LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Kutztown got another tremendous effort from its defense, which made a touchdown on the Golden Bears' second possession stand up in a 7-3 PSAC East victory at Lock Haven Saturday afternoon.
 
It was a game for the record books, whether one takes the glass half full or glass half empty approach. The glass is certainly full for the KU defense, which held its third straight opponent under 10 points –the first time that has happened since 1995.
 
On the flip side, Kutztown (6-2, 5-0 PSAC East) failed to score 10 points in back-to-back games for the first time in the Jim Clements era, which reached 100 games on Saturday. That's a first for the program dating back to 1994.
 
Going one step further, both Kutztown and its opponent were limited to single digits in consecutive games for the first time in more than six decades, going all the way back to 1959. Returning to the glass half full conversation, the similarity between 1959 and 2023? Kutztown won both games when the oddity occurred.
 
It's been a weird and wacky season to be sure, but Kutztown remains in the driver's seat to reach the PSAC championship game for the third time in four seasons. The Golden Bears can guarantee themselves a spot in the game, and clinch at least a share of the PSAC East title, with a win over Millersville on Homecoming next Saturday. East Stroudsburg and Shepherd, each at 4-1 in league play, meet Nov. 4 and KU owns head-to-head wins over both.
 
Lock Haven (4-4, 2-3 PSAC East), which has been one of the surprises in the East to this point, gave its offense a short field to navigate after forcing a fumble on Kutztown's opening possession that was recovered by Raymell Hester at the Golden Bears' 32-yard line.
 
Kam Wolfe (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) quickly took it back for the Maroon and Gold with the first of his two interceptions on the afternoon. The Governor Mifflin grad came up with a Danny Sanchez pass that was deflected by secondary mate CJ Brown (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) at the KU 14-yard line.
 
From there, the Bears put together their only scoring drive of the game. Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) kept the chains moving with a 15-yard run on 3rd-and-5 from the KU 30, before Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) hit Luke Szabo (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) (11 yards) and Tyreek Husser (Woodstown, N.J./Woodstown) (22 yards) with first down passes that pushed the Maroon and Gold down to the Lock Haven 22.
 
Once in the red zone, it was Novak to Sincere Thomas (Bristol, Pa./Harry S. Truman) for an 11-yard score that put the visitors in front, 7-0 with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The score would remain that way until Brett Zachman made a 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter to put the Bald Eagles on the board and cut the KU lead to 7-3.
 
Novak attempted to locate Kurtis Ravenel Jr. (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) in the end zone on the final play of the first half, but Hester intercepted it near the goal line.
 
A quick-moving third quarter saw both teams turn the ball over on downs and much of the action taking place between the 20s.
 
Lock Haven drove into KU territory midway through the fourth, but Sanchez was intercepted by Wolfe at the 10-yard line, ending the Bald Eagles' threat.
 
The defense was called upon again after Cody Romano knocked the ball free from Novak for his second forced fumble of the day and Victor Hunt returned it to the KU 18-yard line. A personal foul against the Bears moved the ball to the 6-yard line and had LHU on the brink of taking the lead.
 
Like it has done all year, Kutztown's defense stepped up when needed. Eden Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Governor Mifflin) and Nigel Wilson (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) stuffed Chris Collier, who was coming off a 253-yard rushing performance at Bloomsburg last week, on first and second down, before an incomplete pass forced fourth down.
 
Trailing by four with less than three minutes remaining, Lock Haven came out in field goal formation before shifting into an offensive set. Sanchez tried to throw back against his body with Wolfe bearing down on him and Justin Harris (Deptford, N.J./Salem) intercepted the pass in the end zone to keep Kutztown in front.
 
Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington), returning after a three-game absence, supplied a pair of first down runs that helped Kutztown bleed the clock. Lock Haven exhausted its final timeouts, and the Bears were able to kneel in victory formation, keeping their pristine PSAC East record intact.
 
The teams combined for just 458 yards of offense, with KU holding a 257-201 edge. The Bears ran for 138 yards. Davis-McNeil accounted for nearly half of those, finishing with 63. In doing so, the Roslyn, Pa., native moved from 10th to seventh on KU's career rushing list (2,194 yards).
 
Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) added 48 yards on eight carries, while also bringing in a team-high three receptions for 31 yards.
 
Collier got the ball early and often for the Bald Eagles. He totaled a game-high 98 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
 
Brandon Hile (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove) led a well-balanced KU defense with seven tackles (five solo). Jalen DeVose (Lansdale, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) and Wolfe each had six. Wolfe added to his two interceptions with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Brown and Antaun Lloyd (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) each broke up a pair of passes and Tyler Whary (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) broke up one.
 
Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) was credited with 1.5 sacks. Wilson added 0.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss and Devon Jones (Claymont, Del./Mount Pleasant) made two tackles for loss.
 
Kutztown and Millersville are set to kick off at 2 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 28, from Andre Reed Stadium.
  Read Full Article