November 15th, 2025 2:02pm
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Something had to give. A streak had to be broken. In recent years, the IUP and Kutztown football teams had found frequent success in PSAC Championship Games – with IUP winning the last five they had appeared in while Kutztown had won it in its last three appearances.
On an overcast Saturday afternoon at Andre Reed Stadium in Kutztown, the Golden Bears were the team to keep their streak alive – holding on for a 28-23 victory over the Crimson Hawks. KU has now won three consecutive PSAC titles (and four of the last five.)
IUP was the first team all season long to score against Kutztown in the first quarter, and also the first team to have a lead against them in a game this fall. Crimson Hawks’ quarterback Matthew Rueve led his team down the field on the opening drive of the game and tossed a 26-yard strike to Jeremiah Coleman to make it 7-0. On the ensuing drive. Kutztown QB Judd Novak answered and found Trevor Amorim for the 12-yard TD to tie the game, 7-7.
IUP went ahead yet again in the second quarter with another Rueve touchdown, this time to Devin Whitlock, to make it 14-7. Yet again KU answered, as Steven Burkhardt rumbled nine yards on the ground into the endzone to tie things up again with 1:28 to go in the half. IUP put together a quality two-minute-drill that led to a Nick Andrasi 50-yard field goal to give IUP the lead at halftime, 17-14.
The second half adjustments seemed to favor the Golden Bears, though, as Novak found Burkhardt for a 12-yard score on the first drive of the third quarter to go up 21-17 and the KU defense finally began getting to Rueve, totaling six sacks in the game, including two from eventual Championship Game MVP Brayden Pohlman.