Kutztown beats Columbia for 2nd league win

Kutztown ran for 463 yards and had three 100yard rushers, but still had to take some chances late in the fourth quarter Friday to come away with a 1913 win over Columbia in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 game at Columbia.

Jacob Lafferty ran for 164 yards on 26 carries, Dakota Thomas had 135 yards on 18 carries and Brenden Ackley had 129 yards on 23 carries for the Cougars (2-4, 3-6), who have won multiple league games in a season for the first time since going 3-3 in Section 2 of the InterCounty League in 2008.

The three victories also are the most for Kutztown since it went 4-6 in 2016.

With Friday’s game tied at 13-13, the Cougars took over at their 14. Three plays later, they were facing a fourth-and-2. Coach Larry Chester decided to go for it and Thomas ran for 4 yards to pick up the first down.

Thomas eventually capped the drive with a 36-yard scoring run to put Kutztown up 19-13 with 3:26 left.

The next gamble came on the kickoff when the Cougars tried an onside kick, which they recovered at the Crimson Tide 42.

Columbia (1-5, 3-6) did get a final chance after Kutztown was unable to run out the clock, but eventually turned it over on downs.

The Cougars had taken a 7-0 on the game’s opening drive on a 15-yard run by Jayden Swoyer.

The Crimson Tide tied on a 24-yard run by Dominic Diaz-Ellis.

Ackley put Kutztown up 13-7 on a 10-yard run with 8:31 left. Columbia’s Demari Simms returned the ensuing kickoff 82-yards for a touchdown.

The Cougars stopped a fake on the extra-point try to keep it tied at 13-13.