Kutztown Cougars enjoy ‘exhausting’ night in record rout of Pequea Valley

The Kutztown Cougars were happy but tired after their record performance Friday at Pequea Valley.

“Six-hundred-some yards is a lot of running, and that’s 18 guys doing that,” said head coach Larry Chester after a 76-37 non-league victory in which the Cougars set a program record for points in a game.

Senior Lennon Neiman rushed for 330 yards and scored six touchdowns for the Cougars (2-1).

Kutztown scored a program-record with 11 touchdowns, eight in the first half en route to a 58-29 lead.

It finished the game with just 18 players and spent the second half trying not to run up the score. The Cougars kicked the ball out of bounds and took a knee after their last several TDs, rather than attempt a PAT. They have so few players its difficult to sub out sit the starters.

“We’ve been on the other side of this,” Chester said. “We didn’t want to be that team.”

The 113 total points is the second-most ever scored in a Berks football game, trailing only the 119 in Schuylkill Valley’s 70-49 win over Minersville in 2019.

The 76 points are tied for third-most ever in a Berks game; the only higher-scoring games were by Reading High, more than 100 years ago.

Neiman scored on runs of 9, 55, 6, 42 and 50 yards and returned a fumble 81 yards for a score; all came in the first half. The fumble return is believed to be the longest in program history.

Only two Berks players have scored seven TDs in a game: Dan Capozello of West Reading in 1954 and John P. Charlton of Reading High in 1912.

Neiman’s rushing total ranks second-highest in program history; Calvin Laing rushed for 341 in a 54-7 win over Fleetwood in 2005.

“We’re exhausted,” Chester said. “I’ve been on both ends (of one-sided games), and its a long game on both sides. That first quarter felt like forever; on the other side it feels like forever, too.”

This is the first time Kutztown has won more than one game in a season since 2016, when it finished 4-6. It’s also the first time the Cougars have had a winning record since they opened that season 3-1. They snapped a 35-game losing streak last year.

Isaac Schneider rushed for 86 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Cougars. Dakota Thomas rushed for 117 yards and had two TDs.

The Cougars piled up 587 rushing yards and 656 total yards. The total yards are the second-most recorded in a Berks game over the last 30 seasons. Exeter had 661 total yards vs. Twin Valley in 2001. The rushing total is a program record.

“Our intention is to execute (our offense) the best we can,” Chester said. “We try to not even dwell on the score. I’m very proud of the execution of our plays.”

The Braves (0-2) opened their season with a 41-20 loss to Hanover; they finished 1-6 last season.

Pequea Valley led 7-0 after Dominic Wallace’s 47-yard TD catch. The Cougars responded with three straight TDs and led 30-15 at the end of the first period.

Previously, Kutztown’s largest margin-of-victory came in a 57-0 win over Morrisville in 2002.

The Cougars began the game with 20 players in uniform but lost two to injuries.