Game Preview - #4/#3 Kutztown

The Golden Rams (3-4, 1-3) host #4/#3 Kutztown (7-0, 4-0) on Saturday at noon.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 54-14-1, but Kutztown has won four of the last five meetings including the last three games in West Chester.

Jim Clements is 97-29 in his 11th season as head coach of the Golden Bears and was named PSAC East Coach of the Year after the past two seasons. Under Clements, Kutztown qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in five of the past six years that football has been played, including advancing to the NCAA Division II semi-finals in Golden, CO in 2023.

This is a matchup of former coaching colleagues as Clements was head coach at Del Val from 2006 to 2013 while current Golden Rams head coach Duke Greco was Del Val's offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. After Clements departed Del Val for Kutztown, Greco took over the head coach spot at Del Val for eight seasons where he compiled a record of 82-13. Greco joined West Chester prior to the 2024 season.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2014	Away	Win	29-7	2019	Home	Loss	30-17
2015	Home	Win	44-14	2021	Home	Loss	21-14
2016	Away	Loss	20-14	2022	Away	Win	28-9
2017	Home	Win	27-21	2023	Home	Loss	27-17
2018	Away	Win	38-21	2024	Away	Loss	31-13

Last Meeting:

11/09/2024 Kutztown 31 - West Chester 13

Kutzown took a 21-0 lead into the locker room and coasted to a 31-13 win en route to the PSAC championship and the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Golden Bears had a dominating first half performance as the Golden Rams best chance of scoring was a missed 45-yard field goal attempt on their opening drive. West Chester's next four possessions netted -11 yards, three three-and-outs, and an interception. The Golden Ram defense was equal early, allowing a total of 12 yards on Kutztown's first three possessions, but the Golden Bears got going on a short field after WCU's interception.

Linebackers Connor Noble (14 tackles, 1 forced fumble) and Johnny Pergine (10 tackles) led the West Chester defense. Offensively, Cooper Jordan threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns. The Golden Ram offensive line struggled as Jordan was sackd six times and West Chester managed just 16 yards net rushing.

Scouting the Opponent:

Despite quarterback Judd Novak (92 of 139, 1,377 yards, 13 TD's, 0 int) being named All-PSAC East twice, the Golden Bears' offensive strength is in their running game. Left tackle Ryan Schernecke and left guard Billy Everitt were both all-conference after last season, as was running back Jaedyn Stewart (28 carries, 297 yards, 5 TD's), although he's missed their last three games. So this year Steven Burkhardt (85 carries, 560yards, 6 TD's) is also playing a major role. Although nine different players have caught TD's, Novak is usually looking for wide receivers Noah Kracyla (21 catches, 345 yards, 1 TD), Trevor Amorim (13 catches, 217 yards, 3 TD's) and Rich Paczewski (12 catches, 249 yards, 1 TD).

Kicker Will Smith is only 1 of 2 in field goals, but that's mainly because Kutztown scores touchdowns where he's 39 of 42 on PAT's. Punter Nate Millard (11 FC, 4 I20) is second the PSAC with a 43 yard average.

Linebackers Brandon Strausser (28 tackles, 1.5 TFL), Eden Johnson (26 tackles, 3.5 TFL) and Brandon Hile (26 tackles, 2.5 TFL) lead the defene. Linemen Lawron Short (9 tackles, 3.0 sacks), Brayden Pohlman (9 tackles, 2.5 sacks), and Mikey Gray (16 tackles, 2.0 sacks) have most of the team's 15 sacks. Defensive backs Lee Coleman (16 tackles, 4 PBU) and Noah Kensey (13 tackles, 4 PBU) disrupt the passing game.

Analysis:

It's going to be a tall order for West Chester to pull out a win in this one. Kutztown leads the PSAC in both scoring offense (43.7) and scoring defense (7.4). Kutztown's offense is averaging 223 yards rushing per game and the West Chester defense has allowed an average of 177 yards in their three losses, so expect the Golden Bears to run the ball....a lot. And they've turned the ball over just three times this season. The Golden Bears have returned three kicks (two punts, one kickoff) for touchdowns so far this season, so WCU's special teams will be challenged as well.

On the other side of the ball, Kutztown has allowed just 52 points this season. Consider that West Chester allowed 45 points in just one game in their loss to East Stroudsburg. So as good as the Golden Bears' offense has been, their defense is actually better. They alow just 2.8 yards per running play and 142 yards per game in the air. While Kutztown's seven opponents have only one winning record among them, the Golden Bears did hammer the one common opponent with West Chester, Shepherd, by a score of 49-10.

Versus Sports simulates a 34-8 Golden Bear victory, and Massey Ratings predicts a similar 34-14 Kutztown win.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Video   Game Program

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Entertains No. 4 Kutztown Saturday at Farrell Stadium

PSAC Site - 2025 PSAC Football Week 8 Notes

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Eight Preview