King’s rallies in final minute for NCAA tournament victory over Ursinus

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — A hard hit in the third quarter had Russell Minor-Shaw playing banged up the rest of the way in Saturday’s NCAA Division III tournament opener.

But with the game on the line and a trip to the second round hanging in the balance, the King’s quarterback wasn’t going to be stopped.

The senior’s fourth total touchdown of the day was a game-winner, finding Mike DiGregorio in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left to pull off a 32-29 victory over Ursinus at McCarthy Stadium, sending the Monarchs through to the next round.

“We took it one play at a time, didn’t want to rush anything,” Minor-Shaw said. “Just stay composed, and get the ball to our playmakers.”

A key defensive stop gave King’s the ball back with just over two minutes to play, needing to drive 63 yards and score a touchdown or else their historic season would come to an end.

The Monarchs moved efficiently, getting to midfield before the two-minute timeout, with a mix of Minor-Shaw’s arm and legs leading the team down to the Ursinus 9-yard line.

There, DiGregorio made the final catch of his five-reception, 52-yard day — and arguably the biggest of his career. The Old Forge graduate managed to get free as Minor-Shaw waited in the pocket and came down with the catch to put King’s back in front.

“It wasn’t even for me originally, it was a broken play,” DiGregorio said. “We’ve shown this season, that’s been our best offense at times. … I knew (Minor-Shaw) would keep the play alive and it was my job to get open.”

King’s opened the final quarter trailing 22-19, but took a 25-22 lead early on after Minor-Shaw found wideout Connor Walsh for a go-ahead touchdown at the 9:23 mark.

Walsh, a sophomore, didn’t see much time in the regular season but was pressed into action after an injury to Tony Brinson. The Monarchs were also missing star cornerback Amir Gibson, only got a few touches from running back Brennan Robinson and were banged up at seemingly every spot on the field.

The guys that stepped up — like Walsh and backup quarterback Joey Rehberg, who played one drive in place of Minor-Shaw and scored on a 4-yard keeper — gave the Monarchs a crucial boost.

“We say all the time, if you’re not a starter you’ve got to be ready to go … that’s part of the culture here,” said Mike Cebrosky, who led the Monarchs to their first NCAA tournament win since 2002 in his first season as head coach.

Minor-Shaw’s injury came early in the third quarter, and it came as Ursinus linebacker Marc Clayton was running back a pick-six to put the Bears ahead 19-13.

Rehberg righted the ship with a touchdown drive, and Minor-Shaw was back out on the field after Ursinus took the lead yet again.

Even with the injury, the two-time MAC Offensive Player of the Year capitalized on the chance to showcase his game on a national scale.

Minor-Shaw finished with 173 yards rushing and a touchdown, to go along with his three passing touchdowns and 146 yards through the air.

He gave the Monarchs an early boost that they desperately needed after falling behind 12-0, and made more school history in the process.

Backed up on his own 4-yard line late in the second quarter, Minor-Shaw exploded through a hole in the line and went all the way to the end zone, setting a new school record with a 94-yard run.

He finished the drive with a touchdown run two plays later. And, after a fumble gave the Monarchs the ball back, he found a wide-open Kival Clarke for another score, turning a 12-0 deficit into a 13-12 lead in less than two minutes of game time.

With the way Ursinus came out and dominated the first quarter, it was an improbable reversal of fortune to put King’s ahead — and the Monarchs made it stick in the end, emerging victorious in their first taste of NCAA playoff action since 2002.

King’s will head to Maryland next weekend for their second-round matchup, squaring off with Salisbury University at noon next Saturday.

The Sea Gulls, ranked No. 8 in the latest D3Football.com national poll, finished the regular season 10-0 and receved a bye to the second round.

In their last NCAA tournament appearance, King’s beat Salisbury in the first round before falling to Bridgewater in the second.

NCAA Division III First Round

King’s 32, Ursinus 29

Ursinus`5`7`10`7 — 29

King’s`0`13`6`13 — 32

First Quarter

UC — Jordan Carr 27 field goal, 5:17

UC — Brennan Robinson tackled in end zone, safety, 0:18

Second quarter

UC — Cam Dennis 17 pass from Jalen Bradford (Carr kick), 9:41

KC — Russell Minor-Shaw 1 run (Delaney Hilferty kick), 3:17

KC — Kival Clarke 36 pass from Minor-Shaw (kick failed), 1:55

Third quarter

UC — Marc Clayton 48 interception return (Carr kick), 11:29

KC — Joey Rehberg 4 run (kick failed), 06:24

UC — Carr 32 field goal, 0:42

Fourth quarter

KC — Connor Walsh 9 pass from Minor-Shaw (kick failed), 9:23

UC — Dennis 21 pass from Bradford, 6:13

KC — Mike DiGregorio 9 pass from Minor-Shaw (Aaron Losada kick), 0:25

Team statistics`UC`KC

First downs`19`17

Rushes-yards`26-101`46-256

Passing yards`293`168

Total yards`394`424

Passing`23-38-1`13-23-1

Sacked-yards lost`2-19`0-0

Punts-avg.`4-26.5`5-33.6

Fumbles-lost`2-2`0-0

Penalties-yards`4-35`6-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ursinus, Tony Holden 8-59, Harrison Watson 10-19, Bradford 6-18, Carr 1-4. King’s, Minor-Shaw 25-173, Jayon Hailey 11-38, Rehberg 5-34, Robinson 4-7.

PASSING — Ursinus, Bradford 23-38-1-293. King’s, Minor-Shaw 11-20-1-146.

RECEIVING — Ursinus, Justin Collier 9-128, Dennis 7-107, Cody House 4-30, Caden Johnson 1-15. King’s, DiGregorio 5-52, Ryan McCombs 3-25, Walsh 2-47, Clarke 1-36.

INTERCEPTIONS — Ursinus, Clayton 1-48. King’s, Joachim McElroy 1-0.

MISSED FGs — none.