Kutztown defeats Slippery Rock to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title in football

Kam Wolfe was at the wheel of the E-Z-GO cart, cruising around the turf with a bunch of his football teammates at Andre Reed Stadium in the celebratory aftermath of Kutztown’s 31-7 victory over Slippery Rock in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship Game.

It was more than appropriate.

Wolfe, a senior linebacker and Gov. Mifflin grad, and the rest of the Golden Bears were in the driver’s seat the whole way Saturday.

Led by a stifling defense, an overpowering running game and efficient play from quarterback Judd Novak, Kutztown dominated against Slippery Rock, which came in as the No. 4 team in the nation in Division II by the AFCA.

“Our kids played awesome,” Kutztown coach Jim Clements said. “We talked all time about you get those opportunities, no matter what we did in the past, it’s really irrelevant. What matters is how we play every snap in this opportunity. You’re not getting it back. We live for these moments. We recruit kids, tell them that this is what it’s going to be, and when it comes to fruition it makes it that much sweeter. It’s huge.”

The conference championship is the Golden Bears’ first since 2021 and third overall. They also beat The Rock in 2021 and 2011.

Those were one-possession games. This one wasn’t close.

KU (9-2) showed why it had the conference’s top-ranked defense. The Golden Bears held Slippery Rock (10-1) to 229 total yards, and 106 of those were in the fourth quarter after the game was decided. The Rock had 182 yards passing and just 47 rushing.

It came in leading the PSAC in scoring offense I46.0), total offense (481.9 yards per game), passing offense (296.2) and rushing offense (185.7).

Slippery Rock didn’t score until 55 seconds remained.

“We were taking away the explosive plays, the downfield plays,” said Wolfe, who tied for a team high with five tackles. “We tried to take away their best players and that’s what we did today. And that’s what we’re gonna keep doing from here on out.”

Slippery Rock quarterback Brayden Long had completed 69.8% of his passes and thrown just two interceptions before Saturday. Against the Golden Bears, he completed 58.6% percent of his passes (27-for-46) and threw three interceptions.

“Oh my gosh, the defense,” said KU running back Darryl Davis-McNeil, who was named title game MVP. “Best in the country. There’s no doubt. Nobody can mess with us. They held the No. 1 offense to seven points. Come on.”

Offensively, Davis-McNeil, a grad student, ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, helping the Golden Bears pile up 275 rushing yards on 50 carries.

“I want to thank God first and then want to thank my offensive linemen, as well,” Davis-McNeil said. “Coming in, in the morning when I woke up, I just knew I had to go hard, just knew that it was all on me. That’s how I felt this morning and I just wanted to show what I could do. I just knew I couldn’t be stopped. Had that mindset.”

Novak, a redshirt freshman, completed 14-of-23 passes for 137 and two TDs. He also ran for 80 yards on 14 carries.

The only real adversity Kutztown faced came early in the game. After forcing a three-and-out on Slippery Rock’s first possession, the Golden Bears drove to a first-and-goal at The Rock 4, but were unable to score.

But KU forced another three-and-out and took over at the Slippery Rock 46 following a 38-yard punt. Eight plays later — including converting a fourth-and-9 thanks to a pass interference penalty — Davis-McNeil scored on a 1-yard run to make it 7-0.

The Golden Bears made it 14-0 on their next drive on a 4-yard pass from Novak to Tyreek Husser.

Slippery Rock responded with its only sustained drive of the first half, but C.J. Brown ended it with an interception of Long in the end zone.

Kutztown made it 17-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Dawson Evitts with 11 seconds left in the first half after Novak ran for 18 yards on a fourth-and-11 from the Slippery Rock 29.

The Golden Bears then all but put it away with an 11-play, 72-yard drive that took 7:12 off the clock to open the second half.

The key play was a 17-yard pass from Novak to Kurtis Ravenal Jr. on fourth-and-12 from the Slippery Rock 33. Novak then hit Mekhi Gibson for a 16-yard TD on the next play to make it 31-0.

“I’m so happy for our seniors,” Clements said. “I’m so happy for the guys in our program. You know, we talked about it, but to see it come to fruition, to see all the hard work, the morning runs, the workouts, everything that they do, it’s vindication. We won the game. It’s huge. It’s great. It’s a great opportunity. I’m proud of these guys.”

The Golden Bears will find out Sunday at 6 p.m. if they have earned a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs. After Saturday’s performance, they could even have a home game.

Those thoughts probably seemed a long way off when Kutztown opened the season 0-2.

“We just wanted it more today,” Wolfe said. “The offense did a great job. Special teams did a great job and defense, we did our thing. We’ve been doing our thing all year. You know, we didn’t start off hot, but it’s not ever how you start, it’s always how you finish. It’s a lot of fun for today. But we’re right back to work. I mean, we’re ready to go.”