WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 16, 2023) – It was a game to remember as the King's College football team tied for the best start in program history, improving to 3-0 with an impressive 56-0 shutout win over Albright College on Saturday afternoon in their home opener at McCarthy Stadium. As part of the Homecoming Weekend festivities, the Monarchs take their 3-0 overall record and also improve to 2-0 in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play, while the Lions drop to 0-3 with an 0-2 conference mark.
The King's (3-0, 2-0 MAC) set the tone from the start, forcing a three-and-out from the Albright (0-3, 0-2 MAC) offense and shutting down a fake punt to give the Monarchs the ball on the Albright 26-yard line. IT took just one play for Russell Minor-Shaw to find a wide-open Jayon Hailey for an opening play touchdown. The defense delivered a pick six as Jake Ruppert stepped in and returned a pass from the Lions quarterback to push the King's lead to 14-0 just 2:09 into the first quarter.
With the next Albright possession, it was Teone Sherrod's turn to pick off a pass on the second play of the drive, returning the ball 25 yards to give the Monarchs their next drive on the Albright 31. Five plays later, Shemar Ellis punched in the score from a yard out as the King's lead swelled to 21-0. Another three-and-out by the Lions put the ball back in the Monarchs' hands with 7:52 to go in the opening quarter. King's marched the ball down and the field and set up a second-and-goal to start the second. Seven seconds later, Minor-Shaw connected with Tyler Carey for a nine-yard touchdown reception as King's held the 28-0 edge.
Albright's offense picked up their first first down of the game on their next drive, but the King's defense picked up their pressure and held the Lions to just one more yard of offense to force a punt. A big play on 1st and 10 from the King's 34 saw Minor-Shaw connect with EJ Schreiner for a 51-yard gain to set up a 14-yard touchdown reception to Schreiner, pushing the lead to 35-0 with 9:16 remaining in the half.
Each team got the ball two more times in the half, but neither team found the end zone as King's maintained their 35-0 advantage at the break.
King's continued their offensive onslaught as they opened the half with the ball, scoring on a four-play drive featuring a 53-yard touchdown run from Brennan Robinson. The next drive, the Monarchs tacked on another score as Minor-Shaw connected with Ryan McCombs from 14-yards out to cap off an eight-play 80 yard drive to see the scoreboard in favor of King's, 49-0. The game slowed for the remainder of the quarter, but King's had possession on their own 27-yard line heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
Despite coming up empty on their next two drives, another Lions miscue on a punt return saw Malik Key fumble the punt that was recovered by Amir Gibson at the Albright 27. Pierre Marchant ran for 18 yards before Johnny Gilchrist punched it in for a nine-yard touchdown run as the Monarchs put up their final score of the game, leading 56-0, with 8:15 left.
King's would regain possession one final time in the game with 6:36 to go and ran down the clock before giving Albright one final chance with 14 ticks left. On their final play, the Lions back fumbled the ball and recovered it as time expired as the Monarchs finished their impressive performance with the 56-0 MAC win for their first showing in front of their home crowd at McCarthy Stadium.
Minor-Shaw was efficient again, completing 16-of-20 for 246 yards with four touchdowns while also adding 23 rushing yards on 11 carries. Robinson paced the run game with 79 yards on six carries with a touchdown, and Pierre Marchant added 43 yards. There were two milestones for the King's offense in the game as Shemar Ellis surpassed the 1,000 career rushing yards with his 23 in the game, while Tyler Carey passed the 1,000 career receiving yards mark with his 62 yards on three catches and a touchdown. Elsewhere in the offense, Jayon Hailey led the King's receivers with 69 yards on five catches with a score, while Schreiner added 65 yards on a pair of grabs.
Joe Carchio led the defense with eight total tackles, including 2.0 tackles for a loss of three yards, while Zach Hulsizer had a big game of seven tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss with a pass break up. Jacob Martinez came up big down the stretch for the Monarchs defense, adding three tackles and a solo sack for five-yards lost, while both Jassiem Lettsome and Jack Palmer posted a team-best two quarterback hurries. Additionally, Teone Sherrod broke up a team-leading two passes to go along with his interception.
On special teams, Alyssa Accordino was a perfect 8-for-8 on extra-point attempts, and Dylan Manna kicked off nine times for 490 yards. The punt game saw Anthony Prato total 148 yards on four punts, including one inside the 20, while Mike DiGregorio returned one punt for 30 yards.
Isaiah Shockley and Noble Thompson were the two lone bright spots individually for Albright, combining for 84 yards on 19 carries. Javontae Wayman paced the defense with nine tackles, including 1.0 sack for a loss of seven yards.
The King's dominance can best be seen in the team totals, as the Monarchs offense put up 440 total yards while holding Albright to 111 yards, including -2 passing yards. The Monarchs also had the edge in total plays, running 69 plays to just 48 for the Lions. Additionally, King's converted on 6-of-15 on third down, 3-of-5 on fourth down, and a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone.
The Monarchs will face nationally-ranked Delaware Valley next weekend, taking on the Aggies on the road on Saturday, September 23. Kick off is set for 12:00 p.m. in Doylestown, Pa.
Milestones and Tie for Season-Best Start Highlights Shutout Win over Albright on Homecoming
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230916_bka7.xml
2023
Albright
0
King's
56
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albright (0-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| King's (3-0) | 21 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
Sep 16, 2023
--MONARCHS--