Kutztown University Athletics

GREENSBURG, Pa. – The 11th-ranked Kutztown University football team secured its fourth straight double-digit win season by putting up a season-high 547 yards of offense in a 47-7 runaway victory over Seton Hill at Offutt Field Saturday afternoon.
 
Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another score. Jaedyn Stewart (Newfield, N.J./Delsea Regional) put up a season-high 132 rushing yards and a TD for his third 100+ yard performance in the last four games and Noah Kracyla (Townsend, Del./Middletown) had 147 yards receiving and a TD.
 
Kutztown (10-1) flew down the field on its opening possession as Novak hit a wide open Kracyla for 46 yards on the first play from scrimmage. The Bears would eventually settle for a 33-yard field goal from Gavin Pereira (Spotswood, N.J./Spotswood) to take the early lead.
 
Seton Hill picked up three first downs on its opening drive and got inside the KU 30-yard line before Boden St. Marie's pass for Isaiah Cherry fell incomplete on 4th-and-6.
 
Novak led the Golden Bears 72 yards in eight plays behind an 18-yard run of his own and a 31-yard pass to Ty'renne Hynson (Middletown, Del./Middletown). Novak scored on a 6-yard run to push the KU lead to 10-0 with 2:43 remaining in the first.
 
Just over a minute into the second, Luke Maxwell (Estell Manor, N.J./Delsea Regional) trucked a defender on his way into the end zone for a 7-yard TD run as the visitors' advantage grew to 17-0.
 
The Griffins (4-7) scored their only points of the afternoon on a 4-yard TD pass from St. Marie to Reginald Hunter to get back within 17-7 near the midway point of the second but Kutztown would score again going into the half on a 49-yard pass from Novak to Kracyla.
 
Kutztown scored three touchdowns in the third to break the game wide open.
 
Stewart ripped off a 41-yard TD run to make it 31-7 and on the next Seton Hill play, Trey Hamlin III (Townsend, Del./Caravel Academy) intercepted Darrian Carter and returned it 47 yards to the Griffins' 23.
 
The Maroon and Gold needed just three plays to return to the end zone, this time on a 21-yard pass from Novak to Jaimen Bryant (Somerville, N.J./Somerville), to go up 37-7.
 
Craig Miller (Bear, Del./Caravel Academy) ate up 40 yards on the ground during an 11-play, 80-yard drive that took up more than six minutes to close out the third. Novak found tight end Kaden Weaver (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) with a 16-yard TD pass, his third of the day and 99th of his career, to give the Golden Bears a 44-7 advantage.
 
Pereira added a 31-yard field goal in the fourth to conclude the scoring.
 
Kutztown ran for 299 yards and threw for 248 in eclipsing 500 yards of total offense for the first time since last season's NCAA First Round win over Bentley (502).
Stewart averaged 7.3 yards per carry in taking 18 totes for 132 yards. The Newfield, N.J., native upped his career rushing total to 2,454 yards, 42 shy of recent KU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Emn`eko Sweeney for seventh in program history.
 
Brady Collins (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) added seven carries for 58 yards and Miller 10 for 50. The Bears averaged 6.8 yards per carry on 44 attempts as a team.
 
Novak went 9-of-16 for 248 yards, three TDs and two interceptions. Two games removed from a 12-catch, 209-yard breakout at No. 24 East Stroudsburg, Kracyla brought in four receptions for 147 yards. Hynson caught three passes for 64 yards.
 
Kutztown got another balanced effort from its defense, limiting Seton Hill to 241 yards, registering nine tackles for loss and forcing a pair of turnovers.
 
Ty Kephart (Grantville, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) had six tackles, while Eden Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Governor Mifflin) (2.5 TFL) and Trey Lear (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) each had five. Freshman Dave Spinelli (Levittown, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) forced an early fourth-quarter fumble that was recovered by Joey Quinter (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove).
 
Kutztown reached the 10-win mark for the sixth time under head coach Jim Clements and eighth time in program history. The Golden Bears have posted a 47-6 record during their current four-year run of double-digit victories.
 
Saturday's win was also the first for Clements at Seton Hill, giving him victories in all active PSAC stadiums. The Golden Bears and Griffins were meeting for the first time since 2021 and just the second time at Offutt Field in Clements' tenure (2016).
 
The Golden Bears will be in the NCAA Division II playoffs for the fourth consecutive season when the full 32-team bracket is announced during the NCAA Selection Show tomorrow evening (Sunday, Nov. 15) at 6 p.m., at NCAA.com. Kutztown is likely to host at least a first-round game next Saturday, Nov. 21.

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