WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 2, 2019) -- The King's College football team hit three touchdown passes for over 45 yards, using the big play to push past Albright College 36-16 Saturday in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action on a brisk afternoon from McCarthy Stadium in Wilkes-Barre. 

The Monarchs (5-3, 3-3 MAC) would stop Albright on its first drive, and cashed in quickly on their first possession. After moving the ball down to the Albright 45-yard line, sophomore quarterback Tyler Moore delivered a perfect pass for freshman Joe Herman, who hauled in the catch in the end zone to put the Monarchs up 7-0. 

On the ensuing Lions drive, Albright moved the ball to King's 34 but the Monarchs stopped the drive on 4th-and-4 thanks to a pass break-up by junior Yusef Wheeler. After King's was forced to punt, the Monarchs defense once again got off the field late in the first quarter and junior Gabe Boccella returned the Albright punt 33 yards to start the King's drive at the Lions 17-yard line. 

King's would make good use of the great starting position, needing only four plays to hit pay dirt as senior Jordan Downes pushed in from three yards out to make the score 14-0. 

The Lions would get on the board early in the second quarter thanks to their defense, keeping Downes in the end zone on a third-down carry to earn a safety to make the score 14-2. The score would stay at 14-2, thanks to some strong coverage by the Monarchs as junior Mando Sallavanti and senior Mikal Butler each ended Albright drives with interceptions. 

Late in the first half, Albright used an interception deep in Monarch territory to finally get on the board offensively, as Tony Thorpe scored his first of two rushing touchdowns from a yard out to make the score 14-8 after a missed extra point. 

With just 19 seconds left in the half, King's got the ball back at their own 35 but a 17-yard rush by Moore on the first play of the drive moved the ball to the King's 49 with 11 seconds remaining in the half. On the next play, Moore connected with Boccella for 41 yards to the Albright 8 with a second remaining, setting up a 25-yard field goal by Kyle Prescavage to extend King's lead to 17-8 at the break. 

On the first drive of the second half, King's would post another quick strike, as Moore hit Boccella on a 10-yard in at the King's 45-yard line. Boccella made two Lion defenders miss, and streaked untouched down the left sideline for a 66-yard touchdown catch to make the score 23-8. 

After another punt by Albright, the Monarchs had their longest drive of the game, needing nine plays to trek 78 yards capped by a Boccella 21-yard rushing touchdown, taking a reverse pitch from Downes and diving for the left pylon to put King's up comfortably at 30-8. 

Albright would trim the King's lead to two scores once again in the beginning of the fourth quarter on another scoring run from Thorpe along with a two-point conversion to make the score 30-16. 

King's once again had an answer though as Moore found senior Jayner Gorospe downfield deep, and Gorospe out-jumped his defender, made a man miss and walked into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown catch to end the scoring on the day. 

Albright's next drive would end on the second interception of the day by Butler, and King's freshman Joe Carchio also picked off Jimmy Lahay late in the game to seal the victory. 

Moore had his best day as a collegiate on Saturday, as the sophomore posted a career-high 280 yards on 15-of-26, chalking up a career-high three touchdowns. Moore also rushed for a season-high 29 yards, while Boccella chalked up his fourth 100-yard game with 126 yards on five catches. Gorospe finished with three catches for a season-high 70 yards, and Downes added 59 yards rushing while making three catches for 25 yards. 

The Monarch defensive unit was stellar all game, as Sallavanti finished with 13 tackles along with his interception. Charles McCall also had 13 tackles, including 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries, and junior Yusef Wheeler totaled 11 stops as well. Junior Jaret Horn posted seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, and Butler finished with seven tackles, two interceptions and a pass break-up. Junior Myles Shelton also had three hurries, along with four tackles. 

King's won the total offense battle 376-334, though the Lions held the ball for 33:13 of the game. Lahay finished 21-of-47 for 248 yards for Albright (0-8, 0-6 MAC), and Thorpe registered his first 100-yard rushing game of his career with 102 yards on 27 carries. 

The Monarchs finish road MAC play next weekend, November 9 at 1 p.m., traveling to Widener University in Chester, PA for conference action. Albright takes on Misericordia University next Saturday on the road in Dallas, PA.