Game Preview - Kutztown

The Golden Rams (5-4, 3-3) travel to Andre Reed Stadium to take on the Kutztown Golden Bears (7-2, 5-1) in the final PSAC East contest of the season. Kickoff for Kutztown's Senior Day/Military Appreciation/Hall of Fame is slated for noon.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 52-12-1, and head coach Bill Zwaan is 12-6 against the Golden Bears during his tenure with West Chester. In 2003 in Kutztown, West Chester shot out to a 16-0 first quarter lead, but the failed point after touchdown conversion came back to haunt West Chester when Kutztown made a 38-yard field goal with 50 seconds left in the game, handing Zwaan his first Division II loss.

Kutztown notched two wins in 2010 and 2011, the two years in the past ten that West Chester was under .500 and Kutztown qualified for the NCAA playoffs. That 2011 game was played in a snowy, windy and cold John A. Farrell Stadium, some of the worst weather conditions West Chester football has seen in the past several decades. In 2013, the Golden Rams trailed 21-10 midway through the fourth quarter, but rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and Al-Hajj Shabazz sealed the 22-21 win with an interception in the final minute.

Jim Clements is 66-24 in his eighth season as head coach of the Golden Bears. Kutztown has qualfied for the NCAA Division II playoffs each of the past three seasons. The PSAC East Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2021 is the winningest football coach in Kutztown history.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2011	Home	Loss	24-0	2016	Away	Loss	20-14
2012	Away	Win	45-24	2017	Home	Win	27-21
2013	Home	Win	22-21	2018	Away	Win	38-21
2014	Away	Win	29-7	2019	Home	Loss	30-17
2015	Home	Win	44-14	2021	Home	Loss	21-14

Last Meeting:

11/07/2021 Kutztown 21 - West Chester 14

The Golden Rams scored touchdowns on their first two time-consuming possessions which were 75- and 72-yard drives to take a 14-0 lead. After that, the offense totalled just 100 yards for the remainder of the game, turned the ball over twice and missed a 43-yard field goal. The Golden Bears scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters to take a tie game into the final period. Kutztown scored the game-winning touchdown with just eight seconds remaining when Jerome Kapp pushed off Kendall Singleton on a 22-yard pass.

Quarterback Shane Dooley was 12 of 17 for 157 yards, 2 TD's and 2 int's along with 22 yards on the ground. Ja'Den McKenzie had 67 yards rushing and Mari Wright made two catches for 23 yards and a score. The West Chester defense amassed seven sacks including two from Zach Liggitt and one each from Khalib Slaughter and Jackson Taylor. Obi Anyatonwu had an interception and Taylor made a total of 16 tackles.

Scouting the Opponent:

Quarterback Donny Blaine (110 of 189, 1,557 yards, 12 TD's, 5 int's) has been a steadying influence for the Golden Bears. He was last year's starter before getting injured in the second game of the season at IUP. He returned for Kutztown's quarterfinal battle with Shepherd. Although the Golden Bears lost as time expired, Blaine accounted for all four of Kutztown's touchdowns. This season, he hasn't thrown in interception in his last 100 pass attempts. His targets are the aforementioned All-PSAC East wide receiver Jerome Kapp (34 catches, 726 yards, 8 TD's), Jake Novak (14 catches, 195 yards) , and tight end Alex MacKenzie (9 catches, 101 yards, 2 TD's).

As usual, Kutztown is very balanced on offense - 1,553 yards rushing versus 1,560 yard passing. Accounting for the bulk of the rushing game are running backs Darryl Davis-McNeil (183 carries, 968 yards, 12 TD's) and 5'8 Jordan Davis (135 carries, 484 yards, 4 TD's). The offensive line has a pair of All-PSAC East performers in Old Dominion transfer right tackle Devin Hannan and center Albert Glasgow.

The Kutztown defense is led by a pair of All-PSAC East linebackers: Amani Justice (56 tackles, 6.0 TFL) and Tyler Whary (44 tackles, 4.0 TFL). Key members of the secondary are CJ Brown (41 tackles, 4 PBU) and All-PSAC East cornerback Antaun Lloyd (22 tackles, 3 PBU, 2 int). Defensive end Tom Griese (24 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Bloomsburg transfer tackle Tom Pellegrino (27 tackles, 2.5 sacks) lead the charge up front.

Freshman punter Nathan Millard averages 41 yards per punt and has dropped 11 of his 30 punt insiode the opponent's 20-yard line. Millard also has 18 touchbacks on 47 kickoffs for the Golden Bears. Kicker Dawson Evitts is 7 of 9 on field goals with a long of 41.

Analysis:

Kutztown's two losses came by one score to two teams on their way to the NCAA Division II playoffs - Shepherd and Assumption. Similar to West Chester, Kutztown struggled but ultimately defeated both East Stroudsburg and Millersville. However unlike the Golden Rams, Kutztown handled Bloomsburg and Shippensburg with realtive ease. For West Chester to come away with a win on Saturday, it really needs an outstanding performance by its offensive line. Kutztown has the best overall defense in the PSAC, and only allows 68 yards per game on the ground. And the Golden Rams have allowed twice as many sacks as the Golden Bears. So if West Chester can keep the quarterbacks clean and achieve some sort of success in the running game, they might steal a win.

Versus Sports simulates a 26-17 Golden Bear victory and Massey Ratings predicts a similar 27-14 Kutztown win.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video  

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes, Week 10

Reading Eagle - Kutztown University football looks to continue late-season surge against West Chester

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Ten Preview