WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Albright football team was unable to slow down a red-hot King's rushing attack as they fell 51-12 to the Monarchs on Saturday afternoon in MAC play.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in MAC play. Meanwhile, the Monarchs improve to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in conference action.
 
Senior quarterback Todd Shelley finished the contest 10-of-32 for 145 yards and threw two interceptions. Senior running back Tony Thorpe rushed for a team-high 63 yards on 12 carries, while classmate Malik Bootman ran for 24 yards on nine carries and scored one touchdown. Junior wide receiver Lucas Roselli led the Lions through the air with five catches for a game-high 84 yards. Senior wide receiver Kevin Zehner caught three passes for 48 yards and one touchdown.
 
Albright used its ground game on its first drive of the game to move into Monarchs territory, but were stopped following a fake punt pass on fourth down from the King's 44-yard line. King's scored the first touchdown of the game at the 10:14-mark of the first quarter on their third play of the drive on a 20-yard run to go up 6-0. The Lions fumbled on the first play of their ensuing possession to set the Monarchs up on the Albright 10-yard line. The Lions defense was able to stand tall as they limited King's to a 17-yard field goal attempt. Albright was unable to take advantage of a Monarchs unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the next drive and was forced to punt again. King's used seven runs to move down the field and extend their lead to 16-0 at the 1:42 mark of the first quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run.
 
Shelley was intercepted on the second play of the Lions ensuing drive and the Monarchs were set up at the Albright 32-yard line following a 25 yard return. King's once again used its ground game and scored a touchdown on a six-yard run to make it a 24-0 game at the 14:22-mark of the second quarter following a successful two-point conversion. The Monarchs looked to extend its lead following a Lions three-and-out but missed an 18-yard field goal. King's rebounded from the missed field goal by making a 32-yarder on their next drive to extend its lead to 27-0 with 3:41`left in the first half.  The Lions finally were able to get on the board on their next drive as Bootman punched it in from one yard out to make it a 27-6 game with 1:15 left in regulation after the extra point was blocked. The Monarchs quickly moved down the field and capped the first half with a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to go up 30-6.
 
Albright tried to catch the Monarchs off guard to open the second half with an onside kick, but King's recovered the attempt. The Monarchs cashed in on the short field with a seven-play 47-yard drive that was capped by a nine-yard rushing touchdown to go up 37-6 at the 11:10-mark of the third quarter. Albright responded with an eight-play 65-yard drive to cut the deficit down to 37-12 at the 8:10 mark of the third quarter following a nine-yard touchdown reception from Zehner. Albright stopped the Monarchs on fourth down on the following drive, and looked to continue to chip away at the deficit. The Lions made it to the Monarchs nine-yard line, but were stopped on fourth and one to end the drive.
 
The Lions forced the Monarchs to punt for the first time in the contest to open the fourth quarter before Shelley was intercepted for the second time on the ensuing drive. King's extended its lead to 44-12 on a 38-yard touchdown pass following the Lions interception. The Monarchs added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run to go up 51-12 with 4:56 left in regulation.
 
Senior linebacker Sam Viera registered a career-high 17 tackles (one solo) and 1.5 TFL to lead the Lions defense. Senior linebacker Daniel Vital followed with 13 tackles (one solo) and was matched by sophomore linebacker Javontae Wayman (four solo) and 1.5 TFL. Senior safety Armon Jefferson was the fourth Lion to finish in double-digits for tackles with 11 (four solo) and 0.5 TFL.
 
The Monarchs amassed 466 yards on the ground and 518 total yards on offense. King's limited the Lions to just 240 total yards and 86 rushing yards. Brennan Robinson rushed for 230 yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns, while averaging 10.5 yards per carry. Robinson also added a 38-yard touchdown through the air. Shemar Ellis added 103 rushing yards on 17 carries and Tekoah Guedes rushed for 80 yards on 13 carries while scoring two touchdowns. The Monarchs also made NCAA history as Delaney Hilferty and Alyssa Accordino became the first pair of women placekickers to score points in a single game.
 
Albright returns to action on Saturday, October 23rd as they will travel to face Lycoming at 1 p.m.