Tiffin Edged by Kutztown in NCAA Championship First Round

11.25.19

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – It came down to the last possession in the final moments as No. 2 seed Kutztown was able to hang on and defeat Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion Tiffin in the first round of the NCAA Division II football playoffs, 33-31.
 
In front of almost 2,000 fans on Saturday after noonat Andre Reed Stadium, the Dragons (9-2) put it all on the line as significant underdogs in Super Region 1 against KU representing the league.
 
Tiffin was positioned well from a go-ahead touchdown by Great Midwest Player of the Year and RB JaQuan Hardy, a 1-yard dive, with 1:26 to go, but the Bears marched down the field and countered with 44 seconds left on the clock.
 
The Dragons blocked the ensuing PAT try, but there just wasn’t enough time or timeouts remaining to muster one final drive. The big play for Kutztown to set up the game-winning score was a 54-yard pass completion from QB Collin DiGalbo to WR Diego Torres.
 
Two plays later, DiGalbo connected with big TE Jack Pilkerton from six yards out. Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year QB Nick Watson had 44 seconds left to work with, but was picked off on a 3rd and long to seal the deal.
 
Watson ran to a score and threw for two more touchdowns, both to all-conference receiver/returner Devin Butler. The latter, a 17-yard connection, gave Tiffin a 24-20 lead early in the third quarter.
 
Watson also put the Dragons on the scoreboard first, taking the crowd out early with a four-yard run midway through the first quarter. He finished the game with 192 yards passing on 22 completions.
 
Butler had a 100-yard day as Watson’s target of choice, hauling in 12 catches for 104 and the two TD’s.
 
Hardy had 144 yards on the ground on 26 carries, officially giving the redshirt junior a share of the single-season conference rushing record with 1,554 yards. He tied Findlay’s Daouda Sylla, who had the identical rushing total in 2017, the Oilers first season in the league.
 
Defensively, Ross Moore and Carrington Contee led the Dragons with eight tackles each. Moore also picked off the PSAC East Player of the Year DiGalbo, who threw for 462 yards in his team’s effort.
 
Kutztown will face No. 3 seed Notre Dame (OH) next Saturday in the second round of the playoffs.
 
This was the second year a Great Midwest institution has been matched up against the Bears from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) after Hillsdale defeated Kutztown in the 2018 playoffs.