KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- The Kutztown University football team bludgeoned Bloomsburg for 251 yards on the ground and allowed just 139 yards of total offense, dominating all three phases of Saturday afternoon's PSAC East game at Andre Reed Stadium to post its first shutout victory over the Huskies in 47 years, 24-0.
 
Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) carried the ball 21 times for 122 yards and a touchdown, fellow running back Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) added 17 totes for 97 yards and Donny Blaine (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono) threw touchdown passes to Jerome Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) and Brandon Smith (North Plainfield, N.J./North Plainfield) as the Golden Bears extended their winning streak over the Huskies to six games.
 
Bloomsburg's offense didn't spend much time on the field in the first half, going three-and-out on three separate drives. The Huskies were already backed up deep in their own zone after Kaleb Monaco muffed the opening kick and got no further than the BU 11-yard line.
 
The visitors' opening drive was quickly snuffed out. Amani Justice (Salem, N.J./Salem) and Tom Pellegrino (Hackettstown, N.J./West Morris Central), a graduate transfer from BU, teamed up to drop Monaco for a three-yard loss on second down, before Kyle Sapp (Westampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) and Nigel Wilson (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) combined to sack Husky quarterback David LePoidevin on third down.
 
Kutztown (4-2, 2-1 PSAC East) gave the Huskies a heavy dose of Davis-McNeil when it got the ball. The redshirt senior from Roslyn, Pa., accounted for 34 yards (25 rushing, 9 receiving) and plunged into the end zone from a yard out for a 7-0 Golden Bear lead six minutes in.
 
A 14-yard reception from Davis-McNeil and 22-yard run from Davis pushed KU into Bloomsburg territory as the second quarter began. On the very first play of the second, Blaine found his favorite target, Kapp, deep down the middle for a 41-yard touchdown that made it 14-0 Bears.
 
Bloomsburg's offensive struggles continued throughout the day. A deep pass by LePoidevin was well overthrown and CJ Brown (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) intercepted it inside the KU 10-yard line to end the first half.
 
The Bears received the second half kickoff and went right back to the ground. Davis-McNeil carried the ball on five straight plays, picking up 34 yards along the way. Davis was next up, going for 34 on five consecutive carries, including a 21-yarder to the Bloomsburg 10.
 
Dawson Evitts (Auburn, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) connected on a 24-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead, closing the 12-play, 68-yard drive that ate up nearly seven minutes.
 
Kutztown forced its third turnover on the Huskies' (2-4, 1-2 PSAC East) next possession. Freshman linebacker Brandon Hile (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove) jarred the ball loose from Logan Simmon following a reception near midfield and Cody Scherer (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) came in to recover for the Maroon and Gold at the BU 37.
 
Two plays later, KU was back on the board. Blaine found Smith uncovered near the far sideline on a quasi-screen pass and Smith saw nothing but green in front of him, taking it into the end zone from 30 yards out for a 24-0 lead with 5:03 left in the third.
 
The Huskies entered the red zone for the first and only time at the start of the fourth quarter, but Kutztown's defense stiffened. On 3rd-and-1 from the KU 2, Hile and Earl Volz (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) stopped LePoidevin for a one-yard loss. Justin Harris (Deptford, N.J./Salem) and Scherer came up big on fourth down, stuffing Simmon for no gain as Bloomsburg turned the ball over on downs.
 
Kutztown ran --literally-- the game out from there. Led by the guys up front: Albert Glasgow (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Archbishop Wood), Devin Hannan (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon), Adam Kase (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser), Ryan Schernecke (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) and Parker Zimerofsky (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville), Kutztown ran the ball on 18 straight plays over nearly 13 minutes. Davis, Davis-McNeil and Steven Burkhardt (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) combined for all the carries. Though the drive stalled out after 68 yards at the Bloomsburg 29, there was virtually no time for the Huskies to respond with just 32 seconds remaining.
 
Tom Griese (Dover, N.J./Morris Knolls) put a bow on Kutztown's first shutout of Bloomsburg since 1975 –and first shutout since the 2021 season opener—by sacking LePoidevin for a 7-yard loss to end the game.
 
The Golden Bears produced season-highs of five sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Sapp had 1.5 sacks, two TFL and a forced fumble. Griese, Harris and Justice all registered one sack apiece. Justice and Whary led the team with six tackles, while Brown, Hile and Volz finished with five. Pellegrino also recovered a fumble. Kutztown's 139 yards allowed were its fewest since holding Assumption to 139 in last year's season opener, a 19-0 shutout win.
 
KU surpassed 250 yards rushing and Davis-McNeil eclipsed the century mark on the ground for the second time this season. In total, the Bears ran 49 times for 251 yards for an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Burkhardt finished with eight carries for 40 yards.
 
Blaine was 11-of-19 passing for 146 yards and a pair of TDs. Kapp led the receiving corps with two catches for 47 yards.
 
Bloomsburg spent most of its time running, too, but did so far less effectively. Simmon gained 50 yards on 12 attempts, but the Huskies were limited to 59 yards on 33 carries (1.8 ypc). LePoidevin was 9-of-17 for 80 yards and an interception, and Owen Anderson had a team-high 69 yards receiving on three catches.
 
Defensively, the Huskies got a game-high 10 tackles, two pass breakups and a blocked field goal from Quentin Gaskill. Kenny Yurkonis had seven tackles (two TFL), a sack and a forced fumble.
 
The Golden Bears look for their third road win of the season next Saturday when they travel to Shippensburg for a 1 p.m. kick.
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