Kutztown run down in loss to Octorara
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Logan Moyer — LNP/Lancasteronline
ATGLEN — Kutztown’s running game was dominant in the opening two weeks of the season but it finally met its match on Friday night.
| Final | |
| Octorara | 28 |
| Kutztown | 15 |
Octorara found a way to limit Kutztown’s league-leading rushing attack in a 28-15 victory in a non-league matchup.
Kutztown (1-2) had been running for 467 yards per outing with 563 yards of total offense in the first two weeks of the season, both marks tops in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The Braves didn’t shut down the Cougars’ Power-T running attack but they did slow it down. Kutztown was held to 270 yards on the ground and 4.5 yards per pop, a far cry from its previous success.
“Our goal isn’t to have the best offense,” Kutztown coach Larry Chester said. “We did things well, but when it was time to make it count, we just didn’t.”
The Cougars ran twice as many offensive plays as the Braves (2-1) and split the overall yardage battle but failed to get off the field defensively on fourth down.
“How many fourth downs did they get on those last drives?” said Chester. “That’s all we needed to do.”
Meanwhile, Octorara’s Brayden Mastripolitto ran all over the Cougar defense for 185 yards and four scores on only 10 carries, scoring a touchdown in every quarter.
Three of his scores came from 10-plus yards out and two were from at least 37-yards away. Kutztown had more first downs and rushing yards than the Braves but were burned by the big plays.
Held scoreless in the first half, the Cougars mounted a comeback attempt after halftime. Athan Amato and Mason Sherry ran for scores in the second half, bringing the Cougars to within five points in the fourth quarter.
Kutztown had multiple opportunities to get a fourth-down stop and then drive down the field and potentially win the game but weren’t able to keep Mastripolitto contained.
“They had a great first half,” Chester said. “We had a good second half. At this point, we’ve just got to get better.”
Mason Sherry, the league’s top back through the first two weeks, ran for 189 yards on 25 carriers. He was well contained by the Octorara defense in the first half but started breaking off bigger runs in the second half.
Like many of its losses last season, Kutztown was closer to winning on Friday than the final score might suggest. The effort is there, but Cougars just need to make one or two more plays to bring home consistent victories.
“My request to them was to have my back,” Chester said of the team’s second-half comeback attempt. “We’ll go back to the lab and do what we have to do to get better for next week.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Kutztown | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Octorara | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 28 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Octorara | Mastrippolito, 37 run (kick failed) | 6:27 |
| 2 | Octorara | Mastrippolitio, 16 run (Prokay pass from Remphrey) | 9:09 |
| 3 | Octorara | Mastrippolito, 67 run (kick failed) | 11:41 |
| 3 | Kutztown | Amato, 1 run (Wood kick) | 3:56 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Sherry, 3 run (Sherry run) | 8:09 |
| 4 | Octorara | Mastrippolito, 9 run (Prokay run) | O3:56 |
Team statistics
| KUTZTOWN | OCTORARA | |
| First downs | 17 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 60-270 | 29-261 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 9 |
| Total yards | 270 | 270 |
| Passes | 0-2-0 | 2-5-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-7.5 | 2-11.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-15 | 2-15 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Kutztown: Sherry 25-189, Bahr 21-79, Amato 2-6, Renninger 1-4, Walters 6-2, Moriarity 4-0.
Octorara: Mastrippolito 10-185, Prokay 8-58, Dow 4-14, D’Andrea 3-4, Powell 3-(–3), Pooler 1-(-7).
PASSING
Kutztown: Amato 0-2-0–0.
Octorara: Prokay 2-5-0–9.
RECEIVINGOctorara: Powell 2-9.
