Last week, Lock Haven nearly erased a 31-3 third-quarter deficit in exciting fashion, but came up on the short end against Shepherd, 45-38. Lock Haven fell behind in that game with just three first-half points. The Bald Eagles are hoping to start strong and play well all four quarters as they head to undefeated Kutztown (5-0) for a noon game on Saturday.
Kutztown will be a tough opponent for the Bald Eagles (2-3) as the Golden Bears are ranked No. 5.
Against Shepherd, Lock Haven’s passing game was outstanding as Jackson Ostrowsky threw for 470 yards and helped ignite the second-half rally attempt. Ostrowsky went 31 for 50 and had four touchdowns. But while Ostrowsky was great passing, the Lock Haven run game accounted for just 27 rushing yards, 16 of which came from Damir Green. The Bald Eagles have just 461 yards on the ground threw five games and are averaging 92.2 per game. KJ Howard leads the team with 246 rushing yards, majority of which came in Lock Haven’s season opener against Glenville State. The Bald Eagles will look to get the run game going this week to complement Ostrowsky’s passing game.
Ostrowsky had four receivers last week with 50 or more receiving yards. Corahn Alleyne had five catches for 127 and a touchdown, T’iar Young had eight catches for 112 and a touchdown, Quon Williams caught seven passes for 69 and a touchdown and Green had five receptions for 53 yards.
Ostrowsky, who was named PSAC East Athlete of the Week this past week for his 470-yard performance, has throw for 1,523 yards this year with 12 touchdowns to just six interceptions.
Defensively against Shepherd, Kasir Henry had 14 tackles and Izzy Ramos recorded 10. Darryl Pollard had a tackle for loss as well, but Lock Haven was unable to register a sack against a tough Shepherd offensive line.
The Golden Bears have played well defensively all year. Of their five games, only two opponents have recorded two or more touchdowns in Gannon (14 points) and East Stroudsburg (21). East Stroudsburg is the only opponent to be within a touchdown of Kutztown in the final score.
Kutztown cruised past Bloomsburg last week, 42-10. Judd Novak threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns — missing just four passes as he finished 20 for 24. Bloomsburg did well keeping Kutztown’s run game in check, as Steven Burkhardt had a team-high 33 rushing yards.
On defense, the Golden Bears had six players record or combine for a tackle for loss in Zach Perta (1.5), Jalen DeVose (1.5), Blaise Harris (1.0), Khi’on Smitih (1.0), Drew Hensor (0.5) and Eden Johnson (0.5). DeVose, Hensor and Brandon Strausser all had six tackles in the game and Harris recorded five.
That means the Golden Bears defense will try to disrupt Lock Haven’s passing rhythm and get to Ostrowsky. Kutztown’s defense has held its opponents to just 122.80 passing yards per game and four players have at least one interception in Elijah Yakpasuo Jr. (2), Brandon Hile (1), Eden Johnson (1) and Henson (1).