KUTZTOWN, PA.
(August 24, 2009) –
The Kutztown University football team begins its 2009 season
with a seven-hour, 372-mile trip to Saint Anselm College on
Saturday August 29 for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at Grappone Stadium
in Manchester (NH).
(CLICK HERE TO READ THE GAME NOTES)
The game will be broadcast live on WEEU (830-AM)
based out of Reading with Josh Leiboff and Steve Hahn calling
all of the action. In addition, listeners throughout the world
can also hear the game live on KU’s website at www.kubears.com.
The pre-game show will begin 15 minutes before kickoff.
This is the second consecutive year these schools
are playing each other in the season-opening contest. Kutztown
defeated Saint Anselm, 35-0, last year at University Field in
the first-ever meeting between the two teams. It was Kutztown’s
first shutout in five years.
Kutztown is 2-1 in season openers under fourth
year coach Raymond Monica. The Golden Bears, who have scored 30
or more in their last two season-opening games, will try to
start consecutive seasons with victories for the first time
since they won three straight from 2001-03.
Kutztown won four of its final six games to
finish the 2008 season with a 5-6 record. The Golden Bears
finished fourth in the rugged PSAC East division with a 4-3
conference record. Kutztown’s strong finish earned some national
attention when it was mentioned in the Sporting News College
Football magazine as a team to watch. The four PSAC East
conference victories tied a school record established in 2001.
The Golden Bears, who were picked sixth in the
PSAC East preseason poll, return a pair of first team all-PSAC
East selections in senior running back Dontay Wilson
(Stamford, CT/Stamford) and junior kick returner Kendell
Coleman (Philadelphia, PA/Martin Luther King). Senior
quarterback Shane Martin (New Holland, PA/Garden Spot)
returns to direct the offense. Senior defensive back Mike
Gardier (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore), who anchors the defense, was
a second team all-PSAC East selection last year. Overall,
Kutztown returns 46 letterwinners from last year.
Wilson, who enters the season with 1,439 career
yards, led the PSAC East in yards per carry (7.4) and rushed for
100 or more yards five times, including a career-high 162 yards
along with two touchdowns against Saint Anselm in the
season-opening victory. Martin also had a memorable effort
against the Eagles by completing 20-of-23 passes for 240 yards.
Coleman was selected as a preseason all-PSAC first team
specialist by D2football.com magazine.
Meanwhile, Saint Anselm College, coming off of a
2-8 season, was picked eighth in the nine-team Northeast-10
Conference preseason poll, ahead of the University of New Haven,
which reinstated football this season.
The Eagles
under
second-year coach Patrick Murphy welcomes nearly 50 freshmen to
the program to compliment a solid group of returners from last
season, including 2008 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year and
quarterback Marc Wilson (Farmington, CT/Bridgton
Academy). Wilson, who was also named the ECAC Division
II Rookie of the Year, became Saint Anselm's first 1,000-yard
rusher as he ended the year with a school-record 1,134 yards on
a record 270 rushing attempts.
In addition to Wilson, the returning group is
also led by senior linebacker Dan Bohenek (Bridgewater,
MA/Rockland), who led the team in tackles with 91 and
has been named as a Consensus Draft Service (CDS) Preseason
Honorable Mention All-American. Junior running back Joe
Tran (Quincy, MA/Archbishop Williams) led Saint Anselm
in rushing last season with 389 yards on 84 carries.
This is the first of two straight road games to
begin the season for Kutztown. Next week, the Golden Bears visit
Clarion for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday September 5, 2009
while Saint Anselm remains home to host Plymouth State beginning
at 1:00 p.m.
--KU--
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