SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Following a scoreless first quarter, the Kutztown University football team did its best to hang with one of the top offenses in the country, but fell on the wrong side of a 55-30 decision against Shippensburg University on Saturday afternoon in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division game at Seth Grove Stadium.

The Golden Bears (1-6, 1-3 PSAC East) featured a new look at quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Josh Luckenbaugh (York, Pa./Dallastown) filled in under center midway through the third quarter and threw a team-high 27 passes in a less than one half of football. He threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns and was only sacked one time. His mobility allowed him to find the end zone a third time with his feet.

Receiver Kodi Reed (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) hauled in both of Luckenbaugh's touchdown passes in the second half, coming from four and 14 yards. He had eight catches for 88 yards and continues to lead the team with six touchdown catches.

The Kutztown rushing attack was not nearly as strong as last week's season-best performance. Going against one of the toughest run defenses in the PSAC, Kutztown averaged a mere 1.9 yards per carry. Senior Curtis Wortham (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge) carried nine times for 37 yards and held a 4.1 yards-per-carry average to lead the attack. Freshman James Wah stepped on the field for the first time of his career and ran a team-high 12 times.

Junior defensive end Zach Greenwald (Gibbstown, N.J./Paulsboro) tallied a pair of sacks and four tackles to lead the defensive front. He was one of three Golden Bears with a team-leading six tackles, along with cornerback Jalen Nieves (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) and linebacker Sam Dixon-Dougan. Senior linebacker Matt Connors (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) returned from injury after missing the past four games.

Kutztown's defense held Shippensburg scoreless in the first quarter. Senior safety Alex DiNolfi (Norristown, PA/Norristown) picked off Shippensburg quarterback Zach Zulli on third down to give Kutztown the ball in Shippensburg territory.

Kutztown ran the ball three straight plays inside the Shippensburg 20-yardline, but was unable to convert on a third-and-one attempt. Sophomore kicker Andrew Deutsch (Kutztown, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Kutztown a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Golden Bears attempted an onside kick following the field goal, but was unsuccessful as Shippensburg took over in Kutztown territory. Six plays later, Trevor Harman hauled in a three-yard touchdown catch to give Shippensburg a 7-3 lead.

Wortham's 25-yard kick return combined with a 15-yard facemask penalty on Shippensburg opened Kutztown's drive at the opposing 35-yardline. Starting quarterback Alec Werner (Harrisburg, PA/Bishop McDevitt) found fellow freshman Kellen Williams (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) in the back of the end zone three plays into the drive as Kutztown regained the lead at 10-7 with 10:32 to play in the half.

Shippensburg scored touchdowns on its next two possessions as a 76-yard pass from Zulli to Harman gave Shippensburg a 21-10 lead at the 6:17 mark of the second quarter. The Red Raiders threatened late in the first half, but the Kutztown defense stepped up and stopped the drive inside the 10-yard line to make Shippensburg settle for a 24-yard field goal to give it a 24-10 lead over Kutztown at halftime.

After receiving the second-half kickoff, Shippensburg extended its lead to 38-10 with back-to-back touchdown drives off two Zulli touchdown passes.

Later in the third quarter, Kutztown recovered a Shippensburg fumbled punt inside the 10-yard line. Luckenbaugh had been recently inserted into the game and found the end zone on a 10-yard run to cut the deficit to 38-17.

Kutztown scored touchdowns on its first two possessions of the fourth quarter off the passing combination of Luckenbaugh and Reed. It capped a game-best 13-play, 74-yard drive with a 4-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal early in the quarter, and connected on a 14-yard strike on its following possession after the Kutztown defense forced a three-and-out. The pair of scores brought the game to 48-30, as Shippensburg's touchdown in the final two minutes put an end to the scoring.

The Golden Bears held the advantage in time of possession for the sixth time this season, maintaining possession for 34:46 on Saturday.

Zulli threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns for the Red Raiders, who set a school-record with their 12th straight home victory. Zulli completed 21 of his 23 passes to two receivers. Sheldon Mayer and Harman each hauled in double-digit catches with touchdowns, led by Mayer's 11 receptions for 163 yards and a score. Harman had two TDs, including his 76-yarder, with 10 catches for 166 yards.

Running back Blair Brooks had 150 yards on 14 carries including a 69-yarder in the second half. Defensively, D.J. Burkey had 10 tackles to lead the defense. Five different players had sacks as Avery Coleman brought in the lone KU thrown interception on Saturday.

Kutztown looks to rebound at home next weekend in its annual homecoming game. It welcomes East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, Oct. 26 at University Field with kickoff set for 1:05 p.m.