WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 19, 2023) -- Coming off a big Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) test last weekend, the King's College football team looks to extend its win streak to three and remain unbeaten at home on Saturday, October 21 against Eastern University. Last time out, the Monarchs defeated Lebanon Valley, 35-21, on the road behind some great individual and team efforts, while the Eagles defeated Albright, 21-9, at home to pick up their second MAC win of the season.

Event Details:
Opponent: vs. Eastern (2-4, 2-3 MAC)
Date: Saturday, October 21, 2023
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA - McCarthy Stadium (Directions)
Tickets: $5 for Adults, $2 for Seniors, $2 for Non-King's Students showing I.D. Free for children age-six and King's showing I.D.
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Things to Know:
King's vs. Eastern Game Notes
King's vs. Eastern Flip Card
Tailgating Policy
Pet Policy
Spectator Policy



The Coaches: Skyler Fultz opens his first season as the head coach of the Monarchs with Saturday's contest. Fultz spent the last eight seasons in his second stint with King's, serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. During his time at King's, the Monarchs have turned into an offensive powerhouse, as his offensive units have produced All-MAC players at all positions while boasting record-setting units during each of his years as offensive coordinator. The 2023 campaign featured quarterback Tyler Moore's record-breaking season, setting four new career passing records and both touchdowns in a game and in a season records under the direction of Fultz. Billy Crocker leads the Eastern football program in its first official varsity season, posting a 2-4 overall record as well as 2-3 in the MAC so far. Crocker joined the Eagles with 20 yards of college coaching experience, coming off a three-year stint as the defensive coordinator at Elon University.

Looking at Eastern: The Eagles have had a solid start to their first varsity season, averaging 221.5 yards of total offense per game while giving up 331.5 per contest. Despite a few top-ranked matchups with Delaware Valley and Lebanon Valley in back-to-back weeks, Eastern has battled from start to finish as seen in their 30-23 win over Alvernia and last week's 21-9 victory against Albright. As a team, the Eagles have found success in the red zone, completing nine of 11 trips for seven touchdowns. Jeremiah Avrilien leads Eastern with 38.60 rushing yards per game, while Eddie Swinton paces the Eagles receivers at 37.83 yards per game on nine catches for three touchdowns. The quarterback position is led by Sabor Stevens who has appeared in all six games with 562 yards on 31 completions, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. The driving force for Eastern's defense is Gashawn Moody who has totaled 68.0 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss of 19 yards, with an interception, a pass break up, and two forced fumbles. Additionally, John Nolek has gone 2-for-3 on field goals, connecting on a season-long 37 yard attempt against Delaware Valley.

Home Threads: King's returns to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. and McCarthy Stadium for Camper Appreciation Weekend and will wear their red jerseys with gold pants combination.

Single Digit Tough: The Monarchs award single digits based on merit, leadership and are retained throughout their time at King's. The 2023 roster returned two single-digit members from last year while adding four more ahead of this season. The Monarchs now have six Single Digit Tough players: Jassiem Lettsome (0), Joe Carchio (1), Teone Sherrod (2), Tyler Carey (3), Dallas Solomon (8), and Nate McGlone (73).

Captains This Weekend: Four Monarchs will head out for the coin toss this weekend as Dallas Solomon and Joe Carchio will represent the defense, while Nate McGlone and Ryan McCombs will represent the offense.

A Look at the Monarchs:

• King's will look to replace three All-MAC players in Brandon Cohen (TE), Tyler Moore (QB), and Brendan Mozeleski (LB), but return the remaining five honorees in first teamer Teone Sherrod (CB), second team honorees Tyler Carey (WR/Returner), Dallas Solomon (DL), and Joe Carchio (DB), and honorable mention recipient Amir Gibson (DB)
• Teone Sherrod returns after a breakout campaign in 2022, earning AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America First Team, D3football.com All-America Second Team, and D3football.com All Region 1 First Team honors. Sherrod was also a Cliff Harris Award Finalist and earned a spot on the D3football.com Preseason All-America Third Team. He returns to help lead the Monarchs secondary that lead the MAC in interceptions.
• The Monarchs have no shortage of veteran talent on this year's squad, returning nine players that were listed as seniors in 2022. This week's two-deep features 18 seniors listed, while the defense returns all but three starters from 2022.
• King's enters the season with a total of 12 coaches on staff, and of that group five are King's graduates or soon-to-be graduates. (Ben Bakanas, Brandon Cohen, Tommy Gilmore, Brendan Mozeleski, Enzo Poulson).
• King's was picked to finish third in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll among the 10 conference schools. Eastern was slated to finish tenth.
• The Monarchs defense continues to shine this season, holding teams to an average of 16.0 points per game (3rd in the MAC), on 213.2 yards of total offense (2nd in the MAC), and a conference-best 87.3 passing yards at a 78.2 defensive passing efficiency. King's is also limiting teams to a conference-leading 12.0 first downs per game while ranking fourth in both opponent 3rd down conversions (28.2%) and opponent 4th down conversions (30.8%).
• Offensively, King's is averaging 29.5 points per game (4th in the MAC), recording 320.5 yards of total offense (3rd in the MAC) behind 151.7 yards of rushing offense per game (3rd in the MAC) and 168.8 yards of passing offense per contest (4th in the MAC) with a 144.6 passing efficiency (2nd in the MAC). The Monarchs are also second in first downs (18.7 per game), second in 3rd down conversions (36.7%), and fourth in 4th down conversions (52.9%).
• On special teams, the King's punt-return game ranks third at 9.9 yards per return behind Mike DiGregorio's conference-high 10.7 yards per punt return while also ranking second in kickoff returns at 22.2 yards per return.
• The Monarchs backfield features three in the top 35 in the conference, led by Russell Minor-Shaw in 11th (49.3 yards per game), Jayon Hailey in 14th (40.7 yards per game), and Brennan Robinson not far behind in 16th (39.6 yards per game). Kin'gs also placed four receivers in the top 25 in the MAC standings, led by DiGregorio at ninth (44.2 yards per game), Jayon Hailey at 10th (39.0 yards per game), EJ Schreiner in 12th (35.5 yards per game), and Tyler Carey in 22nd (23.7 yards per game).
• Joe Carchio is among the top tacklers in the MAC, currently ranking fourth at 8.5 tackles per game, while Jared Reto (13th), Jake Ruppert (26th), and Colin Hazelton (31st) join Carchio in the top-35 list this week. Hazelton appears as the top of the tackles for loss category, currently 7th at 1.33 per game, while Teone Sherrod (7th), Carchio (13th), Ruppert (23rd), Amir Gibson (34th), and Alex Tristan (35th) all appear among the top 35 pass defenders in the MAC.

Up Next: The Monarchs will head out for a tough two-game road stretch, first taking a trip to Chester, Pa. to take on Widener University on October 28th before making the long journey to Stevenson University on November 4.