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Berks high school graduates help power Kutztown University football to first Final Four appearance

Matthew Knaub, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·5 min read

Dec. 6—With its win over Slippery Rock in an NCAA Division II football quarterfinal last Saturday, Kutztown University clinched a berth in the Final Four for the first time in program history.

In the hours following the victory, Golden Bears offensive guard and Conrad Weiser graduate Adam Kase received message after message congratulating him and his teammates on the win.

Some of the messages were from Kase's former youth football teammates who he played with in "Little Scouts" more than 10 years ago, displaying the reach of Kutztown's postseason run across Berks and beyond.

"We're the home team," Kase said. "It's larger than just the school itself. It's great to represent everyone and just have everybody rooting for us."

Kase, one seven Berks high school graduates on the roster, and the fourth-seeded Golden Bears (12-2) will play at top-seeded Colorado School of Mines (13-0) in a national semifinal in Golden, Colorado, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

"It's definitely awesome," said senior linebacker Kam Wolfe, a Gov. Mifflin graduate. "Love to represent where we come from and our university."

While it is the Golden Bears' first appearance in the Final Four, it is also the first time they will play west of the Mississippi River. Kutztown is scheduled to fly to Colorado on Thursday, marking the first time the program will travel to a game via airplane.

"You grow up, you look at all the big Division I programs, they're doing these things," said Kase, a senior. "Now we're experiencing this and it's awesome. It's what you grow up hoping that you could do."

After starting 0-2, the Golden Bears have won 12 straight games and set a program record for victories in a season. Five of those victories have come over ranked opponents, another program record.

"Everyone doubted us," Wolfe said. "A lot of people wrote us off."

Kutztown won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East with a 7-0 record. The Golden Bears beat PSAC West champion and the-fourth-ranked Slippery Rock 31-7 in the PSAC Championship Game on Nov. 11 to earn their second conference title in three seasons and first victory over a top-five team in program history.

"That's when I think it really clicked in my brain that we're really taking this thing far," said punter and kicker Nate Millard, a Daniel Boone graduate and a sophomore. "We took our opportunity and ran with it."

Kutztown opened the NCAA playoffs with a 38-14 win over No. 13 Virginia Union before defeating No. 24 Charleston (W.Va.) 32-31 in the second round. The Golden Bears scored 15 unanswered points in the final four minutes to earn the victory over the Golden Eagles.

"We just kept growing and growing and getting tighter and tighter," Kase said. "That's a huge part of this year — this is the best family atmosphere we've had on the team since I've been here."

Kutztown defeated Slippery Rock for the second time last Saturday, beating The Rock, ranked 15th in the nation, 28-16 to capture the Super Region One title. The Golden Bears held the Slippery Rock offense to just two touchdowns on seven trips to the red zone.

"It's good to show who we really are," Millard said. "It doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish."

Millard has made a major impact on special teams for Kutztown. An All-PSAC East first-team selection at punter, he ranks 10th in Division II at 43.34 yards per punt and has dropped 12 punts inside the 20-yard line.

On kickoffs, Millard has 31 touchbacks on 70 attempts. While is not the Golden Bears' primary placekicker, he is also 1-for-1 on field goal attempts this season.

"It means everything," Millard said. "To be in the Final Four is huge, especially for the first time for this program."

Wolfe, a team captain, ranks third among Kutztown players with 74 tackles and eight tackles for loss. His two interceptions are tied for the second-most on the team and he was named to the All-PSAC East second team.

"Our team knew what we had," Wolfe said. "We faced a lot of adversity."

Kase is an All-PSAC East first-team selection and has led an offensive line that has allowed 17 sacks. A unit that seldom gets called for holding, Kutztown's 3.71 penalties per game are the third-fewest in Division II.

"Everybody is here to play for one another," Kase said. "It's not playing for a championship, it's not playing for a win, it's playing for everybody else around you, and I think that's the biggest reason why we're doing so well."

Linebacker Eden Johnson, a Gov. Mifflin graduate, had a pivotal fumble recovery in the second quarter of the victory over Slippery Rock. The redshirt freshman has appeared in all 14 games this season.

Fellow linebacker and Gov. Mifflin graduate Brandon Strausser, a redshirt sophomore, has appeared in 13 games this season.

Defensive linemen J.J. Jackson, a redshirt freshman and Wyomissing grad, and Charles Sheppard, a freshman and Hamburg grad, are also on the roster.

"We're homegrown," Wolfe said. "We're guys that have been built."

As the Golden Bears prepare for their Final Four appearance, they are eager to play for their university and in some cases, their home community.

"Getting Berks County on the map is crazy," Millard said. "Berks County football is small but I think we're representing it well now, especially at the college level."