KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Kutztown University football team overcame three one-score deficits and held visiting IUP to six points in the second half to win its third consecutive PSAC Championship Game, 28-23, Saturday afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium.
 
Kutztown is the first program to win three straight PSAC title games since Slippery Rock accomplished the feat between 1972-74. The State Game was played from 1960-87 before returning in 2008.
 
The Golden Bears (11-0), who have held the top spot in each of the last two NCAA Super Region One rankings releases, also earned the PSAC's automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Division II Championship tournament. The full 32-team field will be revealed during the selection show tomorrow night (Sunday, Nov. 16) at 6 p.m., on NCAA.com.
 
IUP (7-3) held three first half leads before Kutztown went in front for good on the opening drive of the second half.
 
Quarterback Matthew Rueve entered the game as the PSAC leader in passing yards (2,812) and touchdowns (28). He worked the Crimson Hawks down the field quickly on their opening drive and found Jeremiah Coleman for a 26-yard TD to put IUP ahead 7-0 less than three minutes in.
 
KU responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive, knotting the score on a 12-yard TD pass from Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) to Trevor Amorim (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) in the back left corner of the end zone.
 
The offensive fireworks took a break until the second quarter when Rueve connected with one of his top targets, Devin Whitlock, for an 8-yard TD pass that restored the Crimson Hawks' seven-point edge with 6:46 remaining in the first half.
 
Shortly after crossing midfield, Kutztown faced a 4th-and-2 from the IUP 45-yard line. Noah Kracyla (Townsend, Del./Middletown) fought off pass interference from an IUP defensive back to come down with a 25-yard catch from Novak to keep the drive alive. Novak added a huge 11-yard run on 3rd-and-10, and Steven Burkhardt (Gloucester City, N.J./Gloucester City) was escorted to the end zone by his offensive line one play later for a 9-yard TD run that knotted the game at 14 with 1:23 left in the half.
 
Nick Andrasi converted a 50-yard field goal with 20 seconds to go, sending IUP to the break with a 17-14 lead. The Crimson Hawks became the first team to lead KU at the break this season.
 
The Maroon and Gold came out on a different level in the second half. Chunk passes to Lenniek Preston (Wilmington, Del./Conrad) (26 yards) and Kracyla (21 yards) had KU quickly knocking on the door of a score.
 
Novak waited for IUP defensive back Kalen Frazier to pull off Burkhardt and delivered a 6-yard TD pass at the last possible moment before taking a hit to give Kutztown its first lead of the afternoon, 21-17, with 11:11 remaining in the third.
 
Early in the fourth, the Bears gained some much-needed breathing room when Luke Maxwell (Estell Manor, N.J./Delsea Regional) bowled across the goal line from one yard out to make it 28-17.
 
IUP got within 28-23 when Coleman caught his second touchdown of the day off a deflection in the end zone. The Crimson Hawks went for two to try and make it a 3-point game but their variation of the "Philly Special" was well defended by KU and Whitlock's pass to Rueve fell incomplete.
 
Kutztown put NCAA Division II's second ranked defense on display throughout the final quarter. Championship Game Most Valuable Player Brayden Pohlman (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Mainland Regional) sacked Rueve for a 6-yard loss and stuffed Tavion Banks for a 3-yard loss on 4th-and-1 from the IUP 28 with under two minutes remaining to seal the victory for the Bears.
 
Pohlman finished with two sacks, four tackles for loss and five tackles (four solo) overall. Brandon Hile (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove), Eden Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Governor Mifflin), Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) and Lawron Short (West Chester, Pa./Great Valley) also had sacks as the KU defense got to Rueve six times. Hile had a team-high seven tackles (six solo).
 
In a very evenly played game, Kutztown held a slight 311-283 edge in total offense. The Golden Bears completely took away IUP's ground game, which finished with -12 yards on 18 attempts.
 
Burkhardt ran 22 times for 107 yards and scored two TDs, one rushing and one receiving. Kracyla had six catches for a game-high 98 yards and Novak was 14-of-23 for 188 yards and two TDs.
 
Kutztown improved to 3-10-1 all-time against IUP. The Golden Bears have won three of their last four against the Crimson Hawks dating back to 2014. Saturday's matchup was the first between the schools since 2021 and their first-ever meeting in the PSAC Championship Game.
 
The Golden Bears have won four PSAC Championship Games in the last five seasons and improved to 5-3 all-time in the game with titles in 2011, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
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