WEST CHESTER, Pa. – It wasn't your typical late-October afternoon.  With conditions ranging from high winds and heavy snow, the Kutztown University football team prevailed and silenced West Chester University, 24-0, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup at John A. Farrell Stadium.

The shutout victory was KU's ninth in school history against West Chester, and was the first shutout over WCU since 2000 when they won 24-0.  The Golden Bears (8-1 overall, 5-1 PSAC East) also secured the second-most wins in school history with the victory.

With the combination of Kutztown's victory and Bloomsburg's defeat at the hands of C.W. Post on Saturday, next week's homecoming game between KU and BU will be for a share of the PSAC championship.  Kutztown will be looking for its first ever conference title in hopes of avenging its loss to Bloomsburg last season.

"It took a lot of character and intangibles to come back and win three games in a row on the road," head football coach Raymond Monica said.  "To win four in a row after our loss at Shippensburg is great.  We now have a chance to go home next week for a share of the conference title."

KU entered Saturday ranked 16th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) top poll and 17th by d2football.com.  It is also ranked eighth in Super Region I.

The Golden Bears adopted a 'ground and pound' strategy in adjusting to the extreme weather conditions.  They rushed for 322 yards, the most since its season-opening victory over Saint Anselm (322).  Their 56 rushes were the most this season.

Robbie Frey (Lehighton, PA/Lehighton) and Josh Mastromatto (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin) each rushed for triple digits in Saturday's win.  Frey had a game-high 154 yards on 21 carries.  The senior also had a 15-yard TD run midway through the third quarter to give KU a 24-0 advantage.  Frey is averaging 105.4 yards/game on the ground and entered the game ranked fourth in the PSAC in rushing.  He has nine rushing touchdowns this season.

Mastromatto turned in a career-outing on the afternoon.  He rushed for 132 yards on 21 carries and is second on the team in rushing (63.8).  It is also the second time this season the duo has each reached the triple-digit mark in a game.

As great as the offense was able to control the game, the KU defense made a huge stand all day long in containing the Golden Ram attack.  This is the second shutout of the season for Kutztown (Cheyney), and limited WCU to just 64 rushing yards and 93 passing yards.

Brett Moss (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) led the way for KU on the defensive front line.  He had two and a half sacks in the victory including four tackles for loss.  He finished with seven total tackles.  Moss entered Saturday's game ranked second in the PSAC and tied for 13th in Division II in sacks/game (.94).

Andrew Hodges (Ridley, PA/Ridley), this week's PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week, finished with a team-high eight tackles.  English Peay (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington), John Kreuer (York, PA/York Suburban) and Jason Henshaw (West Chester, PA/Henderson) each had seven tackles in the victory.

Junior defensive back Alex DiNolfi (Norristown, PA/Norristown) had two interceptions Saturday.  He leads the team with seven this season. Karolis Bimba (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks South) got the start at defensive end and finished with 1.5 sacks.

"Today's game was very physical," Monica said.  "The defensive play and to shut them out is just great, and there's nothing like seeing a team run the football like we did today.  I told our players they will remember this stretch of playing in these types of elements and winning three in a row on the road twenty or thirty years from now."

Junior quarterback Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) held a slight disadvantage with the inclement weather, but was able to effectively lead his team and most importantly, not turn the ball over.  The PSAC's most efficient passer finished with 58 passing yards, the lowest of his career, on 4-for-13 passing.  Notably, Morton has now thrown 106 passes without an interception dating back four games to KU's lone setback to Shippensburg.  He also ran for a 37-yard scamper on the opening drive of the game to give KU the early lead.

Colby Tuell (Columbia, PA/Columbia) was one of four KU receivers with a reception Saturday.  Tuell led the team with 36 receiving yards and a score.

Freshman kicker Jack Ruggieri (West Grove, PA/Avon Grove) knocked in his first field goal of the season.  Late in the first quarter, Ruggieri nailed a 31-yarder to put KU up 10-0 with the heavy rain and snow coming down.

West Chester (4-5, 3-3) was led by Rondell White with 42 rushing yards on 12 carries.  Quarterback Sean McCartney threw for 67 yards on 10-for-20 passing.  Tim Keyser and Jackson Fagan were McCartney's top two targets with four catches apiece.

Next week's showdown with Bloomsburg marks homecoming weekend for Kutztown.  Kickoff at University Field is set for 1:05 p.m.