KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University football team established a school record for wins in a single season by holding off a late C.W. Post University rally for an exhilarating, 50-48, victory in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game Saturday night at University Field.

At approximately 9:21 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Kutztown's victory was finally secured when the Pioneers' Keith Hadnagy's 30-yard field goal attempt sailed inches left of the goal posts as time expired.

Once the ball landed, the Kutztown student body stormed the field in jubilation and relief. Some Kutztown football players jumped into each other's arms. While other maroon-shirted team members hugged parents, kissed girlfriends, high-fived fans, and dropped to their knees in elation.

It was a memorable evening for Kutztown University as the Golden Bears accomplished something that had never been done before in the 95-season history of the football program. In the thrill-a-thon that had fans on the edge of their seats, both teams combined for 1,228 yards of total offense, 98 points, 57 first downs, and 14 touchdowns.

"This is very special," Kutztown University head football coach Raymond Monica said. "To be the first football team in Kutztown history to win eight games is amazing. These guys showed a lot of character tonight and they played with a lot of pride. There are a lot of intangibles that make up this football team. It's a great victory for the program."

Ranked 18th in the latest American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) top 25 poll, Kutztown (8-0 overall, 5-0 PSAC East) remained in a first place tie in the East with Bloomsburg. The Golden Bears are one of seven undefeated teams in Division II and the only perfect team in the PSAC after California lost to Mercyhurst, 31-21, earlier in the afternoon. Meanwhile, C.W. Post (5-3, 4-1) had its four game-winning streak and six-game PSAC East winning streak snapped.

The Golden Bears also topped the 30-point mark for the ninth straight game. This was also the second time this season KU has scored 50 or more points, the first time that has happened since 1923.

Kutztown sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) completed 25 passes in 35 attempts for 354 yards and two touchdowns. It was the 13th straight game in which Morton has thrown a touchdown pass. He also added a rushing touchdown. Erik Frazier (Philadelphia, PA/Germantown) Jr. led Kutztown with seven catches for 88 yards. For the second consecutive week, Chris McCormick (West Chester/West Chester East) finished with six catches for a career-best 125 yards and one touchdown catch. It was the second straight week McCormick had over 100 receiving yards.

Kendell Coleman (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King) and Josh Mastromatto (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin) combined for 155 of KU's 166 rushing yards. Mastromatto scored three rushing touchdowns for the second time this season. His effort also included a season-best 51-yard kickoff return in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Golden Bears forced three turnovers, which led to 13 KU points. Kutztown had a quartet of players finish with nine tackles each (Troy Robinson (Marietta, GA/Kell), Joel Irwin (Coatesville, PA/Bishop Shanahan), Greg Rotkowski (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) and Jason Ulmer (Feasterville, PA/Neshaminy)). Irwin had an interception. Khalief Evans (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) and Kevin Bolinsky (Ashland, PA/North Schuykill) recovered fumbles. Rotkowski and Corey Harris (Baltimore, PA/Western York) finished with quarterback sacks.

"This is the best feeling that I've ever had in the history of me playing sports," Irwin said. "It was an ugly win and in a season like this, you can't always win pretty every game. Sometimes you have to win ugly and tonight we found a way to get the job done. This was a great team victory and has been the case all year, everybody contributed. This is just awesome."

C.W. Post quarterback Erik Anderwkavich almost single-handedly transformed the emotions of the Kutztown crowd with a record-breaking effort that had the KU defense under siege.

Anderwkavich finished with 651 yards of total offense, which set a new PSAC single-game record, breaking the old record of 647 set by Edinboro's Trevor Harris last year vs. West Liberty in the NCAA playoffs. He's the second player in PSAC history to accumulate over 600 yards of total offense in a game and his 566 passing yards are third all-time in PSAC history. He threw five touchdown passes and finished with 85 rushing yards.

"We're continuing to get better as a team every week," Monica said. "It came down to one play at the end and I felt like they were going to kick a field goal. I felt better about them kicking a field goal instead of passing the ball."

C.W. Post's final drive started at the Kutztown 20-yard line with 2 minutes, 46 seconds remaining. The Pioneers got as far as the Golden Bear 6-yard line with 15 seconds remaining. Harris came up with a sack on the next play, which forced C.W. Post to the 13-yard line with four seconds left on the clock. As Hadnagy lined up for the potential game-winning field goal, fans huddled, prayed, crossed their fingers and took deep breaths. The tension was as thick as a muggy August evening as he approached the ball.

Kutztown appeared to be headed for an easy victory after Mastromatto scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, an 11-yard burst, on the first play of the fourth quarter. That gave KU a 47-27 bulge. However, C.W. Post scored two quick touchdowns and converted a two-point conversion sandwiched around Matt Dineen's (Wilmington, De/Concord) 41st career field goal that sliced the Golden Bears' advantage to 50-48 with 5:47 remaining.

The third quarter was a whirlwind of scoring activity as both teams combined to score four touchdowns in less than 10 minutes. Kutztown trailed, 21-19, at intermission. It led, 40-27, entering the fourth quarter.

Kutztown returns to action next week as it wraps up its 2010 home schedule against West Chester University starting at 6:05 p.m. Kutztown will celebrate Senior Night prior to the start of the game.