KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Jay McKnight (Reading, PA/Conrad Weiser) intercepted a pair of passes, Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) tied his career high by throwing four touchdown passes and the Kutztown University football team scored the final 26 points as it overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat Shippensburg University, 33-24 Saturday afternoon at University Field to remain perfect.

This extends the football program's best start in school history. Kutztown has never started the season 5-0.
Kutztown (5-0 overall, 2-0 PSAC East) is the only unbeaten squad in the Eastern Division. KU and California are the only schools in the PSAC without a loss. The Golden Bears previous best start to a season was in 1949 when they were 4-0-1 after five games. Kutztown entered the game as one of 20 undefeated Division II teams. Meanwhile, reigning PSAC champion Shippensburg's overall record dropped to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the PSAC East.

"The difference between this year's team and last year's team is we believe in ourselves," McKnight said. "Even when we were down, we always believed that we would get back into the game. We didn't fold, we kept playing hard and made plays on the ball. Being 5-0 means a lot to the school and we're excited about our start, but we know there are more challenges out there for us."

In topping the 30-point mark for the fifth consecutive game, Kutztown finished with 409 yards of total offense. Morton overcame a pair of first-quarter interceptions to finish with 238 passing yards and 93 rushing yards. He finished the game 17-for-33 after completing passes to seven different wide receivers.

Wide receivers Erik Frazier (Philadelphia, PA/Germantown) Jr. and Josh Smith (West Lawn, PA/Wilson) each caught two touchdown passes. Frazier had six catches for a team-high 99 yards. Smith added four catches for 62 yards.

Kendell Coleman's (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King) 27-yard touchdown run 40 seconds into the fourth quarter gave KU its first lead, 27-24, and the Golden Bears never looked back. Coleman had a big afternoon as he finished with 56 rushing yards and 83 return yards, including a 56-yard kickoff return in the second half.

In the fourth quarter, Frazier capped KU's memorable rally by making a diving catch in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown, giving the Golden Bears a little cushion, 33-24, with 8:14 left in the game.

"It's a great feeling to be 5-0," Morton said. "At halftime the coaches really didn't say much. However, Kevin Bolinsky (Ashland, PA/North Schuykill) stood up and gave an emotional speech. We didn't panic and we continued to trust each other even when we were down. Coming back the way we did today shows a lot of heart by our team."

While the offense awoke from a slow first half (KU had the ball a scant 6:53), the defense also showed plenty of life after intermission.

Kutztown pressured Shippensburg quarterback Steve Adams throughout the second half and finished with four interceptions. McKnight's first interception led to Coleman's go-ahead score. Geoffrey Mock (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek) ended Shippensburg's next drive with an interception. McKnight picked off his second pass of the fourth quarter and Greg Rotkowski (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) capped a dominant fourth quarter with an interception.

Overall, KU held Shippensburg to 59 yards in the fourth quarter.

The Golden Bear defense was led by Joel Irwin (Coatesville, PA/Bishop Shanahan), who had 12 tackles and McKnight, who added 11 tackles, including a tackle for minus-4 yards. Kutztown had three sacks (Colin Henny (Lititz, PA/Manheim Twp.), Bolinsky and Billy McMonigle) and a pair of quarterback hurries (McMonigle and Bolinsky).

Trailing 17-7 entering the third quarter, Kutztown fumbled the second-half kickoff. The Red Raiders immediately capitalized on their next play, when Jason Baskerville hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Adams. That swelled the Red Raiders' lead to 24-7 with 14:46 remaining in the third quarter.

The game belonged to Kutztown from there.

Morton directed a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown catch by Frazier, which pulled the Golden Bears to within 24-14, with 11:31 remaining in the third quarter. Following a KU defensive stop, Kutztown crept a little closer when Morton drove the Golden Bears 47 yards in five plays. Smith capped the drive with his second touchdown catch, a 21-yarder that pulled KU to within, 24-20, with 7:40 left in the third quarter.

However, the game didn't start well for the Golden Bears as they surrendered the first 17 points. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Red Raiders traveled 69 yards on 11 plays—all on the ground—for a 7-0 lead. Morton's first pass attempt was intercepted by Tyrik Clary and returned 50 yards to the KU 10-yard line. The Red Raiders took advantage of the turnover, resulting in a 26-yard field goal and a 10-0 first-quarter lead.

Later in the half, the Red Raiders stretched that to 17-0, following a Kevin Herod 1-yard run. Until that point, Shippensburg had more interception return yards (59 yards) than KU had total offense (51).

The Golden Bears finally got their offense moving when they drove 80 yards in nine plays following a missed SU field goal. Smith got Kutztown on the board when Morton hit him on a slant, and Smith trotted into the end zone untouched on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds left in the half.

"At some point in time, you need to go to the locker room down at the half like that because you're going to find out a lot about yourself," Kutztown head football coach Ray Monica said. "There wasn't any panic on the sideline or in the locker room at halftime. I think the kids just believe in one another."

Both teams continue PSAC East action next week. Shippensburg visits West Chester on Thursday, October 7 in a game that will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports beginning at 8 p.m. Kutztown travels to East Stroudsburg on Saturday, October 9. The KU-ESU game will be broadcast live on Blue Ridge Cable and tape delay on WTVE (Philadelphia) and Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh.

BEAR CLAWS: KU defeated East Stroudsburg in 1979 and ESU was the defending 1978 PSAC Champion.  This was the last time KU has defeated the defending conference champ. KU did the same thing in 1977, defeating ESU as the defending 1976 PSAC champs. There was no championship game between 1988-2007. During that time, KU had wins over the following defending PSAC East champs: KU defeated the defending 1993 PSAC East champ Millersville in 1994; KU defeated the defending 1994 Co-PSAC East champion West Chester in 1995; KU defeated the defending 1999 PSAC East champ West Chester in 2000…Kutztown has scored 30 or more points in six straight games dating back to  the 2009 season finale against IUP…Kevin Bolinsky (Ashland, PA/North Schuykill) has recorded at least one sack in every game this season…The Golden Bears have forced 13 turnovers through five games, two more than they did in 2009…KU has equaled its win total from the 2007 and 2008 seasons.