BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University football team struggled to find its rhythm on offense in the first half as the Huskies fell to Shippensburg 31-17 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East opener for both teams. The Huskies dropped to 1-3 on the year and 0-1 in conference action, while the Raiders evened their record at 2-2 and 1-0 in the conference game.
 
The Raiders stuck first after the first two drives of the game ended in punts for both teams. Shippensburg got the ball on its three-yard line and used 3:57 of game time to go 97 yards on 11 plays, the last of which was a 17-yard touchdown pass from Sam Johnson to Jake DeLuccia for the score.
 
The Huskies had just one first down and 28 yards of total offense in the first quarter as the Raiders led 7-0 after the first 15 minutes of action.
 
Shippensburg pushed its lead to 10-0 with a 44-yard field goal with 13:38 to play.
 
The Huskies got on the board on their next drive as sophomore Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) returned the kick-off 47 yards to get to the Shippensburg-38 and set up a short field for Bloomsburg. Freshman KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) opened the drive with a 15-yard pass to Matthew Bowes (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS) to get down to the 23-yard line before sophomore Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) ran for four yards to the 19. After a pair of rushing plays failed to move the chains, the Huskies faced a 4^th-and-8 from the 21, and freshman Brendan McGonigle (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) connected on a 38-yard field goal attempt to cut the lead to 10-3 with 11:13 remaining on the clock.
 
The three points for the Huskies ensured their scoring streak continued as they have now scored in 210-straight games.
 
The Raiders answered right back with a nine-play, 72-yard drive that used 4:26 of the clock to take a 17-3 lead.
 
Bloomsburg's next drive went 41 yards on 10 plays, highlighted by a 24-yard pass to Bowes from Riley, but the Huskies failed to score for the first time this season when getting into the red zone. The Raiders extended their lead on the next drive as Nasai Moon rushed in for a one-yard touchdown to give Shippensburg a 24-3 lead at the end of the second quarter.
 
Shippensburg scored the only touchdown in the third quarter to take a 31-3 lead with 15 minutes to play.
 
The Huskies found the endzone on their first drive of the fourth quarter. Bloomsburg started the drive in the third quarter from their own 29, and junior David LePoidevin (Middlesex, N.J./Bound Brook) hit John Mack (Minisink Valley, N.Y./Minisink Valley) for a 20-yard pass and catch to open the fourth. LePoidevin kept it himself on a designed quarterback run play to get 12 yards on the ground and down to the Shippensburg 39. Facing a 3^rd-and-14 from the Shippensburg 43 after losing four yards on a previous rush, LePoidevin connected with Mack again for a 34-yard touchdown pass. McGonigle's extra point was good, and the Huskies cut the lead to 31-10 with 12:19 to play.
 
The next three drives ended with a punt by each team before the Huskies got the ball on their 28-yard line. LePoidevin opened the drive with a 49-yard pass to graduate student Tyshaun Pollard (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) who fought for every yard of his catch. After a pair of incomplete passes put the Huskies with a 3^rd-and-10 at the Shippensburg 23, Logan Simmon (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) rushed up the middle for a Husky first down at the 13. Once again facing a 3^rd-and-long, the Huskies got the benefit of a pass interference call against Ship and got the ball on the one-yard line. LePoidevin found a gap and rushed in for the score to cut the game to 31-17.
 
The Raiders punted on their drive, but the final Huskies' drive ended with an interception, and the Raiders kneeled down on the game's final play.
 
Sophomore Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) led the Huskies with 148 all-purpose yards, while Mack caught three passes for 61 yards. Bowes finished with 56 yards on three catches.
 
Riley finished the game 7-for-10 with 45 yards, while LePoidevin went 4-for-9 with one touchdown and one interception for 120 yards.
 
The Huskies' special teams kept Redd Douglas in check on the kick return as he finished with just 14 yards on one kick-off return and -2 yards on two punt returns. Douglas did finish with 124 reception yards.
 
Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) led the defense with 12 total tackles and one broken-up pass, while Nate Capers (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) collected 10 tackles, including 2.0, for a loss of eight yards. Capers had one broken-up pass and one QB hurry. Jake Davis (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia) had three tackles for the game and broke up three passes.
 
The Huskies look to get back in the win column next Saturday as they welcome West Chester University to Redman Stadium for a game under the lights. The Huskies and Golden Rams are set to kick off at 6:00 p.m. on October 1.