[Kutztown Football] Golden Bears Hope to Keep Offense Rolling at Cheyney

[Josh Leiboff]

KU Football Fact Sheet #08-2006 -  KU vs. Cheyney
(CLICK HERE FOR A PDF VERSION OF THIS RELEASE)  

Golden Bears Hope to Keep Offense Rolling at Cheyney 

The Game

         The Kutztown University Football team will embark on a three-game road trip to end the season this week.  The first stop is this Saturday when they travel to Cheyney University for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest.  Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM at O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium.

         Kutztown is 2-5 overall, 1-3 in the PSAC East.  The Golden Bears dropped a heart-breaking 49-47 decision to West Chester this past Saturday.  The Golden Bears opened the season with a 27-10 win over Clarion, before falling at Shippensburg (42-27).  A loss to Slippery Rock (34-10) was followed with a loss vs. Millersville (45-17).  KU bounced back with a win over Mansfield (51-7) before losing to Bloomsburg (41-14).  

Cheyney is 1-7 overall, 1-2 in the PSAC East.  The Wolves lost by a 48-7 score at East Stroudsburg on Saturday.  The Wolves lost their first six games to Clark-Atlanta (23-20), Indiana (PA) (33-6), California (PA) (43-8), Edinboro (28-6), West Chester (53-12) and Clarion (21-18), before defeating Mansfield (26-6) for its first win of the year.   

Electronic Coverage

The game will be broadcast on WEEU, AM 830, based out of Reading.  Matt Santos and Steve Hahn 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. 

The Coaches

Kutztown's first-year coach, Raymond Monica (North Alabama, '90), is 2-5 in his inaugural season. Monica came to the Golden Bears from Division I-A Temple University, where he spent eight seasons as defensive coordinator.  Prior to Temple, Monica coached for nine seasons at the University of North Alabama, during which time the Lions won three NCAA Division II national championships from 1993-95. 

Tim Newsom (West Virginia, '92) is in his second season as head coach at Cheyney.  He is 3-16 overall.  Newsom came to the Wolves from Johnson C. Smith, where he was defensive coordinator for seven seasons.  He is 0-1 vs. Kutztown.    

The Series

This game marks the 57th meeting between Kutztown and Cheyney, dating back to 1949.  Kutztown holds a 45-10-1 advantage, taking the last 12 meetings.  Kutztown won last year's meeting, 29-12, in the 2005 season finale at KU.  The Golden Bears took advantage of Wolf  miscues, scoring a safety, a TD after the ensuing free kick and another touchdown, all after bad snaps went over the Cheyney punter's head.   Maurice Adams had 89 yards on 19 carries.  Shane Martin, playing in place of an injured Kyle Spotts, was 7-of-12 for 78 yards and two TDs.  KU held the Wolves to -6 yards rushing as a team, thanks to the punting miscues.  Chinoso Okoro had 70 yards on 16 carries.  

Cheyney has not beaten Kutztown since 1993 (30-19), which was also the last Wolves win over the Golden Bears at O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium.   

Notable

Kutztown's 49-47 loss to West Chester marked the most points the Golden Bears have ever scored in a loss...the previous high was in a 68-38 loss to Slippery Rock in 1999...the 96 points scored by the two teams were the most since that SRU-KU game in 1999...Kutztown went over 500 yards of total offense for the first time since setting a school record with 582 yards vs. Mansfield last year, and just the second time since 2000...WR Elfren Quiles caught a TD pass for the seventh-straight game, extending his school record streak...QB Kyle Spotts has a TD in seven straight games as well, the longest streak since Josh Warren scored in nine straight in 1999...Kutztown scored in the final minute of the first half for the sixth time in seven games.

Tracking the Golden Bears

OFFENSE: Kutztown's offense was simply superb against West Chester.  The Golden Bears racked up 502 yards of total offense, including 345 passing and 157 rushing.  KU had 32 first downs, generating six drives over 50 yards each.  The Golden Bears scored touchdowns on seven of their nine drives.  QB Kyle Spotts (jr. Tamaqua/Tamaqua) was 29-of-40 for 345 yards and four touchdowns.  He also ran for a touchdown and had 43 yards on seven carries.  Spotts established career highs for completions, passing yards, rushing yards, total offense and total touchdowns, while matching his career high for TD passes.  WR Brett Harbach (sr. Sinking Spring/Wilson) caught 11 passes for 136 yards, both career highs.  TE Jason Henley (sr. Gilbertsville/Boyertown) had seven grabs for 86 yards, also both career highs.  WR Elfren Quiles (jr. New Britain, CT/New Britain) had seven catches for 78 yards.  All three caught touchdowns.  RB Maurice Adams (jr. West Chester/Henderson) rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.  He added 36 yards and a TD on three receptions, before leaving the game in the second half with an injury.  Not showing up in the box score is the superb blocking by Quiles.  His open-field blocks paved the way for the TD catches by Adams and Harbach.  FB Joe Strauss (r-fr. Lititz/Warwick) had a TD run and 22 yards on four carries.

Through seven games, Kutztown's offense is averaging 371.4 yards per game, including 129.1 rushing and 242.3 passing.  Spotts has completed 119-of-208 passes for 1,669 yards.  He has 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.  The 17 TDs are the fifth most in a season at KU.  Spotts also has three TDs and 82 yards on the ground.  Quiles leads the team with 39 receptions for 612 yards and eight touchdowns.  His TD catches are tied for fifth most in a season.  He has a TD catch in all seven games, a school record streak.  Harbach is having a career year, with 34 catches for 413 yards and three TDs.  Henley has 19 catches for 279 yards and three scores.  WR Larry Baumgardner (sr. New Oxford/New Oxford) has 18 catches for 288 yards and two TDs.  Adams has 432 yards and two TDs on 131 carries.  Backup Cory McFadden (fr. Freemansburg/Bethlehem Catholic) has 145 yards on 35 carries.  Strauss has 103 yards and two scores on 27 rushes.

KU's offensive line, which has allowed just four sacks in the last three games, continues to improve.  The line consists of center Raymond Yannuzzi (sr. Wallingford/Strath Haven), guards Nick Cresta (so. Wallingford/Strath Haven) and Rick DiStefano (sr. Quarryville/Solanco) or Evan Reese (fr. Centre Hall/State College), and tackles Dustin Woodward (sr. Lancaster/Penn Manor) and Tyler Romberger (r-fr. Muir/Williams Valley) or Mike Casciano (jr. Birdsboro/Twin Valley).

DEFENSE: As well as KU's offense played, the defense had its hands full vs. West Chester's high powered offense.  The Rams scored on seven of 10 possessions, with two stopped by the end of both halves.  WCU tallied 399 yards of offense, including 174 rushing and 225 passing.  Safety Brian Bingnear (jr. Boothwyn/Chichester) had an interception that led to a KU touchdown.  He led the team with 10 tackles.  Cameron Parchment (r-fr. Tannersville/Pocono Mountain East) had seven tackles, including one for loss, getting his first start at cornerback.  DE Mike Grosso (sr. Hackettstown, NJ/Pope John) had six tackles, with one for loss.  DT Scott Smith (jr. New Oxford/Delone Catholic) and DE Mark Irwin (so. Newtown/Council Rock North) had a tackle behind the line apiece.  Smith had five total tackles, while Irwin notched four.  

Through seven games, Kutztown's defense is allowing 388.9 yards, including 230.6 rushing and 158.3 passing.  Bingnear leads the team with 69 tackles, with one for loss, two interceptions and three breakups.  Grosso has 51 tackles and leads KU with nine tackles for loss (-23 yards) and two sacks (-12 yards).  He also has recovered two fumbles.  LB Dan Chominski (sr. Boothwyn/Chichester) has 46 tackles, with three for loss and an interception.  Safety Justin Gibbs (jr. Pottstown/Pottstown) has 36 hits, including two for loss.  He also has an interception and four breakups.  LB Tom Cressman (jr. Sellersville/Pennridge) has 35 tackles, three for loss and a sack.  CB Cory Porrino (jr. Orwigsburg/Blue Mountain), who did not play vs. WCU, has 23 tackles, with an interception and four breakups.  CB Brent Howard (so. Gilbertsville/Boyertown) leads KU with five breakups.  

SPECIAL TEAMS: Special teams were solid against the Golden Rams, but it was a missed extra point that doomed the Golden Bears.  Steve Sandberg's (jr. Quakertown/Northeast Philadelphia) string of 19 straight successful PAT kicks was snapped in the fourth quarter, leaving KU a point shy of tying the Rams, 42-41.  After the teams traded late scores, KU attempted a two-point conversion to tie, but Spotts' pass to Henley was batted down for the 49-47 final.  Ryan Nye (so. Bernville/Holy Name) had to punt just once, a 42 yarder.  A fake punt pass by backup QB Shane Martin (so. New Holland/Garden Spot) drew a pass interference call and led to a KU touchdown.  Adams had 83 yards on five kickoff returns.

Nye leads all PSAC punters, averaging 41.7 yards per kick.  He has placed five punts inside opponents' 20 yardlines.  Sandberg is 2-of-6 on field goals and 23-of-26 on PATs.  Adams averages a PSAC-best 21.7 yards on 21 kick returns, including an 85 yard return for a TD vs. Clarion.  Harbach nets 14.3 yards on seven punt returns, with a 62 yarder for a TD vs. Mansfield.  He has one kickoff return for 24 yards. 

Scouting The Cheyney Wolves

Cheyney put up a valiant effort against East Stroudsburg, trailing just 10-7 at halftime, before the Warriors scored 38 unanswered points in the second half to put it away.  Derrick Murry was 7-of-14 for 100 yards, while Dominque Curry had four catches for 82 yards. The duo combined on a 38-yard TD pass.  Donald King had 54 yards on 14 carries.  Tyree Cooper and Justin Allen had nine tackles each.  Allen had a sack, as did Eddie Dordies.  

Cheyney's offense averages 240.5 yards per game, including 48.9 rushing and 191.6 passing.  Murry has completed 117-of-231 passes for 1,369 yards. He has 10 TDs and has thrown 11 picks.  Curry, the 2005 PSAC East Rookie of the Year, has 47 catches for 749 yards and five scores.  Billy Mitchell has 23 receptions for 143 yards and a TD.  Donald King has 119 yards and a TD on 49 carries, while Chinoso Okoro has 115 yards and a TD on 21 rushes.  

The Wolves averaged 353.0 yards allowed per game, including 201.2 rushing and 151.8 passing.  Allen tops the squad with 54 tackles, including six for loss and 2.5 sacks. Brandon Hawkins has 51 tackles with four for loss and a sack.  Cooper has 50 tackles.  Jamar Johnson has seven tackles for loss and three sacks.  

Mitchell averages 32.3 yards on 39 punts.  He is 0-for-1 on field goals.  Cooper averages 17.5 yards on 14 kick returns and 4.0 yard son 13 punt returns.

Kelly's Sports, Ltd.
Player of the Game

Kyle Spotts is the Kelly's Sports Player of the Game for this week.  Spotts set career highs with 29 completions, 345 passing yards, 388 yards of total offense and five touchdowns (4 passing, 1 rushing).  

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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/20061023/3018c595/attachment.html