THE BASICS
-Score: Kutztown 54, Assumption 16
-Records: Assumption (0-1), Kutztown (1-0)
-Location: Kutztown, Penn.
-The Lead: The Assumption College football team fell to the Golden Bear's of Kutztown University on the road in their season opener on Saturday afternoon. Kutztown erupted for 35 first-half points to defeat the Hounds 54-16 at Andre Reed Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Golden Bears jumped out to an early lead, connecting on their first drive of the game for the 7-0 advantage. Abdul-Hassan Neblett started the drive with a 13-yard rush. Red-shirt senior quarterback Collin DiGalbo followed up with a 12-yard pass to his classmate Jack Pilkerton before Neblett rushed for another 23 yards to bring the hosts to the Hounds 22-yard line. DiGalbo finished the drive when he connected with Pilkerton again with a 20-yard pass into the endzone (7-0).
-On their second drive of the game and a third and nine play, DiGalbo completed a 50-yard pass to junior Mason McElroy to bring them to the Assumption 29-yard line. Neblett rushed for three yards and 24 yards back-to-back to bring Kutztown to the Hounds two-yard line before Digablo found Pilkerton in the endzone again. Red-shirt junior kicker, Dean Krcic kicked the extra point as the hosts pulled ahead 14-0 with 9:08 on the clock in the first.
-The hosts extended their lead to 21-0 with a 76-yard rushing touchdown by DiGalbo late in the first quarter.
-Assumption got on the board with 1:44 to go in the first. On a third and four play junior quarterback Easton Turner (Ashburn, Va. / Stone Bridge) completed a 23-yard pass to senior Tighe Beck (Wakefield, Mass. / Wakefield Memorial) to bring them to the Golden Bear's 35-yard line. Turner found senior wide receiver Justin Assad (Melrose, Mass. / Pingree) to bring the Hounds to the Kutztown 10 before senior Khaleed Exum-Strong (Norwichtown, Conn. / Norwich Free Academy / Trinity Pawling) pushed through the defense from 3-yards out for the touchdown. Junior Jacob Tondel's (Webster, Mass. / Shepherd Hill Regional) kick was good for the extra point as the Hounds trailed 21-7 heading into the second quarter.
-The Golden Bears found their way into the endzone again with 8:31 on the clock. DiGalbo completed a 40-yard pass to Diego Torres and finished the drive with a 20-yard pass to red-shirt freshman, Jake Novak as the hosts pulled ahead 28-7. After an Assumption turnover, Kutztown struck again with another DiGalbo, Novak connection for the 35-7 lead.
-Five minutes into the third quarter, Darryl Davis-McNeil rushed for the Golden Bear's sixth touchdown of the game and the 41-7 advantage. The Hounds put up two points when they returned a blocked point after attempt at the 9:29 mark (41-9).
-With 1:06 remaining in the third quarter Easton Turner connected with Assad on a 41-yard pass to bring the Hounds into Kutztown's two-yard line. Senior Doug Santos (Peabody, Mass. / Peabody Veterans Memorial) rushed the final two yards for the touchdown as the Hounds trailed 47-16 heading into the final quarter.
-Kutztown scored their final touchdown of the game in their first drive of the fourth quarter. Running back Keagan Harvin snuck through the Assumption defense into the endzone with 11:45 on the clock for the final 54-16 final victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Kutztown outgained Assumption 629-306 in the contest. The hosts finished with 310 passing yards and 319 rushing yards on 77 total plays.
-Exum-Strong led the hounds with 66 rushing yards while Easton Turner completed 12 of 23 passing attempts with two interceptions and finished with a total of 169 passing yards.
-DiGalbo finished with 263 passing yards, completing 16 of 23 passing attempts. Neblett led the hosts in rushing yards with 104.
-First year Brevin Easton (Odenton, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) and senior Justin Assad (Melrose, Mass. / Pingree) led Assumption in receiving with 49 and 48 yards respectively. Novak grabbed five passes for 69 receiving yards to lead the Golden Bears.
-Senior Mac-Brian Nkongchu (Worcester, Mass. / St. John's) led the Hounds' defense with seven total tackles, three solo and four assists.
-Shawn Turber-Ortiz led Kutztown's defense with 11 total tackles, six solo and five assists.
UP NEXT
-Assumption hosts Saint Anselm on Saturday, September 14th at 1:00 p.m.
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