Kutztown rushing game dominates York Tech
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Brian Markley — LNP/Lancasteronline
Kutztown scored early and often Friday night in 42-7 non-league football victory over visiting York Tech.
The Cougars found much of their success offensively through their ground game. A three-headed monster of Mason Sherry, Ethan Lafferty and Brenden Ackley got the majority of the work as Kutztown rushed for 259 yards on 30 tries.
After building a 21-7 advantage by halftime, the Cougars (1-1) upped the attack in the third quarter. Starting the parade was Lafferty, who had his number called to convert a fourth-and-1.
Lafferty cut to the outside and put on the afterburners, rushing for an 80-yard touchdown and putting the game out of hand midway through the period.
A combination of penalties and turnovers and a Cougars defense that played stout all night made it difficult for the Spartans to get anything going offensively.
Both Lafferty and Ackley scored touchdowns on both sides of the ball. Ackley had a 16-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter and followed it up with a 20-yard fumble recovery in the third quarter.
Lafferty picked off York Tech quarterback Zion Matai King and took it 30 yards for a Cougars touchdown and followed it with his back-breaking 80-yard run in the third quarter.
“The guys have been working hard all year,” Kutztown coach Larry Chester said. “We talk about storms. Last week (a season-opening loss to Fleetwood ) was just another storm. We got through it, practiced hard and came out with a win tonight.”
Kutztown looks to build on the momentum from its first victory as it hits the road for another non-league matchup against Pottsville Nativity Friday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| York Vo-Tech | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Kutztown | 14 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Kutztown | Ackley, 16 run (Kimpland kick) | 10:17 |
| 1 | Kutztown | Lafferty, 30 interception return (Kimpland kick) | 2:53 |
| 2 | Kutztown | Mathias, 9 run (Kimpland kick) | 9:12 |
| 2 | York Vo-Tech | C. Nafe, 9 run (T. Nafe kick) | 4:08 |
| 3 | Kutztown | Lafferty, 80 run (Kimpland kick) | 7:47 |
| 3 | Kutztown | Ackley, 20 fumble return (Kimpland kick) | 6:13 |
| 3 | Kutztown | Schlappich, 37 run (Kimpland kick) | 4:05 |
Team statistics
| Vo-Tech | Kutztown | |
| First downs | 10 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-124 | 30-259 |
| Passing yards | 33 | 0 |
| Total yards | 157 | 259 |
| Passes | 3-6-1 | 0-5-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 6-2 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 5-32.4 | 3-30.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-40 | 4-25 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Kutztown: Lafferty 4-105, Sherry 5-54, Schlappich 3-38, Ackley 8-30, Mathias 2-19, Moriarity 2-8, Swoyer 3-7, Stoess 3-(-2).
PASSING
Kutztown: Mathias 0-3-0–0, Stoess 0-2-0–0.
INTERCEPTIONS
Kutztown: Lafferty.
