The Bloomsburg University football team renews its non-conference rivalry against Stonehill College on Saturday afternoon to begin the program's 122nd year of college football. The Huskies and the Skyhawks took a year off last season after opening each season against one another from 2012-17. Last season, the Huskies went 6-5 overall while the Skyhawks posted a 2-8 mark.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against Stonehill, 4-2, but the Skyhawks have won two of the last three meetings between the two schools. The Huskies are just 1-2 at Redman Stadium against Stonehill which includes a 44-27 setback to the Skyhawks in the last matchup on September 2, 2017. Stonehill jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the opening nine minutes of the contest and was able to hold off a Huskies' rally. The Huskies finished the afternoon with 344 yards of total offense while Stonehill had 439 total yards and ran 11 more plays than Bloomsburg. The difference came on the ground where the Skyhawks held a 164-79 yard edge in that department.
PRESEASON POLL
The Huskies were picked to finish fifth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division according to the preseason coaches' poll which was announced at the league's Football Media Day in Lock Haven last month. Last year's PSAC champion, West Chester, nabbed six of the eight first-place votes and was picked to finish atop the east for the third consecutive season. The Golden Rams' biggest challenger, according to the preseason poll, is the newcomer of the league, Shepherd, which received the other two first-place nods and was picked second. The Rams have gone 91-16 overall since the 2010 season which includes back-to-back 13-1 campaigns in 2014 and 2015. Kutztown and Shippensburg were chosen to finish third and fourth, respectively, in the division while East Stroudsburg, Millersville, and Lock Haven occupy spots six through eight to round out the east.
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Out west, last year's division champion and PSAC runner-up, Slippery Rock, totaled six first-place votes and was picked to repeat. Cal U and IUP each received one first-place nod and were second and third, respectively. The northwest corner of the state – Mercyhurst, Edinboro, and Gannon – were chosen fourth, fifth, and sixth, while Clarion and Seton Hill rounded out the poll.
Stonehill, meanwhile, was picked to finish sixth in the Northeast-10 according to the league's head coaches.
THROUGH THE ARCHIVES with BLOOMSBURG ARCHIVIST BOB DUNKELBERGER
- Bloomsburg comes into 2019 with an all-time record in 121 season openers from 1892-2018 of 57-60-4. Its record at home is 42-19-3 and on the road 15-41-1. BU has also won 17 of the last 19 home openers, dating back to 2000. The school's all-time record in home openers is 76-40-5.
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- The Huskies' record in 45 seasons at Redman Stadium, since the first game in 1974, is 160-76-4. They were 4-2 last year and have had a winning record at home in 18 of the previous 19 seasons and 23 of 25. The last losing record was 2-3 in 1993.
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- Bloomsburg's record in games played on September 7 is 1-1. The first game was a 37-18 loss at IUP in 2002, and the win was by a score of 41-13 at home over Stonehill in 2013. That victory over Stonehill was
Paul Darragh's first as head coach of the Huskies.
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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 1,083 games is 596-455-32. 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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- The Huskies' record in 83 games versus out-of-state teams is 46-35-2, with a home record of 26-11-1 and 20-24-1 on the road. The first game with an out-of-state team was at home in 1932 with Oswego of New York. Bloomsburg is 8-3 against teams from the state of Massachusetts: 4-2 record versus Stonehill, 3-1 with American International, and 1-0 against Merrimack.
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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 finished the 2018 season with a 6-5 overall record, took third place in the PSAC Eastern Division standings with a 4-2 divisional mark and, for the 20th consecutive season, wrapped up the year with a winning record and won six or more games. The latter is a conference record and the winning-season streak is the third longest in conference history, behind 31 for West Chester and 22 for Clarion. Bloomsburg's previous school-record streak for consecutive winning seasons was 10, set from 1946 to 1955. The winning record in 2018 also came against long odds as it was only the third time in school history the program managed a winning record after having a losing mark through five games. The other two were in 1946 and 2007, which ended with four- and five-game winning streaks, respectively.
Bloomsburg returns three All-PSAC selections from a season ago - senior running back
Alex Gooden (Parkesburg, Pa./Octorara), senior wide receiver
Michael Allen (Oley, Pa./Fleetwood), and redshirt sophomore placekicker
Jaco Sattamini (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) - each of whom earned Second Team accolades. Gooden paced the Huskies in rushing last season with 725 yards and six touchdowns in nine games. He enters the 2019 campaign needing 316 yards on the ground to reach 2,000 for his career. Allen led the receiving corps in 2018 with 45 catches for 532 yards and seven touchdowns. He has been a member of the All-PSAC Second Team in each of his first three seasons and needs 354 receiving yards for 2,000 in his career. Sattamini was 7-of-9 in field goal attempts in his first season as the starter. He finished second on the team with 44 points last season.
Redshirt junior fullback
Jack Gaugler (Mt. Pleasant Mills, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) earned Don Hansen All-Region Third Team honors last season and comes back to serve as the Huskies' anticipated lead blocker in 2019. Senior running back
Qmac Quiteh (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West), who was a Second Team honoree in 2017, also returns for his final season. He had 438 yards on the ground last season and needs 484 yards this season to amass 2,000 for his career.
Defensively, the Huskies will be looking for leadership from senior linebacker
Alex Annan (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg). Annan, along with Gooden and senior center
Seth Jonassen (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), are serving as this year's tri-captains. The linebacker led Bloomsburg last season with 78 total tackles (35 solo) and added seven tackles for a loss and three-and-a-half sacks. Redshirt sophomore
Tyshaun Pollard (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) should provide leadership in the secondary as he enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2018. Pollard finished with 43 tackles and was second on the team with four interceptions. Up front, the Huskies must find a way to replace the program's all-time sack leader
Chris Gary (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and former First Team All-American
Jake Klinger (Berwick, Pa./Central Columbia). Expected to lead the way up front are junior
Alex Findura (Stockbridge, Ga./Woodland) and redshirt sophomore
AJ Simon (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) who combined for eight tackles for a loss and five sacks last season.
SCOUTING STONEHILL
Stonehill is coming off a 2-8 overall record in 2018 with both wins coming against conference opponents - Saint Anselm and Assumption. The Skyhawks are under the direction of Head Coach Eli Gardner, who is in his fourth season at Stonehill. Highlighting returners on the offensive side of the ball this season include senior wide receiver Andrew Jamiel, a three-time All-Conference selection who already holds the school record for most receptions in a career with 233. Jamiel also enters the 2019 season just 161 yards shy of breaking the program's all-time record of career yards (2,744). The Skyhawks also return senior running back Brian Kearns, Jr. who led the Northeast-10 with his school-record matching 12 rushing touchdowns last season. He needs one rushing score to take over sole possession of the school record for most career rushing touchdowns as he enters the year with 24 to his credit.
On defense, the Skyhawks return senior defensive back Ryan Shuts and junior defensive end Nate Bresson. Strut had a breakout junior season for Stonehill, finishing the 2018 season with a team-high 70 tackles (48 solo) and three interceptions. Bresson finished the 2018 campaign with a total of 65 stops (34 solo) and team-highs in sacks (4.5) and tackles for a loss (14).
UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will take to the road for the first time in 2019 as it travels to Edinboro University for a matchup against the Fighting Scots. Kickoff from Sox Harrison Stadium is scheduled for noon.
