FULL GAME NOTES
 
Ursinus (1-0) vs Kean (0-1)
When: Saturday, September 9th
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO, PCTV
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Series Tied 1-1
First Meeting: 2000 – Ursinus won 24-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 21, 2009 @ Kean – Kean won 35-14
Streak: Kean +1
 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team will host Kean on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.
 
The contest is the first of three New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) schools that the Bears will be facing this season due to the two-year scheduling agreement between the Centennial and the NJAC conferences. The last time these two teams faced was in the ECAC Southeast Bowl back on November 21st, 2019 at Kean. The Cougars came out on top in the contest 35-14 after pulling away in the fourth quarter.
 
HOUSE CALL: Sophomore Cody House had a night to remember on Friday against Alvernia. House caught three touchdown passes and led the Bears with 88 yards on six catches. He also made a difference on special teams by adding a combined 100 yards between punt and kick returns. House averaged 11.8 yards per return on five attempts which included a 34-yard return that nearly went for a touchdown in the second quarter. House ran his only kick 41 yards to midfield to set the Bears up to start the second half. House had only appeared in in two games last season and had made one reception while returning two punts. His 188 all-purpose yards were the most in a game since junior Tony Holden totaled 161 against Dickinson in last year's regular season finale.
 
SO FAR SO GOOD: Junior quarterback Jalen Bradford had a strong first collegiate start against Alvernia on Friday night. Bradford threw for 224 yards through the air with three touchdown passes and one interception that came off a desperation toss on the final play of the first half. Bradford showed his dual threat abilities as well by rushing for 14 yards on eight carries. He helped power the Bears offense for a combined 410 yards against the Golden Wolves and topped all of his previous career highs in passing yards along with touchdown passes set last year.
 
 
SACK PARTY: The Bears defense made life difficult for Alvernia's starting quarterback Colin Payne on Friday night. Ursinus racked up eight sacks which was the most in a game for the team since having eight against Gettysburg in 2019. Defensive ends Ryan Bodolus and Connor Carter led the way with 1.5 sacks apiece while six other Bears recorded at least a 0.5 sack. Bodolus's sacks moved him within 5.5 sacks of the Ursinus career sacks record. Ursinus ranked second only to Johns Hopkins in 2022 with 32 sacks as a team last season behind having two players with at least 10 sacks. The pass rush helped the Bears allow just 12 rushing yards to the Golden Wolves which was the least since allowing 11 last year to Susquehanna.  
 
GO DJ THAT'S MY DJ: Sophomore defensive back DJ Clarke recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter of the Bears win over Alvernia. Clarke also added three tackles (two solo) in his first game on defense. Clarke, a graduate of nearby Pope John Paul II, came to Ursinus as a quarterback last season before converting to being a cornerback during the summer. He was a part of a strong showing by the Bears secondary that allowed just 185 total passing yards after allowing 380 to the Golden Wolves in 2022. 
 
 
KICKSTART: Sophomore kicker Jordan Carr had big shoes to fill after the graduation of Dakota Wherrity from 2022, who had set single-season records for the Bears in field goals, extra points, and points scored. Carr made the most of his first collegiate start by knocking home all five extra point attempts and a 22-yard field goal attempt. Carr also showcased his leg strength by averaging 61.9 yards on his kick returns and tallying four touchbacks.
 
 
THE LOW MAN: Senior fullback Dawson Fresses scored a pair of touchdowns in the Bears win over Alvernia on Friday night. Fresses initially got the Bears on the board during their opening possession of the game with a 10-yard score before punching it in from the goal line in the next quarter. Fresses finished the night with 44 yards on nine carries and it was his third multi-rushing touchdown game of his career. 


SCOUTING THE COUGARS: The Cougars are led on offense by dual threat quarterback Robbie Nungesser. Nungesser threw for 83 yards through the air while adding a team-high 57 yards on 10 carries against Morrisville. He led the team last season with 280 yards on the ground and had four touchdowns along with his eight touchdown passes in the air. Junior wide receiver Dazzy Iannuzzio led the Cougars with 43 receiving yards on three catches this past Saturday after pacing the team with four touchdown receptions last season. Nungesser and Iannuzzio both earned second team All-NJAC honors last season. Junior Anthony Sumney will be one of the Cougars feature backs along with first-year Julian Jones.
             
     On defense, senior defensive back Gabe Robles led the Cougars with a game-high eight tackles (four solo) against Morrisville while breaking up two passes. Fifth-year linebacker Kervin Coleman had the most tackles coming into the season among all of Kean's returning defenders in 2022 and had four tackles (one solo) against Morrisville. Sophomores Chris Amos and Nick Atchison each forced fumbles against the Mustangs. Junior linebacker Nick Sura matched Robles with a team-high eight tackles against the Mustangs and will help anchor a tenacious Cougar defense.