SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The 15th-ranked Kutztown University football team won its seventh-consecutive game on Saturday afternoon, downing a tough Shippensburg Red Raider team on its homecoming, 42-28, at Seth Grove Stadium. 
 
KU knew it wouldn't be easy to take out a perennially-successful program on the road, let alone on its homecoming in front of a raucous crowd. The Red Raiders certainly gave the Golden Bears all they could handle as expected, but Kutztown showed its ability to make a play when it mattered most. 
 
First, trailing 21-14 with Shippensburg looking for more points before the half, Nyiem Nevarez (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) blocked a Red Raider field goal attempt, which Ahkee Cox-Cowan (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) scooped up for a 74-yard touchdown to tie the score at 21 at the break. Then, tied 28-28 with nine minutes to go, Kutztown put together a seven-play, 84-yard drive in the fourth quarter to go ahead 35-28, a lead it wouldn't relinquish. 
 
The Red Raiders marched down the field after the Maroon and Gold's go-ahead score, but Luke Snyder (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) jarred the ball loose from SU's running back on the goal line with two minutes to go and Tajier Jefferson (East Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) recovered the fumble to preserve Kutztown's advantage. After several Shippensburg penalties as a result of the contentious play, Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) took the first snap of the ensuing drive 55 yards up the middle for a rushing touchdown to seal the win. 
 
DiGalbo passed for a career-high 402 yards and three touchdowns, completing 72.7 percent of his passes on the day. The dual-threat quarterback also was effective on the ground, rushing for 102 yards and the late fourth-quarter score which put the game out of reach. DiGalbo's rushing touchdown puts him at 19 for his career and ties him with Kevin Morton for the most-ever by a KU quarterback. 
 
Craig Reynolds (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) was bottled up well by the Red Raider defense for most of the day, but did pass for his first-ever touchdown, hooking up with Diego Torres (York, Pa./West York Area) to cap KU's go-ahead TD drive in the fourth quarter. Reynolds also caught a touchdown from DiGalbo in the second quarter, finishing the day with 21 rushing yards and seven catches for 46 yards.
 
Ryan Hubley (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area) had a 28-yard TD catch on KU's opening drive and Mason McElroy (Reading, Pa./Wilson) capped a 95-yard drive to open the fourth quarter with a one-yard receiving touchdown to round out the Kutztown scoring effort. Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata (Golden West)) led all Kutztown receivers, catching nine balls for 96 yards. 
 
Defensively, Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) and Cox-Cowan led the way with 14.0 and 13.0 total tackles, respectively. Cox-Cowan's 13.0 tackles are a career-high for the junior, who also scored his first-ever touchdown on the blocked kick. Nevarez also had an interception, his first of the season, on the Red Raiders' first drive in the third quarter, spoiling what was an 11-play, 74-yard SU drive. 

The offensive fireworks from both sides were on full display in this tilt as the two teams combined for 1,091 yards of total offense. KU racked up 531 yards on offense, passing for 409 and rushing for 122. Shippensburg did most of its damage through the air as it threw for 510 yards and rushed for 50. 
 
KU is now 7-0 for the first time since the 2010 season when it started 9-0 on its way to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. 
 
In the midst of one of its best seasons in program history, Kutztown now returns to Andre Reed Stadium for its final regular season home game on Oct. 27. The No. 15 Golden Bears will square off with the 12th-ranked and also undefeated West Chester Golden Rams for a 12:05 kickoff.