Madison, NJ (October 26)-  In their first and only home game in the month of October, the FDU-Florham Football Team (5-2, 4-2 MAC) hosted King's (Pa.) (6-1, 6-0 MAC) for Middle Atlantic conference action and had the game be decided in the last minutes of play, but the result was in favor of the Monarchs as they won by a score of 42-35.


From the Devils offense, Ryon Thomas (Mattapoisett, Mass.) was responsible for 337 passing yards with two touchdowns on 27 of 43 attempts. On the ground, he picked up a net of 40 yards on 14 carries. The senior also reached a milestone of 5,000 career passing yards. The run game saw Kwanir Edwards (Trenton, NJ) with two touchdowns and a net of 110 rushing yards on 19 carries. The junior also hit a career milestone during the game of 2,000 rushing yards. The favorite target of the day for the Devils quarterback was Anthony Bilotta (Cedar Grove, NJ) who saw 9 receptions on 157 yards and was able to grab two touchdowns, as well as his career milestone of 1,000 receiving yards.

With eight total tackles for the FDU's defense, Christian Puntolillo (Wayne, NJ) accounted for 3 solo and 5 assisted, while Benjamin Smaw (Brooklyn, NY) was just behind with 7 total tackles and amassed 6 solo tackles. Ginika Ozurumba (Union, NJ) recorded the longest sack of the day for 7 7-yard loss.  


King's wasted no time with their first drive as they strung together six plays to secure the first seven points of the game. FDU-Florham did the same and was able to even the score with a six-yard rushing touchdown from Edwards.
 
The Monarchs were forced to punt away after a quick four-and-out drive, which allowed the Devils to capitalize on the opportunity to take the lead. Bilotta was able to make the short catch from Thomas and turned on the jets for a 41-yard touchdown with just under three minutes remaining, 13-7. The extra point was blocked by King's but was not returned for defensive points.
 
With minimum time remaining in the first quarter, King's was able to take back the one-point lead before returning the ball back to FDU for the beginning of the second quarter. With much patience, as there is effort, The Devils worked their way up the field and were able to secure their second rushing touchdown, the two-point conversion, and the 21-14 lead.

King's was able to tie the game at 21 a piece after a 53-yard touchdown was seen. FDU quickly returned the ball back to the Monarchs after being stopped by the defense, which resulted in Kin's taking back the lead. With the momentum flowing they tacked on another 14 points before the Devils closed the half with a 51-yard field goal by Ian Poole-Morgan (Middletown, NJ)  which broke the school record from 2008, 35-24.
 
Both teams started the third quarter trading drives until a 35-yard connection from Thomas to Bilotta and a successful two-point conversion from Edwards closed the score to within a field goal. King's was unable to convert on their next drive to bump up their lead, which allowed FDU to tie the contest at 35-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
With a little over five minutes remaining in the game, the Monarchs were able to envision their lead again with a 25-yard touchdown pass and a successful extra point. In need of offensive production, the Devils pushed their way up the field in 12 plays before putting themselves on the KING'S 24. With a possible win ticking away, FDU threw the ball towards the back of the endzone in the hope Devil's hands would catch it, but was heartbroken when a Monarch stayed in bounds with the ball in his hands to end the game on a 42-35 loss for the Devils.

FDU-Florham will take their final road trip of the season to Stevenson on Saturday, November 2 for 12:00 pm Middle Atlantic Conference action.  

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