[Kutztown Football] Golden Bears Set to Face Only Non-PSAC Foe of 2005

[Josh Leiboff]

KU Football Fact Sheet #03-2005 - KU vs. S. Connecticut State

Golden Bears Set to Face Only Non-PSAC Foe of 2005 

The Game

      The Kutztown University football team will go outside of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference for the only time in 2005, when the Southern Connecticut State University Owls visit KU.  Kickoff is set for 1:05 PM at University Field.

      The Golden Bears are 0-2 this season, losing a heartbreaking 29-23 decision in four overtimes last Saturday at Clarion.

      Southern Connecticut is 0-1, coming off a 33-24 loss vs. Bentley Friday night.  The Owls were 8-2 in 2004. 

Electronic Coverage

      The game will be broadcast live on WEEU, AM 830, based out of Reading.  Mitch Gerhart and Bob McCool will call the action.  Listeners throughout the world can also hear the broadcast on KU's Website at kubears.com.  The broadcast will begin 15 minutes before kickoff. 

Notable

      The game vs. Clarion was the first multi-overtime game and just the fifth OT game in KU school history...KU is now 0-5 all-time in OT games. 

The Coaches

      Dave Keeny (Kutztown, '82) is in his eighth season as head coach of the Golden Bear football program.  Keeny has a 36-39 career record.  He has the third-most coaching victories in school history.  Keeny has not faced SCSU as a head coach, but is 1-1 against the Owls as an assistant coach.  

      Rick Cavanaugh (American International, '76) is in his 21st season at SCSU.  He holds a 113-91-1 record.  He is 2-2 against KU. 

The Series

      This game will mark the fifth meeting between Kutztown and Southern Connecticut, dating back to 1986.  The series is tied 2-2.  Just one of the five meetings, including this year, has been away from University Field.  The teams have not met since 1996.  That year, the Owls defeated Kutztown, 24-21 in overtime.  The teams first met to start the 1986 season, with KU winning 21-10.  In 1987, the only one at SCSU, the Owls won 30-13.  In 1993, the Golden Bears won 24-14.   

Tracking the Golden Bears

Offense

      Kutztown's offense continued its early-season struggles against Clarion last week.  The Bears managed just 188 yards, including 152 passing and just 36 rushing.  Through two games, the Golden Bears have managed just two drives over 45 yards.  Despite the lack of offensive fireworks, some bright spots were evident vs. Clarion. WR James Brooks (jr. Lancaster/McCaskey) caught nine passes for 66 yards, including a six-yard touchdown catch, KU's only points in overtime.  RB Maurice Adams (so. West Chester/Henderson) doubled his rushing yards from the previous week to 62 on 19 carries.  Offensive tackle Eric Newell (sr. Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic) returned to the lineup after missing the first game recovering from an off-season injury. QB Kyle Spotts (so. Tamaqua/Tamaqua) completed more than half his passes, 21-of-41, for 152 yards and a TD.  He also rushed for a score in the first half.   Spotts, who threw four interceptions in the first game, tossed just one against Clarion.  The pick, however, was a costly one, leading to the Eagles' game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.

      Spotts has passed for 152 yards in each of the first two games, completing 35-of-80 passes.  He has one TD vs. five interceptions.  Brooks is the leading receiver, despite playing one game.  Tony Bria (sr. Warminster/William Tennent), splitting time between running back and receiver, has seven catches for 29 yards.  Adams has five grabs for 37 yards.  WR Mike Zulkowski (jr. Shenandoah/Shenandoah Valley) has three catches for 82 yards.  WR Larry Baumgardner (so. New Oxford/New Oxford) has four catches for 41 yards.  Adams is averaging 46.5 yards per game on 35 carries.  WR Brett Harbach (jr. West Lawn/Wilson) sat out the Clarion game after suffering a leg injury in practice.  

        Making their second straight start were tackles Charlie Kehs (sr. Gilbertsville/Boyertown) and Dustin Woodward (jr. Lancaster/Penn Manor), guards Adam Ogorek (sr. West Chester/Henderson) and Don Keen (sr. Lancaster/McCaskey), and center Raymond Yannuzzi (jr. Wallingford/Strath Haven).  Newell returned to the lineup midway through the first half. 

Defense

      The Golden Bear offense continued its strong play in 2005.  Despite giving up 385 yards, the Golden Bears allowed just two touchdowns in regulation, and shut out Clarion in two of the four overtime periods.  KU had five takeaways, including a school-record 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown by safety Michael Baldwin (sr. Philadelphia/Dobbins Tech). Baldwin also blocked a field goal in the third overtime.    He had 12 tackles and a forced fumble. CB Justin Gibbs (so. Pottstown/Pottstown) recovered a fumble in the first overtime.    He also intercepted a pass in KU's red zone, while tallying seven tackles.  LB Drew Hicks (sr. Allentown/William Allen) led all players with 16 tackles, including five for loss, and forced the fumble that Baldwin returned for a TD.  DE Leroy Azubuike (so. E. Stroudsburg/E. Stroudsburg South) had 14 tackles, including two sacks and a tackle for loss.  LB Greg Mitchell (sr. Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic) had 13 hits, with one for loss.  He also recovered a fumble.  Safety Brian Bingnear (so. Boothwyn/Chichester) had nine tackles.  LB Tom Cressman (so. Sellersville/Pennridge) had a pair of jarring hits among his eight tackles.  He forced a fumble on one of his two sacks.

      Hicks and Mitchell are the PSAC's top two tacklers.  Hicks has 27 hits, including six for loss.  He has also broken up two passes.  Mitchell has 24 stops, including two for loss.  Azubuike has 18 tackles, including three for loss and two sacks.    Bingnear and Baldwin have 15 tackles apiece. Baldwin has added two breakups.  DE Mike Grosso (jr. Hackettstown/Pope John) has 15 tackles and leads the PSAC with four sacks.  Cressman has 11 tackles, with three for loss, and DT Nick Cresta (r-fr. Wallingford/Strath Haven) has 10, with two for loss. 

Special Teams

      Kicker Matt Scartozzi (sr. Malvern/Bishop Shanahan) booted a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter, tying KU's career record of 19 field goals (Steve Kratz, 1989-92).  Scartozzi had two chances to break the record, both in overtime, but missed a 20 yarder and had a 35-yard attempt blocked. Scartozzi also had a blocked PAT kick that was returned for a defensive two-point conversion. Ryan Nye (fr. Reading/Holy Name) punted nine times for an average of 34.9 yards.  His season-long 54 yard punt came at a key time in the fourth quarter, backing the Eagles up before their attempt at a game-winning field goal.

      Scartozzi is 2-of-4 on field goals for the season, with a long of 42 yards.  He is also 2-of-3 on PAT kicks.  Nye is averaging 37.0 yards on 16 punts.  Bria is averaging 18.0 yards on four kick returns and 5.3 yards on three punt returns. 

Scouting the Southern Connecticut State Owls

      Southern Connecticut State comes into this week's game 0-1 after losing a close one to Bentley College (33-24) last Friday night.  Bentley scored nine points in the final eight minutes to secure the win.

      SCSU's offense is very experienced with eight of 11 senior starters. The QB, however, is one of three underclassmen. Steve Armstrong, a redshirt freshman, threw for two touchdowns and 227 yards in the Owls opening game. TE Jonathan Lee-Hugh had four catches for 80 yards. Jim Lukowiak also had four catches, good for 78 yards. Lukowiak had 10 touchdown catches last year. Running back Shawn Harris carried the ball 16 times for 36 yards.

      Freshman kicker Ed Arias was 1-for-1 on a 20-yard field goal last week and 1-for-2 on PATs.  Martin Gerety punted nine times for an average of 35.8 yards, with a long of 43.   Lukowiak returned four punts for 39 yards.  Last year, Lukowiak returned two punts for touchdowns.  Harris and Toles return the kicks. Each had three returns for 86 and 68 yards,  respectively.

      The defense for the Owls is experienced like the offense.  Nine of 11 starters are upperclassmen. Defensive end Rashard Howard had nine tackles against Bentley, three being sacks for a loss of 17 yards. Last year, Howard had 42 tackles. Dexter Alexander contributed with seven tackles. Alexander had 59 tackles last year, the most among returning players. Marc Capone and Jim Norman had five each. Capone had 5 sacks last year for losses of 22 yards. Kamau Selby had an interception that he returned 39 yards for a touchdown. Norman and Calvin Anderson also each had an interception. Anderson had 39 tackles last year. 

Kelly's Sports, Ltd.
Player of the Week

Michael Baldwin (sr. Philadelphia/Dobbins Tech) led a valiant defensive effort vs. Clarion.  He scored a touchdown on a school-record 98-yard fumble return and blocked a field goal in the third overtime to keep KU alive.  Baldwin notched 12 tackles and forced a fumble.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Josh Leiboff
Kutztown University Sports Information
Phone: (610) 683-4182
Fax: (610) 683-4676
Email: leiboff at kutztown.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.kutztown.edu/pipermail/footballreleases/attachments/20050906/92865326/attachment.html