BLOOMSBURG – The Bloomsburg University football team is off to one of its greatest starts in school history. It is setting records every week and has become one of the top teams in the country. BU looks to continue that tradition this weekend as it moves back into conference play with a chance to keep its perfect season alive.
 
The seventh-ranked Huskies (5-0 overall, 2-0 PSAC East) travel to Millersville (1-4, 0-2) on Saturday, Oct. 6 for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup.  Kickoff at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium is set for 12:30 p.m., Bloomsburg's earliest start time of the season.
 
The game will be broadcast live on WHLM (930-AM) based out of Bloomsburg with Jim Doyle and Andy Ulicny calling all the action. In addition, listeners throughout the world can listen to and watch the game live on BU's website at www.buhuskies.com. The pre-game show will begin 30 minutes before kickoff.
 
Saturday marks the 75th meeting between the two programs.  The Huskies have won 12 consecutive games against the Marauders dating back to the 2000 season, and hold the advantage in the overall series, 39-30-5.  Under head coach Danny Hale, Bloomsburg is 7-2 at Biemesderer Stadium.
 
In last year's contest against the Marauders, the Huskies totaled 498 yards and scored 40 unanswered points en route to a 46-7 victory and Bloomsburg's first PSAC East win of the year.  Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) led BU with a career-high 201 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.  This season, Mateo rates third in the PSAC and ninth in Division II in rushing at 140 yards per game.
 
Bloomsburg is coming off a 43-24 victory over Gannon last week, marking the first time in school-history the team has scored 30 or more points through its first five games.
 
Looking deeper into the offensive attack, one of the greatest assets the Huskies have to contribute to the terrific start is its offensive line.  The group of Matt Feiler (Strasburg/Lampeter-Strasburg), Alex Buchert (Robesonia/Conrad Weiser), Chris Steck (Mt. Carmel/Mt. Carmel), Brian Clarke (Hanover/Hanover), and Brandon Allen (Philadelphia/Frankford) has powered through defensive lines game-after-game this season.  Shawn Smith (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) has also seen a significant amount of playing time in 2012 filling in for injuries along the way.
 
With Smith projected to be in the lineup this weekend, the BU offensive line brings together an average height and weight of 6-4, 295 pounds including a left tackle in Feiler that towers over defensive ends at 6-7, 325 pounds to protect the blind side.
 
Well, all defensive ends except for Bloomsburg's own Larry Webster (Hagerstown, MD/Elkton). At 6-7, Webster has become one of the most dominating threats in the country. His 7.5 sacks are tops in the conference and tied for fourth in Division II.  He has tallied a sack in each of his five games this season.
 
The front five has led Bloomsburg to the second-best rushing team in Division II.  Averaging 355.8 yards on the ground, the Huskies look to follow up the 483-yard outing they put together against Gannon.  It was the most rushing yards in a game for Bloomsburg since it ran for 541 against Cheyney in 2004.
 
An eye-opening, but not surprising, 275 of Blooms­burg's 383 plays this season have been rushing plays, 71.8%. On first down, BU has called a running play 140 of 177 first downs, 79.1%.
 
Bloomsburg's offensive line has also used its collective experience on the field to help guide a young freshman quarterback to success.  Through five games, quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) has gone down an average of just 1.2 times per game, good for fourth in the PSAC in sacks allowed.
 
Keeping Kelly's jersey clean has also resulted in the Huskies holding the third-ranked total offense in Division II at 529.8 per game. 
 
Leading the charge in the rushing attack thus far has been junior running back Franklyn Quiteh (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain West). The nation's third-leading rusher is averaging 165.4 yards per clip through five games and recently became the third runner in school-history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark. 
 
Coming off a 202-yard performance against Gannon, Quiteh has totaled 4,034 rushing yards in his career. He is one of 11 runners in the PSAC to run for 4,000 yards and currently ranks ninth all-time.  
 
Scoring points is something that the Huskies have had no trouble doing, and Millersville has had issues preventing.  The Huskies are 99-2 all-time when scoring 40 points and 82-0 when scoring 42 or more.  Millersville has allowed 40 or more points in each of its last four games.
 
The Huskies go up against a Millersville team that has gone up against some tough competition.  Including Bloomsburg, the overall record of MU's opponents the last five weeks is 22-2, four of which are nationally ranked. Millersville has allowed 200 yards rushing in each of its last four games and 300 in two of those. 
 
Millersville is coming off a 41-7 loss to Indiana (PA) last week on its home turf.  Sean Quarterman made his first collegiate start against the Crimson Hawks and broke off a 52-yard run at one point.  However, the Marauders seem to be sticking with their graduate student quarterback Ted Stachitas this week.  He's passed for 405 yards and a pair of touchdowns in four games, but has thrown four interceptions.
 
Stachitas is also Millersville's leading rusher with 201 yards on the ground.  Myron Myles and Mike Jones are getting the bulk of the carries at tailback and have run for a combined 252 yards.
 
Bloomsburg returns home after its contest with Millersville on Saturday, Oct. 13 for its annual homecoming game against East Stroudsburg.  Kickoff at Danny  Hale Field at Redman Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m.