Kutztown stalls in first half in loss to Vikings
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By John Nagy — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Northern Lebanon running back Moises Gonzalez and the Vikings’ stifling defense flattened Kutztown 35-21 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 game Friday night at Cougars Stadium.
The Cougars had no answer for Gonzalez, who scored on touchdown runs of 5, 18, and 31 yards. Running back Myles Watson added the game’s longest play — a 60-yard run — and a score from 13 yards.
Gonzalez ran for 100 yards on 13 carries; Watson ran for 94 yards on 10 carries.
On the Cougars’ first possession, quarterback Colten Mathias scored on a 10-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 7-7 following Gonzalez’ 31-yard score. The Cougar’s drive burned over 6 minutes of the game clock and they logged five first downs.
Kutztown failed to record another first down until the second half. The Cougars turned the ball over on downs three times to the Vikings (2-2, 3-4), surrendered a pair of turnovers and punted twice.
Tight end James Undercuffler dropped a deep pass from Mathias on the Cougars’ final drive of the second quarter that may have yielded crucial points.
Kutztown’s next offensive play sank the Cougars deeper, as Mathias’ pass deflected off Undercuffler’s hands for a second consecutive play and was intercepted by Northern Lebanon’s Bryan Mitzel.
Trailing 35-7early in the fourth quarter, a Mathias touchdown to Underkuffler and David Bates 2-point conversion chopped the Vikings lead to 20. Ethan Lafferty scored in the game’s final minute to trim the lead down to two scores.
The Cougars failed to recover the ensuing onside kick attempt.
The Vikings scored 28 unanswered points on their first four possessions, beginning with Watson’s 13-yard score at the end of the first quarter. Kael Erdman found tight end Luke Shaffer for a 6-yard score midway through the second. Gonzalez’ second score came on fourth-and-3, hurdling a group of defenders on the way to make it 28-7 heading into halftime.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Northern Lebanon | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| Kutztown | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Northern Lebanon | Gonzalez, 31 run (Bohn kick) | 11:17 |
| 1 | Kutztown | Mathias, 10 run (Kimpland kick) | 4:52 |
| 1 | Northern Lebanon | Watson, 13 run (Bohn kick) | 1:27 |
| 2 | Northern Lebanon | Shaffer, 6 pass from Erdman (Bohn kick) | 8:11 |
| 2 | Northern Lebanon | Gonzalez, 18 run (Bohn kick) | 2:48 |
| 3 | Northern Lebanon | Gonzalez, 5 run (Bohn kick) | 1:35 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Undercuffler, 24 pass from Mathias (Bates run) | 10:45 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Lafferty, 1 run (run failed) | 0:34 |
Team statistics
| Northern Lebanon | Kutztown | |
| First downs | 13 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 29-203 | 43-130 |
| Passing yards | 130 | 79 |
| Total yards | 333 | 209 |
| Passes | 11-15-0 | 5-12-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-31 | 2-37.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-25 | 2-20 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Northern Lebanon: Gonzalez 13-100, Watson 10-94, Erdman 4-10, Ostermayer 1-0, TEAM 1-(-1).
Kutztown: Lafferty 17-63, Ackley 12-36, Bates 2-14, Mathias 7-9, Swoyer 5-8.
PASSING
Northern Lebanon: Erdman 11-15-0–130.
Kutztown Mathias 5-12-1— 79.
RECEIVING
Northern Lebanon: Mitzel 4-19, Shaffer 3-37, Feagley 2-67, Ryan 1-6, Gonzalez 1-1.
Kutztown: Kimpland 3-35, Undercuffler 2-44.
INTERCEPTIONS
Northern Lebanon: Mitzel.
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