LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – With 1:53 to play in the fourth quarter and the Huskies holding on to a one-score lead, junior Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) picked off Lock Haven's Samuel Barber to seal the 17-9 win for the Bloomsburg University football team Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bald Eagles forced a punt with 4:03 to play in the fourth, but after a seven-yard gain on a pair of rushes, redshirt junior William Martin III (Darby Township, Pa./Academy Park) back Lock Haven up with a six-yard sack of Barber. Gaskill intercepted Barber's next pass in the middle of the field deep in Bloomsburg territory to give the Huskies the ball back with 1:53 to play. Lock Haven had a pair of timeouts left, so the Huskies could not run out the clock with kneel downs. Sophomore Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) got the handoff on the first play and picked up seven yards before getting another three to get the first down. LHU stopped the clock with 1:44 to play before Monaco rushed for another three to force the Bald Eagles to take another TO. With 1:12 to go, the Huskies knelt twice as the clock expired for the 17-9 win.
 
Neither team found the end zone in the first quarter though LHU knocked through a 42-yard field goal with 5:18 to play in the first to take a 3-0 lead. The Huskies answered on their next drive, which started at the end of the first and carried into the second. Freshman KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) hit sophomore Nas Jones (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) for a 39-yard completion to get down to the Lock Haven 28 before Monaco rushed up the middle for four yards as time expired in the quarter. Riley kept it himself to open the second with a three-yard run before Monaco got a first down on a six-yard run. After going back two yards on a rush, Riley hit Bowes in the back right corner of the end zone for six points and the 6-3 BU lead. Freshman Brendan McGonigle (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) connected on the point-after attempt for the 7-3 lead.
 
The next Husky drive started on their 20-yard line, and Bloomsburg went 57 yards on nine plays to get down to the Lock Haven 23. McGonigle connected on a 40-yard field goal attempt to push the BU lead to 10-3.

The Huskies threatened as time was winding down in the quarter, but Lock Haven intercepted Riley's pass at the goal line with nine seconds remaining in the quarter, and the Huskies carried a 10-3 into the break.
 
Lock Haven struck first in the third with a 12-play, 92-yard drive that took 7:38 off the clock and ended with a 19-yard touchdown catch. The extra point was no good, and the Huskies clung to their 10-9 lead.
 
The Huskies answered right back after the Bald Eagles attempted an on-sides kick after their score that the Huskies recovered at the LHU45. Junior Joseph Kahn (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) was the first to the ball and covered it up to put the Huskies in excellent field position. Bloomsburg immediately took advantage of the short field and sophomore Ben Ries (Bloomsbury, N.J./Phillipsburg) broke out for a 39-yard designed QB run to get down to the Lock Haven 6. Monaco moved the line of scrimmage down to the four with a two-yard run before Ries rolled out for his third career rushing TD. McGonigle finished off the scoring drive with a good point after attempt to push the Huskies' lead to 17-9.  
 
The Bald Eagles were driving with 5:43 to play, and Barber connected with DeAndre Wakefield for a six-yard gain down to the Bloomsburg 27, but senior Jamir Redd (Chester, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) forced the ball out of Wakefield's hands, and Martin recovered the loose ball for BU. After a 3-and-out for both teams, the Huskies put the Bald Eagles away with the Gaskill INT.

Monaco finished the game with 113 all-purpose yards behind 95 rushing and 18 receiving, while Jones caught three passes for 45 yards and Bowes caught three balls for 22 yards. Riley was 8-for-13 with 85 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
 
Defensively, Adam Burkhart (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) led the team with nine tackles, while the Huskies collected 4.0 sacks for 24 yards between Martin, Redd, Kenny Yurkonis (Minersville, Pa./Minersville Area), Hakeem Bacon (Chester, Pa./STEM Academy), and Dan Daly (Philadelphia, Pa./Saint Joe's Prep). Red had 2.5 TFL for six yards, and the Huskies had 8.0 TFL for 30 yards.
 
The Huskies return to Redman Stadium next Saturday as they host East Stroudsburg University for their Homecoming game in Bloomsburg. The opening kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.