Kutztown can’t hold early lead, falls to York Vo-Tech
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Colin Snyder — LNP/Lancasteronline
SPRY — Kutztown was in the midst of a five-point game with non-league opponent York Vo-Tech midway through the fourth quarter Saturday, fighting for its first win of the season.
Thirty-two seconds later the Cougars were staring at a 20-point deficit.
“One word,” Kutztown coach Larry Chester said. “Mistakes. It can be Pee Wees or the NFL. It can be basketball, lacrosse or curling. If you make mistakes and your opponents capitalize on them, you don’t win.”
The Cougars were unable to mount any late-game heroics from that point as York Tech came away with a 47-27 win at McDowell Memorial Field on the York Tech campus.
Kutztown (0-2) was trailing 32-27 and punted on its first possession of the fourth quarter.
York Tech (1-1) began its drive on its own 36. That eight-play, 64-yard drive was capped by a 12-yard scoring run by senior Bailey Eberwein, his second of the game. Anthony Torres ran in the two-point conversion to give the Spartans a 13-point lead with 4:04 to play.
The Cougars got the ball back on their 41 but were intercepted on the first play and it was returned to the Kutztown 16. On York Tech’s next play Torres scored; the extra point padded the Spartans’ lead to 20 with 3:32 left.
Torres, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior, could not be slowed by the Kutztown defense; he finished with 29 carries for 225 yards and three touchdowns.
“(Torres) is a workhorse,” York Tech coach Matt Glennon said. “We are going to try and diversify, but so far it’s working for us. If we can get 4 or 5 yards a pop, why stop?”
The Cougars had one final opportunity but York Tech came up with the interception to ice the game.
“(Kutztown) moved the ball pretty well, but when we needed a couple of big plays, we got them,” Glennon said.
Kutztown senior quarterback Jacob Lafferty opened the scoring with a 27-yard keeper after emerging from a pile of players. Kutztown added another rushing score on the first play of the second quarter to forge a 14-0 lead.
York Tech struck for 24 unanswered points to build a 24-14 lead at halftime. Two rushing touchdowns by Torres, a safety and a scoring pass from quarterback KingZion Matai accounted for the barrage.
“(Matai) only began playing quarterback two years ago (as a freshman),” Glennon said. “He ran the offense well, audibled and made some nice choices today.”
Lafferty kept the Cougars in the game with his legs, rushing 12 times for 164 yards and three scores.
Two sore spots for Kutztown were penalties and turnovers. The Cougars were penalized 11 times for 97 yards and lost two first-half fumbles as well as throwing two second-half interceptions while trying to mount a comeback.
“It’s mistakes,” Chester said. “Everybody makes them. We are no different. (York Tech) made mistakes too. You watch the (Philadelphia) Eagles and they’ll make mistakes. All of the boys played well but we just made too many mistakes.
“I’m always going to be proud of my boys. Our whole creed and who we are is that no situation controls our character. This game does not affect that.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Kutztown | 7 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 27 |
| York Vo-Tech | 0 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 47 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Kutztown | J. Lafferty 27 run (Kimpland kick) | |
| 2 | Kutztown | Bates, 3 run (Kimpland kick) | |
| 2 | Vo-Tech | Torres, 4 run (run failed) | |
| 2 | Vo-Tech | Torres, 1 run (Torres run) | |
| 2 | Vo-Tech | Safety, intentional grounding in end zone | |
| 2 | Vo-Tech | Eberwein, 39 pass from Matai (Nafe pass from Matai) | |
| 3 | Kutztown | J. Lafferty, 1 run (Kimpland kick) | |
| 3 | Vo-Tech | Matia, 56 run (Nafe run) | |
| 3 | Kutztown | J. Lafferty, 36 run (Kimpland kick) | |
| 4 | Vo-Tech | Eberwein, 27 run (Torres run) | |
| 4 | Vo-Tech | Torres, 16 run (Lankford kick) |
Team statistics
| Kutztown | York Vo-Tech | |
| First downs | 12 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-275 | 47-328 |
| Passing yards | 21 | 46 |
| Total yards | 296 | 374 |
| Passes | 1-8-2 | 2-3-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-97 | 4-53 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Kutztown: J. Lafferty 12-164, Ackley 9-52, Thomas 4-25, Gruber 4-19, Cardinale 2-11, Sherry 3-9, Bates 1-3, Swoyer 1-(-1), Mathias 1-(-7).
PASSING
Kutztown: J. Lafferty 1-8-2–21.
RECEIVING
Kutztown: Sherry 1-21.