KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The 25th-ranked Kutztown University football team weathered steady rain that fell at Andre Reed Stadium Saturday evening by gashing Shippensburg's defense for a season-high 234 yards on the ground and the defense was at its best again, limiting the Raiders to 19 rushing yards and 143 yards of total offense in a 20-3 PSAC East victory.

A muffed punt by the Golden Bears set Shippensburg up with prime field position at the KU 25 in the early going and the Raiders turned it into the only points of the first quarter when Jaxson Montross converted a 34-yard field goal at 9:38.

The turnover was a minor speed bump for Kutztown (6-1, 4-0 PSAC East). The defense smothered any and all attempts by the Shippensburg offense to gain any traction. The Raiders ran nine plays for negative nine yards, aided by sacks from Amani Justice (Salem, N.J./Salem), Chris Thomas (Norwood, Pa./Interboro) and Nick Vasger (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn). 

While KU's first two drives ended in punts by reigning PSAC East Special Teams Player of the Week Dean Krcic (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley), its third of the night finished in the end zone. Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) pounded the rock for 23 yards, the Golden Bears rushed for 50 yards on the drive and Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) punched it in from 1-yard out to complete a 14-play, 78-yard drive that chewed up 6:38. The extra point was blocked as the hosts went in front 6-3.

Krcic pinned Shippensburg up against its own end zone with a 45-yard punt to the Raider 5 midway through the second and it proved crucial. The defense produced a three-and-out, with Togba Jallah-Porte II (Collingdale, Pa./Academy Park) and Jake Davis (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) combined to sack Raider quarterback Brycen Mussina back at the 3-yard line on 3rd-and-7.

A 33-yard punt by Ship and an ensuing nine-yard return from Mason McElroy (Reading, Pa./Wilson) set the PSAC East-leading Bears up with a short field at the Raider 27. This time it would be a quick-hitter for the Maroon and Gold as Eric Nickel (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) threaded the needle to Jerome Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) for 26 yards on second down. Nickel then trucked his way into the end zone for a 13-3 Kutztown lead with 4:20 remaining in the half.

Kutztown nearly expanded its lead when Nickel found McElroy in the back right corner from 18-yards out in the waning moments of the quarter, but the touchdown was nullified by an offensive pass interference call.

After rushing for 335 yards in a 55-5 win over Shippensburg back in 2019 and picking up 80 in the first half Saturday night, the Bears knew their formula for success and continued to follow it. On their first possession of the second half, Davis broke off a 22-yard run, Nickel went for 12 and Davis-McNeil took it 25 yards down to the Shippensburg 3. Nickel did the rest, rushing for his second touchdown of the night.

The Golden Bears rushed for 125 of their 234 yards in the third quarter and kept pushing forward into the fourth. They could have approached 300 yards on the ground again had a 48-yard Zaire Jones (Salem, N.J./Salem) touchdown run not come off the board due to a holding call early in the final stanza.

Jeremiah Nelson (Jamaica, N.Y./Holy Cross) ended up leading the team with 85 yards on nine carries, bolstered by a 61-yard run. Davis carried it 13 times for 60 yards, Davis-McNeil nine times for 48 and Jones seven times for 42.

Shippensburg's (5-2, 2-2 PSAC East) 19 rushing yards were the fewest allowed by the Golden Bears this season and marked the second time a KU opponent failed to rush for 25 yards in a game (Assumption, 22 yards, Sept. 4).

Amani Justice (Salem, N.J./Salem) was flying all over the field registering his third consecutive double-figure tackle game with 10. He also contributed to a sack. Tyler Whary (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) had seven tackles and a pair of sacks, while Vasger added seven tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack.

Kutztown was in the Shippensburg backfield all night finishing with seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. The secondary was stout, too, with Nick Palmer (Montville, N.J./Bergen Catholic) recording his eighth career interception and Jalen Hill (Dover, Del./Dover) and Antaun Lloyd (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) breaking up passes.

Wide receiver Ian Sheehan caught seven passes for 66 yards to lead the Raider offense. Defensively, Shippensburg picked up a pair of sacks and seven tackles for loss. Khi'on Smith topped the visitors with eight tackles.

Kutztown, which extended its PSAC East winning streak to 12 games, is on the road at Lock Haven next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.