WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Bloomsburg forced overtime after a late-fourth quarter touchdown to tie the game and a defensive stop on the next drive, but the West Chester Golden Rams edged out the Huskies in an overtime thriller, 24-21, Saturday.
 
With 3:28 to play in the fourth and Huskies trailing 21-14, sophomore quarterback KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) found Nas Jones (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) in the back corner of the endzone for the game-tying touchdown. The score capped a six-play 71-yard drive by the Huskies. Bloomsburg started the drive from their own 29-yard line after a missed 46-yard field goal by the WCU kicker. Junior Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) got the ball on the first two plays and went 11 yards for a Husky first down. Riley got the Huskies into West Chester territory with a 23-yard pass to redshirt sophomore Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy). Monaco went another 17 yards on two more carries to get the Huskies down to the West Chester 27-yard line before Riley connected with Jones for a 20-yard score. Christopher George (Ashley, Pa./Hanover Area) connected on his point after kick to tie the game 21-21 with 3:28 to play.
 
West Chester got a first down before Ryan D'Ambra (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) sacked the quarterback for a loss of seven yards back to the West Chester 34-yard line. The Golden Rams got 11 yards back on their next pass and faced a 3^rd-and-6 from the West Chester 45-yard line. Cooper Jordan held on to the ball and ran it himself but Joseph Kahn (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) knocked it out. A West Chester player recovered it beyond the first down marker to give new life to the Golden Rams. West Chester got down to the Bloomsburg 8-yard line and Tom Goetz (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional) sacked Jordan for a loss of five yards back to the Bloom-13. With just three seconds on the clock, the Golden Rams had no choice but to attempt the field goal but WCU missed the 30-yard attempt and the game headed to overtime.
 
After a quick first down, the Golden Rams found themselves at the Bloomsburg 20-yard line after a false start. A short three-yard gain on a pass got them down to the 17 but two-straight incomplete passes put the Golden Rams at a 4^th-and-12 from the Bloomsburg 17. Sean Henry's 34-yard attempt was good and WCU took a 24-21 lead.
 
The Golden Rams' defense held strong during the Huskies' overtime possession and forced a 4^th-and-15 from the West Chester 30-yard line which Bloomsburg did not convert. West Chester held on for the 24-21 win.
 
Bloomsburg opened the game with a 10-play, 65-yard drive that took 5:49 off the clock and ended with Monaco scampering five yards into the endzone for the score. After George hit the PAT, the Huskies led 7-0. Two drives later, the Huskies were forced to punt and D'Shaun Seals caught the kick at the West Chester 30-yard line and returned the punted 60 yards for a touchdown and to tie the game 7-7.
 
With 5:04 remaining in the second quarter, the Golden Rams took their first lead 14-7 as Brody McAndrew had a three-yard run in for the score.
 
After Monaco returned the kickoff 19 yards to the Bloomsburg 36-yard line, Riley hit Jones for a 15-yard pass for a Husky first down before he connected with Owen Anderson (Cogan Station, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) for a 39-yard play that got the Huskies down to the WCU 10-yard line. A quick four-yard run for Monaco set up the sweep play for Griffen-Batchler to go six yards on the ground to the left and the score. George hit the point after and tied the game 14-14 with 2:49 to play in the half.
 
The Huskies' defense forced a punt on West Chester's next possession and time expired while the Huskies' drove the field to send the teams into halftime tied, 14-14.
 
The Golden Rams took the opening kick off of the second half and put together a seven-play 60-yard drive that ended with Jordan getting into the endzone with a nine-yard run to give WCU a 21-14 lead.
 
It remained a one-score game after a fumble and two punts between the two teams got the game into the final minutes of regulation before Jones' game-tying touchdown with 3:28 to play.
 
For the game, Monaco led all players with 108 yards on the ground and had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season. Riley went 16-for-25 for 207 yards and one touchdown while Anderson caught five passes for 65 yards and Griffen-Batchler caught five passes for 61 yards. Jones finished the day with four catches for 53 yards.
 
Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) led the defense with nine tackles while D'Ambra had eight stops including a sack for the loss of seven yards. He forced a fumble as well. Brady Thompson (Green Lane, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) had another strong game for Bloomsburg with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackle for a loss of four yards, 0.5 sacks for two yards and a forced fumble.
 
The Huskies return home for two-straight games at Redman Stadium when Bloomsburg hosts Kutztown on October 7 at 2:00 p.m. and Lock Haven on October 14 at 2:00 p.m. for Homecoming/Parents' Weekend. The Huskies will honor the 2013 PSAC Championship Team and honor Brian Clarke's jersey during the game.