METAIRIE, La. -- Kutztown University men's rugby's domination at the 2022 Collegiate Rugby Championships continued Sunday as the nationally-ranked and East Region top seed Golden Bears ripped through Iowa State 43-0 in the second round of Premier bracket before dismissing Penn State 59-12 in the quarterfinals to advance to Monday's national semifinals.

The Maroon and Gold have performed at their peak thus far, outscoring their three opponents a combined 133-12. Shutouts over Maryland (first round) and Iowa State (second round) had the Bears riding high heading into the quarterfinals, where they put up a tournament-best 59 points while holding Penn State to a single try until the final seconds.

SECOND ROUND
Kutztown 43, Iowa State 0

Kutztown picked up right where it left off Saturday, overwhelming the Cyclones from the opening whistle.

Iowa State couldn't handle Thorne O'Connell's (Johannesburg, South Africa/Jeppe) opening kick, but KU teammate Kekoa Kauwe (Orem, Utah/Pleasant Grove) could. The senior from Orem, Utah, got it right to Logan Bachman (Kutztown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) for a try 25 seconds in and O'Connell added the conversion for a 7-0 Golden Bear lead.

With an ailing player on the pitch, Iowa State made a miscue by tossing the ball into open space. Cameron Thurtell (London, England) was first to it and went in for an easy try. Following another O'Connell conversion, KU doubled its lead to 14-0 with just two minutes played.

O'Connell registered a try of his own and Kauwe did the same, pushing the Bears to a 26-0 lead at the half.

The Golden Bears continued to pour it on in the second. Kobie Tuckson (Washington, D.C./Bishop McNamara) juked the Cyclone defense and finished off a try between the sticks. The conversion was good for a 33-0 lead.

With Iowa State unable to get an attack going, Kutztown struck for its final two tries. Christian Tanner (Crescent, Pa./Moon Area) made it 38-0 and scrum half Aidan Smith (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) went in uncontested in the 13th minute to provide the final 43-0 margin of victory.

QUARTERFINALS
Kutztown 59, Penn State 12

Playing with an unmatched focus, Kutztown left another opponent reeling within mere seconds of the start. This time it was in-state rival Penn State.

O'Connell kicked off and teammate Brock Stinson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado) came up with possession, running across the try line to fire the opening salvo 20 seconds in. O'Connell's conversion staked KU to a 7-0 lead.

The Golden Bears were right back at it on the ensuing kick. Logan Bachman (Kutztown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) found his way to the try zone, O'Connell put a beautiful strike on the conversion from the left side and just like that it was 14-0.

When Penn State finally recovered a kick they didn't hold onto it for long. Bachman knocked the ball loose, off loaded to O'Connell who stiff-armed a Nittany Lion and dove between the sticks for KU's third try less than three minutes in. With another successful conversion, the Bears were well on their way, 21-0.
 
Penn State showed perimeter speed to dent the scoreboard against the Bears for the first time in the tournament with a long try, but the conversion was no good and Kutztown continued in control 21-5.
 
The Nittany Lions got the ball back off a penalty and had thoughts of going down for another try, but that was quickly extinguished when Cameron Thurtell (London, England) grabbed a loose ball and put the Maroon and Gold on the counterattack.
 
Kutztown quickly moved the ball across the field to yesterday's hero, Mate Kvirikashvili (Kutaisi, Ga./Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.)), who steamrolled a would-be PSU tackler and took it home for the try. O'Connell knocked another conversion through for a 28-5 lead.
 
As the first half ended, Kvirikashvili kicked a free ball forward beyond the tryline and outraced all Nittany Lions there to touch it down for his second try and a 35-5 halftime advantage.
 
Upon resumption of the game, it didn't take long for KU to put more points on the board. The Golden Bears used a powerful advance from Bachman to get near the tryline. A scrum resulted in Penn State gaining possession, but they threw it away attempting to switch fields and Kauwe recovered. Moments later, Aidan Smith (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) was in the try zone, pushing the Bears past the 40-point threshold for the second straight game.
 
Kutztown's pressure on restarts was relentless. Kauwe secured another possession on the kick and off loaded to Thurtell for a try as the Golden Bears continued to run away, 45-5.
 
KU returned to the try zone in the 12th minute with Kauwe pulling a Nittany Lion on his back. Following a P.J. O'Reilly (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) conversion, it was 52-5, making Kutztown the first team to surpass 50 points in a game this weekend.
 
Kauwe nearly replicated his previous try in the 14th minute. A last-second PSU try was of no consequence, the final whistle sounding with Kutztown a convincing 59-12 winner.
 
Head coach Dr. Gregg A. Jones has been able to use his reserves comfortably with Kutztown blowing out opponents left and right. The extra rest for his starters may prove beneficial come Monday when the Golden Bears face their stiffest test yet.

Up next in the semifinals is three-time defending national champion Lindenwood. KU fell to Lindenwood in the semifinals back in 2019, its last appearance at CRCs. The 2020 tournament was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Kutztown didn't go in 2021 due to the pandemic.
 
The Bears are the No. 1 seed out of the East Region, while the Lions are the top seed from the South Region. The other semifinal features a pair of No. 3 seeds, with Dartmouth taking on Iona. Dartmouth upset West Region No. 1 seed Indiana, 19-17, in the quarters. Central No. 1 seed Mount St. Mary's fell to No. 4 Cal Maritime in the second round, before Iona held off Cal Maritime, 26-20, in that quarterfinal matchup.
 
Kutztown and Lindenwood will be the second National Cup semifinal game at 1:46 p.m. EDT. The Dartmouth/Iona semifinal precedes the Bears and Lions at 1:24 p.m. EDT. Both games will be carried on The Rugby Network.
 
The semifinal winners will play for the national championship in the National Cup final at 5:36 p.m. EDT, Monday, while the losers will meet in the third-place game at 5:13 p.m. EDT. The final and third-place games will air live on CBS Sports Network.

CBS Sports Network can be found locally on Xfinity/Comcast Channel 732, DirecTV 221, Dish Network 158, Service Electric Cable TV 176, Service Electric Cablevision 37 and Astound 421 (formerly RCN). The channel is also carried by streaming TV providers AT&T TV, Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.