KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Abdul-Hassan Neblett (Newark, N.J./Paramus Catholic) ran for career-highs of 203 yards and four touchdowns, and 17th-ranked Kutztown gashed Shippensburg for 335 yards on the ground in total to celebrate Homecoming with a 55-5 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division win at Andre Reed Stadium Saturday.

Neblett scored on runs of 14, 59, 52 and 17 yards, tied for second most in a game in program history. Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) and Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) also rushed for scores, while Jake Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) and Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata) caught touchdown passes in helping the Golden Bears to their largest margin of victory since last season's 62-10 rout at Millersville.

The win sets Kutztown (8-0, 5-0 PSAC East) up with a highly-anticipated showdown at nationally-ranked West Chester next Saturday, where the Golden Bears can clinch their first Eastern Division title since 2016 --and third all-time-- with a victory.

After stopping the Red Raiders (2-6, 2-3) on their opening drive, Kutztown drove 81 yards in six plays with DiGalbo trotting in for a 1-yard touchdown on a bootleg fake for a 7-0 Golden Bear lead. A 19-yard rush from Neblett, 19-yard catch by Novak and 33-yard pass to Mason McElroy (Reading, Pa./Wilson) set up the score.

Shippensburg's offense would muster little on its next attempt, but strong punt coverage from the visitors put the Golden Bears inside their own 10. When a high snap slipped through the hands of KU punter Dean Krcic (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley), the Raiders were there to block his last ditch attempt to get the ball away from his own end zone, resulting in a safety.

Kutztown's defense stiffened, forcing a three-and-out, and the offense responded with a 75-yard drive capped by a 14-yard run from Neblett to the left pylon for a 14-2 advantage.

Early in the second quarter, the redshirt senior running back from Newark, New Jersey, was at it again. Two plays following a Ship 27-yard field goal, Neblett burst through a hole on the right side and sprinted 59 yards, untouched, to pay dirt, extending the Maroon and Gold's lead to 21-5.

Lightning struck twice when, on KU's very next offensive play, Neblett made a quick cut and bolted into an empty secondary for a 52-yard touchdown --his third of the afternoon. By halftime, Neblett already had a career-high 157 yards on seven carries.

DiGalbo got the passing game involved in the final minute of the half when he found Novak for a spectacular 19-yard touchdown catch to make it 35-5. Novak just got his right foot down in bounds with a defender draped on his back to secure his fourth TD of the season.

Neblett went over 200 yards with 46 on three carries to open the second half and finished a 5-play, 73-yard drive with his fourth touchdown, this one from 17 yards out. He became the first Golden Bear to rush for 200+ yards in a game since Craig Reynolds (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) posted a school record 261 at East Stroudsburg in 2016, and just the 10th player to do it in program history. Neblett also became the first KU player to rush for four scores in a game since Reynolds at Millersville in 2016.

Reynolds, recently promoted to the active roster of the NFL's Washington Redskins, was in attendance for Neblett's historic Homecoming performance.

With Neblett's work complete, attention turned to Mike Saint Germain's defense, which turned in another outstanding effort. The Golden Bears made a living in Shippensburg's backfield with five sacks and intercepted Red Raiders' quarterback Brycen Mussina twice.

KU subtracted more than 50 yards of offense from Ship on its sacks alone and finished with eight tackles for loss. Hez Trahan (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) had 1.5 sacks, while Tom Griese (Dover, N.J./Morris Knolls), Ryan Meyers (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) and Nick Vasger (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) added one each. Nigel Wilson (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) joined Trahan on another.

Cody Scherer (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton), who saw extensive playing time after starting safety Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) exited the game on Ship's opening drive, made the most of his opportunity. The sophomore turned in a career-high 12 tackles to lead the team, while also breaking up a pass and recording a quarterback hurry. Chris Thomas (Norwood, Pa./Interboro) had nine tackles (five solo), Ahkee Cox-Cowan (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) three pass breakups and an interception, and Nick Palmer (Montville, N.J./Bergen Catholic) an interception.

Cox-Cowan moved within one breakup of tying English Peay's career program record of 47.

Pilkerton caught a three-yard touchdown pass from DiGalbo in the third quarter, extending KU's lead to 49-5 and Davis-McNeil finished the scoring with a 43-yard run on the Golden Bears' final possession of the game.

Kutztown's 335 rushing yards are the 10th highest total in a game in school history. Marcel Quarterman's offense averaged 12 yards per carry on 28 attempts against the Red Raiders. DiGalbo added 216 yards of offense through the air on 14-of-20 passing.

Novak finished with 61 yards receiving on three receptions to pace KU, while Pilkerton had 41 yards on three catches and Derek Anderson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) 39 yards on a pair of catches. Kutztown topped 500 yards of total offense (552) for the third time this season and improved to 20-0 under head coach Jim Clements when allowing 14 points or less.

Shippensburg's five points marked its lowest offensive output against the Golden Bears since a 16-3 KU win in 1992. Mussina completed 25-of-46 passes for 223 yards, with 11 of those going to tight end David Balint for 148 yards. Luke Durkin gained 80 yards on 19 totes for the visitors.

Kutztown's eight consecutive wins to start a season is the program's second longest such streak ever. The Golden Bears can match the record of nine, set by the 2010 team, with a victory at West Chester next week. Kickoff from John A. Farrell Stadium is set for noon.