#RV/23 KUTZTOWN AT #1/1 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES NCAA DIVISION II FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | SEMIFINALS SATURDAY, DEC. 9, 2023 | 3:30 PM ET GOLDEN, COLO. | MARV KAY STADIUM

 

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LIVE COVERAGE
Live Stats | Provided by Mines Athletic Communications
Live Video ($$$) | ESPN+
NCAA Bracket
Kutztown Full Media Notes
 

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TICKETS
• Stadium gates will open at 11:30 a.m. MT
• $15 - General Admission (Adult)
• $10 - General Admission (College Student)
• $5 - General Admission (Children (6-18) and Seniors (65+))

Click HERE to purchase tickets. Visiting fans are encouraged to sit in the grandstand on the north side of the stadium.
 

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Winners of 12 straight games, Kutztown is prepared to make its first appearance in the NCAA Division II semifinals when it travels to No. 1 Colorado School of Mines for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff, Saturday.

LIVE COVERAGE
The NCAA Division II semifinals will stream live exclusively on ESPN+, the company's subscription service that is available online and on smart TVs. Shawn Kenney will provide the play-by-play, with Charles Arbuckle handling commentary.

KUTZTOWN ON ESPN
Saturday marks the third time Kutztown will appear on ESPN's family of networks. The Golden Bears' 2016 PSAC championship game against California (Pa.) and its 2019 regular season game at West Chester were simulcast on ESPN 3. Kutztown is 1-1 in those games, falling to Cal, 49-7, and defeating West Chester, 30-17.

FIRST TIMERS
Kutztown has reached the NCAA Division II semifinals for the first time in program history after defeating Virginia Union, Charleston (W.Va.) and Slippery Rock to advance out of Super Region 1. There are just four teams remaining in the 2023 DII Football Championship, with the Kutztown-Mines victor taking on the Lenoir-Rhyne at Harding winner (12 p.m. ET kick) next Saturday, Dec. 16, in the national championship game in McKinney, Texas. All four programs still playing have never won a national championship.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Kutztown broke into the top 25 of the D2football.com Poll at No. 23 in the last poll of the regular season. The Golden Bears are the first team outside the top 25 in the AFCA Division II Poll, receiving 46 votes.

Mines concluded the regular season by holding down the No. 1 spot in both national polls for the fifth week in a row.

Kutztown is 5-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season. The Bears dropped their season opener at No. 23 Assumption, before picking up a convincing win at No. 13 Shepherd in September. KU has won four in a row over nationally ranked opponents, beating No. 4 Slippery Rock, No. 13 Virginia Union, No. 24 Charleston and No. 15 Slippery Rock (again).

Mines is 4-0 against top 25 teams, having beaten No. 3 Grand Valley State, No. 4 Angelo State, No. 9 Western Colorado and No. 16 Augustana.

COACHING MATCHUP
Jim Clements is in his ninth season (10th year) as the head coach at Kutztown, where he is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 79-27 record. Clements is also tops in program history in winning percentage (.745). A 1996 graduate of Widener University, Clements spent eight seasons at NCAA Division III Delaware Valley from 2006-13 and posted a 66-24 record (.733) before arriving at KU. In 17 seasons between the two schools, Clements is 145-51 (.740). Clements was named PSAC East Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career (2016, 2019, 2021, 2023) and AFCA Division II Region 1 Coach of the Year for the third time (2019, 2021, 2023) this fall.

Pete Sterbick is in his first season as head coach at Colorado School of Mines and has the Orediggers humming at 13-0 after they reached the NCAA Division II championship game a season ago. Sterbick, who started at Mines as the offensive coordinator in 2019, was the 2022 national coordinator of the year. A 2003 Augustana grad, Sterbick's prints continue to be all over the Mines offense, which ranks first in the RMAC and NCAA Division II in scoring (50.5 ppg) and yards per game (525.4). Sterbick was recently tabbed AFCA DII Region 5 Coach of the Year.

LAST TIME OUT
Kutztown went into Slippery Rock and took down the 15th-ranked Rock for the second time in less than a month, 28-16, to advance to the NCAA DII national semifinals for the first time in program history.

The Golden Bears scored touchdowns on their first three drives to build a 21-7 lead and got a 100-yard interception return for a TD by cornerback Antaun Lloyd (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) early in the fourth quarter to thwart a Slippery Rock drive and restore a 14-point lead for KU.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) played a part in Kutztown's first three TDs. The Manheim, Pa., native hit fellow redshirt freshman Mekhi Gibson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) for a 53-yard score on his team's fifth play from scrimmage to open the scoring. Novak took it in himself from three yards out late in the first quarter and found running back Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) for a 16-yard TD pass with 3:28 remaining in the first half.

Despite being outgained 502-203, Kutztown limited Slippery Rock's longest plays to 14 yards on the ground and 26 yards in the air. The Rock were just 2-of-7 on fourth down, committed three turnovers (two fumbles, interception) and turned it over on downs four times while electing not to punt or attempt a field goal in the game.

PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Golden Bears are appearing in the NCAA Division II postseason for the sixth time in program history, all since 2010. Prior to this season, KU's deepest run was a trip to the quarterfinals in 2021 when they fell to Shepherd in heartbreaking fashion, 30-28, on current Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent's last second Hail Mary.

This season marks the first time Kutztown has won more than one playoff game in a season. In 2021, the Bears were the top seed in Super Region 1 and earned a first-round bye before topping New Haven, 10-7, in the second round.

With three wins this postseason, Kutztown has improved to 6-5 all-time in NCAA playoff games.

HOUSE CALL
Antaun Lloyd (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) registered his third career interception return for a touchdown with last week's 100-yard pick six against Slippery Rock. The redshirt senior cornerback from Ambler, Pa., previously returned interceptions for TDs against Millersville (35 yards) in 2021 and at Mercyhurst (33 yards) in 2022. Lloyd has nine career interceptions, one shy of tying for 10th all-time at KU. Lloyd also took a blocked field goal back 87 yards for a score at Shepherd in 2021.

DAVIS-MCNEIL ASCENDING UP RECORD BOOK
Redshirt senior running back Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) moved into second place on Kutztown's all-time rushing list during last week's win at Slippery Rock. Davis-McNeil has rushed for 2,732 career yards coming into Saturday's semifinal game and has jumped 12 spots in KU's record book since the start of the season. Darrien Peoples is the program's all-time leading rusher with 3,156 yards between 1993-96.

Davis-McNeil is also fourth in team history with 30 career rushing TDs and fifth in carries (510). Fellow Abington High School alum and current Detroit Lions running back Craig Reynolds is Kutztown's career leader in rushing TDs with 35 (2015-18).

Davis-McNeil is just 100 rushing yards shy of his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.

GOLDEN BEARS PLACE 12 ON ALL-PSAC TEAMS
PSAC champion Kutztown claimed three major awards and placed 12 student-athletes on the 2023 All-PSAC East Teams.

Head coach Jim Clements was voted East Coach of the Year for fourth time in his career. Quarterback Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) took East Freshman of the Year honors and linebacker Tyler Whary (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) was named East Defensive Athlete of the Year.
 
First Team representatives from the Golden Bears included running back Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington), wide receiver Kurtis Ravenel Jr. (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle), right guard Adam Kase (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser), defensive end Nigel Wilson (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook), cornerback Justin Harris (Deptford, N.J./Salem), punter Nate Millard (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) and Whary.

The five Second Team players included Novak, left guard Billy Everitt (Abington, Pa./Abington), kicker Dawson Evitts (Auburn, Pa./Schuylkill Haven), defensive tackle Earl Volz (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and linebacker Kam Wolfe (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin).
 
This marks the ninth consecutive season with 10 or more all-conference selections for Kutztown. The Bears' 12 selections were second most in the East and third most in the PSAC overall behind Shepherd and Slippery Rock, which each had 13.

THREE FROM KU RECOGNIZED ON ALL-REGION TEAMS
Kutztown added three all-region honorees to its postseason accolade list with linebacker Tyler Whary (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and punter Nate Millard (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) being named Division 2 Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-Super Region 1 First Team and right guard Adam Kase (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) being selected to the Second Team.

For all three players, it is the first all-region honor of their careers.

SCOUTING COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Colorado School of Mines is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in NCAA Division II and has its sights set on a national championship after coming up one win short a season ago with a loss to Ferris State in the national championship game.

The Orediggers feature the top scoring offense in Division II, averaging better than 50 points per game. Mines ranks second in the nation in yards per game at 525.4 and third in rushing yards per game at 218.0.

Mines is led by reining Harlon Hill Award winner (and 2023 finalist), quarterback John Matocha. Matocha has accounted for the most touchdowns in college football history, regardless of division, with 186. He sits one passing TD shy of tying Shepherd's Tyson Bagent for the all-time collegiate record of 159.

Among Division II's all-time leaders, Matocha ranks third in career total offensive yards (16,414) and fourth in career passing yards (14,444).

Matocha's top weapon is wide receiver Max McLeod. McLeod leads NCAA DII in receiving yards per game (114.8) and is fourth in receiving touchdowns (16). He ranks second in program history in receiving TDs (44) and third in receiving yards (3,447).

Mines isn't just an offensive juggernaut, however. They are explosive on both sides of the ball and have shut opposing offensive units down to the tune of 11.5 points per game and 61.0 rushing yards per game, both third-best in DII. The Orediggers rank seventh in total defense, allowing 247.5 yards per game.