The Bloomsburg University football team returns to Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium on Saturday afternoon to take on the Lakers of Mercyhurst University in a PSAC crossover matchup. The Huskies and the Lakers are both 1-1 to open the 2019 campaign. Bloomsburg is coming off of a three-point win at Edinboro last Saturday while Mercyhurst suffered a five-point home loss to Shepherd.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against Bloomsburg, 4-3. After winning the first two games of the series, the Huskies have dropped four of the last five meetings against the Lakers.
LAST MEETING
The Huskies fell on the road last season to Mercyhurst by a 14-10 final. With the Huskies leading 10-7 with 4:33 left in regulation, the Mercyhurst defense forced Bloomsburg to punt from its own 38-yard line after a three-and-out on offense. The Lakers' Cortez Watson returned the punt 77 yards before being tackled by
Kieron Smethers (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) at the Bloomsburg three-yard line. The Huskies' defense made things interesting as
Nate Monroe (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) and
Dexter Jordan (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) combined to stop running back Garrett Owens for a one-yard gain on first down and then
Nick Argento (York, Pa./Red Lion) stuffed quarterback Doug Altavilla for just a one-yard gain on second down. On third-and-goal from the one, Owens was again stopped short of the goal line, this time by
Josh Salak (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) setting up a fourth-and-goal from the Huskies' one with the game on the line. Mercyhurst decided to go for the win instead of attempting to tie the game and the move paid off for the Lakers as Altavilla found paydirt from a yard out, despite a bad snap, to give Mercyhurst a 14-10 lead with 2:16 left in regulation after Mark Shafer booted the extra point.
On the ensuing possession,
Erik Benjamin (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) drove the Huskies down the field thanks, in large part, to a 40-yard pass play to
Jay Popson (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) on third-and-eight which set up a first-and-goal from the Mercyhurst nine-yard line. However, Bloomsburg could not get into the endzone with the final attempt being a Benjamin pass attempt, intended for Smethers, being batted down by Mercyhurst's Dante Redwood with 36 seconds left.
Neither team was able to generate much in the way of offense as Bloomsburg could muster only 283 yards of total offense while the Lakers had just 245 yards on the afternoon. A majority of the Huskies' yardage came on the ground as Bloomsburg rushed for 164 yards against the Mercyhurst defense.
Alex Gooden (Parkesburg, Pa./Octorara) made a triumphant return to the backfield as he carried the ball 16 times for 99 yards and the lone Bloomsburg touchdown.
Hakeem Sillman (Philadelphia, Pa./Frankford) added 15 carries for 58 yards on the afternoon. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst had most of its yardage through the air as Altavilla threw for 146 yards and one score.
PRESEASON POLL
Bloomsburg was chosen to finish fifth in the PSAC Eastern Division according to the annual preseason coaches' poll released last month. Mercyhurst, meanwhile, was picked to finish fourth out in the Western Division standings.
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THROUGH THE ARCHIVES with BLOOMSBURG ARCHIVIST BOB DUNKELBERGER
- The Huskies avoided an 0-2 start with Saturday's win at Edinboro. The last time they lost two straight to begin a season was 19 years ago in 2000. That year, however, they went on to win 12 in a row and reach the National Championship game.
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- Bloomsburg's win on Saturday was only the third ever at Edinboro. The other two were by scores of 28-10 in 2006 and 47-35 in 2013, the latter
Paul Darragh's second game as head coach.
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- The 24-21 win over Edinboro was the third time in 1,085 games in school history the Huskies have won by that score. The previous two were at Shepherd in 2006 in the regional finals of the NCAA playoffs, and an overtime game at home versus California in 2014. BU has lost three times by a score of 24-21, all at home: to Shippensburg in 1991; to West Chester in 2008; and to C.W. Post in 2011, the 1,000th game in program history and played in a freak October 29 snow storm.
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- The all-time record for the Huskies on September 21 is 5-3, with a record of 3-0 at home and 2-3 on the road. All except the last one - a win at Kutztown in 2013 - were with Lock Haven. The first was a 13-6 loss on the road in 1957. The two most memorable September 21 games were played in 1974 (a 7-0 win that was the dedication game at Redman Stadium and 300th win in program history) and in 1996 (a 64-0 victory that was the 400th all-time win. BU also scored 36 points in the first quarter, a school record for the most points in any quarter).
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- One team and one personal milestone are in reach this season. The fourth win will be the 600th in program history. The current all-time record since 1892 in 1,085 games is 597-456-32. Four victories will also give Coach Darragh 51 for his career, moving him past Albert Aldinger into second place in school history, behind Danny Hale's 173.
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- Bloomsburg has had a winning record in the PSAC East for 26 consecutive seasons and 34 of the last 36 since 1983. The only non-winning records since then were 3-3 in 1989 and 1-5 in 1992.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Bloomsburg is 1-1 on the year as the Huskies evened their record last Saturday with a 24-21 victory at Edinboro.
Michael Allen (Oley, Pa./Fleetwood) returned a punt 65 yards with 4:50 left in regulation to put the Huskies in front for the first time on the afternoon and then
Sir Michael Larsen (Philadelphia, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) stopped Edinboro on its ensuing possession with a strip sack and fumble recovery. Allen was named the PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week for his efforts. He also added five catches for 61 yards on the day.
Offensively, the Huskies are 15th in the league as they are averaging only 194 yards of total offense over the first two weeks. Bloomsburg is eighth in the league on defense, allowing 366.5 yards per game. Last week, however, the Huskies limited Edinboro to just 267 yards - 107 of those in the second half. On the ground,
Qmac Quiteh (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) leads the Huskies with 62 yards, and both of Bloomsburg's rushing touchdowns, on the ground through two games.
Logan Leiby (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) is next with 53 yards on 18 carries. Leiby has completed 57.1% of his passes (24-of-42) but for just 195 yards. Bloomsburg is averaging 4.6 yards per pass attempt and 8.1 yards per catch over the first two contests. Allen leads with nine catches for 84 yards while
Duffy Gilhool (Upper Chichester, Pa./Chichester) has four receptions for 31 yards and the lone Huskies' score through the air. Defensively,
Tyshaun Pollard (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) leads the Huskies with 15 total tackles while
Alex Findura (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) has 14 - including a career-high 12 stops in the season opener against Stonehill. Findura is also tops on the team with 2.5 tackles for a loss. Five different Huskies have had a hand in four sacks while
Aaron Trumino (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) has the lone pick which he returned 13 yards for a touchdown against Stonehill two weeks ago.
SCOUTING MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst is also 1-1 on the year with a season-opening five-point win over Lake Erie before last Saturday's five-point loss to Stonehill. This is the Lakers' only road contest in their first five weeks of the season. Mercyhurst is looking for the program's 200 career victory and head coach Marty Schaetzle - the longest-tenured coach at the school - as been there for 88 of those wins. Doug Altavilla threw for 205 yards last Saturday and became the program's all-time leader in career passing yards with 6,731. He is only 357 yards behind Matt Kissell (7,087 yards) to become the school's all-time leader in total offense. Garrett Owens is the workhorse in the backfield as he has carried the ball 44 times for 143 yards and two scores. Altavilla has 39 yards on the ground and the other rushing touchdown. On the year, the quarterback is 25-of-50 for 334 yards, one touchdown, and one pick. Austin Hence is leading the receiving corps with 10 catches for 172 yards and both touchdowns through the air. Clay Waldron has hauled in seven balls for 113 yards.
Defensively, Joseph Scro and Jake Tarasovitch lead the Lakers with 17 total tackles apiece. Tarasovitch and Jon LoChiatto have the Mercyhurst interceptions while Ayron Thompson Jr. has a team-high 3.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 of Mercyhurst's five total sacks.
UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will open PSAC Eastern Division action when it heads to Shippensburg to take on the Red Raiders. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
