ERIE, Pa. -- Kutztown scored 33 unanswered points in the second half to overcome an early 14-point deficit and put Mercyhurst away, 50-31, Saturday at Saxon Stadium. The victory was the 61st for Jim Clements with the Golden Bears, tying him with George Baldwin as the program's all-time winningest coach.
 
Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) had another big afternoon, rushing for a career-high four touchdowns and 145 yards on 17 attempts. Backfield mate Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) added 78 yards and a pair of scores as the Golden Bears had their way with the Lakers on the ground, racking up 279 yards on 49 attempts for a 5.5 yard per carry average.
 
The Golden Bear (2-1) defense also got in on the fun, with cornerback Antaun Lloyd (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) returning a third-quarter interception 33 yards for a score. It marked Lloyd's second career pick six and KU's first since Lloyd took one back to the house last season against Millersville.
 
Saturday's game was anything but a cakewalk, though.
 
Mercyhurst got the football first and moved it 75 yards in 11 plays. On 3rd and 5 from the Kutztown 16, Michael Lowery dropped back to pass, but all his options were covered. The quarterback took matters into his own hands, finding an opening and dashing to the right side for the touchdown and a 7-0 Laker lead.
 
Davis-McNeil broke off a 23-yard run on the ensuing KU possession to put the Golden Bears in Mercyhurst territory. He and Davis combined for 51 yards on the drive, but Kutztown had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Nick Coppolino (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage).
 
Another sustained drive from the Lakers (2-1) resulted in a Brian Alsobrooks 18-yard field goal that restored the hosts' touchdown advantage with 12:44 remaining in the first half. Mercyhurst held the ball for more than five minutes on each of its first two possessions but didn't come close to replicating that on their remaining 10 drives.
 
The Mercyhurst offense wouldn't need a long drive its next time out. Thomas Zacharyasz intercepted Donny Blaine (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono) at the KU 36 and four plays later, the Lakers were back in the end zone. Lowery found Joe Kerbacher down the seem for a 30-yard touchdown pass, extending Mercyhurst's lead to 17-3.
 
Needing an answer, Kutztown got one. Blaine located Jerome Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) for 26 yards to move the Bears across midfield and Davis-McNeil finished off a 9-play, 64-yard drive with his first touchdown of the afternoon from three yards out.
 
The KU defense was ready to make a big play this time and sophomore Oyame Adoga (Clementon, N.J./Highland Regional) delivered. Adoga, a sophomore transfer that had two picks for Wilkes in 2021, stepped in front of a Lowery pass at the Mercyhurst 40 and returned it to the 26. Davis-McNeil did the rest, busting through for 12 yards on his first carry and a 14-yard TD on his next. Coppolino's extra point tied the score at 17.
 
Mercyhurst scored on a 2-yard Dustin Shoaf run in the waning seconds of the half to lead 24-17 at the break, but a renewed Kutztown side took over the rest of the way.
 
Davis scored on runs of 14 yards and 10 yards, Davis-McNeil punched one in from two yards out and Lloyd recorded his pick six as the Maroon and Gold outscored Mercyhurst 26-0 in the third quarter to open a 43-24 lead.
 
Four seconds into the fourth, Davis-McNeil was back in the end zone for the fourth time, ending a 5-play, 34-yard drive with a 4-yard run. In doing so, he became the fifth player in program history --and first since Abdul-Hassan Neblett in 2019-- to rush for four scores or more in a game.
 
Mercyhurst didn't end its scoreless second half until Justin Hill caught an 8-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Joe Carter with 1:19 remaining.
 
Kutztown reached the 50-point mark for the first time since a dominant 55-5 victory over Shippensburg, Oct. 26, 2019, and did so nearly exclusively on the ground. Blaine attempted just five passes, completing three for 46 yards. The Golden Bears' three completions and five attempts marked the program's fewest in the digital stats era, which dates back to 1997.

Tom Griese (Dover, N.J./Morris Knolls) paced the defense with seven tackles on a day when 13 Golden Bears registered multiple tackles and 22 had at least one. Cody Scherer (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton) finished with six stops, while CJ Brown (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), Ryan Jennings Jr. (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional), and Amani Justice (Salem, N.J./Salem) each had five. Adoga recorded a sack and Brown forced a fumble.
 
Clements will head into next week's showdown with Shepherd, a rematch of last year's NCAA Division II national quarterfinal, with a chance to surpass George Baldwin as Kutztown's all-time leader in coaching victories. Clements, a three-time PSAC East Coach of the Year selection, is 63-21 in eight-plus seasons at Kutztown and 127-47 during his 16-year collegiate coaching career. His .726 winning percentage at KU is the highest in program history.
 
Kutztown will host the Rams at noon next Saturday in the PSAC East opener for both teams.
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