KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The defenses held the upper hand for a majority of Saturday afternoon's PSAC East meeting between Kutztown and East Stroudsburg, but a 67-yard pass from Eric Nickel (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) to Jerome Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) set up Darryl Davis-McNeil's (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) 3-yard touchdown run with 44 seconds remaining to give the Golden Bears a 21-14 victory at Andre Reed Stadium.

Kutztown looked to be clicking on all cylinders early on the heels of its massive 37-29 victory at No. 10 Shepherd last week.

Nickel found Kapp three times for 28 yards, Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) picked up 33 yards on five carries --including back-to-back 11-yard jaunts-- and Nickel ran off the right side for a 3-yard touchdown to finish off a 12-play, 69-yard opening drive.

An ill-advised kick return by the Warriors (3-2, 1-1 PSAC East) from their own end zone resulted in poor field position when Tyler Whary (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and Marquee Lewis (Middletown, Del./Middletown) wrestled Rece Bender down at the ESU 9. A three-and-out and punt from ESU deep in its own territory put the Golden Bears in excellent shape starting near midfield.

The Maroon and Gold faced 3rd-and-16 from the ESU 39, but Nickel extended the drive with his feet by barreling 22 yards. Three plays later, the graduate student quarterback located tight end Cam Lewis (Felton, Del./Lake Forest) down the middle for 14-yards just shy of the goal line.

Davis-McNeil pushed his way into the end zone from one yard out for his first of two TDs on the day to put the hosts up two scores, but whatever offensive momentum Kutztown (4-1, 2-0) captured on its first two drives was stifled for most of the remaining 45 minutes.

East Stroudsburg cut the Bears advantage to 14-7 with 2:55 left in the first half on Gunner Anglovich's 5-yard TD run. The Warriors trekked 74 yards on 13 plays in 4:55. It was the first touchdown of any kind scored against Kutztown at Andre Reed Stadium this season following a 19-0 shutout of Assumption in the opener and a 14-3 victory over Seton Hill Sept. 18.

While the Golden Bears were in the midst of eight straight empty possessions, ESU missed an opportunity to draw closer when kicker Devin Bartholomew hit the left upright on a 21-yard field goal try late in the third quarter.

The Warrior defense continued to play inspired and it paid dividends early in the fourth. Jahmere Crumpton intercepted Nickel to set ESU up at the Kutztown 30 and on the very next play Anglovich broke free for a 30-yard TD run to tie the game.

Up until its final drive Kutztown managed just 73 rushing yards and one passing yard (1-of-3) with two sacks allowed in the second half. It looked like the Bears might be headed for a three-and-out until Nickel hit Mason McElroy (Reading, Pa./Wilson) for 16 yards on 3rd-and-4 from the KU 12. Jake Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) hauled in a seven-yard catch up to the 35, but Nickel's biggest pass of the day came following a false start penalty on the Bears.

On 2nd-and-8 from the KU 30, Nickel let it fly down the left sideline hitting Kapp in stride at the ESU 42. The Barto native --held without a catch since the first quarter-- turned on the jets and took it all the way to the three-yard line before being forced out of bounds by Tyler Watson.

Davis-McNeil got the call twice and bulldozed through the Warrior line on 2nd-and-goal for the go-ahead score with 44 seconds to play. Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) intercepted Jake Cirillo on the second play of ESU's final possession to ice it.

Turber-Ortiz's pick was the 14th of his career, tying the senior for sixth in program history with Alex DiNolfi and Jake Perry.

East Stroudsburg outgained the Golden Bears 337-318, but Kutztown held a slight 169-161 advantage in rushing yards. Davis-McNeil totaled 86 yards on 17 carries with two TDs (5.1 avg), while Davis picked up 55 yards on 15 totes. Anglovich had a game-high 112 yards rushing and two TDs for ESU.

Kapp paced the receivers with four catches for 95 yards, accounting for almost two-thirds of Nickel's 149 yards passing (11-of-22).

Defensively, Amani Justice (Salem, N.J./Salem) led KU with a career-high 11 tackles (four solo). Chris Thomas (Norwood, Pa./Interboro) made nine tackles, broke up a pair of passes and had a quarterback hurry. Turber-Ortiz finished with seven tackles and the late interception.

Kutztown extended its PSAC East winning streak to 10 games and continued its recent run of success over the Warriors. The Golden Bears have taken seven in a row from their rivals up north going back to 2013 and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings.

The Golden Bears travel to Bloomsburg next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.