KUTZTOWN, Pa. – For the third time in the last four seasons and fourth time since 2011, Kutztown and Slippery Rock will battle it out for Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) supremacy on the gridiron. The PSAC East champion Golden Bears welcome the fourth-ranked and unbeaten PSAC West champion Rock to Andre Reed Stadium for the State Game Saturday at noon.
 
Kutztown and Slippery Rock were scheduled to play in week 11 before the season got underway. Both teams went out and handled business within their respective divisions, each going a perfect 7-0 to keep the schedule intact.
 
This year's game pits the PSAC's top defense against its top offense. The Golden Bears (8-2) are allowing a league-low 14.7 points per game (10th in NCAA Division II), 257.0 total yards per game (11th in DII) and 87.2 rushing yards per game (17th in DII). Slippery Rock (10-0) is scoring at a prolific rate, leading the league and ranking seventh in DII with 46.0 points per game. The Rock also paces the PSAC and ranks seventh nationally with 481.9 total yards and 296.2 passing yards per game. SRU's run game is no joke, either, leading the league and ranking 32nd in DII at 185.7 yards per game.
 
The Golden Bears have gotten the better of The Rock in their last two meetings. In the 2021 PSAC Championship game, KU built a 38-20 lead with 6:25 to go and held off a late surge from SRU to win its second-ever league championship, 38-32. In last year's regular season finale, Kutztown used a 61-yard touchdown pass from Donny Blaine (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono) to Jerome Kapp (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) to defeat then-No. 9 Slippery Rock, 23-21.
 
Slippery Rock, which owns an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series, won the 2019 PSAC title at Andre Reed Stadium by a 37-35 score. Each of the last four meetings between these two have been decided by eight points or less.
 
Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) leads Kutztown's ground game with 112 carries for 530 yards and five touchdowns. The Golden Bears are rushing for 149.1 yards per game and have several talented backs they can call upon.
 
Redshirt freshman quarterback Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central), who took over as the starter in week 2, also adds to the Bears' threats with his legs. He's rushed 69 times for 319 yards and three scores. In nine games this season, Novak is 107-of-207 passing for 1,584 yards and 13 touchdowns.
 
There's plenty of speed for the Maroon and Gold at wide receiver. Graduate Kurtis Ravenel Jr. (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle), who opened the season with a 217-yard, two TD performance at Assumption, is coming off a six-catch, 116-yard effort that also found him in the end zone at West Chester last Saturday. Redshirt freshman Mekhi Gibson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) is a big play threat, averaging a team-best 30.1 yards per reception (four TDs).
 
Defensively, Tyler Whary (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) has rounded into form as the season has progressed. The graduate from Hereford, Pa., has multiple PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week honors to his name and tops the Bears with 58 tackles (33 solo) and eight quarterback hurries. He's also second on the team in tackles for loss (8.0) and third in sacks (4.5).
 
Kutztown's defense acumen is about the sum of its part more than any one individual, however. Collectively, this unit has been spectacular. They held PSAC East preseason favorite Shepherd without a touchdown in a 20-3 road victory and kept Bloomsburg, Shippensburg and Lock Haven out of the end zone during a three-week stretch between Oct. 7-21.
 
Nigel Wilson (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) and Brayden Pohlman (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Mainland Regional) have been creating havoc up front with five sacks apiece. The linebacker group, led by Whary, is stout and an experienced secondary with heralded corners Justin Harris (Deptford, N.J./Salem) and Antaun Lloyd (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and depth at safety make the Bears a tough unit to crack.
 
Special teams has been critical to Kutztown's success, too. Kicker Dawson Evitts (Auburn, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) is 10-of-13 on field goal attempts this year and punter Nate Millard (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) is averaging 44.4 yards per punt with 11 of 50+ and 10 placed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
 
Slippery Rock is making its fourth PSAC Championship game appearance in the last five seasons and league-leading eighth since the "State Game" was reborn in 2008. Only The Rock and Kutztown (five) have more than three appearances during that timeframe.
 
The Rock have set the standard for success in the PSAC West under head coach Shawn Lutz, who is in his seventh season (eighth year) at the helm.
 
Quarterback Brayden Long threw for 400 yards and five TDs at Edinboro last week to earn PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week honors. Long owns the highest passer rating in DII at 181.3. He's thrown for 2,879 yards, 32 TDs and just two INT on the season.
 
Wide receivers Kyle Sheets and Cohen Russell have been the main beneficiaries of Long's strong season. Both Sheets (997) and Russell (873) are primed for 1,000-yard receiving campaigns.
 
The Rock are deep at running back, rotating in three players capable of carrying the load in Khalid Dorsey, Chris D'Or and Isaiah Edwards. Dorsey leads the way with 745 yards and nine TDs.
 
While the PSAC championship is the main objective at hand for both teams, Saturday, the game also stands to have postseason implications. Slippery Rock currently sits atop Super Region One and seems sure to hold onto that seed and an opening round bye in the NCAA Division II Championship playoffs with a victory.
 
Kutztown moved up from seventh to fifth by virtue of its win at West Chester along with a pair of top five teams falling in East Stroudsburg (at Shepherd) and Frostburg State (vs. Glenville State). A Golden Bear victory likely pushes KU into the top four in the region, which would carry with it a first round home game next Saturday. The Bears can still get in with a loss, but would be squarely on the bubble with three losses and likely need some other results to fall their way.
 
Tickets are still available for Saturday's game by visiting kubears.com/tickets, or by purchasing at the Andre Reed Stadium box office on game day. A handful of reserved seats remain for $20, while general admission is $10 and student/seniors (65+) are $5. Children under six are free.