RADNOR, PA (October 12, 2024) -- Russell Minor-Shaw's explosive 62-yard touchdown run with 1:12 to go in the game sealed the deal as the King's College football team defeated the host Eastern University, 35-23, on Saturday afternoon in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) match up. The Monarchs remain unbeaten in conference play at 4-0 and improve to 4-1, while the Eagles drop to 1-4 overall with a 1-3 MAC mark.
King's (4-1, 4-0 MAC) came out to a strong defensive start, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 37-yard field goal attempt that went wide to give the Monarchs offense the ball on their own 21-yard line. A 21-yard run from Brennan Robinson jump started an 11-play, 79 yard drive over 6:00 of actin. Another 17-yard gain by Jayon Hailey set up a nice five-yard run from Hailey to put the Monarchs on the board, 7-0, with 3:04 to go in the first.
On the next Eastern (1-4, 1-3 MAC) drive, the Eagles made it to midfield before Zach Barber intercepted a pass thanks to pressure on the quarterback from Jake Ruppert to put the ball back in the hands of the Monarchs heading into the second quarter. The Eagles defense came up big, making a stop on a King's fourth down before the game slowed as both teams traded punts.
With 8:07 to left in the half, the Monarchs got the ball back and strung together a quick four-play, 46-yard drive that saw Minor-Shaw connect with Mike DiGregorio for a 26-yard touchdown catch as the King's lead jumped to 14-0 with 5:49 to play in the second. The Eagles made up some of the deficit, scoring on their next drive and capitalizing on a Monarch miscue on the kickoff return to close within one, 14-13, with 1:37 remaining.
It was King's turn to strike back, and after two quick run plays, Minor-Shaw found EJ Schreiner for a 34-yard gain followed by a 17-yard snag from DiGregorio to put the Monarchs on the Eastern 32-yard line with 38 seconds to go. Back-to-back connections with DiGregorio saw the duo find the end zone for the second time in the contest, this time from 21-yards out, as the Monarchs went into the locker room leading, 21-13.
King's wasted no time out of the gate in the third, scoring in just two plays as Robinson ran for 63 yards on the opening play of the half, and Minor-Shaw ran it in from six-yards out to push their edge to 28-13 with 14:05 left in the frame. After trading empty possessions, Eastern took advantage of another mishap as John Nolek connected for a 29-yard field goal to make the score, 28-16, with 5:05 in the third.
Eatern seemed to have momentum heading into the fourth, but on a 4th-and-6 from the King's 33-yard line to start the quarter, Barber came up big again to break up a pass and give the Monarchs the ball back. But the Eagles found their stride on their next drive, eating up 7:04 of the game clock with a lengthy 14-play drive to pull within five, 28-23, with 3:21 left in the contest.
The Monarchs were methodical, chipping away at the final ticks of the game clock, but after a timeout by the Monarchs with 1:22 to play, Minor-Shaw exploded for a 62-yard run to jump back ahead, 35-23, with 1:00 remaining. Eastern had one final shot at a game-winning effort, but Barber picked off his second pass of the game on the second play of the drive and returned it seven yards to secure the 35-23 win for King's on the road at Eastern in the MAC match up on Saturday afternoon.
Minor-Shaw threw for 144 yards, completing 9-of-14, with two touchdowns while also running for 118 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Robinson had yet another 100-plus yard rushing game, totaling 177 yards on 18 carries at an average of 9.8 yards per carry, while Hailey added 63 yards of his own on the ground. DiGregorio led the receivers with 89 yards on five catches with two scores, while Schreiner added 51 on three grabs.
Ruppert paced the defense with 12 total tackles, adding 1.0 tackles for a loss of six yards, a break up, and a quarterback hurry, while Jared Reto added seven tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss. Barber posted five tackles to go along with two interceptions and two break ups, while Xander Murray finished with two quarterback hurries.
On special teams, Tony Brinson returned two kickoffs for 29 yards, Delaney Hilferty was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts, and Aaron Losada kicked off six times for 315 yards.
Eastern was led by Brett Nabb with 172 passing yards, completing 12-of-22 with two interceptions, while Jeremiah Avrilien ran for 54 yards on 14 attempts. Justin Nikolopoulos caught two passes for 64 yards, while Gashawn Moody made 11 tackles with 1.0 tackle for a loss of three yards.
As a team, the Monarchs totaled 500 yards of offense while limiting Eastern to just 295 for the game, including a dominant 356-123 edge in the run game. King's was efficient on third down, converting 7-of-12, while the defense held the Eagles to 1-of-10 on third down.
King's will return to their home turf at McCarthy Stadium for their lone home contest in the month of October. The Monarchs are set to host Lebanon Valley College in the MAC contest at 1:00 p.m. next Saturday, October 19.
Minor-Shaw's Late Score Seals the Deal in 35-23 Win at Eastern
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241012_qwzi.xml
2024
King's
35
Eastern
23
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's (4-1) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Eastern (1-4) | 0 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 23 |
Oct 12, 2024
--MONARCHS--