 |
| Kevin Bolinsky brings down
Rock quarterback Rocco Colavecchia during a dominant
defensive performance Saturday night. |
KUTZTOWN, PA. (September 12, 2009) –
In a game featuring seven lead changes and plenty of excitement,
the Kutztown University football team dropped a tough 27-24
decision to visiting Slippery Rock in its home opener Saturday
night at University Field, despite torching The Rock’s defense
for 357 yards and controlling most of the game.
Slippery Rock improved its overall
record to 3-0 while Kutztown slipped to 2-1 following the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest
that left fans hoarse.
The Golden Bears' senior running back
Dontay Wilson (Stamford, CT/Stamford) and senior quarterback
Shane Martin (New Holland/Garden Spot) punctured the
PSAC's top-ranked rush defense by combining for 229 of KU’s 242
rushing yards. Overall, the Golden Bears finished with a
season-high 357 yards of total offense. Wilson ran for a
game-high 134 yards on 16 carries. The Rock entered the game
allowing 57 rushing yards through two games.
Defensively, the Golden Bears were
dominant as they held SRU to minus-5 yards of offense after
intermission and 181 yards of total offense for the game. In the
third quarter, Kutztown held the high-powered Rock offense to
minus-16 yards. At times, Kutztown’s defense was suffocating,
with maroon shirted players swarming SRU ballcarriers and
harassing Rock quarterback Rocco Colavecchia into errant throws.
Unfortunately for Kutztown, the
difference in the game was a pair of Golden Bear fourth-quarter
turnovers that SRU used to erase a 24-17 deficit. The final
seven points came courtesy of a Robert Doiley's 36-yard
interception touchdown return with four minutes, 29 seconds
remaining. Making the defeat tougher for Kutztown is the Rock
had the ball for 3 minutes, 22 seconds in the final quarter.
Despite suffering its first defeat of
the season, the Golden Bears had plenty of highlights including
Martin's Jordan-esque leap over 6-foot, 1-inch defender during a
third quarter run. The Golden Bears moved the ball up and down
the field for three quarters and the defense made plenty of
plays. Martin played his best game of the season by throwing two
touchdown passes and rushing for another. Each of his touchdowns
gave KU the lead.
Zach Snyder caught a 7-yard scoring toss
from Martin that gave KU a 14-10 lead with 6:24 remaining in the
half. The Rock rebounded to grab a 17-14 halftime edge. The
second half belonged mainly to Kutztown.
The offensive line of sophomore
Joshua Alger (Sinking Spring/Wilson), sophomore Aaron
McGlynn (Harleysville/Souderton), senior Evan Reese
(Centre Hall/State College), junior Jared Haas (Linglestown/Central
Dauphin) and sophomore Chris Oliver
(Philadelphia/Germantown) opened up gaping holes.
They provided solid pass protection and
gave Martin time to find receivers down the field. The freshman
wide receiver duo of Jake Cahill (Ridley Park/Ridley) and
Chris McCormick (West Chester/West Chester East) made big
catches throughout the game. On the Golden Bears' opening
possession of the second half, McCormick hauled in a 29-yard TD
strike that gave KU a 21-17 advantage just 2:31 into the third
quarter.
Defensively, the KU defense led by the
inspired performances of senior David Cressman (Sellersville/Pennridge),
junior Kevin Bolinsky (Ashland/North Schuylkill), junior
Joel Irwin (Coatesville/Bishop Shanahan), senior Mike
Gardier (Dunmore/Dunmore), junior Jay McKnight
(Reading/Conrad Weiser) and junior Khalief Evans
(Philadelphia/Imhotep Charter), applied pressure on The Rock
offense all night.
Evans led KU with eight tackles, while
Cressman and Irwin finished with seven stops each. The Golden
Bears finished with two sacks and a host of quarterback hurries.
Kutztown defenders shut down Rock
ballcarrier Sayquan Mitchell-Scott. A week after burning
Millersville for 205 yards, Mitchell finished with just 43 yards
on 11 carries.
The Golden Bears can take a wealth of
positives into their game next week against fifth-ranked
Bloomsburg in its PSAC Eastern Division home opener, which
begins at 6:05 p.m. The game can be heard on KUR Radio (88.3
FM/1670 AM). Slippery Rock travels to Edinboro next week in its
PSAC West opener.
--KU--
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