KU can’t keep up with unstoppable Harding, sees historic season end
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You can point to the dropped touchdown pass early in the game. . .
Or the offsides penalty that negated Kutztown University’s recovery of an onside kick at a critical juncture . . .
Or to the red zone interception that Harding’s Josh Gatlin returned 72 yards to set up an easy score as reasons the Golden Bears saw their greatest season come to an end Saturday evening at Andre Reed Stadium.
All of those plays stunted KU’s bid to reach the NCAA Division II championship game for the first time but the bottom line is the Golden Bears’ 14-game winning streak came to a halt is because they couldn’t get any defensive stops.
The unbeaten Bisons, the top rushing team in NCAA history, reached the end zone on each of their first seven possessions and never let their foot off the gas in beating Kutztown 49-27 in a national semifinal.
The Bisons’ vaunted Flexbone offense was every bit as good as advertised, averaging 8.3 yards per rush and gouging the nation’s fourth-ranked defensive unit for 409 total yards.
“They’re really good at it,” Kutztown coach Jim Clements said of the Bisons’ execution of a triple-option offense that saw Harlon Hill Award finalist and fullback Andrew Miller run for 157 yards and four touchdown, slot Braden Jay go for 120 yards and quarterback Cole Keylon tack on 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Give a ton of credit to Harding — they’re very good,” Clements said. “They run some really good stuff. A couple of their big plays were off the fullback trap, and it just takes one guy (on defense) not doing his job, getting out of alignment, and they make you pay. They get to that second level with speed.”
The Bisons (15-0) went 68 yards in seven plays and then 85 yards on 11 plays to go up 14-0 after their first two possessions.
The Golden Bears (14-1) put together a 10-play drive of their own, moving to the Harding 5. On fourth-and-4 quarterback Judd Novak found wide receiver Lenniek Preston flash open on a crossing pattern at the back of the end zone. Preston caught the ball and took a stride but couldn’t hold on, and Harding’s seemingly unstoppable offense had its hands on the ball again.
“(Against a team that scores as much as Harding) we knew we were going to have to roll the dice and go for it on fourth down,” Clements said. “We had it. Lenniek ran a great route. Judd put it where it (he had to). He had it, man. . . That’s a woulda coulda shoulda moment.”
The drop became magnified when the Bisons held the ball for the next eight minutes, taking 13 plays to cover 95 yards and build a 21-0 lead with 2:12 left in the half.
Novak, a Manheim Central grad and a Harlon Hill finalist, gave the Golden Bears a flicker of hope in the final seconds of the first half when he threw a beautiful ball into the corner of the end zone that Rich Paczewski pulled in for a 26-yard touchdown that cut Harding’s lead to 21-7 at the half.
The Golden Bears threatened coming out of the half, moving to the Harding 35 before Novak – who hadn’t thrown an interception over the first 14 ½ games – was picked off at the 22. Gatlin nearly took it back to the house. He was stopped at the 8.
“They’re so fast,” Novak said of Harding’s defense. “They get to the ball quick. They’ve got two really good linebackers. The guys up front – you had to be aware of. We just had to be quick throwing the ball. They were disguising (coverages) well.”
The Golden Bears nearly came up with a game-saving defensive stop when Miller came up short on a third-and-goal from the 5. On fourth down, from the 2, Keylon converted the TD to make it 28-7.
There was no stopping Harding. It didn’t turn the ball over and it didn’t punt until the final minutes of the game.
“The explosive plays that we gave up in the run game – multiple plays over 70 yards – they really were backbreakers,” Clements said. “We’ve gotta do a better job with that, and we will. We’ll grow from this.”
The Golden Bears tried to sneak back into the game when Novak, who passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 137, scrambled out of the pocket for a 74-yard touchdown, making it 28-13 with lots of time to go.
Kutztown covered Daniel Boone grad Nate Millard’s ensuing onside kick, but an offside penalty negated it. One play later Jay, who has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards, took a toss around the left side 70 yards for a score.
“It didn’t go our way,” Clements said of a series of plays that could’ve kept the Golden Bears within range, but went awry. “We had opportunities today; we did good on some, and we didn’t do good on some. But our kids fought all day.”
Kutztown tacked on a pair of late scores, after Harding built 49-13 lead 90 seconds into the final quarter. Novak completed 20-of-37 passes and KU out-gained its unbeaten foe, piling up 453 total yards. This against a team ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense and total defense.
Clements, who has taken Kutztown’s program to a level few ever imagined, was emotional afterward. He had to stop briefly during the postgame interview session to collect himself and wipe his eyes.
“I’m super-proud of our team,” he said. “These guys are special.”
