NORTH EASTON, Mass. – The Bloomsburg University football struggled to get into the endzone Saturday afternoon as it fell to Stonehill College 35-13 in both teams' season-opener at W.B. Mason Stadium.
 
Redshirt sophomore John Ayres (Mt. Carmel, Pa./Mt. Carmel) scored the lone BU touchdown of the afternoon after he found the endzone on a four-yard run with 2:47 to play in the fourth. The Huskies forced a 3-and-out on the previous Stonehill drive and got the ball on their on 32-yard line to start. Graduate student Alex Gooden (Parkesburg, Pa./Octorara) started the drive with a three-yard run before redshirt junior Logan Leiby (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) hit senior Ricky Cope (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) with a 50-yard strike to move the chains to the Stonehill 15-yard line. Two plays later, Leiby connected with freshman Malik Langley (Chester, Pa./STEM Academy) for seven yards before hitting freshman Nas Jones (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) who rumbled ahead for a six-yard gain to give the Huskies another first down at the Stonehill 4-yard line. Ayres got the handoff on the next play to get in for the score and freshman Christopher George (Ashley, Pa./Hanover Area) hit the extra point to cut the Skyhawk lead to 35-13.
 
The Huskies got a defensive spot on the next Stonehill possession but couldn't get past midfield before the clock ran out and the Skyhawks sealed the 35-13 win.
 
The Skyhawks scored on their first two possessions of the game, including a nine-yard run by Justin Felder and 22-yard TD catch by Cameron Alves, all within the first nine minutes of action.
 
The next Bloomsburg possession was halted by an interception of Leiby but redshirt Ron Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) returned the favor during the next Skyhawk possession. Long intercepted Anton Stoneking at the Stonehill 31-yard line and returned it for 22 yards to set up a short field for the Huskies. Bloomsburg struggled to get into endzone from the four-yard line and settled for a redshirt senior Jaco Santamini field goals.
 
Both teams failed to score in the second quarter and went into the locker room with Stonehill leading 14-3.
 
Even though there was no scoring the second quarter, there were plenty of fireworks for both teams. Both teams had to punt on their first possessions in the second. As the Skyhawks were marching down the field during their second possession, Long picked off Stoneking for the second time in the first half. The Huskies marched down the field, picking up five first downs along the way. Leiby had a game-long rush of 17 yards to pick up the Huskies fifth first down of the drive to get to the Stonehill 27. The Huskies looked poised to score on the drive but a missed field goal attempt kept them off of the board in the quarter. It was then Stonehill's turn for a long drive, covering 62 yards on nine played. But redshirt junior Kelly Yurkonis blocked the Skyhawks field goal attempt from the 14-yard line to keep Stonehill off of the board as well.
 
Bloomsburg forced a fumble on the opening drive of the third quarter but couldn't turn the turnover in a score and Stonehill used six plays and 52 yards on their next drive to go up 21-3. With Bloomsburg on its own 43-yard line, Leiby hit Langley deep once again, this time for 43 yards to get to the Stonehill 11. The Stonehill defense kept the Huskies from getting past the 11-yard line and the Huskies had to settle for a George field goal.
 
Bryson Carter set the Skyhawks up with a short field after returning the kick off 52 yards to the Bloomsburg 36. Stonehill needed just 36 yards to get into the endzone and push its lead to 28-6 with a quarter to play.
 
The Skyhawks opened the fourth with their final touchdown of the game, a. 20-yard run by Felder to give SHC a 35-6 lead before the Huskies scored the game's final touchdown, Ayres four-yard run.
 
Leiby finished the game 18-for-29 with one interception and 213 yards in the air. 67 of the yards went to Cope, including his game-long 50-yard catch. Redshirt senior Tyshaun Pollard (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) quietly picked 56 yards on seven catches while Langley caught a pair of passes for 46 yards.
 
Leiby led the ground game as well as he ran for 38 yards on 11 attempts while redshirt Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) gained 35 yards on 11 rushes. Gooden ran for 22 yards on five carries.
 
Monaco led the Huskies with 135 all-purpose yards with 35 rushing yards, 18 receiving, and 82 kick return yards.
 
Defensively, the Huskies were led by junior Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) with 13 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss for five yards. Redshirt sophomore Adam Burkhart (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) finished the day with 10 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss (three yards) and half of a sack for two yards.
 
As a team, the Huskies finished the day with 123 rushing yards, 213 passing yards, all on 67 plays. The Huskies won the possession time battle as they held the ball for 30:58.
 
Stonehill racked up 289 yards on the ground and 141 yards in the air for 430 total yards on offense and 68 plays.
 
The Huskies look to right the ship next Saturday as they travel to Seton Hill for a 6:00 PM game at Offutt Field in Greensburg, Pa. The Griffins opened the year with a 16-14 win over Wheeling University.