MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Bloomsburg football team delivered a statement performance on Saturday afternoon, using explosive plays and a relentless second-half surge to power past Millersville, 37–21, at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium.
The Huskies piled up 511 yards of total offense behind a commanding effort from quarterback K.J. Riley, who accounted for four total touchdowns — two passing and two rushing — while the defense recorded three interceptions and five sacks to secure the PSAC East victory.
The Huskies' offense finished with 296 passing yards and 215 rushing yards, averaging 7.3 yards per play. Riley led the way with another all-around impressive effort for the Huskies with a season-best 296 passing yards on a 17-for-30 passing day with two touchdowns. Riley ran for another 43 yards and two more touchdowns to account for 339 yards of the Huskies' 511 total yards of offense and four of Bloomsburg's five touchdowns. Riley's top target was Gabe Brower (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) who had six catches for a season-best 127 yards, including a career-best 62-yard touchdown catch. Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) continues to showcase why he is one of the elite receivers in the PSAC with 99 receiving yards on eight catches. Griffen-Batchler now has 2,163 receiving yards in his career and moved into sole possession of sixth all-time at Bloomsburg. He is just 86 yards shy of taking over Brahin Bilal in fifth place. Justin Wolfe (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) added a pair of catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
The run game continues to excel with its pair of true freshmen leading the way. Declan Clancy (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) nearly reached 100 rushing yards as he finished with 93 on 17 carries and one score. Eli Zimmerman (Schnecksville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) added another 33 yards for the Huskies. Bloomsburg showcased its ability to move the line of scrimmage with the ground game as the Huskies had 215 net yards rushing on 39 carries. For the day, the Huskies gained 222 yards on the ground and lost just seven and averaged 5.5 yards per run.
The Huskies controlled the ball for over 32 minutes and converted six third downs.
Bloomsburg started the afternoon with a crisp opening drive that set the tone early. Mixing runs from Declan Clancy (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) and short passes from Riley, the Huskies marched 49 yards over nine plays. The drive stalled inside the red zone, but Aaron Johnson (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) calmly knocked through a 38-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to give Bloomsburg a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Millersville responded quickly, needing just two plays to reclaim the lead. After a 74-yard pass play flipped the field, the Marauders punched it in from a yard out to go up 7-3. The hosts added another score midway through the second quarter to extend their advantage to 14-3, but Bloomsburg's offense began to find its rhythm as halftime approached.
Pinned deep in its own territory with less than two minutes remaining in the half, Riley dropped back and fired a deep strike down the right sideline to Gabe Brower (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley), who broke free from his defender and sprinted 76 yards untouched for a touchdown. The quick four-play, 86-yard drive took just 38 seconds and gave Bloomsburg the momentum it needed heading into the locker room, trailing 14-10.
The Marauders got the ball back with 1:39 to play in the first half and appeared to grab momentum back as they started on their own 35-yard line and converted two third-and-longs to get down to the Bloomsburg 27 with 21 seconds to play. Threatening to put more points on the board. T Hunsicker was looking for a receiver in the endzone by freshman Zay Pusateri (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg South) jumped the route and pulled down the first of three Bloomsburg interceptions to send the Huskies into the locker room trailing just 14-10. The Huskies were set to get the ball to start the third and had all of the momentum for the rest of the game.
The Huskies wasted no time taking control after the break. Opening the third quarter from their own 14-yard line, Bloomsburg pieced together an 11-play, 86-yard march that showcased balance and poise. Riley connected with Griffen-Batchler three times on the drive and converted a key third down with a 15-yard pass before capping the possession himself on a one-yard quarterback sneak. The extra point was blocked, but the Huskies had their first lead of the afternoon, 16-14.
After the defense forced a punt, Riley and the offense struck again — this time in electrifying fashion. On just the fourth play of the drive, Riley dropped back and found Justin Wolfe (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) in stride on a deep post route for a 60-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 23-14 late in the third quarter. Wolfe's speed and Riley's precision left the Marauder secondary flat-footed as the Huskies seized full momentum.
Millersville briefly threatened to rally, scoring early in the fourth quarter to make it 23–21, but Bloomsburg responded immediately with a statement drive. Starting from their own 32-yard line, the Huskies leaned on Clancy's physical running and Riley's improvisation. Facing third down just outside of the redzone, Riley scrambled through the middle, broke a tackle, and raced 26 yards into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the day, restoring a two-score advantage at 30–21.
Moments later, the Bloomsburg defense came up big again as Tyler Frey (York, Pa./Central York) intercepted a deep pass, setting up the offense in Millersville territory. Three plays later, Clancy delivered the dagger, bursting through the line and sprinting 34 yards to paydirt to cap the scoring at 37–21 with just over three minutes to play.
Bloomsburg's defense closed out the win emphatically, forcing turnovers on Millersville's final two possessions. Nahzier Booker (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) anchored the unit with 10 tackles and a sack, while Emilio Diaz (Lancaster, Pa./Milton Hershey School), Ryan Corros (Honey Brook, Pa./Twin Valley), and Charles Sheppard (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg Area) each contributed to a relentless pass rush that produced five sacks. The Huskies limited Millersville to just 96 yards rushing on 33 carries, giving up just 2.9 yards per carry. The Marauders lost 41 yards rushing thanks to seven tackles for loss from the Bloomsburg defense. The three interceptions against Millersville are the most in a game for the Husky defense since Bloomsburg picked off Clarion four times during the 2023 season. The Huskies brought the pressure all game long with three quarterback hurries and four pass breakups as well.
The Huskies look to carry the balanced win into next Saturday's game as they travel to West Chester for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff against the Golden Rams from Tomlinson-Fillippo Field at Farrell Stadium. It's the first time since the first two weeks of the season that the Huskies play in back-to-back road games.
