No. 22 West Chester Falls At Home To No. 17 Kutztown, 30-17

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - No. 22-ranked West Chester University football lost a pivotal game to No. 17 Kutztown University, 30-17, on Saturday afternoon at John A. Farrell Stadium.
 
With the loss, the Golden Rams (7-2 overall, 6-2 PSAC) fall to third place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East standing with a 4-2 divisional record, erasing their chances at back-to-back conference titles. However, West Chester can potentially advance to the NCAA Playoffs for the third year in a row as its regular season schedule concludes with a road game at Lock Haven University on Saturday at 1 p.m. and a home contest against California University (Pa.) on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.
 
The Golden Bears (9-0, 7-0) had the only score in the first quarter on Saturday.  Their drive started on West Chester's 38-yard line after a short punt went out of bounds. On the second play, Abdul-Hassan Neblett scored a 37-yard rushing touchdown.
 
West Chester hogged the ball for the next 7:43, ultimately getting on the board with a 38-yard Andrew Chegia (Morton, Pa. / Springfield-Delco) field goal. The 55-yard drive included 17 plays.
 
Kutztown received the ensuing kickoff but coughed up the ball two plays later as sophomore Sterlen Barr (Hartboro, Pa. / Upper Moreland) forced a fumble that freshman Shamar Edwards (North Wales, Pa. / North Penn) recovered. West Chester ultimately turned the ball over on downs on Kutztown's 24-yard line.
 
KU pulled away by scoring on each of its next three drives to close out the half leading 23-3. It started when Diego Torres took a pass from Collin DiGalbo 63 yards to the house with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Dean Krcic made a  35-yard field goal with 3:09 to go. And with the use of some time outs, the Golden Bears gained possession with 1:38 left in the first half and broke it open as Neblett scored his second touchdown of the day on a one-yard carry to complete a five-play drive.
 
West Chester didn't give up and scored on its first drive of the second half. Senior quarterback Paul Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa. / Springside-Chestnut Hill) carried the ball six yards into the end zone to cap off a 12-play drive that made the score 23-10.
 
Kutztown all but sealed the deal with a 25-yard touchdown pass from DiGalbo to Jerry Kapp that gave the Golden Bears a 20-point lead with 9:16 left in regulation.
 
Still, West Chester did not roll over, and Dooley converted another rushing touchdown. His 11-yard carry made it 30-17, but the West Chester offense only traveled seven yards on its next and final drive.
 
Dooley threw for 227 yards and ran for a team-high 56. Freshman Kenny Edelin (Middletown, Del. / Middletown) led West Chester receivers with six catches for 74 yards. Dooley is up to 450 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on the season, while Edelin has 25 catches and 360 receiving yards.
 
West Chester will try to keep its playoff hopes alive at Lock Haven on Saturday at 1 p.m. before it returns home for Senior Day on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.