KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Two unbeaten teams walked into Andre Reed Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but
Abdul-Hassan Neblett (Newark, N.J./Paramus Catholic) quickly and emphatically showed that 21st-ranked Kutztown would be the only one leaving that way.
Behind one of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) most dominant offensive lines, Neblett found the left edge and raced 69 yards for a touchdown on Kutztown's first play from scrimmage. The Golden Bears continued to score at will throughout the first half and dealt visiting East Stroudsburg its first loss of the season, 35-13.
Neblett provided his third 100-yard rushing effort of the season with a career-high 109 yards on 10 carries. Quarterback
Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) accounted for four touchdowns and more than 230 yards of total offense,
Jerry Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) caught a pair of touchdown passes and
Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) was all over the place with 11 tackles, a fumble recovery and interception.
Kutztown (6-0, 3-0 PSAC East) overwhelmed the Warriors in a number of ways on both sides of the ball. They used quick hitters like Neblett's dash, sustained drives that ate plenty of clock and took advantage of short fields set up by East Stroudsburg turnovers.
Immediately following the opening score, the Golden Bears forced ESU's offense into a three-and-out. The KU offense responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a one-yard DiGalbo push into the end zone for a 14-0 lead. The fifth-year senior completed three passes on the drive, including a 22-yarder to trusted tight end
Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata) at the Warriors' 1, and added a 20-yard run.
Kutztown's defense spent even less time on the field its second go-around when
Luke Snyder (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) knocked the ball loose from East Stroudsburg (5-1, 2-1) quarterback Jake Cirillo on second down and Turber-Ortiz recovered at the Warrior 28.
Four plays later, the Bears were up 21-0 on a gorgeous 25-yard touchdown catch from Boyertown native
Jerry Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown). Kapp fought off ESU cornerback Jamal Cooley, tipped DiGalbo's pass to himself and hauled it in for his second score of the season.
Kapp brought it a 7-yard pass from DiGalbo on Kutztown's next possession to end a 15-play, 78-yard drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes and extended the Golden Bears' lead to 28-3.
With just over a minute left in the half, DiGalbo found
Mason McElroy (Reading, Pa./Wilson) for a 16-yard score and a 32-point advantage for the Maroon and Gold.
East Stroudsburg found some success moving the ball in the second half, but other than Cirillo's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third, the Warriors had nothing else to show for it. They turned the ball over twice on downs and Cirillo was intercepted in the end zone by Turber-Ortiz on ESU's first drive of the fourth quarter.
The early deficit forced ESU to mostly abandon the run, but no matter. Kutztown's defense was stellar once again, limiting the Warriors to 50 yards on the ground and extending its streak of games with 75 yards or less allowed to four.
DiGalbo closed with 142 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-17 passing, while also picking up 93 yards and a score on 21 carries.
Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata) caught five passes for 50 yards and
Brandon Smith (North Plainfield, N.J./North Plainfield) four for a career-high 45 yards to supplement the Maroon and Gold's offense.
Turber-Ortiz, Division II's leader in solo tackles, had five to go along with six assisted. He also made a tackle for loss and was credited with a quarterback hurry in addition to his fumble recovery and interception. Snyder came up with nine tackles and
Chris Thomas (Norwood, Pa./Interboro) had eight, including a sack. The defense also got a combined sack from
TwyNique Chisholm-Wilkerson (Harrisburg, Pa./Steelton-Highspire) and
Nick Vasger (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn), while
Ahkee Cox-Cowan (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) forced a fumble.
Cirillo spent much of the afternoon trying to build on short passes. The redshirt sophomore finished 32-of-49 for 227 yards. RJ Sarajian led ESU with seven catches for 63 yards, while Rece Bender had six for 52 and Javier Buffalo five for 37.
Kutztown's win was its sixth in a row against ESU and third straight at Andre Reed Stadium. Saturday marked the latest in a season the two schools have met when both were unbeaten and first time since 1964 each came in without a loss --both were 2-0 in that matchup.
The Golden Bears are also guaranteed a sixth consecutive winning season, though their eyes are on much bigger goals after clearing another hurdle. Head coach
Jim Clements has produced winning seasons in 12 straight campaigns dating back to 2008 when he was at Delaware Valley.
Kutztown travels to Lock Haven next Saturday for a PSAC East game. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
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