plays to find the end zone and close within 21-10. The team's traded scoreless attempts down the stretch as King's entered the locker room with their 21-10 advantage.
Each team came up short on their first drives to start the third, but King's had great field position thanks to a blocked punt by Nathan Taylor as Robinson ran it in for a four-yard touchdown score on the first play of the drive, increasing their lead to 28-10 with 8:00 to play in the third.
Penalties and negative plays continued to plaque the Golden Wolves throughout the quarter as the Monarchs got the ball back with 1:35 left in the period to enter the final quarter of play with their 28-10 lead.
Despite a turnover by the Monarchs, the Alvernia offense was stifled again by the King's defensive efforts, highlighted by a sack from Sean Lavine and Craig Graves and a pass break up by Jared Reto. The Monarchs then ate up a chunk of the fourth-quarter clock on their final scoring drive, using 10 plays and 86 yards over 5:59 of play to put up their final score of the game. An explosive 31-yard run from Robinson kicked off the drive before a 33-yard reception from EJ Schreiner put the Monarchs in the red zone. Some short gains chipped away at the clock and allowed Jayon Hailey to score a two-yard touchdown run as the lead swelled to 35-10.
Alvernia had one final effort to eliminate the deficit, but a tackle for loss by Mike Richino and a sack by Alex Tristan put the exclamation mark on the game and solidified the 35-10 win in their first road contest of the season.
Minor-Shaw threw for 209 yards on 16 completions with two touchdowns while also running for 50 yards and a score. Robinson posted his second consecutive 100-plus yard rushing effort, totaling 133 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while also catching a touchdown pass for 19 yards. DiGregorio led the receivers with 57 yards on four catches, while Schreiner and McCombs each caught three passes and combined for 83 yards.
On defense, Reto paced the effort with nine tackles and two break ups, while Jake Ruppert made seven tackles with a tackle for loss. Richino had a great outing, posting six tackles with 1.5 sacks for a loss of 10 yards and a forced fumble, while Craig Graves also had 1.5 sacks for a loss of four yards. Joachim McElroy also had a pair of break ups in the secondary while punting for 153 yards with three of the four inside the 20-yard line. Additionally, Aaron Losada was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts and had 395 kickoff yards on seven attempts.
The Golden Wolves were led by Colin Payne with 105 yards on 17 completions, while Ozmere Jones ran for 80 yards on 10 carries. Kashantis Anderson led the defense with 12 tackles and an interception with 41-return yards.
King's out gained Alvernia 424-174 yards for the game, dominating the run game, 215-69, and had a sizable 209-105 edge in the air. The Monarchs defense was solid on third down, limiting the Golden Wolves to 2-of-12, while the offense went 5-for-7 in the red zone.
The Monarchs will return to McCarthy Stadium next weekend as they host Widener University in MAC play for Homecoming and Family and Friends Weekend. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre.