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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg University football team struggled to generate much offense on Saturday afternoon and dropped a 27-7 decision to visiting West Chester University in front of 5,127 fans at a jam-packed Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium on Homecoming Weekend. The Huskies, who have dropped two straight, fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division while the Golden Rams improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 against divisional opponents.

The Huskies were dangerously close to getting shutout for the first time since a 21-0 loss, at home, to Shippensburg on September 13, 2003. But, on their final drive, the Huskies drove 87 yards on seven plays which was capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore Duffy Gilhool (Upper Chichester, Pa./Chichester) to redshirt senior Chad Hoffman (Drums, Pa./Hazleton) with 16 seconds remaining to extend Bloomsburg's streak of scoring  to 158 consecutive games. The touchdown pass by Gilhool, who came on in relief of redshirt junior Chris Palubinsky (Ringtown, Pa./Shenandoah Valley) on the last drive before halftime, was the first of his career. Meanwhile, Hoffman established a new career-high with his second touchdown reception of the season.

That, unfortunately, would be the lone offensive bright spot on an afternoon that saw the Huskies manage a season-low 246 yards with just 54 of those (all rushing yards) coming in the first half. Bloomsburg quarterbacks did not complete a pass in the first half and did not pick up their first completion of the afternoon untl Gilhool hit redshirt junior tight end Aaron Allison (Philadelphia, Pa./Frankford) for ten yards with under twelve minutes to play in the third quarter.

After a scoreless first quarter that featured seven combined punts, the Golden Rams got on the board on their first possession of the second quarter. Despite senior Will Wagner (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) pinning West Chester on its own six with a 39-yard punt, the visitors drove 94 yards on 11 plays, ending with a nine-yard touchdown run from Jarel Elder with 8:08 left to play in the first half. Brendan Paulison added the extra point for a 7-0 advantage.

The Huskies went three-and-out on their ensuing possession and the Golden Rams took advantage with their second touchdown of the quarter to take a 14-0 lead with 5:19 left in the opening thirty minutes. A big 46-yard pass play from quarterback Pat Moriarty to Tyler Karpinski got the Golden Rams to the Bloomsburg 17 yard line, setting up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Moriarty to Marcus Sydnor two plays later.

Despite being outgained 223-54 in the first half, the Huskies found themselves trailing by only two touchdowns as the teams went to their respective locker rooms.

The score remained 14-0 until Elder scored his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon - this time a two-yard plunge - with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter to extend the West Chester lead to 20-0. Paulison missed the extra point wide right. The visitors added their final score of the day when Paul Dooley went untouched into the endzone from three yards out with 2:56 left to give West Chester a 27-0 advantage.

The only thing left to decide at that point was if the Huskies would be able to keep their consecutive games streak of not being shut out alive. Gilhool, who went 5-for-6 on the Huskies' final drive, was able to keep the streak intact when he hit Hoffman just shy of the endzone. The redshirt senior made a great catch, got both feet in-bounds, and touched the pilon before going out-of-bounds to get points on the scoreboard. It was Hoffman's first catch of the afternoon.

Gilhool finished the day completing 10-of-19 for 146 yards and the score while also adding 23 yards rushing on seven carries. His favorite target was true freshman Ethan Price (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) who enjoyed a breakout game on Saturday afternoon. He finished with career-highs in receptions (5) and receiving yards (80). On the ground, senior running back Lawrence Elliott Jr. (Utica, N.Y./Thomas R. Proctor) was bottled up for much of the day as he managed just 55 yards on 14 carries. Redshirt senior Joe Parsnik (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Coughlin) added 19 yards on six carries.

Eerin Young led West Chester with 97 yards rushing on 11 carries while Elder toted the ball 18 times for 86 yards and two scores. Moriarty was an efficient 11-of-18 for 197 yards and a touchdown with Karpinski finishing with four catches for 105 yards.

Defensively, redshirt senior Andrew Harris (Bethlehem, Pa./Whitehall) led the Huskies with a career-high 14 total tackles - eight of which were solo stops. Redshirt sophomore Chris Gary (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had the team's only sack of the game to give him a team-leading eight on the season. Pete Galiano led West Chester with seven tackles while John Dubyk had six stops, four tackles for a loss, and one of the Golden Rams' three sacks.

Wagner had a brilliant day punting the football for the Huskies as he averaged 41.3 yards on nine attempts which included a 65-yard boot in the first quarter that tied a career-long he previously set against Mercyhurst on September 19, 2015.

Bloomsburg will look to get back in the win column next Saturday, October 22, when it  hosts East Stroudsburg University on Parents' and Family Weekend. Kickoff, due to television coverage, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.