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King’s quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season this week. Minor-Shaw and the Monarchs host Ursinus on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Times Leader file photo
This weekend has been a long time coming for the King’s football program.
But even as the Monarchs get set for their first taste of NCAA Tournament action in over 20 years, the message around the locker room is loud and clear: business as usual.
Of course, it might be easier said than done. King’s hosts Ursinus on Saturday, a noon kickoff at McCarthy Stadium for the Monarchs’ first taste of the national playoffs since 2002.
“We’re just keeping our eyes on the horizon and staying focused,” said King’s quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw, the now two-time MAC Offensive Player of the Year. “Don’t be distracted by all the noise. … It’s tough, but we’ve just got to stay focused.”
That “noise” is undeniable at this point. King’s heads to the postseason with a 9-1 record, still riding a nine-game win streak that saw the Monarchs complete a perfect 9-0 run through the MAC to win the league.
The outright conference title is something that’s never been done at King’s; the Monarchs shared the title with Widener back in 2002. King’s got the automatic bid to the tournament that season, beating Salisbury in the opening round before falling to Bridgewater in the second.
This year’s squad left no room for anyone else to sit atop the MAC podium with them. King’s won six of its nine conference matchups by double-digits, scored at least 30 points in seven of them and allowed more than 30 points just one time.
Those numbers ring even louder considering the MAC had seven teams finish over .500 in conference play this year — including five of the last six teams on the schedule for King’s.
“It’s one of the toughest, physical conferences in Division III, and it shows every weekend,” coach Mike Cebrosky said. “What it did was it taught us that we are a resilient bunch, and we found different ways to win.”
Cebrosky was named MAC Coach of the Year on Tuesday, ending another drought for King’s dating back to that 2002 season. It’s Cebrosky’s first year at the helm, but he’s far from a stranger to the program as a long-time assistant.
Cebrosky has seen the Monarchs in some of their more middling days, and now he’s got the best seat in the house to watch one of the best seasons in school history.
“This is a special, special group,” he said. “We’ve got guys that love each other and play hard for each other, and that’s going to equal some wins.”
ON OFFENSE
Minor-Shaw has been the driving force behind a King’s offense that averaged over 400 yards in conference play and led the MAC in points per game.
The senior set career highs in both passing and rushing touchdowns this year, and won his second straight Offensive Player of the Year award for his efforts.
As good as he’s been though, it’s hardly a one-man show with Minor-Shaw, who has proven in his senior season to be as good at leaning on his skill players as he is making the plays himself.
“It makes it a lot easier for me,” Minor-Shaw said, referring to the weapons surrounding him. “I just have to get the ball out of my hands and let them go to work.”
Minor-Shaw had seven different pass-catchers with two or more receiving touchdowns this year, with Kival Clarke, EJ Schreiner and tight end Ryan McCombs tying for the team lead with five each.
In the backfield, Brennan Robinson was the MAC’s only running back to average over 100 yards per game, and finished third in the league in rushing yards despite missing two games this year.
Jayon Hailey added over 700 yards rushing, and Minor-Shaw provided another hugely capable run threat for the Monarchs even as he rounded out his passing game a bit more this year than he did earlier in his career.
“It used to be difficult for me, I used to just run always,” Minor-Shaw said. “Later in my career I realized I didn’t always have to run, I needed to get the ball to my playmakers and let them handle the rest.”
King’s had the MAC’s best rushing offense by a wide margin, running for almost 50 yards more per game than any other team.
Cebrosky was quick to point out the guys up front creating the holes for Robinson, Hailey and Minor-Shaw to run loose: an offensive line featuring five guys all recognized as All-MAC at some level in Tuesday’s awards.
ON DEFENSE
As a defensive coordinator and an assistant on that side of the ball before he was named head coach, Cebrosky is very familiar with this King’s defense.
The Monarchs surrendered just under 20 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the conference behind Delaware Valley.
“I love how they compliment each other on the field,” Cebrosky said. “You’ve got to trust each other to make sure people are in the right spot, they hold each other accountable and they do that.”
The defense boasts five All-MAC first-teamers, covering each level of the defense: lineman Osman Kamara, linebackers Jared Reto and Jake Ruppert and defensive backs Amir Gibson and Zach Barber.
Barber led the team and was second in the conference with five interceptions, including an early pick against Delaware Valley that led to the Monarchs taking an early lead, one they never gave up.
As the perennial top dog in the MAC, knocking off Delaware Valley was a sign for a lot of guys, including Barber, of just what this team was capable of.
“It was like a high on life moment,” Barber said, looking back to that win. “You’re enjoying the moment, but after a few hours reality sets in, like we were built to do this.”
As a team, the Monarchs picked off 12 passes, at least one in all nine conference games. Up front, King’s recorded at least one sack in all but one MAC game to finish with 27 sacks total.
“We’ve been getting better each game, and that’s something we pride ourselves on,” Barber said.
SCOUTING URSINUS
The King’s front seven will have their hands full dealing with Ursinus running back Tony Holden.
Holden ran away with the Centennial Conference rushing crown this year, totaling 1,257 yards and averaging over 125 yards per game to go along with 15 rushing touchdowns. He was named Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week.
Ursinus finished with a 9-1 record matching King’s, and earned an at-large bid into the tournament with a 5-1 record in the Centennial. The lone loss for the Bears came to conference champ, and nationally ranked, Johns Hopkins back on Oct. 26.
The Bears averaged 36.6 points per game and allowed just 14.8 points per game this season.
King’s and Ursinus have met two times before this year, both in postseason competition: King’s won 45-20 in the 2000 ECAC Southeast Bowl, and Ursinus picked up a 24-13 win in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series in 2022.
This marks Ursinus’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999, when the Bears won a first-round game over Bridgewater State before falling to Rowan in the second round.
The two teams shared just one common opponent this season, both beating Alvernia by double-digits.
The winner of this first-round matchup will head to Maryland to play undefeated Salisbury, the eighth-ranked team in the nation per the D3football.com rankings, in the second round.
In the final installment of the D3Football rankings, Ursinus received 12 Top 25 votes, while King’s received one. Ursinus also received 21 votes in the most recent AFCA Coaches poll for Division III.