The Golden Bears (10-1 overall) added another awesome accolade to a fantastic year by finishing with double-digit victories for the first time in the 95-season history of the KU football program. Kutztown also punched its ticket to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
“This has been a great season and I am proud of everybody from the assistant coaches to the players,” Kutztown head football coach Raymond Monica said. “It’s a great win for the University, the borough of Kutztown and the surrounding area. We are grateful for all of their support this season. To accomplish something that has never been done in Kutztown football history is unbelievable and remarkable.”
Victory and wasn’t secured until Alex DiNolfi intercepted his second pass of the game with six seconds remaining.
Kutztown will find out its opening opponent when the selections and pairings are announced on ESPN News Sunday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Kutztown was ranked third in the latest NCAA Division II Super Region One rankings entering the game. The two teams ahead of KU, No. 1 Shepherd and No. 2 Bloomsburg each lost Saturday so that means the Golden Bears could earn a first-round bye if they finish as one of the top two teams in the final Super Region One rankings.
However, the rankings and playoffs weren’t on the immediate minds of the Golden Bears after Gannon (6-5) rallied from a 27-3 third quarter deficit to throw a super-sized scare into KU. However, the Golden Bear defense came through when it mattered and stopped Gannon three times in the final eight minutes to preserve its 27-24 advantage.
Kutztown players high-fived, hugged and celebrated after the final buzzer sounded. Keith Massey and Joel Irwin gave Monica a well-deserved Gatorade bath by dousing him with water from the orange cooler. Being with its season-opening win over Saint Anselm to the end of Saturday’s thriller, this year has been one memorable ride for the Golden Bears.
“Coming into the season, all I wanted to do was finish with a winning record,” Kutztown senior defensive back Jay McKnight said. “I didn’t care about personal stats. We battled through so much adversity this season and we stuck together. I am so happy right now. To be a part of the first Kutztown team to win 10 games and go to the playoffs is amazing. I am really speechless.”
After allowing a season-high 61 points last week to Bloomsburg, the Golden Bear defense stood tall for much of the afternoon. They limited the Golden Knights to three points in the opening half. In addition, Kutztown forced Gannon to punt on its first three possessions of the game. The Golden Bears forced three turnovers. Greg Rotkowski finished with a sack along with team-high 13 tackles.
Rotkowski was one of three players to finish with double-digit tackles for Kutztown. Khalief Evans and McKnight had 11 tackles each for the Golden Bears. Gannon did most of its damage after Kutztown constructed a 27-3 lead five minutes into the second half.
“This season has been like living a dream,” Rotkowski said. “This is crazy and we’ve had fun every week. We know there may be teams out there that may have more talent than us, but we have great chemistry, are resilient and we all look out for each other. That has helped us this season. I can’t even put into words what it means to finish with 10 wins.”
Sophomore quarterback Kevin Morton, a Harlon Hill nominee, fired a pair of touchdown passes to extend his consecutive game streak of at least one TD toss to 16. Morton completed 23-for-32 passes for 288 yards. Morton has 34 touchdown passes this season.
Juniors Erik Frazier and Josh Smith finished with over 100 receiving yards. Smith caught eight passes for 105 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown catch that gave the Golden Bears a 27-3 bulge with 10:45 remaining in the third quarter. Frazier had five catches for 111 yards.
Frazier and Smith combined for the offensive play of the game for Kutztown in the first quarter.
After punting on its first two drives, Kutztown faced a third-and-10 from its 26-yard line. Morton eluded pressure and received a nice block from one of his offensive lineman, which gave him an extra three seconds to find Frazier over the middle with a short pass. Frazier did the rest as he turned the catch into a 70-yard gain that set up KU’s first touchdown, a 4-yard Kendell Coleman run. During the play, Smith made a big block that enabled Frazier to pick up an additional 20 yards.
The Golden Bears added to their lead by scoring twice in the second quarter. Colby Tuell caught a 5-yard touchdown pass and Josh Mastromatto a 4-yard touchdown run. The Golden Bears led 20-3 at intermission.
Gannon picked up its play in the second half behind quarterback Zach Boedicker, who was a thorn in the side of Kutztown. Boedicker, the reigning PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week, finished with 106 rushing yards and 276 passing yards. Tyler Batts led Gannon with eight catches. He had 94 yards on the ground. Geoff Hicks caught a 20-yard touchdown pass with 12:06 remaining in the fourth quarter that pulled the Golden Knights to within, 27-24.
That was as close as Gannon would get as Kutztown’s defense buckled down and made plays. Gannon’s final three possessions of the fourth quarter ended with a punt, failed fourth down conversion and DiNolfi’s diving interception.
Now, the Golden Bears will have an opportunity to create more memories in a season that will extend beyond the last game for the first time. At some point during this enthralling and enchanted season everybody made a key play that contributed to each of the 10 wins.
From Frazier to scoring the first touchdown of the year, McKnight intercepting a pair of passes in the fourth quarter against Shippensburg to Coleman’s electrifying 78-yard punt return for a score against Mercyhurst and to Morton’s five-touchdown performance against West Chester, Kutztown treated its fans to plenty of excitement.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing football,” Rotkowski said. “We are looking forward to the next part of our season. It’s nice to know that we accomplished things that had never been done before. We’ve been focused since training camp and now we get an opportunity to participate in the playoffs. This is definitely exciting.”
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