Kutztown storms past Assumption in season-opener

By Walter O’Reilly — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Jaedyn Stewart ripped off touchdown runs of 62 and 39 yards on his way to a career-high 150 rushing yards as seventh-ranked Kutztown University survived two lightning delays to open its  season with a 51-14 over Assumption at Andre Reed Stadium Thursday night.
Stewart amassed 197 yards of total offense, adding 47 receiving yards on a pair of catches.
The Golden Bears came into the season looking for more explosive plays from their offense and it didn’t take long for those to transpire. Stewart had carries of 11 and 17 yards, while Luke Maxwell broke free for a 19-yard run before plunging in from the 1-yard line for a touchdown on his team’s first possession.
Kutztown’s defense, which allowed a NCAA Division II-low 10.2 points per game in 2024, forced a three-and-out from the Greyhounds on their opening drive.

Governor Mifflin grad Brandon Strausser made four tackles for KU; Eden Johnson had three.

Daniel Boone grad Nate Millard punted three times, averaging 40 yards, with one touchback.
Third-year starting quarterback Judd Novak, aManheim Central grad, connected with Trevor Amorim for 28 yards to the Assumption 27 before threading the needle between for a 22-yard TD pass to Lenniek Preston two plays later for a 14-0 KU advantage.
Assumption answered in short order behind the play of All-Northeast 10 quarterback Jay Kastantin. The junior ran 46 yards on the final play of the first quarter and found receiver Keith Mancini for a 24-yard score on the first play of the second to pull the Greyhounds within 14-7.
Stewart thwarted any momentum the visitors hoped to gain by darting left at the line of scrimmage and breaking free for a 62-yard TD run that pushed Kutztown’s lead back to two scores.

Thunderstorms passing through the area forced a pair of lengthy delays in the third quarter.
The teams returned to the turf around 10 p.m. and Kutztown immediately called on Stewart. The 2024 PSAC Championship Game MVP delivered, getting to the edge and racing up the sideline for a 39-yard score to make it 37-14. It was the only play the teams could get in before lightning again sent players and fans scrambling for cover.
Following a stoppage of more than 90 minutes, KU tacked on two more touchdowns to complete the scoring. Jaimen Bryant hauled in a 48-yard TD pass from Novak with 12:50 to play and Eli Cunningham, a Lancaster Catholic grad, scampered 27 yards for his first career TD with 7:54 remaining.
Novak completed 11 passes to seven different targets on 20 attempts for 233 yards and two scores.

Defensively, the Bears had six players finish with four or more tackles, led by Austin Leyman’s six. 
Kutztown’s third straight victory over Assumption at Andre Reed Stadium brought the Golden Bears even in the all-time series 5-5. The two teams have met in every season opener since 2015. Thursday’s game took five-and-a-half hours to complete and didn’t conclude until 12:20 a.m.
KU makes a trip west to Edinboro for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 13. The Fighting Scots are off this week after knocking off PSAC East preseason No. 2 East Stroudsburg on the road las week.