No. 12 West Chester Clinches PSAC East With 38-21 Win Over No. 15 Kutztown

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - R-Jr, QB A.J. Long (Bethlehem, Pa./Friendship Christian [Tenn.]) threw three touchdown passes while rushing for a game-high 122 yards to lead 12th-ranked West Chester (8-0, 5-0 PSAC East) to a 38-21 victory over No. 15 Kutztown at Andre Reed Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
West Chester (8-0, 5-0 PSAC East) clinched at least a tie for the PSAC Eastern Division title and will represent the East in the PSAC Championship Game for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons. Kutztown (7-1, 4-1) saw its 10-game winning streak, dating back to last season, come to a close.
 
The Golden Rams will play Slippery Rock, who was a 44-21 winner over California (Pa.) Saturday, in the State Game on Nov. 10. Both road teams won the defacto PSAC semifinal matchups Saturday.
 
With Kutztown leading 13-10 and driving to the edge of the red zone with eight minutes left in the second half, the Rams' sixth-ranked defense in Division II answered the bell. West Chester forced a pair of fumbles on consecutive plays, each recovered by the visitors and turned into 14 points, deflected a pass that was nearly intercepted, and then sacked KU quarterback, Collin DiGalbo, to end the first half with a 24-13 lead.
 
Those four consecutive Kutztown offensive plays seemed to shift momentum to the Purple & Gold for the final 30 minutes.
 
"That sequence was the difference in the game for sure," WCU head coach Bill Zwaan said afterwards. "We were back on our heels a bit, and then we got that fumble at our 20, which was just huge."
 
Jarey Elder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) forced the first fumble on a completed pass at the Golden Rams' 20-yard line that Jordan Burney (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop Egan) jumped on. Reserve QB Paul Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside-Chestnut Hill) turned that into seven points on a 27-yard TD pass to Cody Boozel (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) with three minutes left in the half.
 
Following the kickoff, DiGalbo was sacked on the first play of Kutztown's ensuing drive and fumbled. Nate Barnes (Carlisle Pa./Carlisle) jumped on that loose ball at the KU 38-yard line. Long came back in and engineered a drive down to the 1-yard line where Marcus Wilson (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) dove over to make it a 24-13 game with :36 left in the first half.
 
DiGalbo threw an incomplete pass and then was sacked to run out the clock in the first half.
 
"Early in the game, he was comfortable," Zwaan described. "We needed to change that, and I think we did. To get five sacks on a team that had only allowed eight sacks on the season shows what a great job our defense did up front."
 
West Chester, leading the nation in sacks entering the game, pushed its season total to 40 through eight games. The Golden Rams' stop unit added five QB hurries, six pass breakups and a pair of fumbles to those five sacks and harassed the Bears' offense all afternoon. Sr., All-America LB Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) finished with nine tackles, including one sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Kutztown's all-league RB Craig Reynolds rushed for just 28 yards while the Bears managed just 225 yards of total offense in the game. DiGalbo went 13-for-29 for 171 yards and two TD passes. He authored a 14-play, 73-yard drive to open the third quarter that resulted in the home team's final score. However, that was the last Kutztown drive that featured a first down for the hosts that was not by virtue of a penalty.
 
"(The team) was focused all week long," Zwaan added. "Right after the East Stroudsburg game ended, everybody was thinking about this game. Every so often you play one of those games where the coaching staff doesn't have to do too much. The kids knew what they wanted to do and had the confidence to get it done.
 
"Our coaches on both sides of the ball put together a game plan, and the kids carried it out to perfection."
 
Long rushed for 133 yards on 22 carries and went 10-for-17 through the air with three TDs and no interceptions. Dooley went 3-for-4 with a TD toss of his own in his first action of the 2018 campaign.
 
Mark Dukes (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) rushed the ball 15 times for 81 yards. He scored the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter that put West Chester on top, 7-0, when he caught a 13-yard pass from Long. WR Gabe Shappell (Reading, Pa./Exeter) caught three passes for 28 yards and his first career touchdown to lead all receivers.
 
West Chester finally returns home after a month away from the friendly confines of Farrell Stadium to take on Lock Haven on Homecoming and Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Check the West Chester University athletics official web site for tailgating information and the University official web site for Homecoming information.