WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 26, 2023) -- With the 2023 season winding down, an important Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game is on the horizon for the King's College football team as the Monarchs take on Widener University on the road Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Their last time out, the Monarchs defeated Eastern, 28-18, at McCarthy Stadium to remain unbeaten at home, while the Pride handed Albright a 48-3 loss in reading last weekend.

Event Details:
Opponent: at Widener (5-2, 4-2 MAC)
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Chester, PA - Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium (Directions)
Tickets: $5 for Adults; $3 for Seniors; $2 for Non-Widener Students with ID; Free for Widener Students with ID; Free for Children 12 & Under
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Things to Know:
Kings' vs. Widener Game Notes
Widener A-Z Guide for Spectators



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. Mike Barainyak is in his fifth season at the head of the Pride football program. Despite a down year in 2022, Widener has been highly successful under Barainyak with a 7-4 campaign in 2021 that saw the Pride compete in their first Centennial-MAC Bowl Series game since 2017.

Looking at Widener: The Pride have bounced back after a rough patch in 2022, currently sitting at 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the MAC standings. Widener is scoring 34.14 points on 374.7 yards per game while limiting teams to 22.00 points on 267.3 yards per contest. The offense is led by Shawn Thompson with 80.71 rushing yards per game with five touchdowns, while Jordan Baxter is the top receiver averaging 75.14 yards per game on 24 catches with two touchdowns. Additionally, Isaac Hostetter has made seven touchdown catches for a touchdown per game, while Chase Diehl is the go-to option at quarterback as he averages 209.86 yards per game, completing 85 passes on 171 attempts with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Defensively, the Pride are balanced behind Colin Murt's team-leading 58.0 total tackles with two interceptions, two break ups, and a quarterback hurry. Jalen Walker adds a team-best 10.5 tackles for a loss of 30 yards with 5.5 sacks for 23 yards lost and seven hurries. On special teams, kicker Ryan Pattison has gone 8-for-9 on field goal attempts with his longest good for 47 yards.

Travel Gear: King's will be wearing their white-on-white combination on Saturday afternoon with their traditional gold helmets. The Monarchs are 3-1 so far in 2023 in the white jerseys, a perfect 2-0 in the white pants, and 2-0 in this 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: King's will send out three captains for the coin toss this weekend, including Joe Carchio, Dallas Solomon, and Nate McGlone.

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. Widener was slated to finish fourth.
• The Monarchs continue to excel on defense, ranking second in the MAC in scoring defense (16.3 points per game), second in total defense (224.9 yards per game), fourth in rushing defense (117.4 yards per game), first in passing defense (107.4 yards per game) and passing defensive efficiency (87.9%), and third in interceptions (7.6 per game).
• On offense, the Monarchs rank third in the MAC in scoring offense (29.3 points per game), third in total offense (319.1 yards per game), third in rushing offense (147.9 yards per game), fourth in passing offense (171.3 yards per game), and first in passing offensive efficiency (150.9%).
• A focal point this season for King's was conversions, and they continue to see success in accomplishing these goals. King's offense ranks second in 1st downs (18.6 per game), second in 3rd down conversions (39.1%), and fourth on 4th down conversions (50.0%). The defense is first in opponent 1st downs (13.0 per game), fourth in opponent 3rd conversions (29%), and fourth in opponent 4th down conversions (37.5%).
• On special teams, the Monarchs rank third in punt returns at 9.2 yards per game, second in kickoffs at a NET gain of 38.1 yards, and second in punting at 32.6 NET per punt.
• Three Monarch rushers appear in the top 15 in the MAC as Russell Minor-Shaw ranks sixth at 59.9 yards per game, Jayon Hailey ranks 11th at 38.7 yards per game, and Brennan Robinson is 15th at 33.0 yards per game. Minor-Shaw also ranks fourth among MAC quarterbacks at 169.1 yards per game with an efficiency of 160.4 and leads the conference in total offense at 229.0 yards per game. The receivers are paced by Mike DiGregorio as he ranks tied for ninth at 41.6 yards per game, Hailey stands at 11th with 40.1 yards per game, EJ Schreiner is 12th with 39.0 yards per game, and Tyler Carey is 22nd at 24.4 yards per game.
• The Old Forge duo of Carey and DiGregorio continue to shine in the return game as DiGregorio leads punt returners at 9.8 yards per return, while Carey ranks fifth in kickoff returns at 20.7 yards per return.
• Anthony Prato had a great game last week, tying the single-game longest punt at 73 yards and now ranks first in the MAC with an average of 38.0 yards per punt.
• Joe Carchio continues to rank as one of the top tacklers in the MAC, ranking fourth at 8.7 tackles per game, while Jared Reto (11th), Jake Ruppert (16th), Dallas Solomon (33rd), and Colin Hazelton (34th) all appear in the top-35 list. Carchio (5th), Hazelton (9th), and Solomon (16th) also fall among the leading tackles for loss players in the conference, while Teone Sherrod (9th), Amir Gibson (10th), Carchio (20th), Ruppert (21st), and Alex Tristan (22nd) are some of the best pass defenders in the MAC. Additionally, Tristan is tied for second in the MAC with his three interceptions, and Carchio is tied for second with his two forced fumbles so far this season.

Up Next: King's will continue its two-game road stretch as they travel to Owings Mills, Md. to take on Stevenson on November 4 at 12:00 p.m.