Photo Gallery

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division champion Kutztown University football team held its annual Maroon and Gold Spring Game Saturday – the final day of spring practice. KU handed out Most Improved Player awards, named its 2017 team captains, while the Gold team pulled away late to defeat the Maroon team, 65-54.
 
For the fifth straight year, KU utilized a unique scoring system for its spring game. The defense wore maroon jerseys, the offense and kickers wore white jerseys, while quarterbacks wore red. While standard scoring for touchdowns, field goals and PATs remained the same, each unit accumulated points for certain things, such as long plays and consecutive first downs for the offense, and tackles for loss and three-and-outs for the defense.
 
The Gold team (offense) broke a 46-46 tie by scoring 19 of the final 27 points – a 19-8 run. The Maroon team (defense) utilized multiple fourth-down stops and tackles-for-loss to build a game-high 11-point lead midway through the second half at 42-31, which led up to the Gold team's game-winning surge.
 
Evan Culver (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley), a redshirt-freshman running back in the fall, had multiple plays of 15+ yards and scored two touchdowns inside the 10-yardline to highlight featured players on the day.
 
Quarterback Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), last year's PSAC East Freshman of the Year, led the first team and connected with multiple receivers for long plays. He found Nathan Hollander (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) for 26 yards, Nate Harka (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) for 27 yards and Ryan Hubley (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) for 17 yards to name a few.
 
Fellow quarterbacks Chris Kane (Maple Glen, Pa./La Salle College) and Eric Nickel (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) also saw extended playing time. Kane found Conor Sullivan (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) for 34 yards early in the game, and capped the spring game with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Diego Torres (York, Pa./West York Area) on the final play.
 
Defensively, Jake Perry (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) notched an interception for six points for the defense. The defense's pressure also forced two missed field goals, four sacks and two fourth-down stops.
 
On special teams, Alec Rosenfeld (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) kicked a 40-yard field goal.
 
At halftime, head coach Jim Clements named his Most Improved Players through the spring. Offensive lineman Matt Cella (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and linebacker Corey Tomasetti (Dickson City, Pa./Mid-Valley) were honored for their continued hard work and improvement as this year's Most Improved Players.
 
Second at halftime, Clements announced for the first time in front of his team, the team captains for the 2017 season. They were Ronny Tomasetti (Dickson City, Pa./Mid-Valley), Craig Reynolds (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) and Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace), who will be joined by a rotating fourth captain on gamedays in the fall.
 
Kutztown's season-opener is set for Saturday, Sept. 2, against Assumption College at University Field at Andre Reed Stadium, beginning at 12:05 p.m.