Season preview: Kutztown Cougars
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Top Players To Watch in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
What to expect in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
Classification: Class 3A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 1-6 league, 1-9 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: None.
Head coach: Larry Chester, 12th season, 30-77.
Key losses: All-League ATH (QB) Colton Mathias, second-team all-league FB & LB Brendan Ackley, RB/CB David Bates, TE James Undercuffler, G/DE Alexander Reyes, CB Jayden Swoyer.
Top offensive players: QB Wyatt Stoess (594 passing yards, 4 TDs), RB Mason Sherry (545 rushing yards), RB Jack Moriarty, RB/KR Ryan Walters, FB Ian Bahr, TE Tallan Fitzsimmons, TE Tyler Wicke, C Bobby Meitzler, G Gavin Hallock, G Aiden Showers, T Tajah Engelhart, T Jacob Koehler, PK Jack Moriarty.
Top defensive players: E Tallan Fitzsimmons, E Tyler Wicke, E Jayden Martin, T Tajah Engelhart, T Jacob Koehler, T Adam Hernandez, ILB Ian Bahr, ILB Colten Renninger, OLB Mason Shery, OLB Brysen Schichtel, S Ryan Walters, S Eli Schlappich, CB Jack Moriarty, CB Jaxson Hunsberger.
Did you know? This is Kutztown’s 50th season of football. The Cougars debuted in 1976 with a 14-6 loss to Northwestern Lehigh. They earned their first win in the season finale that year, beating Lansdale Catholic 10-6. They lost 35 of their first 36 games and did not have a winning season until 1983.
For the record: The Cougars’ last winning season came in 2004 when they finished 6-4; Larry Chester was the head coach. It is one of just three winning seasons for the program.
On schedule: The Cougars meet Hamburg for the 50th time in Week 5; the Hawks hold a 38-11 series advantage.
Quotable: “I think we can beat everybody in our section. Saying something like that would’ve been BS years ago, but now I’m 100 percent truthful when I say we can be successful. We believe; I believe.” — Cougars coach Larry Chester
Outlook: You couldn’t tell it by their record but the Cougars were close to turning the corner last season.
They lost five games by a touchdown or less, one in overtime. They led York Tech in Week 2 before falling 14-7. They fumbled in overtime and lost the next week to Octorara. They led Annville-Cleona in the third quarter before losing 35-28. The were up on Berks Catholic 14-0 and 28-7 in the first half, and had a chance to win the game in the final seconds before their two-point conversion was stopped. They gave up a late touchdown to Pequea Valley in dropping their finale 26-20.
“We know how close we are,” said head coach Larry Chester, who’s been pushing that rock up the hill at Kutztown the past five years without seeing more than three wins to show for it. “You’ve gotta get close before you get those victories. Last year we got close; now it’s time to do what we think we can do.”
Chester is confident this is the year Kutztown ends a 20-year losing streak, longest in Berks history.
The Cougars return seven starters on each side of the ball and, most importantly, have developed an identity in recent seasons with their Power-T running game — a look not seen much at this level.
“We’re in a different place now,” Chester said. “It’s Year Six. We’re poised and comfortable with what we do, secure in who we are.”
Chester, who has coached longer at Kutztown during his two stints than anyone else in program history, knows he’s not going be able to out-gun anyone with a wide open passing attack or beat teams with speed.
The Cougars can, he believes, out-physical their Section 5 opponents. That means using double-tight end sets and powering the ball on the ground, setting the tone with long drives that can sap an opponent’s momentum and will.
“It’s who we are, a blue collar team,” he said. “That’s our personality. We’re not a Shotgun type team. We’re old school: 3 yards and a cloud of dust. We have that street-fighting mentality.”
Chester believes he’s got the personnel to make it work, starting with 197-pound pound running back Mason Sherry, who toughened up for the season by working as a roofer. He rushed for nearly 600 yards last season and averaged 5.8 yards per carry.
He’s joined in the veteran backfield by fullback Ian Bahr, who led the team in touchdowns, and speedy Ryan Walter, a dangerous open-field runner, especially in the kicking game.
Tight end is critical in the Cougars’ blocking scheme, so Tyler Wicke, a second-team all-league tackle as a junior, was moved to that spot. The other tight end will be Tallan Fitzsimmons, an all-league defensive lineman who Chester calls the toughest player he’s ever coached.
Wyatt Stoess returns at quarterback after starting seven games there last year.
Seven starters return on defense, including three second-team all-league picks: Jayden Martin at end, Aiden Showers at outside linebacker and Fitzsimmons.
To close the gap on the top contenders in Section 5 the Cougars will have to get better on defense — they ranked No. 26 overall in the league last year, allowing 32.7 points per game. They also must improve in the turnover game; they were a minus-12 in takeaways a year ago.
For years the Cougars struggled to dress enough players to field a team. That’s not the case any longer, due in large part to a joint sponsorship agreement with Brandywine Heights, which supplies nearly half the players on the 36-man roster.
At the wire: Chance to move up in Section 5.
