KUTZTOWN, Pa. – There was little offense to speak of, Saturday, as Kutztown and Shippensburg battled through a chilly and dreary afternoon that saw rain fall at Andre Reed Stadium from start to finish. But in the Golden Bears' first overtime game since the 2018 season,
Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) answered a Raider field goal with a 25-yard touchdown run on KU's first offensive play to give the hosts a 9-6 PSAC East victory –their fifth win in a row.
Shippensburg (1-6, 1-3 PSAC East) had its chances to pull the upset but could not convert when opportunities presented themselves. DJ Jackson intercepted Novak with less than two minutes to go in regulation and the Raiders moved into KU territory before
Tyler Whary's (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) second sack of the afternoon drove them back across the 50.
In overtime, the Raiders had a 15-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Evan A. Falco erased on a holding penalty and elected to run Jaxson Montross out for a 22-yard field goal on 4th and inches from the Kutztown 6-yard line. While the kick was good to give Shippensburg a brief 6-3 lead, it also meant a touchdown would win it for Kutztown.
Novak decided to put any drama to rest right away, taking a keeper to the right on first down and finding open field ahead of him for the game-winning 25-yard run. The victory was Kutztown's third in a row in overtime as it improved to 5-8 all-time since the NCAA instituted OT beginning with the 1996 season. It was also the 50th PSAC East win for head coach
Jim Clements, who is in his ninth season (10th year) guiding the program.
Neither team moved the ball well on a drenched field, with just 12 first downs and 428 yards of total offense between them. The weather conditions especially neutralized the passing game, where Shippensburg threw for just 55 yards on 9-of-23 attempts and Kutztown 89 yards on 8-of-20.
Kutztown (5-2, 4-0 PSAC East) was poised to take the lead with just over five minutes left in the first quarter after driving 58 yards to the Shippensburg 2-yard line. Unfortunately, the Bears' drive stalled there after Novak's fourth-down pass to
Kurtis Ravenel Jr. (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) in the back left corner of the end zone fell incomplete.
Midway through the second quarter, the Golden Bears would finally break the scoreless deadlock.
Steven Burkhardt (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) took a handoff 32 yards to the Shippensburg 18 on the first play of Kutztown's drive and
Dawson Evitts (Auburn, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) ended up booting a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead that stood until the final seconds of the third quarter.
Montross had a field goal try go wide left from 46 yards as the first half clock expired.
The PSAC's top defense brought its "A" game, yet again. Kutztown forced three-and-outs on the Raiders' first six possessions and Ship had just 29 yards of offense in the first half (negative 4 yards before gaining 34 on its final drive).
Kutztown got a 31-yard connection from Novak to
Mekhi Gibson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) after receiving the second half kick and proceeded all the way to the Shippensburg 5-yard line, but Evitts' 27-yard field goal attempt went wide –his first miss in eight tries this season—to keep it a 3-0 game.
The Raiders responded with their best drive of the game on the legs of Falco and running back Tanner Hess. Falco ran for 27 yards and Hess 25 as Shippensburg entered the red zone. A third-down pass from Falco was nearly intercepted by KU safety
Drew Hensor (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) near the goal line, but the Raiders lived to see another play and this time Montross converted on a 34-yard field goal attempt to tie it at three.
Almost the entire fourth quarter was played between the 20s with neither side able to put points on the board.
Novak ended up as the Bears' leading rusher with eight carries for 68 yards, while Burkhardt averaged 8.6 yards per carry with a career-high 60 yards.
Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) added 30 yards and
Jaedyn Stewart (Newfield, N.J./Delsea Regional) 17 as the Bears amassed 175 on the ground overall.
Hess paced the Raiders with 66 yards rushing on 20 attempts and Falco ran it 13 times for 56.
Whary provided a team-high eight tackles, including a pair of sacks.
Jalen DeVose (Lansdale, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) started at linebacker and supplied seven tackles and a sack, while
Justin Harris (Deptford, N.J./Salem) (six tackles) and
Brayden Pohlman (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Mainland Regional) (five) also registered sacks.
The Golden Bears were active on defense throughout, breaking up eight passes.
Shippensburg's Isaiah Gilmore, a Berks County native, led all players with 11 tackles. Javon M. Cruz and Jackson, each of whom had an interception, finished with nine and seven tackles, respectively.
Kutztown is on the road next week to face an upstart Lock Haven team that is 4-3 on the season after Saturday's 21-13 road win at Bloomsburg. Kickoff from Hubert Jack Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
