Football | 11/5/2014 1:04:00 PM

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GAME COVERAGE
Complete Game Notes (PDF): BLOOMSBURG  |  LOCK HAVEN  |  PSAC 
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RELATED LINKS
BLOOMSBURG: Roster  |  Schedule  |  Statistics  |  Media Guide
LOCK HAVEN: Roster  |  Schedule  |  Statistics

SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Bloomsburg leads 45-38-3
First Meeting: Bloomsburg won, 6-3 (1908)
Last Meeting: Bloomsburg won, 56-10 (2013, at BU)
Last Bloomsburg Win: 56-10 (2013, at BU)
Last LHU Win: 17-15 (2003, at LHU)
Current Streak: Bloomsburg W-4
BU Record By Site: At Home - 26-16-3 / On the Road - 19-22

QUICK SIX
- The Huskies are 9-0 for the fifth time in school history and first time since 2008.
- Bloomsburg is seeking its 10th 10-win season in program history – the Huskies have won 10 games in each of the past two years.
- The Huskies have allowed 13 points or less in five straight games (7, 0, 13, 10, 13). The last time Bloomsburg achieved such a feat was a run of six consecutive games of 13 points or fewer allowed between 1972-73 – the final three games of the 1972 season (7, 6, 6) and the first three contests of 1973 (9, 13, 7).  
- Entering Week 10, the Huskies are in a three-way tie for the national lead in turnovers gained (31) along with Sioux Falls and Harding – across all divisions, no team has more (Wesley of Division III also has 31).
- Bloomsburg owns a national-best turnover margin of +23 – no team in any division (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) is better in the category.
- The Huskies have forced turnovers nearly equally – Bloomsburg has recovered 15 fumbles while adding 16 interceptions.

THE GAME
Bloomsburg enters Week 10's matchup at Lock Haven already knowing it will have a spot in next week's PSAC Championship Game and an opportunity to defend its conference title from a year ago.

The Bald Eagles had a two-game winning streak snapped at Kutztown last week with a 19-0 loss. Scoring has been an issue for Lock Haven – the Bald Eagles rank 14th of 16 teams in the PSAC by averaging 16.9 points per game. Bloomsburg, on the other hand, is the PSAC's leading scoring defense (13.7 ppg allowed).

While Saturday's game means little in the way of divisional standing as the Huskies have already clinched the Eastern Division championship, it remains important for Super Region One rankings – the Huskies enter the week ranked No. 1 in the region with two weeks remaining before the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
> 3 - Bloomsburg has claimed its second consecutive PSAC East title and third in the past five years. In all, the Huskies have won the PSAC East title 15 times. Nine titles have come since 2000.

> 7 - Entering Week 10, just seven undefeated teams remain in Division II.

> 8.6 - The Huskies defense has allowed 8.6 points per game over the past five weeks.

> 16 - Bloomsburg's 16 interceptions this year are most in the PSAC – Slippery Rock is second with 14. Tomas Cabrera (Hanover/Hanover Area), Donovan Morris (Philadelphia/George Washington) and Jerrin Toomey (York/West York) all have three.

> 16.5 - Justin Shirk (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) has registered 16.5 tackles for loss this year, second in the PSAC behind only Slippery Rock's Marcus Martin (18.5). He also stands ninth in the nation in the statistic.

> 19.1 - Wide receiver D.J. McFadden (Willow Grove/Abington) is averaging 19.1 yards per reception this season on 18 catches, both team highs.

> 22 - Of the Huskies' 25 red zone touchdowns this season, 22 have been on the ground.

> 41 - Braden Drexler (Bethlehem/Nazareth) kicked a career-long 41-yard field goal last weekend vs. East Stroudsburg.

> 52 - Bloomsburg's 52 rushing attempts in last week's win over East Stroudsburg were a season high.

> 113.9 - Senior running back Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom) is projected to miss Saturday's game due to injury. He is averaging 113.9 yards per game on the ground this year to go along with 23 rushing touchdowns, a mark that is second in the nation to Lake Erie's Anthony Bilal (24).

> 5,762 - Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) enters this week's game with 5,762 yards of career total offense (5,064 passing, 698 rushing). Kelly became the fifth Huskies player to pass for 5,000 career yards in last week's win over ESU, now standing fifth in Huskies history with 5,064 yards through the air in maroon and gold.

ABOUT LOCK HAVEN
> Opened season 0-6 before scoring wins over Cheyney (28-0) and Millersville (17-10).

> Lock Haven ranks 14th in the PSAC in scoring (16.9 ppg) and seventh in scoring defense (25.2 ppg)

> The Bald Eagles have allowed 23 sacks this season to opponents while registering 19 sacks defensively

> Lock Haven is 12th in rushing offense, totaling 95 yards per game on the ground, and 11th in stopping the run (161.9 yards per game allowed)

> George Christas ranks eighth in the PSAC in total tackles with 75

> Quarterback Caleb Walton is 11th in the PSAC in passing yards with 1,737 this season.

DEFENSE RISING THROUGH THE RANKS
The Huskies enter this week's game ranking No. 1 in the PSAC and No. 8 in Division II in scoring defense, allowing just 13.7 points per game to opponents. Bloomsburg also is 12th in the nation in rushing defense (97.4 yards per game allowed on the ground) and seventh in the country in stopping opposing offenses on third down - opponents are converting just 27.9 percent of third down attempts.

Bloomsburg is having its best defensive season since 2009 when the team finished third nationally in scoring defense (13.36/game).

QUICKEST TO 20
A win this Saturday would give Huskies head coach Paul Darragh a 20-2 record since taking over at the start of last season. Darragh could become the fastest Huskies coach to reach 20 victories as Saturday will mark his 22nd game at the helm. Robert Redman is the previous quickest to 20 wins - doing so in his 23rd game as head coach.

WATCHING THE WEST
With Bloomsburg already having locked up the PSAC Eastern Division championship, the Huskies now await their opponent in the PSAC Championship Game. Entering this week, three teams - California, Slippery Rock and Gannon - are tied at 6-2 atop the Western Division standings. With a win over Mercyhurst, Cal U will clinch the West and host next weekend's championship via tiebreaker. If Cal were to lose, Slippery Rock would host with a win over Clarion. Gannon, playing IUP this weekend, most have Cal and SRU lose in order to earn a berth.

DEFENSE IS KING
Bloomsburg has allowed 13 or fewer points in five straight games, a notable streak in program history as it has not been done since a run of six consecutive games of 13 points or fewer allowed between 1972-73 – the final three games of the 1972 season (7, 6, 6) and the first three contests of 1973 (9, 13, 7).  The 2009 team came close – allowing 14 points or less in the first seven games of the season.

PLAYING WITH A LEAD
The Huskies enter Week 10 with an impressive streak – they have not trailed over the past 348:46 of game time. Bloomsburg's last deficit was a 3-0 hole in Week 4 vs. Shippensburg. The Huskies took the lead with 3:24 to play in the first quarter following a 17-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Dylan Stair (Alpha, NJ/Phillipsburg) and have not been behind since.

TAKEAWAY KINGS
The Huskies defense has created five or more takeaways in four games this season. Bloomsburg had six takeaways in the win over West Chester Week 8.

KELLY RISING IN RECORD BOOKS
Huskies quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff) enters Saturday's game with 5,064 yards of career passing. He ranks fifth all-time in Huskies passing with a familiar face up next - Kelly needs 122 yards to pass current  BU quarterbacks/receivers coach Jack Lydic who graduated in 2005 with 5,186 yards of career passing with his best season coming in 2005 when he tossed for 2,135 yards.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
The Huskies defense has been vastly improved this season – last year the team surrendered an average of 299.2 yards through the air and 389.1 yards of total offense to opponents. BU has been much more stingy this year – through the first nine weeks, the Huskies are allowing just 189.1 yards per game through the air, fourth in the PSAC, and only 286.6 yards of total offense – the lowest mark in the PSAC (Kutztown is second at 294.9).

OPPONENT BUTTERFINGERS
Bloomsburg has done an excellent job of forcing fumbles this season as the Huskies have recovered 15fumbles thus far. That total ties for first in the nation along with Seton Hill and Harding.

ROAD SUCCESS
The Huskies have not been afraid of travel in recent years, posting a 27-7 record away from home since 2009 (.794). Bloomsburg won all five of its road games last season and have won nine consecutive regular season road games dating to 2012.

HUSKIES TOP DOG IN ECAC POLL
Bloomsburg remains number one in the Division II Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll for the second week. West Chester is second, American International No. 3; Slippery Rock No. 4; Gannon No. 5.

Established in 1936 as the Lambert Trophy to recognize supremacy in Eastern college football, the award has since grown to recognize the best team in the East in the Bowl Subdivision. To be eligible for the Lambert Meadowlands Award, a school must be located in the East or play at least half of its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. The territory includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania, while teams in the bordering states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia qualify if at least half of their schedule features eligible teams or are Eastern College Athletic Conference member institutions.

STOPPED BY SHIRK
Senior tri-captain Justin Shirk (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) makes an impact at middle linebacker in each game for the Huskies, leading the team with 78 tackles, 16.5 for loss and 7.5 sacks despite only playing in eight games this year. His career numbers even more impressive – he enters Week 10 with 350 total career tackles, including 182 solo stops and 40.0 tackles for loss. Four other Huskies have 100+ career tackles – DJ Robinson (Sinking Spring/Conrad Weiser) (161), Gary Postell (Philadelphia/Bishop McDevitt) (138), Dylan Spangler (Waynesboro/Waynesboro) (124) and Donovan Morris (Philadelphia/George Washington) (104).

Shirk has been one of the region's top defensive players in 2014. He ranks sixth among all Division II active players in career solo tackles (182) and ninth in total tackles (350) and has been at his best this fall - Entering Week 10, Shirk is first in the PSAC in tackles for loss per game (2.06); fourth in sacks per game (.94) and fourth in tackles per game (9.8).

Only three players in the PSAC average more tackles per game this season. Of those three players, none have more than three sacks – Shirk has 7.5.