JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Still struggling a bit with a head cold, so I didn’t go hog-wild on my MU capsule this week. All apologies for that. But I was able to put this together …
THE GAME: Kutztown (1-3 PSAC East, 4-6 overall) @ Millersville (2-2 PSAC East, 3-7 overall), Saturday, 1 p.m., Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium, Millersville.
NOTABLE: This is the season finale for both teams.
ON THE AIR: You can listen to the game on WPDC-AM 1600, and listen to live streaming audio of the game at redzonemedia.com. And if you’re cruising around in Berks County (my home base) on Saturday, you can listen to the game on WEEU-AM 830.
THE SERIES: This is the 81st meeting between MU and KU, dating back to 1903. Marauders lead 56-21-3, including a 45-17 win last year in Kutztown. … MU has won the last three games in a row, including a 38-37 win in Millersville in 2005. … KU’s last win in the series was in 2003 (17-0), and KU’s last win at MU was in 1997. … This is the first time MU and KU have met in a season finale since 1946. You can rest comfortably now.
THE COACHES: MU’s Joe Trainer is in his third season and is 13-19 overall – including a 2-0 mark against KU. … KU’s Raymond Monica is in his second season and is 8-12 overall. He went 4-6 last fall in his first year with the Golden Bears. He was formerly the defensive coordinator for Temple, and he was an assistant coach at his alma mater, North Alabama, where he helped that team win three Division 2 national title from 1993-95.
MILLERSVILLE LAST WEEK: Marauders dropped a 17-10 non-con decision to Bentley last Saturday when backup QB Henry Morris hit Jehan Murphy for a 15-yard TD with 30 seconds to play. That’s a stinger. … MU did have one last-gasp drive, with QB Bill Shirk hitting Randall Eggleton, Brad Lantz and Andrew Tischbein for completions. But his last-second pass to Jimmie Cotton in the end zone was broken up, and MU lost for the fourth time in five games.
MILLERSVILLE SCHEDULE/RESULTS: 8-25 @ Shepherd (L 36-7), 9-8 @ Slippery Rock (L 21-5), 9-15 Lock Haven (W 19-19), 9-22 @ IUP (L 45-0), 9-29 @ East Stroudsburg (W 36-24), 10-6 West Chester (L 42-14), 10-13 @ Shippensburg (L 23-14), 10-20 @ Bloomsburg (L 42-28), 10-27 @ Cheyney (W 16-0), 11-3 Bentley (L 17-10), 11-10 Kutztown.
KUTZTOWN LAST WEEK: Not a happy finish on Senior Day for the Golden Bears, who dropped a 24-23 decision to East Stroudsburg when ESU’s Greg Knauss drilled a 40-yard field goal with 18 seconds to play.
KUTZTOWN SCHEDULE/RESULTS: 9-1 @ Southern Connecticut State (L 53-30), 9-8 @ Clarion (W 35-13), 9-15 Shippensburg (W 28-16), 9-22 @ Slippery Rock (L 45-9), 9-29 American International (W 55-20), 10-6 Bloomsburg (L 49-32), 9-13 @ West Chester (L 21-0), 9-20 Cheyney (W 40-21), 10-27 Edinboro (L 35-28), 11-3 East Stroudsburg (L 24-23), 11-20 @ Millersville.
ABOUT MILLERSVILLE: Freshman QB Jamal Smith rushed for a TD and completed 7-of-13 passes for 118 yards and rushed for 37 yards against Bentley. Smith has rushed for 527 yards and 5 TD, and he’s completed 59-of-152 passes for 788 yards with 4 TD and 6 picks. … DB Brandon Shelton picked off his sixth pass this season last Saturday. He also had four tackles and defended a pair of passes against Bentley. … McCaskey grad John Banzhof booted a 34-yard field goal against Bentley. … RB Brad Lantz rushed for 70 yards and caught four passes for 40 yards last Saturday. Lantz leads the team with 750 rushing yards on 201 carries. … Leading receiver is Randall Eggleton (23-340, 14.8 avg, 2 TD).
ABOUT KUTZTOWN: Golden Bears lead the PSAC East in first downs (214) and averages the fewest penalty yards a game in the PSAC (45.8). … WR Elfren Quiles (58 catches, 1,114 yards, 19.2 avg, 8 TD) is the first player in KU history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. … Leading rushers are Dontay Wilson (88-485, 5.5 avg, 4 TD), Cory McFadden (75-316, 4.2 avg, 2 TD) and Ty Dinnis (89-313, 3.5 avg, 3 TD). … QB Kyle Spotts is 176-of-346 (51 percent) for 2,466 yards with 20 TD and 13 picks. … Leading tackler is Brian Bingnear (58 solos, 38 assists, 96 total, 3 for loss, 3 picks, 5 pass breakups). Bingnear had 18 tackles last Saturday against East Stroud.
L-L LEAGUE CONNECTION: There are four former L-L League on Kutztown’s roster – Warwick RB Joe Strauss (5-10, 225, Jr), Garden Spot QB Shane Martin (6-1, 200 Jr), Warwick DT Dan Hassell (5-10, 210, Fr) and Manheim Township DT Colin Henny (6-4, 250, Fr).
THE PICK: I’m going with the Marauders here. They’ve had a goofy season with the off-the-field stuff. And the late loss to Bentley at home last week should have them fired up for this one. Not exactly the most fun season of all time for MU (which spent the first half of the season making incredibly long bus trips all over the state), but here’s guessing they’ll cap it with a victory. Millersville 28, Kutztown 20. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go swallow a bottle of cold medicine.
