BLOOMSBURG – The 11th-ranked Bloomsburg University football team last met LIU Post on a snowy afternoon in October last season that ended Bloomsburg's eight-game winning streak.  Despite a hopeful change in weather from last season's bout, the Huskies look to stick with what has worked this season to keep its strong start rolling.
 
Bloomsburg (3-0 overall, 1-0 PSAC East) continues its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division schedule with a road contest against LIU Post (2-0, 1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 22.  Kickoff at Hickox Field in Brookville, N.Y. is set for 1 p.m.
 
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 the game live on BU's website at www.buhuskies.com. The pre-game show will begin 30 minutes before kickoff.
 
The Huskies are off to a 3-0 start for the fourth time in the last five years and continue to gain national recognition.  BU is rated 11th by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and 12th by D2Football.com.
 
Saturday's game will be the sixth meeting between Bloomsburg and LIU Post.  The Huskies have won four of the five meetings, outscoring the Pioneers 136-88.  However, LIU Post is coming of its first-ever win over the Huskies with a 24-21 win last season.  Bloomsburg was ranked second in the country before suffering its first loss of the season. Each team won its opening PSAC East matchup last week as Bloomsburg defeated Kutztown, 44-37, and LIU Post defeated Cheyney, 45-10.
 
Last week's victory over Kutztown came down to the wire on Bloomsburg's home turf.  With Kutztown driving in the final minutes with a chance to tie the game, senior defensive back Terrell Oglesby (Philadelphia/Northeast Catholic) jumped a pass for his first interception of the season.  The entire Bloomsburg team jumped in excitement, as a BU victory was all but sealed up.  You could tell this was the start of something special.
 
“We were all very excited with the way we ended the game,” Oglesby commented on his late-game interception.  “I was happy to be the one to end the game for us and a lot of us felt it was the best feeling we've had as a Husky.”
 
The win over then-23rd-ranked Kutztown was the first over a nationally-ranked opponent since Bloomsburg's 28-26 decision over California (PA) in the first round of the NCAA playoffs in 2010.
 
The running game on both sides of the ball has helped lead to the early success this season.  The Huskies hold the second-best rushing attack in the country (332.33) and have two runners working their way to towards the top of the national leaderboard.
 
Bloomsburg's 309 yards on the ground against Kutztown was the fourth consecutive game the Huskies have reached 300, dating back to the final game of the 2011 season with Lock Haven.  More impressive, the Huskies are 50-0 under head coach Danny Hale when rushing for 300 yards.
 
Junior running back Franklyn Quiteh (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain West) is fourth in the country in yards on the ground at 168 per clip.  He is Bloomsburg's third-leading rusher in school-history with 3,711 yards after a 152-yard performance against Kutztown last week.  Quiteh has rushed for triple-digit yardage 23 times in his career as well as eight-straight games dating back to the 2011 season.
 
Quiteh has four rushing touchdowns on the year, tied with fellow junior Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom).  Mateo has made the most of his time on the field and is one of 29 players in Division II averaging over 100 yards per game.  Mateo turns in 115.67 yards on the ground and is fifth in the PSAC and 17th in the country. 
 
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) is coming off his best game of the season. Kelly set a career-high with 246 passing yards and tied his career-high of 16 completions.  He has thrown 71 times and has not thrown an interception through three games.
 
The Bloomsburg defense has done a good job at frustrating opposing offenses and limiting the running game when possible.  The Huskies allow 77 yards per game on the ground, good for second in the conference and 20th in the nation.  It has allowed just one 100-yard rusher on the season and opened the season by allowing Stonehill to run for just 33 yards in the game.
 
Seniors Jarrett Pidgeon (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) and Larry Webster (Hagerstown, MD/Elkton) have become two of the impact performers on the defensive side of the ball.  Pidgeon is coming off two double-digit tackle games and a season-best 13 against Kutztown.  He is ranked sixth in the PSAC with 26 tackles this season.
 
Sophomore quarterback Steven Laurino has proven to be a dangerous threat in the LIU Post attack.  He has a team-high nine touchdowns on the year, five of which are passing.  Last year's PSAC East Freshman of the Year has been off to a great start through Post's two games, accounting for 13 points per game for third in the country.
 
“I'm confident our coaches will put together a good game plan for us,” Oglesby said about defending Laurino's style of play.  “We just have to execute. If we make plays like we have been doing this season, I think we should come out with another win.”
 
Jeff Mack is averaging 90 yards per clip after rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown in LIU Post's 45-10 win over Cheyney last week.  The top receiver thus far for the Pioneers is senior Ryan Derham.  He's brought in seven catches for 110 yards and two scores.
 
Defensively, Antonio Powell-Fields was named this week's PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week after a seven-tackle performance against Cheyney with an interception and a fumble recovery.  He leads the Pioneers defensive core with 18 tackles.  Sophomore Joseph Thompson has been active on the front line and is tied for the PSAC lead in sacks per game (1.50).
 
Following its game with LIU Post, Bloomsburg returns home on Saturday, Sept. 29 for a non-conference contest against Gannon (1-2, 0-1 PSAC West).  LIU Post travels to Edinboro (0-2, 0-1 PSAC West) on Sept. 29.