Game 606: College of Notre Dame advances in D-2 with 20-17 victory over Kutztown as time expires
Kutztown, PA – Tanner Harding’s 30-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired in the second round of D-2 play, and his Notre Dame College Falcons (Ohio) defeated the Kutztown Golden Bears to advance to the quarter finals, 20-17. The Falcons meet No. 1 seed Slippery Rock next Saturday for the Super East Regional final. Needless to say, for Collegefootballfan.com, we attended our sixth straight game decided in the final minute of play in which five of those final scores were determined on the last play of each game.
Though the Falcons trailed throughout this game until the very last play, their defense came up big with four INTs and a fumble recovery lost by Bear QB Collin DiGalbo in the end zone to stay within striking distance throughout. The Golden Bear offense moved at will in the first quarter, but they scored to no avail while the defense stymied the Falcon offense. However, a missed FG attempt by struggling PK Dean Krcic and a pick at the goal line by Falcon DB Davionn Johnson keyed a scoreless first quarter for both teams that averaged over 35 points per game during the season.
Breaking the ice
Kutztown got the scoring started on its first drive in the second on a double reverse pass from WR Jake Novak to fellow wide-out Jerry Kapp from 15 yards out. The Falcon offense came to life on its ensuing possession when RB DJ Greene (16 carries for 130 yards, one TD) burst through the middle for a 52-yard touchdown jaunt. Likewise, KU wasted no time responding. On its next play from scrimmage, DiGalbo (19 of 43, 266 yards, one TD, four INTs) hit WR Diego Torres in stride for an over-the-shoulder 80-yard scoring play for a 14-7 lead. It looked like the offenses got warmed up now to start up a back and forth shoot-out.
Something, not right?
On the contrary, no more scoring took place in the first half. Before the second expired, Notre Dame College intercepted DiGalbo on two consecutive drives. DiGalbo, who displayed a strong arm and a penchant to run the first two times we watched the Bears play this season, definitely lacked zip on any of his passes and tended to hang long passes up in the air, many for overthrows, and some just off target to get tipped into the air for NDC picks. Watching him warm-up at one point along the sideline, he seemed to intentionally keep elbow lower than his shoulder when he threw. I anticipated that HC Jim Clement might remove him for strong-armed back-up Junior Eric Nickel we’d seen play before to enter the game.
Guest Game Analyst Tim Potopa (Kutztown alum and today’s official game clock operator) who I met many years ago through our mutual Altoona friend John Massimilla, met with me briefly at half time and again after the game. Tim mentioned he was also surprised that DiGalbo, who usually ran as much as he passed, didn’t seem to call his own number as he usually does. Coming into this game, team stats indicated he totaled 690 yards on 131 carries. He totaled only 23 yards on 10 carries, but most weren’t results of plays called. The Falcons defense held him in check.
Third period coming up three’s
Expecting to see some offensive adjustments in the second half, KU’s first possession ended with DiGalbo’s fourth INT snagged by DB Jeffrey Thomas. The NDC Falcons drove 58 yards to set up Harding’s 30-yard FG to close within four. Later in the period, Bear DL Earl Volz recovered QB Chris Brimm’s fumble at the Kutztown 47. Things took a step in the right direction for the Golden Bears when Krcic booted a 24-yard FG to put the home team into Q4 with a 17-10 lead.
Sound strategy
The visitors drove heading into the final period from their 25 to the KU four. There, on fourth and one, Notre Dame HC Mike Jacobs opted to at least get a first down if not a touchdown, or if not, hopefully hold the Bears to get the ball back with decent field position. The Bears Volz stopped RB Jaleel McLaughlin for a one-yard loss where the Bears took over on their five. Jacobs’ strategy paid off probably better than he expected. On third down from the seven, DiGalbo dropped back into the end zone looking for a receiver and took a hit from his right jarring to ball loose only to get recovered by Falcon DL Saivon Davis to tie the score at 17-all with 10:11 left to play.
Following an exchange of punts and a turnover on downs by Kutztown at the Notre Dame College 40, a Harding FG attempt from 44 yards sailed wide right and KU took over with 1:27 left in the game. It looked like overtime for sure. I wondered how my seat would be based on which end of the field each team would select in a bleacher-seat stadium inhabited by only 1,638 fans, about 90% of them wearing Kutztown maroon and gold. However, after a KU first down, DiGalbo threw three straight incompletions stopping the clock each time before punting to start NDC from its 40 with only 41 seconds remaining on the clock.
Work horse
Jaleel McLaughlin (32 carries for 163 yards) went to work for the Falcons. On the first play, he rambled for 20 yards. On his next, he picked up seven. After calling time-out, he rambled around KU tacklers for 26 yards to the KU seven. Following a delay of game and a one-yard loss, Harding’s kick sailed through the uprights from 30 for the Notre Dame College victory. Their band played the fight song which is not as stirring as the other ND’s we all know. Their hundred or so fans celebrated with a muffled roar across the field as the home side of Andre Reed Stadium sat in silence. Season finished, they stay home now.
Moving on and up?
The Notre Dame College Falcons move on to the next round to face No. 1 seed Slippery Rock in the Super East Regional finale. We last saw the Rock defeat KU here two weeks ago 37-35 among the games of our final-play, winning streak. We still say the Bears had a better chance of scoring on a “Hail Mary” instead of a long field goal kick into the strong wind that day. Last Saturday, SRU defeated Shepherd, 51-30. I see the Falcons and The Rock playing one another close into the final period with The Rock finding a way to win to move on to the semi-finals for the D-2 National Championship. Kutztown finished a fantastic season with a 11-2 record. They fell short of still being undefeated by only five points with both losses coming at home in games Collegefootballfan.com attended. Sorry, Golden Bears.
Next – D-3 fun!
Collegefooballfan.com looks to go a D-3 quarterfinal next Saturday when we will see the No.1 seed Salisbury Sea Gulls (11-0) host the No. 2 seed Muhlenberg Mule (12-0) in Maryland. In the final D3Football.com poll published prior to the parings; Muhlenberg finished No. 4 nationally ahead of Salisbury at No. 6. There’s extra incentive for both squads in this game. The host Gulls of the New Jersey Athletic Conference come in off of a 62-41 win over Union College (NY) while the Mules of the Centennial Conference dominated Brockport State of the Empire Eight, 42-0. They have outscored both opponents thus far (MIT the other), 80-0. On the other hand, the Gulls opened up the first-round trouncing SUNY Maritime, 84-0. We predict a fight to the finish, but we think it will be low scoring as defenses will step up in this one. We’ll give the edge to the Mules.
Good news to the winner, Mount Union will not make it to the championship game. Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wisconsin -Whitewater, perennial contenders, still loom. Looking forward to seeing two undefeated teams meet this time of year no matter what level of NCAA football we see!
