KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University football team continued its perfect start by scoring 35 unanswered points in the final 19 minutes to erase a 13-point third-quarter deficit and defeat West Chester University, 45-23, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game at University Field Saturday night.

By defeating West Chester for the first time since 2003, the Golden Bears (9-0 overall, 6-0 PSAC East) will play for the PSAC East championship against Bloomsburg (8-1, 6-0) next Saturday afternoon at Redman Stadium beginning at 1 p.m. Kutztown is ranked 15th in the latest American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) top 25 poll and 18th in the d2football.com top 25 poll.

"I am proud of the players and proud of what the coaches are doing," Kutztown head football coach Raymond Monica said. "To get to this point at this time of the year at 9-0 is a great accomplishment for the players and coaching staff. It's just a great time to be a part of Kutztown football. Anybody who ever wore this uniform is a part of this as well."

Kutztown, which continued its best start to a season, also set a school record for points in a single season with 370, eclipsing the 360 scored by the 1991 squad. The Golden Bears entered the game leading the PSAC in scoring offense (40.6).

In topping the 40-point mark for the fourth time this season, Kutztown remained one of six Division II teams without a loss. The other unbeaten schools are Albany State, Abilene Christian, Augustana, Minnesota-Duluth and Shepherd. Grand Valley State lost Saturday afternoon. The Golden Bears are the only unbeaten school in the PSAC.

Sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) fueled Kutztown's rally by throwing for a career-high 451 yards and five touchdowns. Morton, who fired a TD pass for the 14th consecutive contest, also set a school record for most completions in a single game with 35, breaking Andy Breault's mark of 34 established in 1992. The Golden Bears finished with 556 yards of total offense.

"Beating West Chester is a big win for our program," Morton said. "To be able to help the team win is a big deal to me and it feels good. But when you have stats like the yards and touchdowns, you have to look at the guys around you. My five wide-outs, five offensive linemen, and my backs did all the work tonight. Without them, I don't have all the yards. My offensive line did an awesome job today."

Morton delivered plenty of treats to his team as nine different receivers caught at least one pass. Josh Mastromatto (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin), Chris McCormick (West Chester/West Chester East), Justin Clark (Kennett Square, PA/Kennett) and Josh Smith (West Lawn, PA/Wilson) all caught touchdown passes in the second half to lead Kutztown's amazing finish. Mastromatto caught two scores. His first touchdown catch with 11 minutes, 42 seconds remaining were the points that set the KU single season scoring record.

McCormick had his third straight 100-yard receiving performance, finishing with a career-high 158 yards on nine catches. Morton and McCormick connected on the play that ultimately turned the game in KU's favor. Trailing 23-10 with 5 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, McCormick hauled in a 67-yard touchdown reception that pulled the Golden Bears within six to make it 23-17 with 4:15 remaining.

By the end of the third quarter, KU forged ahead to a 24-23 advantage heading into the fourth quarter after Clark caught his first career touchdown with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter. It was a 3-yard catch. The floodgates continued to open for the Golden Bears, who scored 21 points in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Kutztown's offense was simply breathtaking in the final 20 minutes as it outgained West Chester 259-52 in total yards.

The defense also did its part as well, forcing turnovers on consecutive Golden Ram possessions. Jason Ulmer (Feasterville, PA/Neshaminy) intercepted a pass on WCU's second play after Kutztown went ahead for good. Billy McMonigle recovered a fumble early in the fourth quarter to set up another Golden Bear touchdown. Khalief Evans (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep Charter) led Kutztown with eight tackles. Ulmer and Colin Henny (Lititz, PA/Manheim Twp.) had six stops each for the Golden Bears.

Meanwhile, West Chester got great efforts from wide receiver Dan DePalma and running back Jackson Fagan. Even though the pair combined for 334 all-purpose yards, it wasn't enough to prevent West Chester (3-6, 3-3) from posting its first losing season since 2002. West Chester was the PSAC East preseason favorite.

The Golden Rams charged out of the locker room with plenty of momentum, scoring on their first two drives of the second half to open a 23-10 lead. Up until that point, West Chester had short-circuited Kutztown's high-powered offense. However, a key play that loomed large and may have provided the boost KU needed was a missed extra point following WCU's second touchdown in the third quarter.

"Each week, these guys always battle back when they're down," Monica said. "When they missed the extra point, the guys got a little flash and looked at each other and said, hey, if we score two touchdowns, then we're up by one. I thought the extra point they missed was a very big play and we never looked back."

It appeared as Kutztown would have a nice night as Kendell Coleman (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King) dashed 14 yards for the game's first touchdown on the Golden Bears' opening possession of the contest. However, West Chester was able to limit KU to a Matt Dineen (Wilmington, De/Concord) 42-yard field goal for nearly 35 minutes as it forged a 10-10 halftime tie.

Now, with six opponents conquered, the Golden Bears are in position to win their first PSAC title since 1980. Kutztown will try to beat Bloomsburg next Saturday for the first time since 1992. The winner of next week's game will also advance to the PSAC state game on Nov. 13 at the PSAC West champion.