Football | 10/22/2014 11:59:00 AM

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RELATED LINKS

• BLOOMSBURG: Roster  |  Schedule  |  Statistics  |  Media Guide
• WEST CHESTER: Roster  |  Schedule  |  Statistics |  Media Guide

SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: West Chester leads 47-25
First Meeting: West Chester won, 13-0 (1925)
Last Meeting: West Chester won, 40-38 (2013, NCAA Playoffs at BU)
Last Bloomsburg Win: 31-28 (2013, at WCU)
Current Streak: West Chester W-1
BU Record By Site: At Home - 18-19  / On the Road - 7-28
 

QUICK SIX
-Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) enters this week needing 59 yards to become the eighth Huskies player to rush for 3,000 yards in a career.

-Mateo leads the PSAC with 16 rushing touchdowns and also in scoring with 96 points. Gannon's Brock Jones is second in both categories with 11 rushing touchdowns and 78 points – Mateo's 16 total TDs are also most overall in the conference this year (Jones, 13).

-Justin Shirk (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) leads the PSAC in tackles for loss (13.5) despite playing in only six games.

-The Huskies lead the PSAC in scoring defense, allowing a conference-low 14.3 points per game to opponents.

-Bloomsburg has outscored its last three opponents by a score of 113-20.

-Bloomsburg's last victory over a top 10 team came last year – a 31-28 victory at then-No. 8 West Chester.

THE GAME
Saturday will mark the biggest game in Super Region One to this point in 2014 as the last two remaining unbeaten teams in the PSAC and also a pair of Top 10 teams square off in battle for supremacy in the PSAC East. Only one other team remains with an unblemished record in Super Region One – Concord (7-0) from the Mountain East Conference. Saturday's winner will have the inside track to capturing the East's bid in next month's PSAC Championship Game. 

On one hand, Saturday's game could be a defensive struggle – it pits the top two scoring defenses in the PSAC as the Huskies enter the week allowing a conference-low 14.3 points per game to opponents while West Chester surrenders on average just 16.0 points per game. On the other side of the ledger, both defenses will be challenged by offenses that have put up strong point totals on the year – West Chester has had a blazing offense, leading the PSAC at 43.6 points per contest while the Huskies average just under 34 points per game.

WCU's chink in the armor may be turnovers - the Golden Rams have a negative turnover margin, ranking ninth in the PSAC while BU is first.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
> 2 - The Huskies allowed one sack during the Kutztown game, the first sack surrendered since Week 3 at Mercyhurst. BU has given up just two sacks all season, fewest in the PSAC while just two teams nationwide (Lenoir-Rhyne, 0; Harding, 1) have allowed fewer.

> 4 - The Huskies have defeated West Chester during the regular season in four consecutive seasons.

> 12 - Of D.J. McFadden (Willow Grove/Abington)'s 16 receptions this season, 12 have either been for a first down (10) or a touchdown (2).

> +14 - Bloomsburg's +14 turnover margin is tied for first in Division II with American International. Five turnovers by BU were the difference in last year's NCAA Playoff loss vs. West Chester.

> 15 - Lawrence Elliott Jr. (Utica, NY/Thomas R. Proctor) leads the Huskies with 15 plays of over 15 yards this season - Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) is second (10) and D.J. McFadden (Willow Grove/Abington) third (7). Elliott's 21.4 yard punt return average leads the PSAC and is second in the nation (Etauj Allen, Ouachita Baptist, 23.2)

> 26-4 - Redshirt junior quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) made his 30th career start last week at Kutztown. He holds a 26-4 record as the Huskies starter. He has only lost to two teams - Shippensburg (3) and West Chester (1).

> 28.3% - Opponents are converting just 28.3 percent of third down attempts this year vs. BU, a mark that is the best in the PSAC and 13th in the nation.

> 59 - Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) needs 59 yards to become the eighth Huskies player to rush for 3,000 yards in a career.

> 65-5 - Bloomsburg's record over the first seven games of the season in the past 10 years is 65-5 with three of those losses coming in 2007.

> 80 - Bloomsburg has runs of over 80 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back weeks for the first time since records on the statistic began in 1989

ABOUT WEST CHESTER
• Balance has keyed the Rams' undefeated record as they rank in the top two in the conference on both sides of the ball. An electric offense has scored the most points of any team in the PSAC (305, 43.6/game) while a stingy defense has surrendered only 112 (16.0/game)

• WCU's 333.3 yards per game through the air is second in the PSAC behind only East Stroudsburg's 365.1.

• Sixth-year senior quarterback Sean McCartney has been one of the conference's finest players, tossing 25 touchdowns to just three interceptions with 2,235 yards through the air. The reigning PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week, he has taken weekly awards twice this year. He went 17-for-29 with 393 yards and five touchdowns over Shippensburg last week.

• Junior tight end Tim Brown caught four passes for a career-high 143 yards last week vs. Shippensburg.

• The West Chester secondary has shined this season, including last week when it did not allow a touchdown pass against Shippensburg, ending a streak of 16 straight games in which the Raiders had tossed for at least one score.

• After missing three games with a knee injury, senior middle linebacker Ronell Williams made seven tackles and was in on two sacks last week in his return to the lineup. Williams, an All-America selection last year, finished with 110 tackles to lead the Rams last season.

• Like the Huskies, the Golden Rams were tasked with replacing one of the best offensive players in school history this fall following the graduation of running back Rondell White. White finished the 2013 season second to Bloomsburg's Franklyn Quiteh (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain West) in PSAC rushing with 1,989 yards on the ground as well as 843 receiving yards and 275 return yards to earn All-America honors

SPOTLIGHT SHINES BRIGHT SATURDAY
Bloomsburg jumped into the AFCA Division II national top 10 for the first time this season this week by grabbing the No. 8 spot. That gives the Huskies a national top 10 ranking in nine out of the past 10 seasons – the lone exception being the 2010 campaign when the Huskies reached a height of No. 11. 

The new rankings also mean that two top 10 teams will do battle on Saturday as West Chester ranks just one spot higher at No. 7. This week's game will be the first time both the Huskies and their opponent have been ranked inside the top 10 since then-No. 5 Bloomsburg defeated then-No. 6 Shepherd on the road, 24-21, on Dec. 2, 2006 in the NCAA regional final.

MATEO MAKES HISTORY
Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom)'s 84-yard touchdown run at Kutztown in Week 7 wasn't only a career-long, it was one of the longest runs in Huskies history. Since records on the statistic began in 1989, Mateo's run is the second-longest from scrimmage by any Huskies player. The only run from scrimmage that was longer was an 87-yard touchdown run by Jamar Brittingham – also at Kutztown in a 49-32 win on Oct. 6, 2007. Mateo's 163 yards rushing at Kutztown  were also the most of the season and a personal best since tallying 180 vs. Gannon on Sept. 29, 2012.

Bloomsburg also has achieved another first – runs of 80-plus yards in back-to-back weeks. Quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) broke off the longest run by any Huskies signal caller on record with an 81-yard score in Week 6 vs. Millersville. Since records began in 1989, the Huskies have six rushes of over 80 yards – three have taken place in the past two seasons with an 82-yard run by Franklyn Quiteh (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain West) last year being the other. 

WATCHING SUPER REGION ONE
The regional polls aren't out yet, but the regional picture bears watching at this point in the season. Bloomsburg and West Chester are two of three unbeaten teams left in Super Region One with Mountain East Conference (MEC) member Concord being the other. Bloomsburg already owns a quality win over California (PA) (6-1) which has the inside track in the PSAC West.

Mountain East power Shepherd, formerly a top 10 team, was upset by Notre Dame (OH) (5-2) to fall to 6-1 last week. From the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), both Virginia Union and longtime power Winston-Salem State own 6-1 records. In the Northeast-10 (NE-10), American International, LIU Post and Saint Anselm all own 5-2 records in what figures to be a one-bid league when the NCAA bracket is announced following the completion of the regular season.

SHIRK RECOGNIZED BY BSN
Senior middle linebacker Justin Shirk (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) not only was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week, but was also honored as one of three linebackers recognized nationwide for strong play in Week 7 by the Beyond Sports Network. Also recognized as the top Division II Linebackers of the Week were Charles Woods of Texas A&M Commerce (16 tackles) and Colby Hall of Pittsburg State (18 tackles). Further, the Huskies were ranked No. 4 in this week's BSN Division II power rankings while West Chester was No. 5.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Bloomsburg posted two scoring drives of over 90 yards in Week 7 at Kutztown – 11 plays for 94 yards and three plays for 93 yards, each resulting in touchdowns. The two drives were the longest of the year for the Huskies, who now have eight scoring drives of 70 yards or longer on the season.

IN ELITE COMPANY
The run of success for the Huskies over the past 15+ years is nearly unparalleled in college football. Bloomsburg has won seven or more games in 16 consecutive seasons – a streak that is impressive at any level. Only four schools in the divisions of NCAA (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) have a longer streak of seven or more victories – Florida State and Virginia Tech in the FBS; Northwest Missouri in Division II and Mount Union in Division III. The 16-year streak is also a PSAC record, surpassing the previous mark of 13 straight years set by IUP from 1984-1996.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Entering this week's game the Huskies have the top scoring defense in the PSAC, allowing just 14.3 points per game. That tally also ranks 12th in the nation.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
Despite not having any takeaways in the Week 7 win at Kutztown, just the second time in 19 games under head coach Paul Darragh, the Huskies continue to rank among the national leaders in turnovers generated and turnover margin. Bloomsburg's 21 turnovers generated are tied-fourth in Division II while its turnover margin of +14 is tied first with American International.

SPECIAL TEAMS STAR
Senior Tomas Cabrera (Hanover/Hanover Area) is an important player in the Huskies secondary from his safety position, but he has also been an integral part of special teams. Cabrera leads the Huskies in special teams tackles with nine this season while Jerrin Toomey (York/West York) is second with eight.

FIRST CAREER STARTS MADE
Two Huskies made their first career starts in the Week 7 win at Kutztown – fullback Eric McCracken (Bloomsburg/Central Columbia) and tight end Aaron Allison (Philadelphia/Frankford). While Allison has had an important part in the offense for the past two seasons, he lined up in a two tight end set to begin the game along with regular starter Shane Quinn (Levittown/Neshaminy). McCracken, a redshirt freshman, has continued to impress Huskies coaches and has been rewarded with growing playing time this season. Part of the 2013 recruiting class, McCracken was a second team all-state pick at linebacker from Central Columbia High in Bloomsburg where he recorded 103 tackles as a senior and 282 for his career. He was also a four-year starter in wrestling at Central Columbia.

BEASTS OF THE EAST
Saturday's game will see the two biggest powers of the PSAC Eastern Division over the past 15 seasons do battle. Since 2000, the Huskies lead all of Super Region One with 138 wins - West Chester has the second-most wins within the Division with 108.

OPPONENT BUTTERFINGERS
Bloomsburg has done an excellent job of forcing fumbles this season as opponents have committed 13 fumbles, losing 11 thus far. That total ties for fourth in the nation - only St. Joseph's (IN) with 13 along with Harding and Edinboro (12) have more. 

TO 5,000 AND BEYOND
Redshirt junior quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) passed a career milestone during the Week 6 win over Millersville as he went past 5,000 yards of career offense. He also continued his rise through the Huskies record books the next week at Kutztown, moving into sixth place all-time in career passing yardage (4,819) by passing Jay DeDea's 4,705 (1983-86) and Alan Eck's 4,815 (1989-91). Kelly also moved into a tie for fourth all-time in career touchdown passes with 43, tying Rich Lichtel (1965-67).

PASSING ATTACK COMES ALIVE
The Huskies are finally finding some rhythm in the passing game after struggling mightily the first three weeks of the year. With only one receiver, Connor Gades (West Chester/Unionville), having starting experience entering the year, it has been a process of quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) and his new receivers finding a comfort level. Bloomsburg averaged just 57.3 yards per game through the air after three weeks, but registered 216.8 yards per game passing the last four weeks (Shippensburg, Cheyney, Millersville, Kutztown).