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WEST LIBERTY, W. Va. - The Bloomsburg University football team won its fourth consecutive game, clinching the program's 20th consecutive winning season in the process, as the Huskies hung on for a 34-31 victory at West Liberty University on Saturday afternoon in the first meeting between the two schools. The Huskies improved to 6-4 on the year while the Hilltoppers dropped to 3-7 overall.

The victory gave the Huskies six wins as they continue their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record for most consecutive seasons with at least six victories which now stands at 20 straight. The win also clinched Bloomsburg its 20th consecutive winning season as the program has not finished below .500 since the 1998 season when it posted a 5-6 overall record. It marks the third-longest streak in conference history, trailing only West Chester's 31-year run (1940-42; 1945-72) and Clarion's 22-year stretch (1964-85). The Huskies have now posted a winning season in 24 of their last 25 years.

Redshirt junior running back Alex Gooden (Parkesburg, Pa./Octorara) had a big day offensively for the Huskies as he finished with 16 carries for 99 yards and one touchdown and then caught one pass for a 52-yard touchdown to end the day with 151 all-purpose yards and two scores. Senior Hakeem Sillman (Philadelphia, Pa./Frankford) added 84 yards on 15 totes and chipped in three catches for 32 yards to help pace the offensive attack. Bloomsburg finished with 221 yards rushing on the day - the fourth consecutive game with at least 200 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Erik Benjamin (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) completed 11-of-21 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

The Huskies built up a 34-17 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Hilltoppers made things interesting with a pair of touchdowns in the span of 3:31 - the last one coming with 50 seconds left - to cut the lead to 34-31. However, Bloomsburg was able to recover the West Liberty onside kick attempt and run out the clock to hold on for the three-point victory.

Freshman Cameron Shollenberger (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) started the scoring with his first collegiate field goal - a 27-yarder - to cap off an 11-play, 56-yard drive with 5:29 left in the opening quarter as the Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead. After a three-and-out by the Hilltoppers, Sillman posted runs of 21 and 29 yards on back-to-back carries to put the Huskies back in business at the West Liberty 23. Four plays later, Benjamin hooked up with redshirt junior Michael Allen (Oley, Pa./Fleetwood) for a 10-yard touchdown and, after Shollenberger's point after, Bloomsburg extended the lead to 10-0 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

Allen caught five passes for 49 yards and the first-quarter touchdown to lead the Huskies' receiving corps.

The Hilltoppers got on the board on their first drive of the second quarter as they drove 88 yards on 12 plays with Zach Phillips capping off the scoring drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Owen Rozanc added the extra point to trim the Huskies' lead to 10-7 with 9:39 left in the first half. After the teams exchanged punts, Bloomsburg built the lead back up to 10 when Gooden found the endzone from 16 yards out with 2:03 left before halftime. Shollenberger added the point after.

Bloomsburg, however, fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and West Liberty was into the endzone on the first play from scrimmage when Zach Phillips found Shane Phillips for an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut the Huskies' advantage to 17-14. Bloomsburg answered, however, on its ensuing possession. Facing a third-and-10 from its own 48-yard line, Benjamin found Gooden and the running back did the rest as he sprinted to paydirt for a 52-yard touchdown reception. Shollenberger added the extra point and Bloomsburg was back in front, 24-14, with 11:59 left in the third quarter.

Rozanc answered with a 46-yard field goal on West Liberty's next possession to cut the Huskies' lead to 24-17 with 7:03 left in the third quarter. Those points ended up being the final points of the stanza. On the second play from scrimmage in the fourth, Shollenberger booted a 37-yard field goal to extend the lead back to 10 - 27-17 - with 14:52 left in regulation. Then, on West Liberty's third play of its possession, redshirt senior Dexter Jordan (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) intercepted Zach Phillips and took it to the house from 17 yards out to build the lead to 34-17 with 13:41 remaining. It was Jordan's fifth interception of the season and second pick-six of the year as he became the first player in the conference to have more than one interception return for a score this year.

After Shollenberger missed a 40-yard field goal with 7:29 left, the Hilltoppers drove down the field and Zach Phillips found Osman Kargbo for a 19-yard touchdown strike to cut the Huskies lead to 34-24 with 4:21 left in regulation. Bloomsburg recovered an onside kick but was forced to punt on its ensuing possession and the Hilltoppers drove 80 yards in nine plays and scored when Zach Phillips hit Shane Phillips in the endzone from 34 yards out to trim the lead to 34-31 with 50 seconds left. Jordan, however, sealed the win when he recovered the Hilltoppers' second onside kick attempt of the day.

Bloomsburg finished with 379 yards of total offense while West Liberty had 364 with 157 of those yards coming on its final two drives as they had to play catch-up. The Huskies out-gained the Hilltoppers on the ground, 221-103, with West Liberty getting the better of Bloomsburg through the air, 261-158.

Charles Westbrook led the Hilltoppers with 69 yards rushing on 15 carries. Zach Phillips was 24-of-40 for 261 yards and three touchdowns but was also picked off twice. Shane Phillips caught six passes for 109 yards and two scores.

Defensively, the Huskies had two interceptions on the day - one by Jordan and one by sophomore Kasean Patterson (Philadelphia, Pa./Lankenau) (third of the season). Bloomsburg also had four sacks on the afternoon to give it 25 sacks in the last five games after having only six in the first five contests. Senior Chris Gary (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood) added to his program record with two more sacks on Saturday to give him 29.5 for his career which puts him fourth on the PSAC's all-time list. Redshirt junior Alex Annan (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and freshman Tom Pellegrino (Hackettstown, N.J./West Morris Central) had the others.

Redshirt senior Josh Salak (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led the way with seven total tackles. Gary finished with five tackles, three tackles for a loss, and two sacks. Clay McDonald paced the Hilltoppers with eight stops.

Due to Slippery Rock winning the PSAC Western Division, the Huskies will travel to California University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 10, for the final game of the 2018 season. Kickoff from Adamson Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

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