Penn State got a big second half and Kutztown survived a difficult one for both teams to emerge victorious in D1-A Rugby East action Saturday.

With the big Army v. Navy game coming in the evening, both teams were eager to put pressure on league-leaders West Point.

Penn State had to battle with rivals Ohio State in the early going, and only opened things up in the second half, eventually running away 60-17.

"We played good team rugby but when we go into scoring position, the guys played too much as individuals, and we weren't able to finish," said Penn State Head Coach Don Ferrell. "Once we started playing more team rugby in the scoring zone and played to the pattern, the tries came."

Penn State still struggled with penalties - Ferrell said his defense was over-eager and they were offside too much - but finished well.

"We have been working on our fitness and I think our fitness showed," said the coach. "Now we need to clean up our discipline and penalty count, with two tough games coming up."

Penn State moves to 4-0, but has Kutztown (now 3-1) and Army (currently 3-0 going into tonight's game at Navy) left.

"Two very tough games left," reiterated Ferrell. "We can't really think about Army or the ramifications of that game before we get through Kutztown. They are a big rival for us and it's always a barnburner."

Kutztown survived Delaware more than anything else, beating the Blue Hens 20-13 on a windy afternoon. Following the kickoff, the teams packed down for the first scrum of the day. From that scrum KU scrumhalf Andrew Abt tipped the ball carrier over - an illegal tip tackle that resulted in an automatic red card. For virtually the entire game, Kutztown played a man down.

Head Coach Gregg Jones moved some players around, and slotted hooker Jamie Gregory in at scrumhalf, where he played extremely well. In fact, Gregory opened the scoring with a try ten minutes in. Playing with the wind, Kutztown was able to get some momentum going and scored midway through the first period - center Bruce Dolan doing the honors. Devon Somma's conversion made it 12-0, and he added a penalty before lock Mike Lawrenson made it 20-0 at the break.

Playing with the wind in the second half, Delaware scored two tries and a penalty, but were unable to really break through Kutztown's tenacious forward pack.

Jones said he was proud of the 20-13 victory, accomplished as it was with 14 men.

"I am very pleased with how they just got down to business and didn't get down on themselves," said Jones. "Delaware is a good team but our forward pack was really outstanding."

Stung by injuries and now the knowledge that they will be without Abt for the Penn State game (mandatory suspension for a red card), KU can look back on last season, when they kept losing close games, and be pleased with a 3-1 record. 

"Last year we started seven freshmen," said Jones. "They are all sophomores now and have learned a lot. This is still a young team and we're improving."