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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Two plays, four yards and 40 seconds.
That’s all that stood in the way for a victory for King’s College on Saturday afternoon.
Thanks to cornerback Ahmad Griffin and safety Alex Tristan, the Monarchs left the field in celebration.
Griffin and Tristan combined on two stops on Delaware Valley’s final two plays as King’s posted a 14-6 victory in a MAC showdown.
King’s improved to 7-0 in the MAC and 7-1 overall. Del Val fell to 5-2 in the conference and 6-2 overall. Both have two MAC games remaining.
“Our kids are resilient,” King’s coach Mike Cebrosky said. “It doesn’t matter the time on the clock, these freaking guys are going to get it done, all right. It’s family, it’s love for each other, it’s never over.”
Well, the game was over because of Griffin and Tristan, a defense that overcame being on the field for 39 plays in the second half compared to 19 for Del Val’s defense and a couple huge special teams plays.
Del Val had a third-and-goal from the King’s 4-yard line with 40 seconds remaining. Running back Jack Fallon looked like he was going to get the left corner, but Tristan hit him low to knock him off stride. Griffin came up to finish him off at the 1.
The Aggies then lined up for what looked like a Philadelphia Eagles tush push. Whatever the play call was never came to fruition. Quarterback Louie Barrios fumbled the ball and by the time he recovered Griffin and Tristan buried him.
“Praise to our coaching staff,” Tristan said. “They built a great game plan for us. We just went out and trusted them 100% of the way, followed them. Our D-line played out of their minds, our linebackers, it was a whole team effort.”
Despite the disparity in offensive plays in the second half, Griffin said he wasn’t tired on those final plays.
“I wasn’t,” Griffin said. “It was for my team. I wasn’t (tired), I didn’t feel anything. I knew a play had to be made.”
Griffin also broke up a third-down pass in the end zone on Del Val’s previous possession. That led to a 22-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by defensive end Osman Kamara. Kamara also blocked an extra point after Del Val scored with 13:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.
King’s scored two first-half touchdowns after interceptions by safety Zach Barber and linebacker Jared Reto.
Barber was like an outfielder chasing a shallow fly ball as he sprinted in to snag his interception at the Del Val 47-yard line after a pass was batted high into the air. Running back Brennan Robinson scored three plays later on a 34-yard run, starting inside and bouncing to the right, for a 7-0 lead at 9:37 of the opening quarter.
Reto’s pick was also baseball-like as the pass came at him like a line drive. He returned it 23 yards to the Del Val 40. The Monarchs ran six consecutive times before quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw zipped a 4-yard TD pass to Tony Brinson.
The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak to Del Val.
King’s 14, Delaware Valley 6
Delaware Valley`0`0`0`6 — 6
King’s`7`7`0`0 — 14
First Quarter
KING’S — Brennan Robinson 36 run (Delaney Hilferty kick), 9:37
Second quarter
KING’S — Tony Brinson 4 pass from Russell Minor-Shaw (Hilferty kick), 4:35
Fourth quarter
DV — Louis Barrios 13 run (kick blocked), 13:16
Team statistics`DV`KIN
First downs`16`9
Rushes-yards`43-152`30-129
Passing yards`166`88
Total yards`318`217
Passing`11-22-2`11-21-2
Sacked-yards lost`2-11`3-16
Punts-avg.`4-3`6-46.5
Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-1
Penalties-yards`4-27`7-54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Del Val, Jack Fallon 25-109. Barrios 11-31, Brady Beres 1-6, Nick Arcaroli 2-4, Rob McConnell 1-3, Luan Avdijaj 1-1, Nahsir Morgan 1-0, team 1-(minus-2). King’s, Robinson 9-68, Minor-Shaw 13-40, Jayon Hailey 8-21.
PASSING — Del Val, Barrios 7-17-2-119, Arcaroli 4-4-0-47. King’s, Minor-Shaw 11-21-2-88.
RECEIVING — Del Val, Lora 2-80, Karmi Hicks 3-40, Morgan 4-32, Avdijaj 1-8, Fallon 1-6. King’s, Kival Clarke 5-51, Mike DiGregorio 3-19, Brinson 2-10, Ryan McCombs 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS — Del Val, Rafael Torres 1-0, Avdijaj 1-0. King’s, Jared Reto 1-23, Zach Barber 1-0.
MISSED FGs — Del Val 22 BLK.