Football | 9/7/2023 9:36:00 AM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -  The Bloomsburg football hits the road for just the second-straight week to open the season as the Huskies travel to Clarion for the first week of the PSAC East/West crossover games. Kick off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Memorial Field.
 
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• Live Stats  |  Provided by Clarion
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• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by Bigfoot Country 106.5
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand for free on the Bloomsburg Athletics Digital Network.
 • Search for "Bloomsburg Athletics Digital Network" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices to download the app. All 11 regular season Bloomsburg football games will be available on the app.
 
MOBILE APP
• Fans can also watch all PSAC football games on the PSAC Sports Digital Network mobile app that is available for free in the app stores on Apple and Android devices.
• The Live Streaming Video link above will also work on all mobile devices.

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Full Game Notes (PDF)

THE GAME
The Huskies come into the game after a tough 34-30 loss to Fairmont State to open the year. Clarion is coming off of a 30-20 win over Liberty in its first contest of the season. Both teams opened the year on Thursday night so each squad has had equal rest to enter the first weekend of PSAC East/West crossover games.

THE SERIES
The Huskies hold a 10-4-1 all-time series lead over the Golden Eagles, including eight-straight wins for the Huskies. The series began with a recorded 0-0 tie in 1934 and has been dominated by the maroon & gold since 2006. Bloomsburg kicked off it's eight-game winning streak with a 24-10 win in 2006 and most recently defeated the Golden Eagles 42-3 at home in 2022. The last time Bloomsburg traveled to Clarion, the Huskies came home with a 29-20 win during the 2017 season.

SCOUTING CLARION
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 30-20 win over Liberty last Thursday. Will Alexander led the offense under center as he threw for 155 yards and went 14-for-23 passing with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. Alexander found Khalil sevent times for 64 yards while Andy Martin caught two passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. Tony Powell caught one pass for 19 yards and got into the endzone.

Owens led the ground game as well with 29 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown while Anthony Guercio carried the ball five times for 27 yards. Trenten Smith had seven carries for 26 yards.

Defensively, Griffin Buzzell led Clarion with six tackles, while Dillon Tingle had five stops and one of the two Clarion interceptions. Shane Kemper had the other. Brady McKee had a key fumble recovery late in the first quarter which he returned for a score to give the Golden Eagles a 14-0 lead after the first.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Sophomore quarterback KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) had a strong start to the 2023 season under center for the Huskies as he went 13-for-25 and threw for 252 yards and a touchdown. He also ran in two scores and accumulated 26 yards on the ground. Two of his top receivers from last season emerged as his top targets again against Fairmont as Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) caught six passes for a 103 yards and a score and Nas Jones (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) made four catches for 95 yards. Peyton Persing (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) came on the scene for two catches and 51 yards.

On the ground, the dynamic duo of Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) and Ty Pringle (Cheyney, Pa./Bayard Rustin) pushed the pile for the Huskies. Monaco finished with 81 yards on the ground on 19 rushes while Pringle picked up 46 yards on nine carries. Pringle only went forward as he did not take a loss on a rushing play. He also ran in one score for the Huskies. Riley's 26 yards on the ground came on five carries.

Defensively, Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) led the Huskies with seven total stops and 1.5 TFL and five yards. Nate Capers (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) chipped in six tackles and 1.0 TLF (2 yards) while picking up a fumble. Ryan D'Ambra (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) added six tackles and broke up two passes while Tom Goetz (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional) had six tackles, 2 TFL (3 yards) and had the only Husky sack for the loss of a yard. Goetz, Sean Paul (Roselle, N.J./Hudson Catholic), and Ron Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) all got to the quarterback and had a quarterback hurry.

ON THIS DAY - SEPTEMBER 9
Bloomsburg Football History, September 9, 2017
The Bloomsburg University football team limited Clarion University to zero points and 63 yards of total offense in the second half as the Huskies picked up their first victory of the 2017 season with a 29-20 win over the Golden Eagles in front of just over 2,000 fans at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Redshirt sophomore Qmac Quiteh (Tobyhanna, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) collected his first collegiate 100-yard rushing effort as he shouldered the load on Saturday afternoon to the tune of 118 yards on 29 carries. Redshirt senior quarterback Chris Palubinsky (Ringtown, Pa./Shenandoah Valley) accounted for three total touchdowns - two rushing and one passing - to account for a majority of the scoring. But, it was the defense that stood out as the Huskies limited Clarion to 241 yards of total offense including only 63 in the second half. The defensive unit also did a great job in getting off the field as the Golden Eagles were just 1-of-13 on third-down conversions.

History, September 9, 1990
American tennis player Pete Sampras defeated Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open to capture his first of 14 Grand Slam singles titles.

CENTURY MARK
For the first time in his career, Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) hit the century mark in receiving yards as he caught six passes for 103 yards against Fairmont State. His longest reception was for 29 yards which was a late fourth quarter score for the Huskies. His previous game-high in receiving yards was 49 last season against Millersville.

DOES IT ALL
Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) has proven himself to be one of the more dynamic backs and return specialists in the PSAC East during his career. He opened the season with 200 all-purpose yards against Fairmont State. Monaco rushed for 81 yards, caught a pass for three yards, and had 116 kick return yards on six returns. He averaged 19.3 yards per return last week and for his career averages 22.7 yards a return. In his time at Bloomsburg, Monaco has racked up 2,444 all-purpose yards for his career so far. This season, Monaco is ranked second in the PSAC after the first week in all-purpose yards and is the conference leader in kick return yards.

RIGHT ON THE MONEY
Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) had six catches against Fairmont State and five of those catches went for either a first down or touchdown. Nas Jones (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) had four catches, two of which went for a first down and Peyton Persing (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) had a first down on one of his two grabs.

Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) ran for a first down five times, most notably twice when he was given the ball on third down out of three attempts. Ty Pringle (Cheyney, Pa./Bayard Rustin) ran for three first downs, including his 12-yard run for a touchdown on a third down play. KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) ran for two first downs, incluidng a 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

QUICK RECAP – 2022 HUSKIES
The Huskies finished the 2022 campaign 4-7 with a 2-5 record in PSAC East action under head coach Frank Sheptock. Bloomsburg picked up a 42-3 win over Clarion for the Huskies' first win of the season before out-lasting West Chester 21-16 under the lights. The Huskies defeated Lock Haven 17-9 on the road last year before rounding out the year with a 16-13 win over Mercyhurst.

QUICK RECAP – 2022 GOLDEN EAGLES
Led by second-year head coach Raymond Monica, the Golden Eagles are coming off a 3-8 season in 2022 that included a 2-5 record in PSAC West competition. Notably, all three of the Golden Eagles' 2022 wins came on the road, giving them a winning record away from home for the first time since 2010. The Golden Eagles opened the year with two straight losses, a 21-14 opening day defeat at the hands of West Liberty before falling to the Huskies 42-3 in Bloomsburg. After picking up a 44-7 win over Lock Haven, Clarion loss two straight to Gannon (47-24) and California (59-14). The Golden Eagles got back in the win column with a 40-13 victory over Seton Hill and continued their streak with a 23-21 win over Mercyhurst. After a 47-17 loss against Edinboro, the Golden Eagles faced back-to-back shutouts at the hands of Slippery Rock (31-0), and IUP (45-0). Clarion ended the year with a 36-27 loss to West Chester.

COACHING STAFF UPDATES
Stephen Pribble is no stranger to the Huskies' sideline but will take on a new role in 2023 after being promoted to offensive coordinator in the offseason. Chris Sprague joined the coaching staff to lead the offensive line while Deon Henry, Sr. came to Bloomsburg to coach the secondary. Matt Meloy joined the Huskies as the tight ends coach and Josh Bernocco moved from the cornerbacks to helping with the tight ends this season.

KEY LOSSES
The Huskies will hit the gridiron for the first time since 2017 without all-PSAC defensive back, Chris Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West). Monaco compiled 145 career tackles and nine career interceptions. He returned those nine picks for 176 total yards. Monaco was a mainstay on the special teams as well with 1,194 kick return yards while returning one for a touchdown.

John Ayres (Mt. Carmel, Pa./Mt. Carmel) departed the Huskies after two seasons for Bloomsburg. He finished with 16 total tackles, 233 yards rushing, 89 yards receiving and five total tackles.

RETURNING ALL-PSAC ATHLETES
The Huskies return three All-PSAC East performers from last year in senior Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) and junior Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) and Matthew Bowes (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS). Gaskill led the Huskies with 92 total tackles as he started and played in 10 games this season, missing just one due to injury. He finished the regular season 11th in the NCAA and first in the PSAC with 1.4 passes defended per game, as he collected 14 total. Monaco played in 10 games for Bloomsburg and collected 513 yards on the ground on 139 carries, caught 12 passes for 175 yards and two scores, and handled the lion's share of the kick return duties and had 397 yards on 18 returns. Bowes had 249 receiving yards on 18 catches and three touchdowns. He averaged 13.8 yards per catch and was the team-leader in in catches, yards, and touchdowns from the tight end spot in a run-heavy offense.

WELCOME TO BLOOM
Bloomsburg added 20 newcomers to the program on National Signing Day including seven o-linemen, four running backs, four wide receivers, two tight ends, two defensive ends, two defensive tackles and a safety. The Huskies brought in players from four different states, including Pennsylvania (13), New Jersey (3), Maryland (2), and New York (2).

The Huskies welcome five transfers to the roster this season. Hunter Lino (Howell, N.J./Howell) came from Wagner, Harry Jennings (Largo, Md./Fairmont Heights) from Shepherd, Jaden Helton (Ardmore, Pa./Lower Merion) and Jordan Fernandez (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg South) from Kutztown, and Neurys Ortiz (Union City, N.J./Union City) from American International.

FEATURED EVENTS ON THE SCHEDULE
The Huskies host Kutztown on October 7 for their annual Think Pink Game before welcome Lock Haven to Redman Stadium for Homecoming/Parents' and Supporters' Weekend/Hall of Fame Celebration. The Huskies will honor the 2013 Team and the late Brian Clarke's number during the game. Bloomsburg is scheduled to host IUP on November 11 for their Senior Day game.

MCGONIGLE RETURNS
Brendan McGonigle (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) returns to do the place kicking after going 12-for-15 in field goals with a long of 47 yards. He was nearly perfect in point after attempts, finishing 24-for-25 last year to lead the team with 60 points

So far this season, McGonigle is 1-1 on field goal attempts and 3-for-4 on point after tries. He nailed a 40-yard field goal as time expired at the end of the half against Fairmont State. In his career, McGonigle has converted five field goals of 40 or more yards for the Huskies..

FINISHING HOT IN THE RED ZONE
The Huskies got off to a hot start in the red zone and after a bit of cooling off period, finished red hot, so to speak. In their final three games, the Huskies went 7-for-7 in the redzone with three touchdowns. Bloomsburg started the year 10-for-11 in its first four games with six touchdowns. Including going 5-for-5 with three TDs against Stonehill to open the year.

START OF A NEW STREAK
After their streak of 211 straight games scoring at least one point was snapped midseason at Kutztown, the Huskies rebounded at Lock Haven to win 17-9 and begin a new streak. Bloomsburg pushed its streak to four to end the season and is now at five-straight. The last time the Huskies were shut out was in 2003, a 21-0 home loss against Shippensburg on September 13. Bloomsburg is 115-3 all-time when scoring at least 40 points in a game. However, the Huskies have only reached the 40-point plateau seven times in the last 49 contests. The Huskies defeated Clarion 42-3 last season on home.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN (S)
The Huskies named six captains for the 2023 campaign. Returning in their leadership role are Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro), Tom Goetz (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional), and Ky Seesholtz (Mifflinville, Pa./Central Columbia), while KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area), Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West), and Marlon Wescott join the captains for the first time.

THE RILEY FILE
Sophomore QB KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) is back for his second season under center for the Huskies after finishing his freshman campaign with 1,320 yards and went 102-for-184 with 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Riley also ran for 216 yards on 69 carries and one touchdown.

In Riley's first game of the year, the sophomore threw for 252 yards on 13-for-25 passing and no interceptions. He hit Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) for a 29-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter and ran in for a pair of scores. He accumulated 13 net yards rushing.

ONE LAST RIDE
Joseph Kahn (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove), Ron Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan), Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro), Brendan Gregory (Millville, Pa./Central Columbia), Colton Sidler (Danville, Pa./Danville Area), and Kenny Yurkonis (Minersville, Pa./Minersville Area) look to leave their lasting mark on the Bloomsburg Football program as the suit up in the maroon & gold for their final season.

Kahn is a three-year member of the Huskies with 21 games under his belt and 35 total tackles while Long has 17 games and 79 total tackles in two seasons. Gaskill is in his fourth season with the Huskies and has 203 total tackles, four interceptions, and 20 broken up passes to his name. Sidler has six games and four tackles to his credit and Yurkonis is a four-year member of the Huskies with 56 total tackles in 23 games after a breakout season last year. He had 47 tackles, including 8.0 for a loss of 42 yards and 4.5 sacks for 36 yards.

SHEPTOCK ERA
Sheptock was named the 28th head football coach in Bloomsburg University as he returns to his alma mater to take over the Huskies' program. Sheptock was at Division III Wilkes University as the defensive coordinator from 1990-95 and then took over the Colonels' program and served as head coach from 1996-2014. While at Wilkes, Sheptock went 107-81 overall and established the program record for most wins in a season (11) and career (107) while leading the Colonels to nine postseason appearances.

A member of the NCAA Division II Team of the Quarter Century (1973-97), Sheptock played linebacker for head coach George Landis and holds the school records for tackles in a career (537), single-season (159), and single-game (23), as well as career fumble recoveries (12). His program record for tackles in a single game, in fact, occurred during the national semifinal contest at North Alabama.

HUDDLE WITH THE HUSKIES
For the third-straight year, head coach Frank Sheptock will host "Huddle with the Huskies" at Quaker Steak & Lube in Buckhorn, Pa., on two select Thursdays this season. The first Huddle with the Huskies is set for September 7 while the final event will take place on October 12 ahead of Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend against Lock Haven.

The events are open to the public, with dinner beginning at 6:00 p.m. and a short program to follow. A buffet dinner will be held each night, with the cost of the meal being $14 per person - including a non-alcoholic beverage. Following the dinner, Coach Sheptock will speak about the season, preview the upcoming game(s), and introduce members of the coaching staff and players from this year's roster.

The first Huddle with the Huskies on September 7 will feature senior Joseph Kahn (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) and junior Tom Goetz (Wenonah, N.J./Gateway Regional) for the evening's program.

REMEMBERING THE GREATS
During the Homecoming game on October 14, the Huskies will honor the 2013 team which captured the PSAC Title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoff tournament. Bloomsburg will also honor the jersey number of the late Brian Clarke. Clarke's number, 77, will remain with the rest of the honored numbers at Bloomsburg from now on.

Clarke was dominant during his Bloomsburg career helping pave the way for the Huskies to rush for 3,762 yards and rank sixth among all Division II teams in rushing during the 2013 season after ranking fifth in 2012. Clarke was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award representing the nation's top Division II lineman in 2012 and 2013, finishing third in the voting in 2013. He was named first team All-America by the Associated Press, D2Football.com, Daktronics, Don Hansen Football Gazette and Beyond Sports Network and was a preseason Sporting News All-American.

41ST ANNUAL HALL OF FAME CELEBRATION
The members of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class are Lindy (Altadonna) McKinney '99 (women's lacrosse), Amber (Hackenberg) Brosius '08 (women's cross country/track & field), Bill Paule '65 (wrestling), Franklyn Quiteh '13 (football), Tracy 'Trey' Wirth '00 (women's soccer), and Sheila (Zilinski) Hughes '04/06M (field hockey/women's lacrosse). The induction brunch and ceremony will occur on Sunday October 15, at the Kehr Union Ballroom. Festivities will begin at 12:30 p.m. The six will bring the enshrined number to 208.

CLOCK RULE CHANGE NOTE
The NCAA changed the clock rules this year and will no longer stop the clock to set the chains for first downs during most of the game. The clock will still stop briefly for first downs inside the final two minutes of the second and fourth quarters, but otherwise will run on first downs. It was easy to see the impact through one week this fall. Bloomsburg averaged 55 plays per game last year and stayed consistent this past week agaisnt Fairmont with 56 plays. The rule change benefitted the Huskies last week as they averaged allowing 71.1 plays per game by opponents last year and held the Falcons to just 66 offensive plays last week.

2023 PSAC PRESEASON POLL
The Bloomsburg University football was selected to finish seventh in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division by the league's coaches in the 2023 Preseason Poll.
 
Last year's runner's up, Shepherd, was selected to win the East this year with five first-place votes, while Kutztown was selected second with two first places votes and West Chester was picked third with one top-place vote. East Stroudsburg came in fourth in the East and Millersville claimed the No. 5 spot. Shippensburg took sixth, just ahead of Bloomsburg, while Lock Haven rounded out the East with the eighth spot.
 
On the West, reigning PSAC champion, IUP claimed the top spot with sixth first-place votes while Slippery Rock grabbed the other two and finished second in voting. California (Pa.) grabbed the No. 3 spot and Gannon took the No. 4 spot. Edinboro, Seton Hill, and Clarion finished fifth through seventh in the voting while Mercyhurst rounded out the poll with the No. 8 spot.

The Huskies finished the 2022 campaign 4-7 with a 2-5 record in PSAC East action under head coach Frank Sheptock. Bloomsburg picked up a 42-3 win over Clarion for the Huskies' first win of the season before out-lasting West Chester 21-16 under the lights. The Huskies defeated Lock Haven 17-9 on the road last year before rounding out the year with a 16-13 win over Mercyhurst.

2023 KEY RETURNERS
The Huskies return three All-PSAC East performers from last year in senior Quentin Gaskill (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) and junior Kaleb Monaco (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) (Pocono Pines, Pa./Pocono Mountain West) and Matthew Bowes (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS) (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS). Gaskill led the Huskies with 92 total tackles as he started and played in 10 games this season, missing just one due to injury. He finished the regular season 11th in the NCAA and first in the PSAC with 1.4 passes defended per game, as he collected 14 total. Monaco played in 10 games for Bloomsburg and collected 513 yards on the ground on 139 carries, caught 12 passes for 175 yards and two scores, and handled the lion's share of the kick return duties and had 397 yards on 18 returns. Bowes had 249 receiving yards on 18 catches and three touchdowns. He averaged 13.8 yards per catch and was the team-leader in in catches, yards, and touchdowns from the tight end spot in a run-heavy offense.
 
Sophomore KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) returns to lead the Huskies' offense after finishing his freshman campaign with 1,320 yards and went 102-for-184 with 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Riley also ran for 216 yards on 69 carries and one touchdown. His core receivers are back which include Matthew Bowes (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS) (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS), Nas Jones (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area), and Owen Anderson (Cogan Station, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) (Cogan Station, Pa./Jersey Shore Area).
 
Joining Gaskill returning on defense is junior Ryan D'Ambra (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood). D'Ambra was second on the team last season with 67 total tackles, including 45 solo stops. He broke up a pair of passes and forced a pair of fumbles. D'Ambra blocked one kick. Ron Long (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) returns after finishing 2022 with 56 total tackles, including 5.0 TFL-8 yards and forced one fumble. Kenny Yurkonis (Minersville, Pa./Minersville Area) (Minersville, Pa./Minersville Area) is back to lead the defensive line after finishing last year with a team-best 4.5 sacks for 36 yards. He finished the year with 47 total tackles and had one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick.