WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Stevenson football team opened Middle Atlantic Conference play with a thrilling 26–21 victory over the King's Monarchs on Friday night at McCarthy Stadium. The Mustangs improve to 2–0 overall and 1–0 in MAC play after building a 26–7 halftime advantage and holding off a second-half comeback attempt by the Monarchs.
Stevenson wasted little time establishing control, opening the scoring on its first possession when sophomore kicker
Mohammad Butt connected on a 25-yard field goal with 11:26 remaining in the first quarter. The Mustangs then found the end zone on back-to-back explosive rushing plays. Quarterback
Todd Lattimore broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run before
Nicolas Blagmon followed with a 74-yard touchdown run just over two minutes later, giving Stevenson a 16–0 advantage after the opening quarter.
The Mustangs continued to add to their lead early in the second quarter, as Butt drilled a 38-yard field goal to make it 19–0. King's responded with a 13-play, 51-yard drive capped by a one-yard touchdown run, but Stevenson answered before halftime. Lattimore connected with
Noah Robinson on a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 remaining in the half, sending the Mustangs into the locker room with a 26–7 lead.
King's mounted its comeback in the third quarter, scoring twice through the air. Nick Hoffman hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass before Joey Hebling added a 30-yard touchdown reception, cutting the Stevenson lead to 26–21 with 5:12 remaining in the quarter. The Mustangs' defense responded by keeping the Monarchs off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.
Defensively, Stevenson finished with three sacks and two interceptions.
Colin Riley led the Mustangs with two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, while
Xavier McKinney added a sack and two tackles for loss.
Gabriel Shanks and
Nickyi Green each recorded an interception as Stevenson held King's to just 134 rushing yards and 310 total yards.
Offensively, Lattimore accounted for 267 total yards, completing 13-of-30 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown while adding 76 rushing yards and a score. Blagmon finished with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown on just three carries, while
Edward Emmens added 48 yards on seven carries. Robinson led the receiving corps with two catches for 28 yards and a touchdown.
Butt played a key role in the victory, connecting on field goals of 25 and 38 yards while also handling kickoff and punting duties. Stevenson finished with 431 yards of total offense, including 240 yards on the ground, and held the ball for 27:21.
With the victory, Stevenson earns its first MAC win of the season and improves to 2–0 overall. The Mustangs will return to action on Saturday, September 19, traveling to Misericordia for another MAC match up. Kickoff is set for noon.
