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KUTZTOWN, Pa. – With the game on the line, the Kutztown University defense held its ground and sacked West Chester University for the fourth time of the night to cap a dramatic 20-14 victory for the Golden Bears on a rainy Saturday night to defeat the defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division champions.
 
Saturday can be looked at as the biggest win of Jim Clements' career at Kutztown. It had been five years since KU last defeated West Chester as Saturday marked the first time Clements was victorious over the Golden Rams in his third year at KU.
 
Kutztown's defense rose to the challenge with a season-high three interceptions to go along with four sacks. West Chester churned out 405 yards of total offense, but the KU front stood its ground time and time again to only allow seven second-half points.
 
Trailing 20-14, West Chester had the ball four times in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead. It missed its second 45-yard field goal of the night with 10:20 to go, was intercepted by Nyiem Nevarez (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) with 7:17 to play and was forced to punt with 3:45 to go, giving Kutztown the ball with 2:23 to play.
 
With West Chester running low on timeouts, Kutztown ran the clock down to 1:01 before a 4th-and-2 situation. Kutztown brought its offense on the field attempting to draw the Golden Rams offside, but called timeout. KU again brought the offense on the field, and despite nearly being able to get West Chester to jump, had a false start called on the quarterback to put Kutztown at 4th-and-7 and in punt formation.
 
KU gave the ball back to West Chester with 48 seconds left, needing to drive 80 yards for a touchdown. The defense held strong once again to force 4th-and-9, when West Chester quarterback Andrew Derr scrambled out of a collapsing pocket and found a streaking receiver down the sidelines for a 50-yard gain, deep into Kutztown territory with 16 seconds left.
 
West Chester made two pass attempts before the final play of the game – 3rd-and-5 with five seconds to play. Derr was once again forced outside of the pocket, scrambled trying to keep the play alive, but was sacked 18 yards behind the line of scrimmage by Ronny Tomasetti (Dickson City, Pa./Mid-Valley) and Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) to bring KU into a massive celebration on the field.
 
Kutztown's 20-point second-quarter set it up to allow the defense to hold from there. Kellen Williams (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) caught touchdowns of 49 and 39 yards on back-to-back drives in the second quarter, the 27th and 28th of his career to put him one shy of tying the school-record, to put KU up 13-0.
 
Williams finished with six catches for a season-high 141 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Following a West Chester touchdown to cut its deficit to 13-7, Kutztown marched right back down the field, 75 yards for its third straight touchdown drive. A key play on 4th-and-7 at West Chester's 25-yardline, redshirt-freshman quarterback Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) scrambled and ran for seven yards to move the chains on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that was capped with a six-yard Darrell Scott (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) touchdown run.
 
In his second straight start, DiGalbo threw for 238 yards on 18-of-29 passing and his two touchdowns to Williams. Most importantly, he protected the football with no interceptions or turnovers.
 
Kutztown threw for more yards than it ran for just the second time this season, but extended its streak to 13 straight games of 100 yards or more with 138 Saturday.
 
Kutztown's defense and defensive line have been a highlight of the year thus far, and it stepped up in a big way Saturday night. West Chester entered the game averaging 36.8 points and 538 yards of total offense and was held well below both averages. KU had four sacks on the night, including two by redshirt-senior Eric Condron (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge).
 
The three interceptions were the most in a game for KU since its 44-7 upset over Indiana (PA) in 2014. Along with Nevarez hauling in the first of his career, young cornerback Ahkee Cox-Cowan (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) had his first career interception, while Jake Perry (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) picked of his team-leading third pass of the season.
 
KU now has seven interceptions through five games, one more than it had all of last season.
 
Jefferson led the way defensively with 11 tackles, including 1.5-for-loss and the final sack of the night. Kenny Williams (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh (West Chester)), a West Chester transfer, got to celebrate his first win over his former team with seven tackles in the secondary. Tomasetti and Zack Delp (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) also added seven tackles apiece with a combined 4.5 tackles-for-loss.
 
Kutztown moves to 2-0 in the PSAC East, joining Shippensburg and next week's opponent Bloomsburg, atop the standings.
 
Bloomsburg remains the final PSAC East team Clements has yet to topple in his KU career, after falling in a thrilling overtime game at Bloomsburg last year. Kickoff between KU and Bloomsburg on Saturday, Oct. 8 is set for 1:05 p.m. at Andre Reed Stadium.