WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Eastern University Football delivered a statement win with a 39-37 back-and-forth thriller over the defending MAC Champion King's College Monarchs.  The Eagles amassed a program-record 600 yards and came up with some clutch plays late to spoil the King's College Homecoming and secure Eastern's first win over the Monarchs. Quarterback Brett Nabb engineered a clutch 75-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, and Dru Beckford sealed the victory with a game-saving pass breakup on a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt with under a minute to play.

With just over five minutes left, the home side seemed to have all the momentum. Eastern had led by ten, but the Monarchs pulled to within a point when a Monarch defensive lineman deflected a Nabb pass and his fellow lineman Xander Murray skipped 15 yards for a touchdown to pull within a point at 32-31. On a day where the Monarchs' special teams group was exceptional, a missed extra point kept Eastern narrowly ahead.

The Eagles had an answer. Starting at their own 25 with 8:41 on the clock, the Eagles needed to score and burn some clock. Nabb ignited the drive with a 41-yard dash, and Jeremiah Avrilien finished it off with a tough seven-yard touchdown run. John Nolek added the PAT to give Eastern a 39-31 lead. Though the drive only featured running plays, the Monarchs still had time to answer.

With their massive home crowd in support, King's responded with a 13-play drive for a score. Jaelin Mims made a huge completion for a first down on on third-and-11 and finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Kival Clarke with 43 seconds on the clock.  King's needed the two-point conversion to tie the game and potentially force overtime.

On the game's most pivotal play, Eastern's defense stood tall. Mims fired a quick pass to the flat, but Beckford broke on the ball perfectly to secure the lead.  John Westfield covered the onside kick and Nabb executed a pair of kneel-downs to Eagles in the top half of the MAC heading into the bye.

"This was a big win for our young group," Head Coach Billy Crocker said after the game. "I thought we showed some real growth as a team today and stayed together when adversity hit. We picked each other up when we needed to and had different parts of the team step up in critical situations."

Eastern's offense dominated. The group had big plays and steady gains on the way to a staggering 343 yards on the ground. The Eagles have run for over 300 yards in three of four games this season.

Nabb threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns while also leading the ground attack with 164 yards and two rushing scores. Avrilien added 133 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He has rushed for over 100 yards in each of Eastern's four games is averaging over 7.5 yards per carry.

The fireworks began early. The Eagles set the tone for a high-octane first quarter on the first play from scrimmage. Nabb launched a 75-yard bomb to Justin Nikolopoulos to open the scoring. Nikolopoulos finished with 99 yards on just two catches.

King's answered with a 62-yard touchdown strike on their fifth play from scrimmage. The two teams traded punts, with King's pinning Eastern deep on a punt downed at the 1-yard line. Avrilien got the Eagles out of that situation with a 75-yard run out of his own endzone. Four plays later, Nabb scored from five yards out for a 14-7 lead.

That lead, however, was short-lived. The Monarchs found another exceptional special teams moment with an 82-yard return on the ensuing kick-off.

The Monarchs then took a 22-14 lead after a forced fumble and short-field score. Despite a 232-108 edge in total yards, the Eagles trailed by eight after one quarter. With a John Nolek 27-yard field goal and a six-play 72-yard drive capped by a 38-yard touchdown toss to Eddie Swinton, the Eagles scored the only 11 points in the second quarter.

Eastern's defense gave up just 260 total yards and stood its ground during key stretches. King's had just 100 yards on the ground. First-year defensive linemen Wayne Clark led the charge with two sacks and six total tackles, including a drive-ending sack early in the game. Gashawn Moody Sr., Jason Bateman, and Clark recorded six stops, while Salif Nikiema added five.

After a scoreless third quarter, the fourth erupted. Nabb added his second rushing touchdown of the day early in the frame to put Eastern up by 10 before the wild finish ensued.

"We talked all week about how we need to learn to win as a team. That's what we did today," Crocker added. "This is a really big win heading into the bye week."

With the victory, Eastern improves to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in MAC play, riding a wave of momentum into the bye week. The Eagles return to action at Radnor Street Road on October 11 for a noon showdown against perennial conference powerhouse Delaware Valley.

The Aggies (2-2, 2-1) are the other team in the league with a 2-1 mark. Misericordia, Lebanon Valley, and Stevenson are all 3-0 in MAC play. Delaware Valley lost a close game at home to LVC this afternoon.