GAME INFORMATION
Series: 2nd Meeting (AC leads 1-0)
First Meeting: 2015 (AC 41, KU 37)
Last Meeting: 2015 (AC 41, KU 37)
Last KU Win: N/A
Radio: KUR
Talent: Matt Santos (pxp), Josh Leiboff (color)
Live Stats, Audio & Video: www.KUBears.com
WAYS TO LISTEN:
ON CAMPUS: 1670 AM
LOCAL: Channels 24, 28, 99 or 266
ONLINE: www.Kutztown.edu/KUR
MOBILE: Tune-In app (KUR)
PHONE: 610-465-7860
BEAR BITES
• Kutztown's posted its first seven-win season last year since 2012.
• Head Coach
Jim Clements has posted two winning seasons in as many years at KU.
• KU set a school-record of 488.8 yards of total offense in 2015.
• Under Clements, KU is 8-0 when holding its opponent to less than 100 rushing yds.
• Clements is 10-0 at KU when holding opponents to 24 or fewer points.
• Four of KU's five projected starting offensive linemen started every game last season.
• Saturday's starting QB for KU will be making his first career start.
•
James Wah Jr. (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) is 12 yards shy of 1,000 in his career.
• In last year's meeting, KU led Assumption 23-7 at halftime before falling 41-37.
Complete KU Game Notes
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the second meeting between Kutztown and Assumption. The team's met for the first time last season in the season-opener at Andre Reed Stadium. KU got out to a 23-7 lead at halftime, but was outscored 34-14 in the second half to fall 41-37. Assumption went on to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
SECOND PLACE: Kutztown tied for second in the PSAC East last season, its best finish since winning the division title and PSAC Championship in 2011. KU was picked to finish fourth in this year's PSAC East Preseason Poll.
TOTAL OFFENSE: KU set school-records for total offense with a top-10 program in Division II last year (ninth). KU averaged 488.8 yards of total offense in 2015, breaking the previous record of 481.1 from 2012.
MAGIC NUMBER = 24: KU head coach
Jim Clements is 10-0 in his Kutztown career when holding opponents to 24 or fewer points.
EARLY LEAD: Kutztown has led at halftime in 17 of its last 18 wins.
WINNING STREAK: Kutztown ended last year on a four-game winning streak. Its last five-game winning streak came in 2011, when it won seven-in-a-row that included winning the PSAC Championship and a First Round game in the NCAA Tournament.
RETURNING STARTERS: Kutztown returns 16-of-24 starters – seven on offense and eight on defense.
KELLEN'S CORNER: Kellen Williams (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) can be looked as one of the top receivers in the PSAC entering the season. The two-time All-PSAC East selection is coming off a career-best season, has three double-digit catch games in his career and seven 100-yard receiving performances. He has caught a pass in 28-of-32 career games.
LEAVING A LEGACY: Kellen Williams (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) enters his senior year with a chance to rewrite the KU record books. He ranks fourth all-time at KU with 22 receiving touchdowns, second with 2,140 career receiving yards and sixth with 155 catches. If Williams puts up identical numbers as last year, he will become the school-record-holder in all three categories.
SEASONED VETERANS: KU returned all five starting offensive lineman from last year as 4-of-5 are projected to start the season-opener. Returning starters
Jordan Morgan (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Northwest),
Ben Cregger (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove),
Brian Robbins (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) and
Skyler Panchari (Pottsville, Pa./Blue Mountain) have combined to play 101 games in their careers.
STARTING CENTER: Junior
Ben Cregger (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) has made 22 consecutive starts at center for Kutztown.
WEEK 1 QB: After graduating starting quarterback
Chad Barton (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg), KU has no QBs on its roster with starting experience.
Terence Scanlon (Middletown, N.J./Red Bank Regional (Rutgers)) is projected to be the starter on Saturday. Scanlon is a transfer graduate student who comes from Monmouth and most-recently Rutgers, but has yet to see an in-game snap in college.
SENIOR RB DUO: Running backs
Darrell Scott (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) and
James Wah Jr. (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) enter their senior years in 2016. The duo has combined for more than 2,000 career rushing yards and 20 touchdowns to go along with more than 50 combined games of experience.
DEFENSIVE LEADER: Zack Delp (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) has made 23 consecutive starts at linebacker for KU. A two-time All-PSAC selection, Delp has notched 10 or more tackles in nine games in his career. He enters his final year ranked 20th all-time at KU with 205 career tackles, and 15th at KU with 12 sacks
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: After redshirting in 2014, linebacker
Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) immediately stepped into a starting role in 2015 and scored All-PSAC East First Team and PSAC East Freshman of the Year honors. He posted 70 tackles in his first year on the field, the most by a KU freshman in more than 20 years, and ranked in the top-five in the PSAC with 16 tackles-for-loss.
ALL-AMERICAN TACKLE: Returning All-American
Jordan Morgan (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Northwest) has only missed one game in his career and has started at left tackle in 32 of Kutztown's last 33 games, including a streak of 13 consecutive starts. His top honor last year was the AP Little All-America First Team, KU's first First Team selection since John Mobley in 1995. Morgan was a consensus Preseason All-American this year.
PASS ATTACK: Dating back to 2011, Kutztown has thrown 30 or more pass attempts in 36 of its last 43 games (83.7 percent).
WELCOME BACK: Nathan Hollander (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) rejoins the lineup after a promising freshman season in 2014 and redshirting in 2015. As a freshman, Hollander hauled in 65 catches as a slot receiver.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Kutztown's team captains for the 2016 season are
Zack Delp (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall),
Jordan Morgan (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Northwest) and
Kellen Williams (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg).
STOPPING THE RUN: KU's success under second-year head coach
Jim Clements has stood true with its defensive ability to stop the run. Under Clements, KU is 8-0 when holding its opponent to less than 100 yards rushing.
ALL-REGION KICKER: An All-PSAC East First Team and All-Region Third Team selection as a freshman, kicker
Alec Rosenfeld (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) is 16-of-19 in career field goal attempts, fifth all-time in school history for field goals made. He tied the school-record for field goal percentage in a season as a freshman at 85.7 percent, has made a school-record nine PAT's in a game twice, and holds a career-long of 46 yards, two yards shy of the school-record.
OVERTIME HEARTBREAK: Since 1996, KU is 2-9 in overtime games. KU's first OT win was a 26-23 victory over Millersville in three overtimes in the final game of the 2007 season. Its most recent OT win was the 2014 season-finale, when a last-second touchdown pass catapulted a 41-35 win at Clarion. KU's most recent overtime game was on Oct. 17, 2015, a 27-21 loss at Bloomsburg (1OT).
HAPPY 101ST BIRTHDAY: 2016 marks the 101st season of Kutztown University football. Beginning in 1895, Kutztown's all-time record in 818 games stands at 362-433-23 (.457).
PSAC PRESEASON POLL: The Golden Bears were right in the middle of the pack, slotted fourth of eight teams in the East.
Eastern Division
1. West Chester (6)
2. Shippensburg (1)
3. Bloomsburg
4. Kutztown
5. East Stroudsburg (1)
6. Lock Haven
7. Millersville
8. Cheyney
Western Division
1. IUP (5)
2. Slippery Rock (2)
3. California
4. Clarion (1)
5. Gannon
6. Mercyhurst
7. Seton Hill
8. Edinboro
