KUTZTOWN, Pa. — Taking on one of the best teams in the nation on Saturday, Clarion lost to #3/4 Kutztown 45-14 at Andre Reed Stadium on Saturday. The Golden Eagles did their scoring in the second half, totaling 295 passing yards but just 46 rushing yards, and had trouble slowing the PSAC's most productive offense.
Going on the road to take on the reigning PSAC champion and a 2025 national semifinalist, the Golden Eagles defense started the game well before the Golden Bears began to take control of the action.
Jack Capotosto sacked Judd Novak for a 6-yard loss to open the Golden Bears' first possession, but the Golden Bears later finished the drive with Novak's 7-yard rushing touchdown and the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The game broke open early in the second quarterwhen the Golden Bears tacked on an offensive and a special teams touchdown on back-to-back drives. After Luke Maxwell scored on a 2nd-and-Goal from the 1-yard line to make it 14-0, Kutztown blocked a Clarion punt, with Michael LeMay returning it 17 yards for a touchdown to make it a three-score game.
The Golden Bears later completed an 82-yard touchdown drive, taking a 28-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Golden Eagles' biggest response came in the third quarter, when the Golden Eagles drove 93 yards in 10 plays from their own 7 and finished with
Jase Ferguson's 10-yard touchdown pass to
Austin VanHuss at 2:19, followed by Woods' extra point to make it 31-7. Earlier, the Golden Eagles' defense opened the quarter with
Jaylin Miller's sack and later limited a long Golden Bears possession to a 23-yard field goal after
Jerome Williams II and Butler combined on a tackle for loss near the goal line and
Najhir Kibidor pressured an incompletion.
On the scoring drive, Ferguson moved the chains with a 7-yard completion to
Davon Jones and two runs, then hit
Ja'Tawn Williams on a 50-yard bomb to the Golden Bears' 23 before Gardner added runs of nine and two yards to push into the red zone. On the scoring play, Ferguson escaped pressure in the pocket and rolled to his left, with VanHuss finding a soft spot in the front of the end zone and pulling it down inside the pylon for the touchdown.
With the Golden Bears ahead 38-7 after an opening touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles tacked on another touchdown thanks to a long throw. This time it was Colin Willard who made the big catch on the scramble drill, rushing down the right sideline and hauling in a pass from Ferguson for a 62-yard score that cut it to 38-14.
The Golden Bears responded with a 62-yard rushing touchdown and PAT to move the score to 45-14 with 9:09 left. The Golden Eagles then put together a 12-play, 51-yard drive that lasted 5:58, as
Zach Switzer converted third downs with a 7-yard run and a 21-yard completion to Williams while also hitting
Tsirell Curry for 16 yards. The drive ended on fourth-and-7 at the Golden Bears' 24, and the Golden Bears ran out the final 3:11.
Ferguson completed 16 of 28 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Ja'Tawn Williams caught five passes for 95 yards, while Willard recorded one reception for 62 yards and a touchdown. Kibidor led the Golden Eagles defensively with 10 tackles, while
Jack Capotosto and
Jaylin Miller each had sacks.
