KUTZTOWN, Pa. – A hungry Kutztown University football team got its first chance to play in front of the Andre Reed Stadium faithful, Saturday, and did not disappoint. The Golden Bears scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, collected points on seven of their first eight and opened a 40-0 lead in a 47-14 victory over Mercyhurst.
 
Two tough road games and the absence of a few key players on both sides of the ball left Kutztown staring at back-to-back losses to start a season for the first time since 2016. Jim Clements' team was focused on putting that frustrating start in the rearview mirror and the Lakers were the unfortunate victims standing in their way.
 
Graduate student running back Darryl Davis-McNeil (Roslyn, Pa./Abington) became the 14th player in program history to rush for over 2,000 yards in his career, picking up 56 yards and three touchdowns. Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) carved up the Laker defense for his first career 300-yard passing game, Mekhi Gibson (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) racked up 157 receiving yards and Kurtis Ravenel Jr. (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) produced Kutztown's (1-2) first kick return TD since 2017 as the Bears dominated from the opening kick.
 
The Golden Bear defense was just as impressive, totaling four sacks, eight tackles for loss and an interception over the course of the afternoon. Mercyhurst (1-2) didn't get on the board until the final minute of the third quarter when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
 
Kutztown had its way on offense in the first half. Slow or fast, by ground or by air, it didn't matter, because the Bears moved the ball at will. Novak found Gibson for 36 yards, helping set up a Davis-McNeil 10-yard TD run on the Maroon and Gold's opening possession for a 6-0 lead.
 
After the Lakers' initial drive stalled near midfield, KU went 80 yards in 12 plays, feeding Davis-McNeil once again from six yards out to increase its advantage to 13-0. Novak had a 36-yard run and found Gibson for a big third down conversion in the Mercyhurst red zone to keep the drive alive.
 
Jake Davis (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) came up with KU's first sack of the afternoon on the first play of the second quarter and it pinned Mercyhurst back at its own five. The Lakers would eventually punt and the Bears were back in business starting in Mercyhurst territory at the 49. It took just six plays for the Bears to find the end zone again, with Novak splitting the defense to hit Kaden Hastie (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) down the seam for a 28-yard TD.
 
Mercyhurst turned the ball over on downs after progressing to the Kutztown 35 and their frustration started to show. Novak hooked up with Gibson for 39 yards to the Laker 26, but Mercyhurst compounded the play by taking a roughing the passer penalty.
 
Davis-McNeil bulldozed his way in from the four soon thereafter for his third TD run of the half to make it 27-0. The Roslyn, Pa., native moved into a tie for sixth place in program history with his 24th career rushing TD. Davis-McNeil registered his fifth career game with multiple TD runs and third with three or more.
 
Kutztown managed the clock wisely in the waning moments of the first half. First, Novak hit Gibson for a 72-yard score with 1:05 remaining to push the lead to 34-0. Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) followed with a pair of sacks, first teaming up with Nigel Wilson (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) to bring down Laker quarterback Adam Urena before getting one of his own to force a 3-and-out. First down passes to Ravenel Jr. (11 yards) and Hastie (34 yards) set up a 44-yard field goal from Nate Millard (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) as time expired, sending the Bears to the locker room with a 37-0 advantage. The field goal was the first of Millard's career –on his first attempt—and marked the longest by a Golden Bear kicker since 2014 when Alec Rosenfeld connected from 46 against Shippensburg. It was just four yards shy of the program record of 48 shared by Steve Kratz (1989) and Emerson Johnson (1994).
 
Dawson Evitts (Auburn, Pa./Schuylkill Haven) added a 25-yard field goal as Kutztown went up 40-0 with 4:56 left in the third.
 
The Lakers broke the shutout in the final minute of the quarter when Adam Urena found Darin Mizgorski in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard TD pass, but the Bears responded immediately as Ravenel Jr. took the ensuing kick back 96 yards for a touchdown that made it 47-7. It was the first kick return TD of Ravenel Jr.'s career and first for the program since Nyiem Nevarez returned one 99 yards for a score against Shippensburg in 2017, a span of 53 games.
 
Mercyhurst added a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining to account for the final points of the afternoon. Kutztown's 33-point victory is its largest in six all-time meetings with the Lakers and the Bears have now put up 97 points in the last two meetings after last year's 50-31 win in Erie.
 
Novak was strong in his second straight start, going 12-of-20 for 315 yards and two TDs. Davis-McNeil was one of three backs garnering 10 or more carries and turned his into 56 yards. Jordan Davis (Franklin, N.J./Saint Joseph Metuchen) ran 14 times for 47 yards and Steven Burkhardt (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) 10 for 39, while Novak finished with 45 yards rushing. Davis-McNeil entered the game needing just four yards to reach 2,000 and sits at 2,052 after Saturday's performance. He is 29 yards away from entering the program's top 10 in career rushing yards.
 
Altogether, the Bears picked up 193 yards on the ground and 315 through the air, eclipsing 500 yards of total offense for the first time since its win over Slippery Rock in the 2021 PSAC championship game.
 
Gibson, who caught his first career TD pass, put forth a career-high 157 yards on four receptions to lead the receiving corps. Hastie finished with three catches for 74 yards and Sincere Thomas (Bristol, Pa./Harry S. Truman) two for 58.
 
Retter totaled a team-high six tackles and 1.5 sacks to lead the defense. Kam Wolfe (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) added five tackles and a sack, while Jalen Hill (Dover, Del./Dover) had five tackles and a pass breakup. Antuan Lloyd came up with his seventh career interception on the final play of the third quarter.
 
Adam Urena was forced to throw early and often for Mercyhurst. He attempted 45 passes, completing 24 for 279 yards, two scores and an interception. Austin Urena led the Lakers with four catches for 78 yards and Trevon Tate, who didn't play in the first half, secured four catches for 72 yards and a TD. Christian Taylor posted a game-high nine tackles and Anthony Mackey recorded seven tackles and recovered a fumble for the visitors.
 
Kutztown is back on the road next week for a highly anticipated matchup against nationally ranked Shepherd to open PSAC East play. The Golden Bears were victorious in each of their prior trips to Ram Stadium (2019 and 2021). Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
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