WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 10, 2024) -- Coming off the bye weekend, the King's College football team looks to continue its momentum on Saturday in the program's second-ever meeting with Eastern University. The Monarchs are coming off a thrilling 28-25 victory over Widener on Homecoming and Family and Friends weekend that came down to the final play of the game, while the Eagles defeated Albright 41-20 and look to extend their win streak to two with their Homecoming game.

Event Details:
Opponent: at Eastern (1-3, 1-2 MAC)
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: Radnor, PA - Football Field at Valley Forge (Directions)
Tickets: $10 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+), $5 for Non-King's Students showing I.D., $5 for children age-4 through 13, $3 for children under 3.
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Things to Know:
King's vs. Eastern Game Notes
Eastern Football Game Day Details

The Coaches: Mike Cebrosky spent the previous 13 seasons with the Monarchs, including the last nine as the Defensive Coordinator and last season as Associate Head Coach. He helped build the King's defense into one of the top units in the MAC, finishing in the top three in total defense in 2018, 2019, and 2023, as well as top-ranking marks in third-down percentage, points allowed per game, turnovers per game, and total yardage per game. The defensive efforts made their mark on a national scale as well this past season, as the defense ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in the regular season in passing yards allowed per game and seventh in total defense. Individually, Cebrosky's defense saw two individuals earn All-American status as Teone Sherrod (2022) and Joe Carchio (2023) became the program's first All-Americans since the 2006 campaign. He looks to wrap up the first month of the season with a record above .500. Billy Crocker continues to lead the Eagles in their second varsity season in program history. In year one, Eastern went 2-8 overall and 2-7 in the MAC standings while recognizing five All-MAC honorees, led by first teamer Gashawn Moody.

Looking at Eastern: The Eagles look to come out of the bye weekend strong with this weekend's match up. As a team, Eastern is averaging 22.5 points per contest while giving up 30.25 and are putting up 320.5 yards of total offense per game while allowing 436.3. Despite having an edge in the run game (168.8-143.0), the Eagles are facing a deficit in the pass game (293.2-151.7). In the red zone, Eastern has been efficient, scoring on 10-of-14 (71.4%) of their trips, including eight touchdowns. Individually, Brett Nabb leads the run game with 74.5 yards per game and three touchdowns while also anchoring the offense with 107.7 passing yards per game, going 38-for-58 (65.5%) with four touchdowns. Nassik Smith leads a balanced receiver group with 37.5 yards per game on 11 catches with three other receivers averaging 20-plus yards per contest. Defensively, Gashawn Moody has returned to lead the Eagles with 41 total tackles, including 22 solo, with three pass break ups and a fumble recovery, while Andrew Campbell leads with 3.5 tackles for a loss of 16 yards, 1.5 sacks for 14 yards lost, a quarterback hurry, and a forced fumble. Additionally, John Nolek has gone 3-for-4 on field goals with his longest make from 45 yards.

Travel Gear: For just their second road game of the 2024 season, the Monarchs will wear their white jerseys and gold pants with their traditional gold helmets.

Single Digit Tough: The Monarchs award single digits based on merit, leadership and are retained throughout their time at King's. The 2024 roster returned one single-digit member from last year in senior wide receiver Tyler Carey, while adding four more ahead of this season. Last Friday, the Monarchs also appointed five new Single Digit Tough members, including two offensive lineman who will begin a new tradition of wearing select numbers to represent their honor. The Monarchs now have nine Single Digit Tough players: Sean Lavine (0), Jake Ruppert (1), EJ Schreiner (2), Mike DiGregorio (3), Tyler Carey (3), Amir Gibson (4), Jared Reto (5), and Ryan McCombs (7), Liam Carroll (55), and Kenny Monaco (66).

Captains This Weekend: For week five, King's will send out RJ Dugue and Russell Minor-Shaw to represent the offense, and Trevor Gleason and Jake Ruppert to represent the defense.

A Look at the Monarchs:

• The Monarchs have no shortage of veteran talent on this year's squad, with just over 30 student-athletes listed as a senior on the roster. This week's two-deep features 23 seniors listed, while the offense returns all but one starter from 2023.
• King's enters the season with a total of 13 coaches on staff, and of that group five are King's graduates or soon-to-be graduates. (Ben Bakanas, Tommy Gilmore, Will Cameron, Mike Karycinski, Brendan Mozeleski).
• King's was picked to finish second in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll among the 10 conference schools. Eastern was slated to finish seventh in the poll.
• The offense continues to dominate, leading the conference in rushing yards per game (251.3 yards per game) behind the efforts of Brennan Robinson (2nd at 105.3 yards per game), Russell Minor-Shaw (5th at 75.3 yards per game), and Jayon Hailey (10th at 62.0 yards per game).
• The team is second in scoring (33.0 points per game), total offense (428.0 yards per game), first downs (20.8 per game), and 3rd-down conversions (43.9%), while ranking third in passing offensive efficiency at 166.4% as Minor-Shaw ranks third among MAC quarterbacks with 176.8 yards per game and first with 10 touchdowns.
• Additionally, Mike DiGregorio (7th at 51.5 yards per game) and EJ Schreiner (13th at 40.8 yards per game) rank among the top receivers in the conference.
• The Monarchs special teams are also performing well as they rank second in kickoff returns behind Tony Brinson (2nd at 23.8 yards per return) and second in punt returns behind Mike DiGregorio (2nd at 7.6 yards per return). The team is also third in kickoffs (36.5 net per kickoff) and punting (35.7 net per punt).
• On defense, the Monarchs rank second with four forced fumbles, third with 11 sacks, and fourth in scoring defense (23.0 points per game), total defense (305.0 yards per game), rushing defense (110.3 yards per game, opponent first downs (15.8 per game), and opponent 3rd-down conversions (36.4%).
• The defense is led by Jared Reto who ranks eighth with 30 tackles (7.5 per game), while Osman Kamra (5th with 3.5) and Sean Lavine (7th with 3.0) rank at the top of the sack leaders in the conference. The secondary is anchored by Amir Gibson who ranks second with six passes defended and Zach Barber who ranks fourth with 5 passes defended.

Up Next: The Monarchs will return to McCarthy Stadium for their lone home game in the month of October. King's is set to host Lebanon Valley in MAC play with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.