Kutztown rushes to second L-L win
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Kyle Morgan — LNP/Lancasteronline
COLUMBIA — Kutztown lived dangerously on Friday night at Columbia.
The Cougars used some gutsy calls, including an onside kick with the lead, and had three players with 100-yard rushing nights to pull out a 19-13 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 victory over the Crimson Tide.
Jacob Lafferty (26 carries, 164 yards), Dakota Thomas (18-135) and Brenden Ackley (23-129) all eclipsed 100 yards for the Cougars, who ran 80 plays and rushed for 463 yards on 74 attempts.
The game was tied 7-7 after three quarters before the Cougars came up with a pair of fourth-quarter scores.
Kutztown (2-4, 3-6) steadily moved the ball down the field on the opening drive of the game with eight straight runs. Jayden Swoyer finished things off from 15 yards out via a jet sweep for his first TD of the season.
Demari Simms then picked Columbia (1-5, 3-6) back up with a great kick return into Cougars territory. Four plays later, Dominic Diaz-Ellis scrambled out of the pocket, made a few guys miss and walked in for a 24-yard TD to tie it back up.
While Kutztown got one first down, Columbia’s defense held firm and sacked quarterback Jacob Lafferty on fourth down at midfield. Lafferty enacted revenge on the next series, however, intercepting a deep ball on fourth-and-long.
Columbia got into Cougars territory to start the second half, but a false start on fourth-and-1 forced the Crimson Tide to punt away.
Kutztown had a 13-play march in response, but it too jumped early on a fourth-and-1, and a Dakota Thomas run was stopped short of the markers on the next snap.
The Cougars were able to force a three-and-out, however, and after a short punt put them just shy of midfield, they finally were able to break through, with Brenden Ackley scoring from 10 yards out with just over eight minutes left. But the PAT missed wide left.
Simms came up big again on special teams for Columbia, taking the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to the house. The Crimson Tide tried a fake on the PAT, but Kutztown’s front line made a clutch tackle short of the end zone to keep the game tied at 13-13.
On fourth-and-2 deep in their own territory, the Cougars took a chance and went for the first, with Thomas converting for 4 yards. He came through again on the 10th play of the drive, breaking off a 36-yard TD run. A two-point run was stuffed short of the goal line to keep the score at 19-13.
Kutztown then pulled off another huge gamble with an onside kick. Columbia’s front line mishandled the ball, and the Cougars came out of the pile with the ball. They ran the clock down before turning the ball over on downs at the Crimson Tide 18.
Diaz-Ellis briefly gave Columbia hope with a 15-yard scramble, but he bobbled the next snap for a loss of 10, then saw three straight passes go incomplete, including a fourth-down sideline throw to Simms that was ruled out of bounds, allowing Kutztown to ice it.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Kutztown | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 19 |
| Columbia | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Kutztown | Swoyer, 15 run (Stump kick) |
| 1 | Columbia | Diaz-Ellis, 24 run (Miller kick) |
| 4 | Kutztown | Ackley, 10 run (kick failed) |
| 4 | Columbia | Simms, 82 kickoff return (kick failed) |
| 4 | Kutztown | Thomas, 36 run (conversion failed) |
Team statistics
| Kutztown | Columbia | |
| First downs | 27 | 6 |
| Rushes-yards | 74-463 | 16-91 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 48 |
| Total yards | 463 | 139 |
| Passes | 0-6 | 4-15 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 3-0 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 3-32.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-30 | 3-25 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Kutztown: J. Lafferty 26-164, Thomas 18-135, Ackley 23-129, Swoyer 6-36, Gruber 1-(-1).
Columbia: Diaz-Ellis 7-65, Da. Diaz-Ellias 8-21, Lingafelt 1-5.
PASSING
Kutztown: J. Lafferty 0-6-0–0.
Columbia: Diaz-Ellis 4-15-1–48.
RECEIVING
Columbia: Poindexter 2-47, Miller 1-6, Lingafelt 1-(-5).
