Big-play offense carries Fleetwood over rival Kutztown

By John Nagy Last updated Aug 27, 2023

2023 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

By John Nagy — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent

Fleetwood scored 42 unanswered points en route to defeating Kutztown 48-6 in a non-league opener Friday night at Fleetwood.

Explosive plays were the name of the game for Fleetwood. The Tigers scored three times from more than 50 yards, logged an onside kick recovery in the second quarter, and scored on a Pick-Six.

Tigers senior Czion Brickle scored twice. He opened the game’s scoring with a 22-yard run and scored the game’s final points with a 65-yard rumble in the final minutes.

Fleetwood quarterback Jack Riffle threw two touchdowns, one to senior Mason Musitano for 59 yards, and another to tight end Landon Hare for a 6-yard score.

“The offensive line was absolutely awesome,” Riffle said. “We pounded the rock all night – (our) defense only gave up six points -– and we put the hammer down on them.”

Fleetwood’s linemen dug in and dominated both sides of the ball. The Tigers surrendered no sacks and rushed for an average of 10.5 yards per carry, with four touchdowns.

The Tigers totaled 231 yards on the ground.

Despite allowing a first-quarter touchdown, Fleetwood forced four turnovers, galvanizing the Tigers in front of their home fans.

“Our defensive line really caused those turnovers.” Riffle said. “The D-line was pressuring the quarterback all night long; that led to interceptions and a couple fumbles. It makes our job on the offense so much easier.”

Junior running back Brenden Ackley carried a big load for Kutztown, taking 22 carries for 104 yards. The Cougars ran for 166 yards, averaging 3.5 yards per carry.

Kutztown did this with quarterback Colton Mathais struggling under the might of Fleetwood’s defensive line, getting sacked multiple times and losing 4 or more yards on seven offensive snaps.

Mathias scored the lone six points for the Cougars on a 10-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game in the first quarter. The Cougars quarterback struggled against the Tigers defense following the early score, battling constant pressure and dealing with turnover fever.

Mathias complete just one pass on five attempts. Three of Fleetwood’s four turnovers turned into Fleetwood touchdowns.

	1	2	3	4	Final
Kutztown	6	0	0	0	6
Fleetwood	6	35	0	7	48

Scoring summary

1	Fleetwood	Brickle, 21 run (conversion failed)	9:23
1	Kutztown	Mathias, 8 run (kick failed)	4:15
2	Fleetwood	Maddocks, 54 run (Maurek kick)	9:50
2	Fleetwood	Domenech, 15 interception return (Maurek kick)	7:51
2	Fleetwood	Musitano 59 pass from Riffle (Maurek kick)	2:36
2	Fleetwood	Killian, 5 run (Maurek kick)	0:36
2	Fleetwood	Hare 19 pass from Riffle (Maurek kick)	0:10
4	Fleetwood	Brickle, 65 run (Maurek kick)	2:04

Team statistics

	Kutztown	Fleetwood
First downs	9	10
Rushes-yards	49-175	22-231
Passing yards	5	90
Total yards	180	321
Passes	1-6-2	5-12-0
Fumbles-lost	2-2	0-0
Punts-average	2-23.5	2-45
Penalties-yards	0-0	6-55

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Kutztown: Ackley 22-104, Swayer 4-57, Lafferty 2-12, Sherry 7-9, Team 1-9, Gruber 2-8, Stoess 1-(-2), Matthias 10-(-22).

Fleetwood: Brickle 7-109, Maddocks 3-68, Thomas 4-28, Petition 3-13, Killian 2-11, Rizzle 1-4, McFarland 1-(-1), Team 1-(-1).

PASSING

Kutztown: Mathias 1-5-2–5, Stoess 0-1-0–0.

Fleetwood: Rizzle 5-12-0–90.

RECEIVING

Kutztown: Mason 1-5.

Fleetwood: Musitano 2-70, Maddocks 1-9, Hare 1-6, Brickle 1-5.