Five Golden Bears Selected to 2024 D2CCA All-Super Region 1 Football Team

Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) was voted as the Super Region 1 Defensive Player of the Year and five Kutztown University football players claimed all-region accolades as the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) released its 2024 all-region teams.

Retter and offensive lineman Adam Kase (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) were First Team selections for the PSAC champion Golden Bears, while linebacker Jalen DeVose (Lansdale, Pa./La Salle College H.S.), defensive lineman Brayden Pohlman (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Mainland Regional) and offensive lineman Ryan Schernecke (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) earned Second Team spots.

Retter, a defensive tackle from Quakertown, Pa., set new career-highs with 22 solo tackles, 13 tackles for loss (TFL), 7.5 sacks, 2 fumbles forced, 2 fumbles recovered and 3 blocked kicks. The 2024 PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year and All-PSAC East First Team pick led the PSAC in blocked kicks while ranking top five in fumbles recovered and sacks per game (0.68). He ranked within the top 25 in NCAA Division II in all three categories.

As a team, Kutztown had one of its best defensive seasons in program history. The Maroon and Gold (11-1) led the PSAC and ranked top 10 in DII in scoring defense (10.2 ppg), rushing defense (68.4 ypg), total defense (234.0 ypg), turnovers gained (26), turnover margin (1.33) and sacks per game (3.33).

Kase, KU's starting right guard, and Schernecke, the starting right tackle, were instrumental in protecting quarterback Judd Novak (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) and helping Kutztown average 30.0 points per game and better than 163 rushing yards per game.

Both Kase, a Wernersville, Pa., native and 2023 D2CCA All-SR1 Second Team selection, and Schernecke, from Hatboro, Pa., started all 12 games this fall and were named All-PSAC East First Team. The Golden Bears allowed the second-fewest sacks in the PSAC and 15th fewest in DII at 0.92 per game. KU's scoring offense was second-best in the PSAC and its rushing offense was third in the conference.

DeVose had another strong season in 2024 after a breakout 2023 that saw Kutztown advance to the NCAA DII semifinals. The graduate student from Lansdale, Pa., made 57 tackles (26 solo) to finish one shy of his career-high, produced a career-high 7 TFL (0.5 sacks), recovered a pair of fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown in a victory at Millersville Nov. 2. DeVose also earned All-PSAC East First Team honors.

Pohlman joined DeVose by backing up his 2023 breakout season. The Egg Harbor Township, N.J., native set new career-highs with 30 tackles (13 solo) and 8 TFL while matching a career-high with 5.0 sacks. Pohlman, a redshirt senior defensive tackle, ranked tied for second on the team in sacks and third in TFL.

Kutztown's five D2CCA All-Region selections are its most in a single season. The Golden Bears previously had four players honored in both 2010 and 2011.