KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- It couldn't end like this, not after last week's heartbreak.

No. 17 Kutztown, which led by 10 early in the third quarter, saw Tiffin running back JaQuan Hardy bust into the end zone from one yard out with 1:26 left in the fourth quarter of Saturday's NCAA Division II Championship First Round game at Andre Reed Stadium to put the 19th-ranked Dragons in front 31-27.

Only seven days prior, the Golden Bears stood on the same turf in disbelief as Slippery Rock scored in the final half minute to snatch the PSAC title away.

This close-knit group, led by an outstanding senior class, wouldn't let that happen again.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Collin DiGalbo (Secane, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) took KU down the field with four plays encompassing 75 yards in 42 seconds, the last of which was a six-yard pass to tight end Jack Pilkerton (La Plata, Md./La Plata), who fought his way in for the go-ahead score to send the Golden Bears into the Second Round for the first time since 2011 with a thrilling 33-31 victory.

After a slow start, things got wild in the final quarter where the first-time opponents swapped the lead four times.

Devin Butler hauled in a 17-yard pass from Nick Watson with 7:37 to go, giving the Dragons a 24-20 lead --their first since it was 10-7 late in the second quarter. Kutztown (11-1) answered when DiGalbo threaded the needle to Jake Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) for a 5-yard TD pass with 3:43, before the two teams traded scores in the final 96 seconds.

The Golden Bears' first playoff victory since a 17-14 win over Concord in the 2011 opening round was also its 11th win of the year, tied for the most ever in the program's 104-season history with the same 2011 team that finished 11-2. It sends Kutztown, the No. 2 seed in the Super Region One section of the NCAA bracket, to the Second Round for the third time in program history and a date with No. 3 seed Notre Dame (Ohio) next Saturday at Andre Reed Stadium.

Tiffin, making its first appearance in the NCAA playoffs since transitioning to DII 12 years ago, threw some new defensive looks at the Bears' offense and dared DiGalbo to beat them with his arm while holding KU to 75 yards rushing --its second-lowest total of the season. The PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year took that challenge head on and responded with a career-high 462 passing yards and three touchdowns.

DiGalbo's 44 pass attempts tied a career-high and his 31 completions were one shy of a career-high. The Secane native went over 700 career completions (706) and joined the elite company of Kevin Morton (11,612) and Andy Breault (9,096) as the only Kutztown quarterbacks to exceed 9,000 yards passing (9,016) in their careers.

Watson, Hardy and Butler forced the Golden Bears to keep putting up points. Tiffin (9-2), champions of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, came in as the nation's ninth-highest scoring offense at 44.4 points per game and sixth in total offense at 518.3 yards per game. The trio factored heavily into the Dragons' success Saturday, with Hardy running 26 times for 149 yards (5.7 per carry) and a score, Butler pulling in 12 receptions for 104 yards and a pair of TDs and Watson throwing for 192 yards and rushing for another 68.

To Kutztown's credit, it's defense held Tiffin 13 points and 115 yards below its season averages. Linebacker Chris Thomas (Norwood, Pa./Interboro) tied his career-high set during last year's NCAA First Round game against Hillsdale by leading the Bears with 12 tackles, including two for loss. Cody Scherer (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) had 10 tackles, Ahkee Cox-Cowan (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) recorded a pair of pass breakups, and Nick Palmer (Montville, N.J./Bergen Catholic) had eight tackles and intercepted Watson with 10 seconds remaining to seal the win for KU.

DiGalbo's headiness once again proved crucial. He spread his 31 completions around to seven different receivers, with seniors Pilkerton and Diego Torres (York, Pa./West York) the main beneficiaries. Torres brought in four catches for a game-high 120 yards, including a 54-yarder on Kutztown's final drive that took the hosts down to the Tiffin 6-yard line, and a 23-yarder over the back of Dragon defensive back Jermaine Wimpye that went to the TU 3 to set up Novak's TD catch a possession earlier.

Pilkerton caught seven passes for 105 yards and two scores, giving him back-to-back 100+ yard receiving efforts. The tall target from La Plata, Maryland, is just the eighth player in school history with 10 or more touchdown catches in a season and first since Kodi Reed in 2015. Jerry Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) added four catches for 77 yards, Abdul-Hassan Neblett (Newark, N.J./Paramus Catholic) had a team-high eight receptions for 64 yards and went over 100 yards of total offense with 40 yards rushing (21 shy of 1,000 on the year) and Novak had a rushing and receiving TD.

Kutztown's 537 yards of total offense is its highest total since going for 552 against Shippensburg back on Oct. 26. The Golden Bears have exceeded the 500-yard threshold five times this season. Both teams finished with 23 first downs and Tiffin ran for 211 yards on a KU defense that was giving up just 99.9 yards on the ground per game.

The Golden Bears aim to advance to the Third Round for the first time ever when they take on Notre Dame (Ohio) next Saturday.