WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 26, 2024) -- The King's College football team looks to continue their momentum this weekend and head into the bye weekend 3-1 against Widener University on Saturday afternoon for Homecoming and Family and Friends Weekend. The Monarchs are coming off a strong 35-10 win at Alvernia in their first road contest, while the Pride are also on a two-game win streak after handling Albright, 21-0, in their home opener.

Event Details:
Opponent: vs. Widener (2-1, 2-0 MAC)
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Time: 1:00 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. Widener Game Notes
King's vs. Widener Flip Card
Tailgating Policy
Pet Policy
Spectator Policy

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. Mike Barainyak is in his sixth season with the Pride, posting a 24-21 overall record. After a sub-.500 record in 2022, Barainyak guided Widener to a 7-4 season in 2023 and an ECAC Bowl Game appearance to end the season.

Looking at Widener: The Pride have continued where they left off in 2023 with a winning record entering the final weekend before the bye week. After dropping their opener, 48-12, at Lycoming in week one, the Pride have cruised to a 2-0 start in their MAC schedule with wins over Eastern and Albright. As a team, the Pride are scoring 20.0 points per game while giving up 20.3, out gaining opponents, 1,039  to 737, and edging out foes 650 to 376 in the passing game. Widener is also leading the MAC in opponent 3rd-down conversions, limiting their adversaries to just 15.6% (5-32) on third down. Individually, Bryce Casey leads the run game with an average of 78.67 yards per game with four touchdowns, while Malachi Holmes is leading the receivers with 88.33 yards per game on nine grabs. Jeff Chaplin has been the go-to quarterback, completing 38-of-70 passes for 468 yards and a touchdown. The defense is led by Dan Ficca with 19 tackles, while Jalen Walker has posted 5.0 sacks for a loss of 29 yards, 11.0 tackles for a loss of 39 yards, two quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble.

Home Threads: For their third home game in the month of September, the King's College football team will wear its new red jerseys on top of their gold pants. As always, the Monarchs will wear their gold helmets on Saturday against Widener.

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 Homecoming and Family and Friends Weekend, King's will send out Kenny Monaco for the offense, and Ahmad Griffin, Alex Tristan, and Joachim McElroy for the defense at the coin toss.

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. Widener was slated to finish fourth in the poll.
• The King's offense has climbed the ranks in the MAC, leading the conference in total offense at 446.7 yards per game and in rushing offense at 235.7 yards per game, fueled by Brennan Robinson's conference-best 97.3 yards per game. Russell Minor-Shaw and Jayon Hailey also aid this effort as Minor-Shaw ranks eighth (64.0 yards per game), and Hailey ranks ninth (63.0 yards per game).
• King's offense also ranks second in scoring offense at 34.7 points per game, third in passing offensive efficiency (175.2%), and fourth in passing offense with 211.0 yards per game. Minor-Shaw leads the MAC quarterbacks with nine passing touchdowns, connecting with Mike DiGregorio, who ranks seventh with 57.0 yards per game, and EJ Schreiner who ranks ninth with 54.3 yards per game while also standing at third in scoring and scoring touchdowns.
• Additionally, Minor-Shaw ranks second in total offense with 275.0 yards per game, while Tony Brinson ranks third in all-purpose yards (111.0 yards per game), Robinson ranks fourth (107.0 yards per game), and Hailey ranks seventh (96.0 yards per game).
• On special teams, the Monarchs lead the conference with 24.4 yards per kickoff return behind Brinson's conference-leading 26.7 yards per return. The punt return game stands at third with 8.2 yards per return behind DiGregorio's second-best 7.6 yards per punt return.
• The defense has had back-to-back dominant efforts which ranks them second in rushing defense (88.0 yards per game) and fourth in both total defense (267.0 yards per game) and passing defense (179.0 yards per game).
• Their efforts are led by Jared Reto who ranks ninth in the MAC with 7.7 tackles per game. Craig Graves and Mike Richino are leading the charge up front, as Graves posts 1.5 sacks, which ranks seventh in the conference, and Richino is tied for first with two forced fumbles. The secondary duo of Zach Barber and Amir Gibson also rank as two of the top pass defenders in the MAC as Barber leads with five passes defended (four break ups and an interception), while Gibson adds four passes defended (three break ups and an interception).
• The Monarchs are also having success in their conversions, leading the MAC with 22.7 first downs per game, in red zone offense with 14 touchdowns, and in opponent first downs as they limit teams to 13.3 per game. On third down, the Monarchs are third in third down conversions (38.7%) and fourth in opponent third downs conversions (30.3%).

Up Next: Next weekend, the MAC will observe its bye week. The Monarchs return to action with their second road contest of the season at Eastern on Saturday, October 12. Kickoff in Radnor, Pa. is set for 12:00 p.m.