KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Third-ranked Kutztown University's record-setting 2025 season came to a close in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Football Championship with a 49-27 setback against No. 2 Harding University (Ark.) on Saturday evening at Andre Reed Stadium.
Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, and utilized his legs for 137 yards rushing and a 74-yard TD run.
Rich Paczewski (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) had a career-high six catches for 113 yards and two TDs, while
Trevor Amorim (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) brought in three catches for 50 yards and a score.
Harding's (15-0) flexbone offense proved tough to contain for yet another opponent. The Bisons ran for 389 yards on 47 attempts (8.3 yards per carry) and scored on seven of their first eight possessions, with the lone non-scoring drive being a kneel down at the end of the first half.
Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Andrew Miller rushed 23 times for a game-high 157 yards and four touchdowns, sending Harding through to next Saturday's national championship game against top-seeded Ferris State in McKinney, Texas. The Bisons are back in the national title game for the second time in three seasons after capturing the 2023 crown.
Miller's backfield mate, Braden Jay, ran for 120 yards and a TD on eight carries. Both players scored on runs of 70 yards or longer with Jay breaking off a 70-yard TD run in the third and Miller going 73 yards to paydirt in the fourth.
The Bisons build a 21-0 lead before Kutztown (14-1) got on the board late in the first half. Novak hit Paczewski near the left front pylon for a 26-yard TD catch with 26 seconds left to make it a 21-7 game.
KU got the ball to start the second half and drove to the Harding 35-yard line before Josh Gatlin intercepted Novak and returned the ball 70 yards to the Golden Bears' 8. Four plays later, quarterback Cole Keylon plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out for his second TD of the game and a 28-7 advantage.
Novak fought right back from his first interception of the season with a 74-yard TD run on Kutztown's very next play. It was the redshirt junior's second 70+ yard TD run in the postseason following a 78-yarder against Assumption in the second round. The PAT was no good and the Bears trailed 28-13.
Unfortunately, any momentum KU hoped to gain was quickly extinguished when Jay went 70 yards to the house on Harding's next offensive play to make it 35-13.
Harding went up 49-13 on TD runs of two yards and 73 yards by Miller before Novak threw touchdowns to Amorim (39 yards) and Paczewski (25 yards) on KU's final two possessions to close the gap to 49-27.
The Golden Bears moved the ball, outgaining Harding 453-409 in the game. The Bisons featured the top scoring defense (9.6 ppg) and total defense (249.2 ypg) in the nation. Two other drives for Kutztown nearly ended in touchdowns, but Curtis Jackson broke up Novak's fourth-down pass for
Lenniek Preston (Wilmington, Del./Conrad) in the end zone early in the second quarter and Josh Gatlin knocked down a third-down pass for
Noah Kracyla (Townsend, Del./Middletown) early in the fourth.
Kutztown played host to a national semifinal game for the first time in the program's 109-season history. The Golden Bears ended the season with new school records for victories (14), consecutive victories (14) and points scored (645), while winning their third consecutive PSAC East and PSAC championships, and their second Super Region 1 title in program history.
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