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EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Bloomsburg running back Franklyn Quiteh (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain West) sported a different look Saturday at East Stroudsburg, switching from his usual No. 28 to a No. 8 jersey to honor the memory of a late high school teammate. It turned out to be a day to be remembered in Husky football history as the senior set a new school record for rushing yards in a game with 304 to power the sixth-ranked Huskies to a 52-38 victory at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

Quiteh racked up 323 total yards on the day, also catching two passes for 19 yards, and four touchdowns. The 304 yards on the ground surpassed the previous Bloomsburg record of 300 set by Jerry Marks vs. Mansfield in 1991. The day allowed Quiteh to jump from ninth to sixth in Division II history with 6,734 career yards, passing current Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell's total of 6,728 set in 2006-09 with Wayne State. 


The Warriors battled back all day from an early 14-0 deficit, finally tying the score at 38 apiece following a leaping, one-handed 22-yard touchdown grab  by Jon Schnaars from quarterback Matt Soltes with 9:58 left to play.

ESU looked to have Bloomsburg stopped on the ensuing possession, forcing a third-and-21 following a tripping penalty on the Huskies. Instead of turning the ball back to a hot Warriors offense, Bloomsburg quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) found redshirt freshman tight end Aaron Allison (Philadelphia/Frankford) for a 32-yard reception down the sideline to move the chains. On the very next play, Quiteh broke the deadlock with a 17-yard touchdown run for a 45-38 lead and 6:23 showing on the clock.

It was a lead the visitors would not relinquish.

On the next ESU possession, senior safety Jonathan Patrick (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) snuffed out a Warriors rally attempt. With ESU facing third-and-19 at its own 39-yard line, Patrick intercepted a Soltes pass attempt at midfield to give the Huskies back the ball and a chance to run out the clock.

Four Quiteh runs – highlighted by sprints of 29 and 32 yards – set up a quarterback keeper by Kelly from one-yard out to close the door on ESU.

Bloomsburg controlled the early going, scoring first on a four-play, 69-yard drive on a 46-yard touchdown burst by Quiteh with 4:38 left in the opening period. The Huskies built an impressive, nine-play, 92-yard drive on their first possession of the second quarter to stretch the lead to two touchdowns. Glenn Hutton Jr. (Sicklerville, NJ/Paul VI) capped the drive with a 17-yard scoring reception from Kelly as the senior danced his way through the Warrior secondary, pulling defenders into the end zone.

The Huskies' defense bent but did not break early. On the first drive of the game, the Warriors drove 69 yards on eight plays to set up a red zone situation in the opening four minutes. The drive stalled, however, and was halted on a third down sack by Shawn Mitchell (Nazareth/Nazareth). An ensuing 37-yard field goal try sailed wide right, leaving the hosts scoreless.

Bloomsburg racked up two more sacks and kept the Warriors off the board in the next drive as well before the offense stretched the lead to 14. Soltes began to catch fire, though, igniting the home offense. A 35-yard strike through the air from Soltes to Steven Jones put East Stroudsburg on the board at 14-7.

A career-long run from Kelly gave Bloomsburg breathing room again on the next possession. The Huskies went quickly into the end zone once more, this time moving 75 yards in just four plays. Kelly ran the bootleg to perfection, racing 41 yards down the sidelines for the 21-7 advantage.

Two more touchdown passes from Soltes – first from 18 yards out to Schnaars and then a two-yard toss to Robert Bleiler – tied the score with 27 seconds remaining before intermission.
Instead of taking the ball to the locker room, the Huskies were able to quickly put together a scoring drive, moving 60 yards in 22 seconds. A 20-yard run by Quiteh and two passes of 13 and 27 yards from Kelly to Hutton set up a 34-yard field goal from Danny Fisher (Liverpool/Central Dauphin) to send the visitors into the break with a 24-21 advantage.

Bloomsburg kept that momentum, bolting 53 yards in eight plays for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, capped by a two-yard plunge by Quiteh to put the score at 31-21.

ESU had yet another answer, though. The Warriors needed just four plays to go 65 yards, pulling within three on a pass from Soltes to Bleiler and a 31-28 margin.

A holding penalty against the Huskies set up third-and-11 at their own 20-yard line when Hutton came up with perhaps his biggest catch of the day, leaping over the middle for a first down grab. A face mask penalty against ESU set up the Huskies and Quiteh finished it off, running 51 yards to daylight and a 38-28 edge.

The teams exchanged turnovers late in the third quarter. DJ Robinson (Sinking Spring/Conrad Weiser) picked off Soltes with 2:25 remaining in the period at his own 19-yard line, the first interception thrown by Soltes in 211 attempts. Bloomsburg gave the ball right back, though, two plays later on a fumble lost.

East Stroudsburg drove to the Huskies 10-yard line, but was forced to try a field goal attempt when the drive ended on a Justin Shirk (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) sack of Soltes. Taylor Groff connected from 31 yards for a 38-31 score with 13:05 left in the fourth, setting up the drama of the closing minutes.

In all, the two teams combined for 1,247 total yards - 627 from Bloomsburg and 620 for the Warriors. 

Kelly threw for 238 yards and one touchdown through the air and on the ground while completing 17 of 22 pass attempts. His favorite receiver on the day was Hutton who hauled in a career-high eight receptions for 113 yards and a score. Connor Gades (West Chester/Unionville) also had three catches for 27 yards and tight end Jack Sandherr (Orefield/Allentown Central Catholic) set career-bests with two catches and 44 yards.

Shirk powered the defense with 13 tackles and two sacks, both season highs for the middle linebacker. Bloomsburg registered six sacks – Ezra Ranco (Collegeville/Perkiomen Valley) finished with 1.5 while Mitchell and Dylan Stair (Alpha, NJ/Phillipsburg) each had one and Larry Webster (Hagerstown, MD/Elkton) assisted on another.

Soltes threw for 476 yards on 32 of 48 passing with five touchdowns in a standout effort. Bleiler caught eight balls for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Bloomsburg returns home next Saturday to face Cheyney with a scheduled kickoff time of 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Quiteh wore the No. 8 jersey to honor the memory of friend and high school teammate Jon Mangual who was killed in a 2008 automobile accident. The two played together at nearby Pocono Mountain West High School … Quiteh's 304 yards rushing rank eighth all-time in PSAC single game history …  Bloomsburg has now won seven or more games in 15 straight seasons. Only five NCAA schools have longer streaks: Florida, Florida State and Virginia Tech in the FBS; Northwest Missouri in Division II and Mount Union in Division III. The streak is also a PSAC record … the Huskies finished with 389 yards rushing, the fifth time the team has rushed for more than 350 yards this year to break a school record set in 2004 ... Kelly's 17 completions were a new career-high, topping the 16 he set at Kutztown last year ... Donovan Morris (Philadelphia/George Washington) had a career-best five tackles.