Box Score
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Kutztown had a pair of running backs rush for over 130 yards each as the 16th-ranked Golden Bears ran to a 24-0 shutout over host West Chester inside John A. Farrell Stadium Saturday afternoon during a driving snowstorm blanketing the Northeast.
Robbie Frey and Josh Mastromatto split 42 carries evenly with Frey going for 154 yards and a score, and Mastromatto getting 132 yards to lead a ground attack that racked up 322 of the Bears 380 total yards of offense. With Mother Nature neutralizing the PSAC’s most efficient passer, Kutztown turned to its ground game, led by Frey, who entered the game as the conference’s fourth-leading rusher.
Kutztown quarterback Kevin Morton opened the scoring four minutes into the game when he ran 37 yards right up the middle on a draw to put the visitors on top, 7-0. Jack Ruggieri then nailed his first field goal of the season in the final minute of the opening quarter as Kutztown (8-1, 5-1 PSAC East) took a 10-0 lead after 15 minutes in the snow and freezing rain.
Colby Tuell hauled in a 36-yard pass from Morton with 9:27 left in the first half to extend Kutztown’s lead to 17 heading into the locker room. Frey won a race to the corner of the end zone from 15 yards out with just under six minutes to go in the third quarter to close out the scoring.
The Golden Rams (4-5, 3-3) were held to 64 yards rushing in the game and threw a pair of interceptions. It marked the first time that a Division II school, and a PSAC institution at that, shut out West Chester since October 2000 when Millersville beat the Rams, 6-0. That year was also the last time that Kutztown shut out West Chester.
Ronell Williams, making his first collegiate start at inside linebacker, registered a career-high 13 tackles defensively for the Rams. He also recovered a fumble on the second play from scrimmage and was credited with a QB hurry. Kyle O’Neill, who forced that fumble by Mastromatto, registered nine tackles, including two for a loss.
Rondell White led West Chester in rushing with 43 yards on 12 carries. Matt Carroll, who was 2-for-7 for 26 yards, ran for 17 yards on 13 carries. Sean McCartney went 10-for-20 for 67 yards with a pair of interceptions in relief of Carroll in the second half. Tim Keyser and Jackson Fagan each caught four passes.
Kutztown piled up 24 first downs to West Chester’s nine. The Bears move into a three-way tie for first place with the win, following C.W. Post’s upset over No. 2 Bloomsburg Saturday. Kutztown hosts Bloomsburg next Saturday.
West Chester travels to Millersville Saturday for its final road contest of the 2011 campaign.
