Kutztown University defeated then-No. 4 Slippery Rock 31-7 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship Game on Nov. 11 to capture its second conference title in three years.
Three weeks later, the two teams will meet again in the NCAA Division II football quarterfinals with even more at stake.
The third-seeded Golden Bears (11-2) will play at The Rock (12-1), the No. 4 seed, on Saturday at noon in the Super Region One final.
“This is everything we sacrificed for and everything we worked for and it’s right in front of us,” said linebacker Kam Wolfe, a Gov. Mifflin graduate. “We manifested all of this.”
Despite being the higher seed, the Golden Bears will be on the road because Slippery Rock put in a bid to the NCAA to host a quarterfinal game and Kutztown did not. Kutztown released a statement regarding the matter on Sunday before providing further comment in a Reading Eagle story published Wednesday.
“It’s a huge opportunity for the university and this football team and we’re just going to run with it wherever we’re at,” Wolfe said. “We just want to keep playing ball.”
Saturday will mark the Golden Bears’ second appearance in the quarterfinals in program history. They lost to Shepherd 30-28 in a 2021 quarterfinal at Andre Reed Stadium.
“It’s awesome, especially for the guys that were here in 2021,” Kutztown coach Jim Clements said. “That was a heart-breaker.”
Shepherd scored the game-winning touchdown on a Hail Mary as time expired, preventing the Golden Bears from reaching the Final Four for the first time. Two years later, Wolfe and his fellow veteran teammates who played in that game are grateful for another chance to make history.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Wolfe said. “For all the players that were ahead of us, that really taught us a lot and really sacrificed before us and led the way, this is definitely for them, too.”
After starting the season 0-2, unranked Kutztown has won 11 straight games, tying a program record for wins in a season. Five of those victories have come by seven points or fewer, including a 32-31 win over second-seeded Charleston in the second round of the playoffs last week.
“When you don’t have any room for error, it gives an extra sense of urgency,” Clements said. “That’s fared well for us and that’s what the playoffs are (about).”
After defeating The Rock, the PSAC West champions, in the PSAC title game, the Golden Bears beat sixth-seeded Virginia Union 38-14 in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs. Kutztown followed that with a comeback win over Charleston, scoring 15 unanswered points in the final four minutes.
“Our guys never quit,” Clements said. “They never get too high, they never get too low.”
Led by Wolfe and fellow linebacker Tyler Whary, the Kutztown defense has allowed just 15.31 points per game this season, the ninth-fewest in Division II. As a team, the Golden Bears average 3.77 penalties per game, the third-fewest.
Whary was named to the Division 2 Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Super Region One first team on Thursday along with punter Nate Millard, a Daniel Boone graduate. Offensive guard Adam Kase, a Conrad Weiser graduate, was named to the second team.
“We’re going to have to be on our ‘A’ game, all game,” Wolfe said. “We’re just going to have to be the most physical team and the most disciplined team.”
In its meeting with Slippery Rock three weeks ago, Kutztown took a 17-0 lead in the first half. The Golden Bears forced three interceptions and did not commit a turnover in the game.
“If we can score on those guys early, that’s definitely advantageous for us,” Clements said. “Also, turnovers are huge.”
Kutztown running back Darryl Davis-McNeil opened the scoring with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter of the victory. In the last three games, the graduate student has run for 343 yards and four touchdowns — including 146 yards and two touchdowns against Slippery Rock — on 67 carries.
“It’s important for us to be consistent early, get after them early and make them uncomfortable,” said Whary, an Upper Perkiomen graduate. “If they are uncomfortable, it puts us in a good position.”
The Rock opened their playoff run with a 45-14 win over fifth-seeded East Stroudsburg in the first round before defeating top-seeded Tiffin 45-35 in the second round last week. In addition to the 90 points, No. 15 Slippery Rock recorded 980 yards of total offense — including 506 yards on the ground — in its last two games.
“We can’t turn the ball over and we got to tackle better,” Clements said. “This team has run the ball really well as of late.”
The Rock’s 42.8 points per game ranks eighth and its 463.6 yards per game ranks ninth in Division II. Slippery Rock’s loss in the PSAC Championship Game marked only time this season in which it was held below 28 points.
“We got a good feel for them,” Clements said. “We’ve played them a bunch, so it’s nothing new.”
The Rock quarterback Brayden Long ranks sixth in Division II in passing yards with 3,486 and fifth in touchdown passes with 35. The junior has thrown just five interceptions in 13 games.
“We just want to make them uncomfortable,” Wolfe said. “Take away their key players.”
With a trip to the Final Four at stake, the Golden Bears are eager for the opportunity to face Slippery Rock in another postseason game.
“It doesn’t get old,” Whary said. “These big games, we live for them around here.”
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