KUTZTOWN VS. SETON HILL SATURDAY, SEPT. 18, 2021 | 12:05 PM || UNIVERSITY FIELD AT ANDRE REED STADIUM | KUTZTOWN, PA.
GAME COVERAGE
VIDEO	LIVE STATS	KUTZTOWN GAME NOTES

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown returns to Andre Reed Stadium to face Seton Hill at 12:05 p.m. on Family Day tomorrow after dropping a hard-fought battle, 29-26, at No. 15 IUP last Saturday.

SETTING THE STAGE

• This is just the third all-time meeting between the two schools and first since 2017.
• The Golden Bears saw their 14-game road winning streak, which was the third-longest in all of NCAA Division II, snapped with a hard-fought 29-26 defeat at No. 15 IUP last Saturday.
• Kutztown fell out of both the AFCA and D2Football.com Top 25 Polls this week. It's the first time since week three of the 2019 season that the Maroon and Gold don't have a ranking next to their name.
• The prospects for a Golden Bear recovery are strong. Kutztown is 7-0 in games following a loss going back to 2017.
• PSAC East play begins next week with another difficult road trip, this time to nationally-ranked Shepherd. The Golden Bears beat the Rams out in Shepherdstown, W. Va., 34-27, back in 2019. Shepherd is currently ranked 11th in the AFCA Poll.

BEARS READY TO BOUNCE BACK
Kutztown is back at Andre Reed Stadium to take on another PSAC West foe in Seton Hill after dropping a hard-fought 29-26 game at 15th-ranked IUP last Saturday. The loss snapped Kutztown's 14-game road winning streak which dated back to 2017 and was the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division II. The good news for Golden Bear fans is that KU hasn't let the past affect the future in recent memory. Kutztown is 7-0 following a loss since 2017.

SCOUTING SETON HILL
After going 3-28 over the last three seasons, third-year head coach Daniel Day seems to have the Griffins headed in the right direction. SHU is off to its first 2-0 start since 2016 and is getting the job done with a stingy defense that has allowed just 21 points and 174 yards per game.

The Griffins lead the PSAC and rank eighth in DII in total defense and have a solid job creating havoc in the backfield with 12.5 tackles for loss (third in DII). Senior linebacker Jaylen McDuffie has been at the forefront of those efforts with a team-high 21 tackles, including 3.5 for loss.

Day is still looking for a spark from an offense averaging 14.5 points per game. Running backs Logan Wiland and JaiQuawn McGriff are each averaging more than 75 yards per game on the ground, but the Griffins' must cut down on the turnovers to sustain their early-season success. They've already fumbled nine times, losing five, and thrown five interceptions.

LAST TIME WE MET
This is the first time since 2017 --and just the third time ever-- that the Golden Bears and Griffins are getting together.

Seton Hill won the inaugural matchup in 2016, but KU responded here at Andre Reed Stadium in 2017 with a commanding 62-17 victory.

Quarterback Collin DiGalbo went 17-of-21 for 301 yards and tossed five touchdowns to five different players. Running back Craig Reynolds, now with the NFL's Detroit Lions, was the Bears leading rusher and receiver with 16 carries for 118 yards and a TD, and four catches for 97 yards and another score.

Current senior safety Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) came up with a pair of interceptions as the KU defense forced SHU quarterback Christian Strong into four picks.

KAPP KA-TCHING EVERYTHING
Wide receiver Jerome Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) is having a terrific start to the 2021 season. The Berks County native from just outside Boyertown is coming off a six-catch, career-high 160-yard, two-touchdown performance at IUP. Kapp currently ranks eighth in the nation in TD catches (three), 11th in receiving yards (234) and 16th in receiving yards per game (117.0).

EFFICIENT BEARS
Despite the tough loss to IUP, Kutztown's offense and defense have both performed well statistically through the season's first two games. The Maroon and Gold are moving the ball on offense to the tune of 448.5 yards per game, which ranks second in the PSAC and 31st in DII. The defense, meanwhile, is yielding just 218.5 yards per game, good for third in the conference and 19th nationally. In the IUP game, Kutztown outgained the Crimson Hawks 479-298.

LONG-AWAITED RETURN
Kutztown returned to the gridiron for the first time in 644 days when it opened the 2021 season against non-conference rival Assumption on Sept. 4. The Golden Bears' 2020 season was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the first time since 1945 (World War II) without KU football. The Maroon and Gold are hungrier than ever to repeat their 2019 success, which included an 11-2 record, PSAC East championship and trip to the second round of the NCAA DII playoffs.

RANKING RAMBLINGS
This season marks the first since 2012 that Kutztown opened a season nationally-ranked in the AFCA Division II Top 25. The Golden Bears, who finished the 2019 season 16th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll, ranked 20th in the organization's 2021 Preseason Top 25 Poll. KU also held the No. 16 ranking in the D2football.com Preseason Top 25. The Golden Bears advanced to No. 18 in the AFCA Poll after their opening week win over Assumption, but fell just outside the Top 25 following their defeat at No. 15 IUP.

IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS
Pressed into action with Eric Nickel (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) ailing, redshirt sophomore quarterback Donny Blaine (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono) looked every bit a veteran in completing 11-of-13 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in KU's win over Assumption.

Blaine wasn't the only Golden Bear to impress in his first game. Junior college transfer running back Zaire Jones (Salem, N.J./Salem) carried four times for 34 yards, including a long of 19 yards. Left guard Parker Zimerofsky (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) and right tackle Adam Kase (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) both drew their first career starts, while Jake Davis (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) and Domenico Italiani (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) combined on a sack.

NOWHERE TO RUN TO, BABY...
...Nowhere to hide. Assumption mustered just 22 rushing yards against the Golden Bears on Sept. 4, in a 19-0 KU victory. It was the fewest rushing yards allowed in game by KU since Cheyney lost 13 yards on the ground Nov. 4, 2017. KU followed up that performance by holding IUP to 94 yards rushing and currently ranks 15th in the nation in overall rushing defense with 58 yards allowed per game.

MISSING IN ACTION
Left tackle Luke Lozowicki (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown), who held the Bears' longest active consecutive start streak at 25 games, was forced to miss the IUP game due to an injury suffered in the opener against Assumption. Ryan Meyers (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) takes over as the new leader with 17 consecutive starts.

TURBER-ORTIZ RECOGNIZED
Senior safety Shawn Turber-Ortiz (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy) was recently announced as a D2football.com Second Team Preseason All-American. Turber-Ortiz ranked second on the team in both tackles (79) and interceptions (four) during the 2019 season. He entered 2021 eighth on KU's career interceptions list (13) and tied for 13th all-time in tackles (248).

GOLDEN BEARS PICKED THIRD
Despite running through the PSAC East unbeaten in 2019 (7-0) and advancing to the PSAC championship game, Kutztown was picked third in this year's PSAC East Preseason Coaches Poll. Shepherd received 6-of-7 first-place votes to lead the poll, while West Chester ranked second. The Golden Rams and Golden Bears each picked up one first-place vote.

NICKEL GETS LONG-AWAITED SHOT UNDER CENTER
Graduate student Eric Nickel (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) earned his long-awaited opportunity to lead the Golden Bear offense in 2021. Coming into this season, the Bridgewater, N.J. native had completed 99-of-158 passes for 1,137 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also rushing for 401 yards and six TDs on 65 attempts in 17 games.

Back in 2018, Nickel won a pair of PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week awards and set the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 141 at Millersville.

PSAC EAST OPENER LOOMS
Will lessons learned from last week's road contest at nationally-ranked IUP pay dividends next week? That remains to be seen, but the experience could prove useful as another nationally-ranked road game looms. The Golden Bears will be at Shepherd, currently ranked 11th, for their PSAC Eastern Division opener and a 12:00 p.m. kick. The Rams were the preseason favorite to claim the PSAC East title.