EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Bloomsburg nearly pulled off a stunning comeback Saturday night, scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter before a last-second field goal lifted East Stroudsburg to a 38–35 win at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
 
Down 35–14 with just over 10 minutes to play, the Huskies (1-5, 0-3 PSAC East) roared back behind quarterback KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area), who threw three fourth-quarter touchdown passes to rally Bloomsburg into a tie with under two minutes remaining.
 
The comeback began with a steady 11-play, 75-yard drive that saw Riley spread the ball around before sophomore running back Eli Zimmerman (Schnecksville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown leap, cutting the deficit to 35–20. Bloomsburg immediately attempted an onside kick that was originally negated by a penalty. Idriz Ahmetovic (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) attempted a second one and this time recovered his own kick to get the Huskies back on offense.
 
Riley and the offense struck again — this time in lightning fashion. On the third play of the next drive, Riley connected with Gabe Brower (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) down the left sideline for a 53-yard touchdown, pulling the Huskies within one score at 35–27 with just under five minutes left.
 
The defense again delivered, forcing a short punt that gave Bloomsburg the ball at the East Stroudsburg 28-yard line with just over two minutes to go. Riley kept the momentum going, completing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) on third-and-one, then hitting Brower for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 35–35 with 1:40 left.
 
East Stroudsburg (5–1, 3–1 PSAC East) managed one final drive, setting up a 21-yard field goal as time expired to escape with the win.
 
The Warriors got on the board first after taking the opening kickoff and putting together a nine-play 65-yard drive in the first five minutes. East Stroudsburg pushed its lead to 14-0 after Armonie Torres hauled in an interception to get the ball back to the Warriors. ESU ended the first quarter with a nine-play 62-yard drive to take a 14-0 lead.
 
The Huskies' first touchdown came in the second quarter, when Riley hit Griffen-Batchler for a 46-yard score to trim an early 14-0 deficit to 14-7. The Huskies and Warriors traded missed field goal attempts in the second quarter and ESU carried the 14-7 lead into half time.
 
East Stroudsburg forced a three-and-out on the Huskies' first drive of the third quarter and immediately scored on their next drive to take a 21-7 lead. The Warriors pushed their advantage to 28-7 with an eight-play 80-yard drive with 5:21 to play in the third.
 
With 31 seconds left in the third quarter, Riley connected with Brower on a 5-yard strike to keep Bloomsburg within reach at 28-14 before the late surge began. Brower's touchdown catch was set up by a strong game on the ground by Zimmerman and Declan Clancy (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township). Clancy got the initial first down on the drive with an 11-yard run before Riley carried it himself for five yards. Wolfe and Riley then connected for an 11-yard gaon to get to the ESU-30. Zimmerman broke free on the next play and was finally caught at the ESU-09 after a 21-yard run. Riley and Zimmerman combined for four yards on the ground before the touchdown pass to Brower on 3^rd-and-goal. Aaron Johnson (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) converted the extra point kick to cut into the lead with 15 minutes to play and set up the furious comeback.
 
ESU opened the fourth quarter with another touchdown drive, but the Huskies answered with 21-straight points to tie the game with 1:40 to play in regulation.
 
Riley led the Huskies with 198 yards and four touchdowns through the air while rushing for 80 more. Griffen-Batchler caught four passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and Brower added three receptions for 55 yards and two scores. Bloomsburg racked up 411 yards of total offense, including 213 on the ground between Riley, Clancy, Zimmerman, and Brower.
 
Defensively, Idriz Ahmetovic (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) led the way with 11 tackles, while Nahzier Booker (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) added 10 stops and Brady Thompson (Green Lane, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) chipped in six with a tackle for loss.
 
The Huskies return home next Saturday as they host Shepherd on Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend at Redman Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.