KUTZTOWN, PA (September 8, 2010) – The Kutztown University football team will look to begin the 2010 season with consecutive victories when it hosts Mercyhurst College on Saturday, September 11 at University Field in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest beginning at 6:05 p.m. (GAME NOTES) / (PSAC WEEKLY RELEASE)
The game will be broadcast live on KUR (Kutztown's Student Radio station). Mitch Gerhart and former KU quarterback Kyle Spotts will call the action. Listeners throughout the world can also hear the game live on KU's website at kubears.com. The pre-game show will begin 15 minutes before kickoff.
Both squads enter the game with 1-0 records after recording shutouts in their openers. Mercyhurst beat Notre Dame (Ohio), a program in its first year, 23-0 on August 28. Meanwhile, Kutztown scored 35 points in the second half to defeat Saint Anselm, 41-0, last Saturday afternoon.
This will be the first meeting in school history between Kutztown and Mercyhurst. The Golden Bears are seeking their second consecutive 2-0 start. Kutztown won its first two games last season against Saint Anselm and Clarion on the road. The Golden Bears will also try to post consecutive shutouts for the first time since it blanked East Stroudsburg State (12-0) and Glassboro State (9-0) in 1981 under former KU coach George Baldwin.
Both squads, as expected, feature defenses that are near the top of the conference after the first week. Mercyhurst leads the PSAC in total defense (127.0) and it is second in rush defense (34.0) and pass defense (93.0). Meanwhile, Kutztown is fourth in total defense (287.0) and third in rush defense (39.0). The Lakers also registered five sacks in their opening victory.
The Golden Bears were impressive on the defensive side of the ball in their opener. They forced four turnovers. Kutztown is tied for the conference lead in turnover margin (+4). Two of the four takeaways led to touchdowns. Forcing turnovers was an issue last season for Kutztown when it finished with 11 takeaways. In one game, the Golden Bears registered more than a third of that total.
Kutztown senior defensive end Kevin Bolinsky (Ashland, PA/North Schuykill) paced the Golden Bear defense with two sacks for 16 yards, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery that led to a Kutztown score. Senior linebacker Joel Irwin (Coatesville, PA/Bishop Shanahan) forced a fumble, which was recovered by freshman Corey Harris (Baltimore, PA/Western York). Freshmen Chance Gaines (State College, PA/State College) and Chris Davidson (Lancaster, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) had interceptions for the Golden Bears. Tyler Groves (Toms River, NJ/Toms River) also had a quarterback sack. Senior Jason Henshaw (West Chester, PA/Henderson) had two of Kutztown's six quarterback hurries.
Offensively, Kutztown was led by sophomore running back Josh Mastromatto (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin)'s career-high 104 rushing yards and three second half scores on seven carries. He scored touchdowns of 4, 22 and 66 yards on three of his final five carries. Sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) ran for a score and threw a pair of touchdown passes that covered 33 yards (to Erik Frazier (Philadelphia, PA/Germantown)) and 30 yards (to Colby Tuell (Columbia, PA/Columbia)). The Golden Bears crammed 28 of their points into the third quarter.
After the opening weekend, Mastromatto was second in the PSAC in scoring (18 points), touchdowns (three) and sixth in rushing (104.0) and all-purpose yards (149.0). Morton was fourth in passing yards per game (255.0) and sixth in total offense (264.0). Punter Matt Dineen (Wilmington, De/Concord) was second in punting average (41.9).
Mercyhurst has had a week to prepare for Kutztown. The Lakers were picked seventh in the PSAC West preseason coaches' poll. Mercyhurst's defense limited Notre Dame to 34 rushing yards on 36 carries. Overall, Notre Dame had 127 yards of total offense. Ian Wild and Bryan Boyce led Mercyhurst with nine tackles each. Boyce also had 2.5 sacks and McCormick had a 42-yard interception return.
Mercyhurst running back Andrew Bailey scored two touchdowns and kicker Steven Wakefield made three field goals of 30, 27 and 32 yards to lead the Laker offense. Wakefield is tied for first in the PSAC in field goal percentage (1.000) and second in kick scoring (11 points). Gerald Anderson led the Lakers with 48 yards on 21 carries. Matt Mohr caught three passes to lead Mercyhurst, which turned the ball over twice deep in Notre Dame territory and committed 11 penalties.
Next weekend both teams will be on the road in PSAC crossover action. Mercyhurst visits C.W. Post and Kutztown travels to Lock Haven.
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