WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Kutztown University football team could not overcome a slow start during its 37-17 defeat to West Chester University Saturday evening at rainy Farrell Stadium in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest.

The Golden Bears (2-3 overall, 0-2 PSAC East) displayed plenty of heart and tremendous character in putting themselves in a position to win. After outscoring WCU 17-3, in the middle quarters, Kutztown trailed, 24-17 entering the final 15 minutes.

Redshirt freshman Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) had a strong evening for the Golden Bears. Starting his first career game at quarterback, Morton calmly helped Kutztown dig out of its early hole. He finished 23-for-38 with 238 yards. Morton and senior Shane Martin (New Holland, PA/Garden Spot) each fired touchdown passes.

Morton directed a pair of smooth-looking touchdown drives for Kutztown during the third quarter. The first ended with a 30-yard touchdown catch by freshman Chris McCormick (West Chester/West Chester East) that pulled KU to within, 21-10. The second drive concluded with Martin finding junior Kendell Coleman (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King) with two minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter. That sliced West Chester's advantage to a touchdown.

Coleman was active against West Chester. He finished with 162 all-purpose yards, including an electrifying 55-yard return early in the fourth quarter.

For McCormick, who finished with five catches for 45 yards, it was his third consecutive game in which he caught a touchdown pass. In addition to throwing a TD pass, Martin also caught four passes for 33 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Colby Tuell (Columbia, PA/Columbia) caught four passes for 67 yards. Overall, eight Golden Bears caught at least one pass.

There were plenty of positives that Kutztown can take into the remainder of the season. Aside from Morton's quality effort, junior kicker Matt Dineen (Wilmington, De/Concord) added to his school record for field goals made on a 34-yarder with nine minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the second quarter. It was his 26th career field goal. During the Golden Bears' first scoring drive, Morton completed seven consecutive passes.

Senior Chris McCaffrey (Philadelphia, PA/Avon Grove) recorded Kutztown's first interception of the 2009 season with an acrobatic catch midway through the second quarter. The Kutztown defense held West Chester to 16 yards in the second quarter. Junior Khalief Evans (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) led the Golden Bears with 10 tackles. Senior linebacker David Cressman (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) and junior Jay McKnight (Reading, PA/Conrad Weiser) finished with nine tackles each. Junior linebacker Joel Irwin (Coatesville, PA/Bishop Shanahan) had eight stops with three of them for losses.

Midway through the third quarter with West Chester facing a second-and-goal from the Golden Bears' 1-yard line and the KU defense forced a West Chester field goal. However, after Kutztown closed to 24-17, West Chester responded with a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ate up 7:19 to regain its double-digit advantage.

In extending its PSAC East regular-season winning streak to 18, West Chester improved to 3-2 and 2-0. West Chester senior quarterback Joe Wright completed his first 10 passes and threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the opening 11 minutes. West Chester opened the game by scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions. Following WCU's quick start, Kutztown's defense forced two punts, intercepted a pass and forced a missed field goal on the Golden Rams' next four possessions.
Kutztown returns home to host Cheyney University beginning at 1:05 p.m. West Chester hosts East Stroudsburg in a game starting at 2 p.m.

NOTES: The first 1,000 Kutztown fans to the game next week will receive a free T-shirt and a pair of thundersticks as part of KU's annual Family Day and Paint The Town Gold celebration. Coleman caught his second career TD pass. He caught one last year against C.W. Post. Kutztown did not commit a penalty or a turnover.