Live Coverage
Live Stats  |  Live Audio (KUR)
 
Game Notes
KU Game Notes  |  PSAC Week 10 Notes
 
GAME INFORMATION
Series: 68th Meeting (KU leads 56-10-1)
First Meeting: 1949 (KU def. CHEY, 43-13)
Last Meeting: 2016 (KU def. CHEY, 32-6)
Last CHEY Win: 1993 (CHEY def. KU, 30-19)
Audio: KUR
Live Stats & Audio: www.KUBears.com
WAYS TO LISTEN:
ON CAMPUS: 1670 AM
TV: SECV Birdsboro Channel 24, 524 (HD)
TV: SECV Lehigh Valley Channel 266, 765 (HD)
TV: Hometown Utilicom Channel 191
LISTEN ONLINE: www.Kutztown.edu/KUR

BEAR BITES
• Kutztown can clinch a share of the PSAC East title with a win, and losses by WCU and SHIP.
• If four teams tie for PSAC East lead, Bloomsburg would win tiebreaker and play in PSAC title game.
• Kutztown is second in the PSAC with 15 interceptions.
• KU is averaging 400 yards of total offense per game for the fourth-straight season.
• Kutztown clinched its program-record-tying fourth-straight winning season.
• Evan Culver (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) has scored a touchdown in four-straight games.
• Jalen Nieves (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) had a career-high 16 tackles last week - the most for a KU player since 2012.
• Shippensburg held Kutztown to 220 total yards last week, KU's fewest in a game since 2009.
• KU opened the game last week with a kick return for a TD for the second time in school history.
• Kutztown has won 23-in-a-row over Cheyney.

Complete Game Notes

SERIES HISTORY:  Saturday marks the 68th meeting between the Golden Bears and the Wolves. Kutztown holds a 23-year winning streak in the series, the longest active streak for Kutztown over an opponent. In 2014, KU set school-records for points scored and margin of victory in a 74-0 win at home. Cheyney last defeated Kutztown in 1993 (30-19), and since 2010, Kutztown has won by an average margin of 40.9 points.
 
LAST WEEK: Kutztown was blitzed for 27 straight points after scoring 0:22 into the game and dropped a PSAC game 27-13 to Shippensburg Saturday evening at Andre Reed Stadium on Homecoming. KU opened the game with a kick return for touchdown, but for the next 51:00, Shippensburg held the Golden Bears without a point, including coming up with three second-quarter interceptions - all in Shippensburg territory.
 
OFFENSIVE STRUGGLE: Kutztown had 220 total yards of offense against Shippensburg last week, its fewest in a game since 2009.
 
TITLE HOPES: While Kutztown has been eliminated from the PSAC Championship game, KU can still win a share of the PSAC East title. To do so, KU must defeat Cheyney Saturday, have Bloomsburg defeat Shippensburg, and have Millersville defeat West Chester. Bloomsburg would win the potential four-way tiebreaker to represent the East in the PSAC title game.
 
LAST YEAR: Kutztown completed its first perfect PSAC regular season in program history, as the Golden Bears defeated Cheyney 32-6 on a sunny afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium. James Wah finished with 175 yards on 16 carries and a career-high three touchdowns.
 
KICK RETURN TD: Nyiem Nevarez (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) ran the opening kick back 99 yards for a touchdown last week vs. Shippensburg - the second time in school history KU ran the opening kick back for a touchdown. The first time was Shawn Jones against Mansfield on Nov. 9, 1991, at University Field. Nevarez is the 10th player in school history to return a kick for a touchdown, the first since 2013.
 
WINNING SEASON: KU has posted four-straight winning seasons, including 2017, extending head coach Jim Clements' career streak to 12 straight.
 
CULVER'S CORNER: Evan Culver (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) has scored a touchdown in four-straight games. He has run for 100 yards in two of his last three games, including a season-high 147-yard outing at Lock Haven. He is the first KU freshman running back to run for 100 yards since Darrell Scott in 2013.
 
BEND, DON'T BREAK: Kutztown is holding teams to an average of 10.4 yards per completion, KU's lowest since 1983.
 
INTO THE BACKFIELD: Chris Kimbiz (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) ranks fifth in the PSAC with a career-high 11.5 tackles-for-loss, an average of 1.28 per game. Kimbiz and Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) (10.5) both have 10+ tackles-for-loss this year, the fifth-straight year KU has had multiple players with double-digit tackles-for-loss.
 
4TH-DOWN SUCCESS: In the last three games, KU is 7-for-8 on fourth-down conversion attempts, 87.5 percent.
 
TIGHT END TOUCHDOWNS: Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata (Golden West)) (La Plata, Md., La Plata (Golden West)) has two touchdown catches this season. He is KU's first tight end with multiple touchdowns in a season since Dan Onorato in 2007.
    
TRENDING THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Kutztown's defensive averages have improved over the last five weeks. Entering Bloomsburg, KU was allowing 346 yards per game. KU has steadily lowered that average to 303 total yards per game.
 
LESS THAN 100 RUSHING YARDS: The KU defense has not allowed 100 rushing yards in three of the last five games. Under Jim Clements, KU is 12-2 when holding teams to less than 100 rushing yards.
 
GETTING TO THE FINISH LINE: KU is outscoring opponents by 127 points in the first three quarters, but is being outscored by three in the fourth quarter.
   
HOT HAND: Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) has five interceptions as a redshirt-freshman, all coming in a four-game span. He ranks second in the PSAC and seventh in Division II, and needs one more to set KU's freshman record.
  
STOPPING THE RUN: Under head coach Jim Clements, KU is 12-2 when holding its opponent to less than 100 yards rushing. His only losses were to Mercyhurst in 2016, and at West Chester in 2017. This season, KU ranks third in the PSAC at 103.1 rushing yards allowed per game. The best mark in school history in the modern era is 97.2 in 1995.
 
PICK CITY: KU has 15 interceptions this year, second-most in the PSAC. KU had four interceptions earlier this year vs. Seton Hill - the most for KU since 2011.
  
PUT THOSE FLAGS AWAY: Kutztown has the most penalty yardage in the PSAC at 91.78 per game, but has lowered its per-game average the last two weeks. Only 10 teams in Division II have more penalty yards than KU.
 
ALL-PURPOSE BACK: Craig Reynolds (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) ranks fifth in the PSAC at 140.88 all-purpose yards per game. He averaged 230.8 yards through the first four games, but has averaged 24.2 yards in the last five games while battling injuries. His season has been highlighted by a 335-yard performance in the season-opener against Assumption. He holds the single-game all-purpose-yard record of 345, set last season. For his career, he ranks sixth in school history with 3,602 career all-purpose yards.
  
PROTECT THE FOOTBALL: Kutztown has committed 10 turnovers this year, second-fewest in the PSAC. KU's turnover margin of +1.33/game also ranks second in the PSAC.
 
THROWING TO THE RIGHT TEAM: Kutztown has thrown six interceptions this year, three of which came last week vs. Shippensburg.
 
WINNING QUARTERBACK: Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) holds a record of 12-4 as a starting quarterback.
 
POINTS ON THE BOARD: Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) ranks fourth in the PSAC, responsible for 15.6 points-per-game.
 
DON'T RUN AT RONNY: Ronny Tomasetti (Dickson City, Pa./Mid-Valley), a team captain, earned All-PSAC and All-Region honors last year. He has 4.5 sacks this season and 19.5 for his career, tied with Aldain Lobban for fifth in school history.
 
TACKLING TJ: Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) is a two-year All-PSAC starting linebacker and a 2017 team captain. He posted a career-high 15 tackles in the season-opener and ranks 17th in school history with 223 career tackles and 35.5 tackles-for-loss. He has only missed one game in his career.
 
STARTING LINEBACKER: Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) has made 29 consecutive starts at linebacker, the longest streak on the team.
 
LEADING TACKLER: Jalen Nieves (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) has played in 36 career games with 241 career tackles, 14th in school history, and four interceptions. He had a career-high 16 tackles last week vs. Shippensburg, the most for a Golden Bear since Greg Carroll had 17 at Bloomsburg in 2012.
 
BALL HAWK: Sophomore cornerback Ahkee Cox-Cowan (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) leads the PSAC and ranks second in Division II with 2.0 passes defended per game.
 
PRIMETIME PUNTER: Freshman punter Dean Krcic (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley) ranks third in the PSAC and ninth in Division II with an average of 42.6 yards-per-punt. The school-record for a season is 43.02 by KU All-Time Team punter Jon Corson in 2003.
 
MAGIC NUMBER = 24: KU head coach Jim Clements is 20-1 in his Kutztown career when holding opponents to 24 or fewer points. His only loss was to Mercyhurst in 2016 (23-19).
 
DAY OF FIRSTS: 13 Golden Bears have scored their first career touchdowns this year: Conor Sullivan (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall), Eric Nickel (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Sharif Fennell Jr. (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic Prep), Skyler Panchari (Pottsville, Pa./Blue Mountain), Evan Culver (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley), Andrew Garbarino (Peckville, Pa./Valley View), Amadou Barry (Upper Darby, Pa./West Catholic Prep), Abdul-Hassan Neblett (Newark, N.J./Paramus Catholic), Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata (Golden West)), Diego Torres (York, Pa./West York Area), Josh Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington (Thaddeus Stevens)), Nyiem Nevarez (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) and Chris Kane (Maple Glen, Pa./La Salle College).
 
TEAM CAPTAINS: Kutztown's three team captains this year are Ronny Tomasetti (Dickson City, Pa./Mid-Valley), Craig Reynolds (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) and Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace). KU will also feature a fourth team captain on gameday.
 
INTERCEPTION LEADER: Jake Perry (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) leads KU with nine career interceptions, one shy of cracking the top-10 at KU. He had five last season in his All-PSAC East First Team season.
 
RETURNING KICKER: Alec Rosenfeld (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) was an All-PSAC and All-Region kicker his freshman campaign in 2014, when he set school-records for field goal percentage in a season and field goals in a game. He has kicked seven field goals over the last six weeks, moving him into third all-time at KU with 23 career field goals - one shy of second at KU.
 
EARLY LEAD: Kutztown has led at halftime in 28 of its last 31 wins. KU's two comeback wins over that time were at Indiana (PA) in 2015, and at Shippensburg in 2016. It was once tied at halftime at Bloomsburg in 2017.
 
PASS ATTACK: Dating back to 2011, Kutztown has thrown 30 or more pass attempts in 47 of its last 63 games (74.6 percent). Earlier this year, KU threw less than 30 pass attempts in three-straight games for the first time since 2015.
 
PSAC PRESEASON POLL: Kutztown was picked second in the East.
 
Eastern Division
1) West Chester (8)
2) Kutztown
3) Shippensburg
4) Bloomsburg
5) East Stroudsburg
6) Lock Haven
7) Millersville
8) Cheyney
 
Western Division
1) IUP (6)
2) California (2)
3) Slippery Rock
4) Edinboro
5) Gannon
6) Seton Hill
7) Clarion
8) Mercyhurst