SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Bloomsburg football team closed out the 2024 season with 27-7 loss to Slippery Rock, Saturday afternoon. The Huskies finished the year 6-5 and 4-3 in the PSAC East.
 
The Huskies posted a winning season for the first time under head coach Frank Sheptock and their first since 2018. The Huskies were selected to finish eighth by the league's coaches and came away as the third team in the East.
 
Junior KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) finished the day 9-for-21 with 143 passing yards and one touchdown and three interceptions. He ran for another 20 yards on eight carries. Senior Matthew Bowes (Somerton, Pa./La Salle College HS) was Riley's top target with four catches for 56 yards. Owen Anderson (Cogan Station, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) caught two passes for 46 yards and Riley's touchdown while Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) had two catches for 38 yards.
 
Defensively, Brady Thompson (Green Lane, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) led the Huskies with 12 total tackles, including 0.5 TFL (1 yard) and one quarterback hurry. Nate Capers (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished the day with nine total tackles and Ryan D'Ambra (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) posted nine total stops, including 1.0 TFL (1 yard), and one quarterback hurry.
 
Griffen-Batchler had three kickoff returns for 56 yards and two punt returns for 24 yards. Isaiah Megginson (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood) returned one kick for 24 yards.
 
Slippery Rock struck first as Jacob Snow returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter. The Huskies answered two possessions later. After Riley's punt went 44 yards, Kylon Wilson fumbled the ball at the ROCK-33 and Ryan Petrosky (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) was there to recover it and set the Huskies up with a short field. Riley took a two-yard sack on the first play of the drive but rebounded for a 37-yard touchdown pass to Owen Anderson (Cogan Station, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) to cut the lead to 7-6. Riley's extra point was good and the game was tied 7-7 with 4:16 to play in the first.
 
The Rock drove the field to get down to the Bloomsburg nine-yard line as the first quarter ended. Slippery Rock start the second quarter 4^th-and-5 from the nine and were forced to kick a field goal to push the lead to 10-7.
 
The two teams traded punts on their next possession before Bloomsburg put together a long drive down the field. Riley found Bowes for 19 yards and Husky first down before connecting with Griffen-Batchler for 24 yards and another first down. Two penalties pushed the Huskies back to the ROCK 29-yard line and incomplete pass brought up 4^th-and-24. The Huskies attempted a 46 yard field goal but it fell just short as Slippery Rock clung to its 10-7 lead.
 
The Rock put together a 13-play, 71 yard drive that took 5:07 of game time to find the endzone once again for the 17-10 lead with 3 seconds to play in the half. The Huskies ran just one play and the two teams went to the locker room with Slippery Rock ahead.
 
Slippery Rock opened the second half with another touchdown drive to take a 20-7 lead. The Rock came away with another interception on the next Husky drive and capitalized on the turnover with one-yard touchdown run by Brayden Long.
 
The two teams were kept off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, though Slippery Rock used a 12-play, 30 yard drive that ate 10:12 off the clock in the fourth to drain the clock and seal their win.
 
Riley now has 4,323 passing yards in his three-year career at Bloomsburg and is ninth all-time on the passing list. Griffen-Batchler has 1,570 career receiving yards and is just outside the top-10 list for the Huskies. Ryan D'Ambra (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) finished the year with 95 total tackles, and 255 total stops, including 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, one interception, seven passes defended, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.
 
The PSAC All-Conference lists will be released on Wednesday, November 20.