Kutztown won yet another 7s tournament Sunday, running through the field at the ACRC 7s in Virginia Beach, and defeating AIC 36-27 in an exciting final.

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KU showed how deep and talented their squad is, beating Cincinnati 37-5, Rutgers 43-0, and St. Bonaventure 36-5 in pool play. Meanwhile, their 2nd team was also unbeaten, taking down Old Dominion, Miami of Ohio, and Hartford.

AIC, meanwhile, waded through Bentley, East Stroudsburg, and Temple on their way to a 3-0 record. In the quarterfinals, American International got by a tough Buffalo team 28-7, while Kutztown beat Bonnies once more, this time 26-7. KU II finally fell, losing to Stony Brook 26-5, while St. Joe’s beat Old Dominion to also make the semis.

AIC handled St. Joe’s in impressive fashion 38-5, and Kutztown defeated Stony Brook 31-7. So the two finalists had not only gone 5-0 in making the final, only once had either team allowed more than on try in a game (AIC’s 34-12 defeat of Temple).

That would not hold true for the final, as the two teams continued to trade tries and build on their rivalry.

“We played AIC in our own tournament, and they’re better now,” said KU Coach Larry Chester. “They played very well and we needed everything we had to win.”

And that included the bench. Chester said that following Kutztown’s less-than-stellar performance at the LVI in Las Vegas, they recommitted themselves not only to fitness and execution, but to depth. 

“We’ve played a lot of 7s, this was our 40th game this year,” said Chester. “And we’ve put a lot of players on the field because we want to be able to bring in subs and maintain the level of play. We’ve worked hard at that.”

Alex Faison Donohoe scored three tries, and Trent Hensley, Wesley Hartmann, and Robert Stotz added tries of their own, with Nu’u Aiava adding three conversions as the Bears built on a 17-12 halftime lead and won 36-27.

“The key for us was the bench,” said Chester. “In the 6th game of a tournament with ten-minute halves, we were able to bring on players who really helped us finish.”

St. Bonaventure defeated Buffalo to win the Plate. Temple edged Dayton by a conversion 28-26 to win the Bowl, and East Stroudsburg took home the Shield.