WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 19, 2024) – Holding on to a 14-13 halftime lead, the King's College football team dominated the second half, outscoring Lebanon Valley College 14-0, on their way to a 28-13 win in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) match up. With the win at McCarthy Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Monarchs remain unbeaten in the MAC standings at 5-0 and improve to 5-1 overall, while the Flying Dutchmen drop to 2-4 with a 2-3 conference mark.
Lebanon Valley (2-4, 2-3 MAC) opened the game with a lengthy drive, chewing up 6:15 of the game clock, but the King's (5-1, 5-0 MAC) defense came up big with a stop by Zach Barber and Tarylle Stewart on 4th-and-goal to take over on downs. It did not take long for the Monarchs to find the end zone as Brennan Robinson ran for 92 yards on the second play of the drive to take it to the house and put King's ahead, 7-0, with 7:47 to go in the first.
The Dutchmen responded on their next drive, scoring in eight plays over 3:46 of the game clock, but the extra-point attempted was tipped enough to send it into the left post as the Monarchs held a 7-6 lead with 4:01 to play in the opening quarter.
Both teams came up short and punted on their next possessions before the King's offense came alive. After a few short gains, Russell Minor-Shaw connected with Jayon Hailey who made a one-handed grab to take it in from 13-yards out and push the King's lead to 14-6 with 8:16 left in the half. The Lebanon Valley offense marched down the field on their next drive, putting together a 15-play effort, but the 41-yard field goal attempt from Tim Kissinger was blocked by Xander Murray to keep the Monarchs ahead, 14-6 with 2:28 on the clock.
Lebanon Valley had the ball on the final possession of the half, and with two seconds remaining, the Dutchmen faked a field goal and drove in a 26-yard pass from Jeremy Bours Jr. to Sheadan Makosy to close within one, 14-13, heading into the locker room.
The Monarchs came out of the break on a mission, winding down 5:33 of the game clock on a 10-play, 77-yard drive, fueled by a 15-yard run from Robinson and an 18-yard catch from EJ Schreiner. On 3rd-and-goal from the Lebanon Valley eight-yard line, Minor-Shaw connected with EJ Schreiner in the end zone to push their advantage to 21-13 with 9:22 to play in the third.
The Dutchmen seemed to have a good rhythm on their next possession, but the Monarchs special teams came up big again, blocking their second field goal attempt of the game to maintain their 21-13 edge with 1:58 left in the quarter.
After trading punts again, King's took just five plays over 86 yards and 2:48 of the game clock for Hailey to explode for a 51-yard touchdown run to record their largest lead of the game, 28-13, with 11:26 remaining. The Dutchmen responded, moving their way down King's eight-yard line, but a costly holding penalty moved them back to the 18. On the next play, Logan Klitsch attempted a pass into the end zone that was broken up by Barber and intercepted by Ahmad Griffin before being returned 40 yards.
After punting again, the King's defense delivered another stellar stop, forcing a turnover on downs thanks to a tackle by Amir Gibson and Jake Ruppert on 4th-and-7 to get the ball back with 3:03 left in the game. A Monarch miscue on their next punt gave the Dutchmen solid field position with 1:12 to go, but on fourth down with just seconds remaining, Klitsch threw his second interception of the quarter, this time to Gibson on the six-yard line as the Monarchs secured the 28-13 win over Lebanon Valley in the important MAC match up on Saturday afternoon.
Minor-Shaw completed 13-of-19 for 114 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 70 yards. Robinson had another great game, running for 133 yards on nine carries with a touchdown, while Hailey put up his own century-mark with 106 yards on seven carries and a touchdown while adding 28 receiving yards on a touchdown. EJ Schreiner led the receivers with 35 yards on three catches with a touchdown.
Ruppert led the defense with 13 tackles, while Osman Kamara had 11 tackles, 2.0 sacks for a loss of 21 yards, two quarterback hurries, and a pass break up. Trevor Gleason had a strong effort with nine tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, and two pass break ups, while Barber added his own nine tackles and a break up. Both Griffin and Gibson added to their interceptions with two break ups and seven tackles.
On special teams, Joachim McElroy punted four times for 129 yards, and Tony Brinson returned two kickoffs for 40 yards. Additionally, Delaney Hilferty remained perfect as she went 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts.
Braden Bohannon threw for 182 yards, completing 15-of-32 with a touchdown, while Avrey Grim ran for 72 yards. Malachi Williams added a 71-yard effort, and Rylee Stahl caught seven passes for 60 yards. Brody Robinson led the defense with seven tackles, while Ryan Enright added six.
For the game, the Monarchs totaled 409 yards of offense, holding a 295-197 edge in the run game over the Dutchmen. King's was solid on third down, converting 6-of-11 while limiting Lebanon Valley to 8-of-19. The Monarchs were also a perfect 2-for-2 in the red zone while holding the Dutchmen to 2-for-5 to secure the important team win.
King's is back on the road next weekend, traveling to FDU-Florham on October 26. Kickoff in Madison, N.J. for the MAC contest is set for 12:00 p.m.
--MONARCHS--