WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 7, 2023) -- A rainy Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium proved to be an instant thriller as the King's College football team overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat FDU-Florham, 17-14, in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) contest. With the comeback victory, the Monarchs improve to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the standings, while the Devils drop to 2-3 with a 1-3 conference mark.
An early Monarch miscue gave the visiting Devils good field position to begin their opening drive, but the King's (4-1, 3-1 MAC) defense shut down FDU-Florham (2-3, 1-3 MAC) on a four-play drive to preserve the scoreless start. After the Monarchs punted on their next drive, the defense came up big again, holding FDU-Florham to a 30-yard field goal in the red zone to trail, 3-0, with 6:07 to go in the quarter.
Another mishap for King's set up a scoring drive for the Devils, but the defensive effort remained steady as FDU-Florham settled for a 45-yard field goal on the drive as their lead increased to 6-0 with 2:23 remaining in the opening frame. The Monarchs would get a solid drive going to end the quarter, but this time it would be the Devils defense to come up with a big stop on 4th-and-8. Both teams' next possessions resulted in turnovers on downs before FDU-Florham put up their final scoring drive of the game, using nine plays and 48 yards to find the end zone and push their advantage to 14-0 with 2:45 to play in the half. Neither team could find their stride in the final minutes as King's faced the 14-0 deficit at the break.
The game slowed in the third as neither offensive unit could put together a strong drive in the rainy weather. With 2:35 to play in the third, Jamil Thomas and Jassiem Lettsome stopped the Devils run at the line of scrimmage before a false start backed FDU-Florham up to the three-yard line. On the next play, the Devils quarterback fumbled another snap in the back of the end zone and fell on the ball to give King's their first safety since the 2018 season and set up the Monarchs fourth-quarter comeback.
King's had great field position to begin their next drive, using a pass interference call against their foes on their first play to march into FDU-Florham territory. After a 10-yard run from Russell Minor-Shaw and a 16-yard completion to EJ Schreiner set up a few short runs from both Minor-Shaw and Jayon Hailey before Minor-Shaw punched the ball into the end zone on 4th-and-1 as King's pulled within 14-9 with 12:53 to play.
FDU-Florham took 5:53 off the game clock with their next nine play, 41-yard drive, but the possession came up empty as the King's defense forced a punt from the visitors. With 7:00 remaining, a 33-yard rush from Minor-Shaw put the Monarchs into Devil territory. King's continued to march their way down the field, and after a Monarch timeout Minor-Shaw crossed the goal line from one yard out. Minor-Shaw then found Mike DiGregorio on the two-point conversion as King's took their first lead of the game, 17-14, with 2:42 left in the thrilling MAC contest.
With time winding down, FDU-Florham had another shot at extending the game. An incomplete pass and a big play on third down from Joe Carchio set up a 4th-and-1, but the Devils quarterback fumbled the snap and was tracked down by Jared Reto to eliminate any effort to preserve the play. King's gained possession with 1:30 and ran the clock down to just 20 seconds.
The Devils would not make it past the nine yard-line before the clock expired as the King's football team picked up the 17-14 MAC win at McCarthy Stadium.
Minor-Shaw completed 10 passes for 124 yards while also rushing for 89 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Hailey added 66 yards on the ground, while Schreiner caught five passes for 53 yards to lead the receivers. The King's defense got a monstrous performance from Carchio as he recorded 16 total tackles with 3.0 tackles for a loss of 15 yards, 1.5 sacks for 11 yards lost, and a pass break up. Reto also added double-digit tackles in the win, recording 13 with 3.5 tackles for a loss of 25 yards, 0.5 sack for four-yards lost, and a quarterback hurry. Additionally, Jake Ruppert posted eight tackles, while both Alex Tristan and Thomas came up with six. On special teams, Tyler Carey returned four kickoffs for 98 yards with a game-long return of 46 yards.
FDU-Florham was led by Kwanir Edwards with 62 rushing yards, while Ryon Thomas went 10-for-18 for 50 yards. Defensively, Matt Heineman posted nine tackles, 3.0 tackles for a loss of 15 yards, 1.0 sack for eight yards lost, and three quarterback hurries. Additionally, Chris DiMedio connected for two field goals from 30 and 45 yards, respectively.
As a team, the Monarchs out gained the Devils 270-125 for the game, including a 146-75 edge on the ground and 124-50 in the air.
King's will be on the road next Saturday, October 14 as they take on Lebanon Valley College in MAC play. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. in Annville, Pa.
https://kingscollegeathletics.com/news/2023/10/7/football-overcomes-first-half-deficit-to-defeat-fdu-florham.aspx
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231007_zo0t.xml
2023
FDU-Florham
14
King's
17
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDU-Florham (2-3) | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| King's (4-1) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 17 |
Oct 07, 2023
--MONARCHS--