Kutztown University football looks to claim outright PSAC East title with win over West Chester

Nov. 2—Kutztown University will look to capture the outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East title in football with a victory on Saturday.

The Golden Bears, who already have clinched a share of the title and a berth in the PSAC title game, will play at West Chester at noon in a PSAC East finale.

"It means a lot to the team," team captain and senior running back Jordan Davis said. "We're still motivated to beat West Chester this week."

Kutztown (6-0, 7-2) is one game ahead of second-place East Stroudsburg (5-1, 8-1) in the PSAC East. The Golden Bears need a victory or a Warriors loss on Saturday to claim the outright division championship. ESU plays at Shepherd (5-2, 7-2).

"We don't want to share the East," said senior offensive lineman Adam Kase, a Conrad Weiser graduate. "We want to keep it to us."

Thanks to its win over East Stroudsburg in September, Kutztown holds the tiebreaker over the Warriors. The Golden Bears beat Millersville last week to clinch a spot in the PSAC Championship Game for the first time since 2021, when they won the title. They will host Slippery Rock on Nov. 11 at noon.

"It's awesome," Kutztown coach Jim Clements said. "It's one of our goals every year is to get an opportunity to win the East and get a chance to play for the championship."

Saturday's game against the Golden Rams (3-3, 5-4) also has implications for the NCAA Division II playoffs, as the Golden Bears are ranked No. 7 in Super Region One. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason.

"It's important," Clements said. "Once you get to a three-loss situation, it's tough sledding."

West Chester knocked Kutztown out of the postseason a year ago, handing the Golden Bears their third loss in Week 10. This time around, Kutztown is poised to earn a different result.

"They took something from us last year (and) they have the opportunity to take something from us this year," Davis said. "That's what's keeping us motivated."

After starting the season 0-2, the Golden Bears won seven straight. Four of those victories have been decided by seven points or less.

"We worked pretty hard throughout the last seven weeks," Davis said. "We knew what our end goal was, and that was to get back to the PSAC Championship (Game) and claim the East."

Kutztown's run of success has largely been a product of its defensive performance. The Golden Bears have allowed 14.4 points per game and 249.1 yards per game, both of which are the fewest in the conference.

"The kids are playing hard," Clements said. "We've gotten better in the red zone."

On offense, the Golden Bears have scored 20 or fewer points in six of their nine games this season, including their last three. Kutztown ranks 10th in the 16-team PSAC in yards per game and 11th in scoring.

As they head into the most important part of their season, the Golden Bears know they must improve on offense.

"We got to block better," Clements said. "We got to be more aggressive. We've got to do a better job of setting our guys up for success."