Edwardsville, Pa., — King’s gunslinger Tyler Hartranft recieved what ended up being the final snap of the game, took two steps back, and went to a knee, clinching the Mayor’s Cup for the second consecutive season.
As he handed the ball to the ref, chaos ensued on the Monarch sideline as they charged the field and began jumping around in celebration.
As Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton handed the bronze trophy over to head coach Jeff Knarr, who has led King’s to their sixth Mayor’s Cup overall and consecutive titles for the first time since 2002, he handed it to his players who all joined in trying to place their hand on the trophy as Knarr broke out some dance moves.
“Everytime we win, they make me dance. It’s pretty bad,” coach Knarr said Saturday. “I’ll embarrass myself if it means we get a win,”
The Monarchs were in control of the game from the beginning with the right combination of airing the ball out and putting the ball in the hands of the running backs.
Patrick Robinson, a junior running back from Scranton, was named MVP for King’s in the annual game. Robinson dominated the Wilkes front seven, rushing for 137 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s just been a great cog for our offense,” Knarr said. “He’s just a tough, hard-nosed kid, which you can expect for a kid from Scranton,”
King’s jumped out to an early 3-0 behind the leg of Mikhail Kniaziewicz, who was 2-for-3 on field goals on the day. The club charged down the field again to open up a 10-0 lead after a punch-in from a yard out by senior back Kyle McGrath. McGrath ran for 68 yards of his own.
“We have a 1A/1B type situation at tailback,” Knarr said of his two-headed rushing attack.
Wilkes was plagued by dropped passes and penalties all day but showed no quit against their rivals from down the street. The Colonels drove down the field and cut the lead to three after a touchdown run from three yards out by PJ Incremona.
King’s did not take long to return the blow when Hartranft, who was 12-27 for 158 yards, hooked up with Dan Kempa for a 36-yard pass right before the conclusion of the half. The touchdown reception was one of Kempa’s four catches on the day that totaled 72 yards.
Patrick Robinson pummeled over Wilkes defenders on his way to a 15-yard touchdown to put the Monarchs in command, 24-7.
Wilkes fought back when Ryan Dailey, who had 246 yards in the air found Tim Bousson, the MVP of the game for the Colonels, for 48 yards in the endzone to cut the lead to ten. Bousson caught seven passes for 125 yards and had a long touchdown negated earlier in the game on penalty that shifted the momentum back towards the Monarchs.
Kniaziewicz hit his second field goal to make it 27-14 and it looked like the Monarchs had the game in hand. The game was far from over at that point. King’s elected to go for it on a 4th down and 2 from their own 2 instead of kicking and possession switched over to Wilkes.
The Colonels charged down the field for a 98-yard drive that ended on a 17-yard aerial strike in the endzone.
The Monarchs recovered the onside kick and sealed up the program’s second straight Mayor’s Cup, sixth overall. Knarr said that the seniors left their mark on the program and left in better hands than they found it.
King’s finishes the year with a record of 4-6 and Wilkes ends the year at 2-8.
Donny Hopkins covers King’s sports for WRKC Digital, follow him on Twitter @HopkinsDonny or email him at DonaldHopkins@Kings.edu