KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Fourth-ranked Kutztown (8-0, 6-0 PSAC East) forced five turnovers en route to a 24-0 win over Shepherd (5-3, 3-2 PSAC East) in PSAC East football action at Kutztown on Saturday.
Kutztown took a 7-0 lead when Judd Novak teamed with Luke Szabo on a 17-yard scoring pass with 14:48 left in the second quarter.
The Golden Bears took a 14-0 advantage 16 seconds later when Brandon Strausser picked off a pass and ran 15 yards for a score.
Will Smith connected on a 40-yard field goal with 5:54 left in the second quarter to give Kutztown a 17-0 lead at the break.
Steven Burkhart scored on a two-yard run with 11:36 left in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
Shepherd had 256 yards of total offense while Kutztown totaled 224 yards.
Redshirt junior quarterback
Lek Powell (Carlisle, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) completed 37-of-53 passes for 236 yards for the Rams. Novak completed 7-of-18 passes for 77 yards and a score for the Golden Bears.
Senior wide receiver
Barry Hill (Highland Springs, Va./Varina/West Virginia State) had 15 catches for 108 yards to lead the Shepherd receivers.Hill's 15 receptions were one shy of the school single-game record 16 shared by Ryan Feiss (vs. Glenville State, 9-16-17) and Dylan Brewer (vs. Kutztown, 9-28-19).Noah Kracyla had four catches for 29 yards for Kutztown.
Redshirt sophomore running back
Jordan Barnett (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge/FUMA/Southern Utah) led the Rams with seven carries for 38 yards. Jaeden Stewart had 10 carries for 53 yards for the Golden Bears.
Sophomore defensive back
Miles Greer (Springfield, Va./South County) led the Shepherd defense with seven tackles ((two solos). Senior linebacker
Harold O'Neal (Baltimore, Md./Harrisburg (Pa.)) and junior linebacker
JT Kouame-Yao (Centreville, Va./Westfield) each added six stops. Strausser led the Golden Bears with eight tackles (five solos)..
Redshirt senior punter
Ryan Barrick (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) punted seven times for a 44.3 average. He placed two punts inside the 20-yard line and had a long punt of 53 yards.
The Rams return to action on Saturday when they host Bloomsburg at noon for Military Appreciation Day/Senior Day.
