Late fumble foils Cougars’ upset bid against Crusaders
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
The Kutztown Cougars showed flashes against Lancaster Catholic Friday night but two fumbles played a big factor in their 41-20 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 loss.
The Cougars (0-5,0-8) were still within striking range in the fourth quarter, pulling within 27-20 on a 10-yard run by Ryan Walters with 11:52 remaining.
They were driving again later in the quarter but fumbled inside the 5 yard, halting their chances at the upset.
Kutztown has turned the ball over 19 times this season, though it had improved in that area that in recent weeks. It had just one turnover last week against Berks Catholic and none the week before against Annville-Cleona.
Kutztown couldn’t contain Brandon Way, who ran for 244 yards and four touchdowns, two of them in the fourth quarter to help the Crusaders pull away.
Way gave Lancaster Catholic the lead for good on a 22-yard TD run early in the second quarter.
Way has scored 21 touchdowns; he pushed his team-leading rushing total to 1,250 yards.
The win keeps Catholic within striking distance of Section 5 leader Schuylkill Valley, which remained unbeaten in league play with a win over Hamburg Friday. The Crusaders end the season at Schuylkill Valley.
Despite giving up the late scores Kutztown coach Larry Chester was pleased with the effort.
“Our kids are tough,” he said. “We do more with less. Our kids are battling, playing hard, until the tank goes empty.”
The Cougars started the game strong, just as they did last week against Berks Catholic.
After giving up a 90-yard kick return to Colton Hegener to open the game, they took control of the rest of the first quarter. Using their solid running attack, they were able to control the ball and take a 10-7 lead when Jack Moriarty hit a 22-yard field goal.
Leading that attack was senior fullback Brenden Ackley who had 135 yards on 19 carries. In total Kutztown rushed for 226 yards.
An additional bright spot for Kutztown was the kicking of Moriarty. He was able to connect on field goals of 28 and 22 yards and was accurate on both of the extra point tries.
The Cougars have their best chance for a win next week when they play winless Columbia, which lost 54-6 to Berks Catholic on Thursday.
Kutztown closes its season against Pequea Valley, which fell to 4-4 Thursday ay with a loss to Annville-Cleona.
Chester is confident the Cougars can break through in the future if they increase their roster size.
“We need this community, to do what they do,” Chester said, “support each other and get our numbers up, that’s what we need.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Lancaster Catholic | 7 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 41 |
| Kutztown | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Lancaster Catholic | Hegener, 90 kickoff return (O’Malley kick) | 11:46 |
| 1 | Kutztown | Mathias, 10 yard run (Moriarty kick) | 6:50 |
| 1 | Kutztown | Moriarty 22 FG | 1:45 |
| 2 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 22 run (O’Malley kick) | 11:51 |
| 2 | Kutztown | Moriarty, 28 FG | 5:41 |
| 2 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 15 run (O’Malley kick) | 1:50 |
| 3 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 5 run (kick failed) | 3:58 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Walters, 10 run (Moriarty kick) | 11:52 |
| 4 | Lancaster Catholic | Hegener,16 pass from Stefanow (O’Malley kick) | 9:43 |
| 4 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 77 run (O’Malley kick) | 3:33 |
Team statistics
| Lancaster Catholic | Kutztown | |
| First downs | 19 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-279 | 52-229 |
| Passing yards | 55 | 18 |
| Total yards | 334 | 247 |
| Passes | 4-7-0 | 2-8-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 2-29.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-45 | 6-65 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Lancaster Catholic: Way 24-244, Stefanow 2-13, Baumler 4-12, Douglass 5-10.
Kutztown: Ackley 19-135, Sherry 8-32, Bahr 5-28, Mathias 5-20, Walters 5-14.
PASSING
Lancaster Catholic: Stefanow 4-7-0–55.
Kutztown: Mathias 2-8-0–18.
RECEIVING
Lancaster Catholic: Dresch 2-25, Hegener 1-16, Warren 1-14.
Kutztown: Ackley 2-18.
