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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University football team put together a statement victory in the driving rain in its home opener on Saturday. The Golden Bears dominated both sides of the ball and defeated 20th-ranked Indiana (Pa.), 44-7, marking the first win for head coach Jim Clements.
 
Saturday marked Kutztown's first-ever win over the Crimson Hawks in 11 meetings, dating back to 1950. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover win also counts in the divisional standings, putting Kutztown atop the leaderboard after the first week of action. Kutztown's last win over a nationally-ranked team was in 2011, when it went on to win its first-ever PSAC Championship.
 
Kutztown entered Saturday coming off a disappointing loss to Slippery Rock, when it spoiled a 20-point lead and allowed 37 unanswered points, which could have left doubt about the future success of the team. It proved on Saturday, however, that setbacks are only temporary and how a team can use those games as learning experiences and motivation moving forward.
 
"We expect our guys to compete, play hard and never quit, and our guys did that from start to finish today," Clements said. "I think we did a great job of improving from Week 1 to Week 2, putting four great quarters together, and finishing out the game. There are still some things we have to clean up, but I was pleased with the effort our kids gave today."
 
Anthony Kelly (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) hauled in a school-record-tying four touchdown catches on Saturday, the same amount that he had all of 2013, on six catches for 152 yards. He is the fourth Golden Bear in program history to have four TD catches in a game and the first since 2005.
 
"Words can't explain how great a game like this feels, but it feels even better by winning the way we did today," Kelly said. "I've never had a game like this."
 
Through two games, Kelly has caught six touchdown passes.
 
Quarterback Chad Barton (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) put together a phenomenal performance in his second career start. He threw for 316 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions while completing passes to seven different receivers. It was the first time a KU quarterback threw for five touchdowns since 2012.
 
KU jumped out to a 13-7 lead midway through the second quarter, and used a Drake Brumfield (Marietta, Pa./Donegal) interception late in the second quarter as a momentum boost heading into the locker room. Brumfield picked off a pass in Indiana (PA) territory with 1:48 to go in the first half. Five plays later, Barton found Kelly for the second time with 33 seconds left in the half to extend the lead to 20-7 at halftime.
 
"Momentum swings play a large role in this sport, and it is something we talk about all the time," Clements continued. "Drake did a great job robbing that route and making the interception that ultimately led to a score for us. When we can create turnovers and turn them into points, we can be a great football team."
 
Momentum felt like it was going to swing toward whichever team scored first in the second half: Indiana (PA) could claw within a one score game, or Kutztown could really open the game up and apply even more pressure on the visitors. Following five punts to open the half, the KU defense stopped the Crimson Hawks on 4th-and-1 near midfield to set itself up with great field position. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Barton connected with Kelly for a 64-yard touchdown pass to give KU a comfortable 27-7 lead. It marked Kutztown's longest play of the season.
 
Kutztown (1-1, 1-0 PSAC East) piled up 426 total yards of offense and committed no turnovers. Defensively, it frustrated the Crimson Hawks (1-1, 0-1 PSAC West) throughout the entire game and did not let them score for the final 40:47 of the game. KU allowed just 176 total yards, one week after Indiana (PA) put up 379 yards and 41 points in its season-opener against Saint Augustine's.
 
Notably, Indiana (PA) managed just two third-down conversions in the second half.
 
The Golden Bears ran 89 plays, two less than last week at Slippery Rock, but utilized a much more balanced attack to keep the Crimson Hawks on their heels. KU ran 47 times and threw 42 passes and was able to move the ball successfully with both approaches. It ran for 110 yards including a game-high 63 by Darrell Scott (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone).

Freshman Nathan Hollander (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) led the team in receptions for the second straight week and hauled in seven catches on Saturday. Kodi Reed (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) had six catches for 40 yards, including his 100th career catch. He is the 12th Golden Bear in program history with 100 career catches.
 
Indiana (PA) ran the ball 28 times and was met primarily by linebackers Sam Dougan (Secane, Pa./Ridley) and Zachary Delp, who each had a team-high 10 tackles. Dougan also sacked the Indiana (PA) quarterback and Delp's afternoon marked a career-high performance in tackles. The run defense has quickly escalated to one of the top strengths moving forward.
 
"Last week, we saw first-hand how important it is to play hard in both halves, and that is definitely what we did today," Dougan said. "Looking back, last week was a great learning experience for us because it taught us what it takes to get a win against a good team."
 
The secondary hauled in three interceptions on Saturday, its most since 2012 against California (PA). English Peay (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington), Brumfield and Tyler Pratt (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) all had interceptions and helped limit the Crimson Hawks to 98 total passing yards.
 
Kutztown aims to keep the momentum rolling on the road next weekend, when it travels to Erie to take on Gannon University on Saturday, Sept. 20 beginning at 12 p.m.