GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg football team fell to Seton Hill 31-28 Saturday afternoon after a back-and-forth affair between the Huskies and Griffins in PSAC crossover action. The Huskies dropped to 0-2, while the Griffins improved to 2-1.

KJ Riley (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) led the Huskies with 229 passing yards on 12-of-26 passing. He threw two touchdown passes but was intercepted twice. Gabe Brower (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) was Riley's top target with five catches for 97 yards and a score, while Jerry Griffen-Batchler (Norristown, Pa./Germantown Academy) had three receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. Declan Clancy (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) added one catch for 48 yards, and Justin Wolfe (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) had three catches for seven yards.

On the ground, Brower paced the Huskies with 45 rushing yards on three carries. Riley ran for 41 yards on 11 carries. Clancy added 37 yards on 13 carries, and Eli Zimmerman (Schnecksville, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) finished with 19 yards on five attempts and two touchdown runs — both diving scores over the offensive and defensive lines.

Defensively, Cole Turner (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) led Bloomsburg with a career-best 12 tackles and a pass breakup. Garrett Garcia (Catawissa, Pa./Southern Columbia) had eight tackles and a breakup, while Idriz Ahmetovic (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) recorded seven stops. Izzy Dobbins (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), Brady Ronan (Tyrone,Pa./Tyrone Area) and Brady Thompson (Green Lane, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) each posted six tackles. DJ Greene (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) and Zhamir Rowan (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) notched their first career interceptions, both of which set up Husky scoring drives.

After a scoreless opening possession by both teams, Seton Hill struck first with a 33-yard field goal with 6:57 left in the first quarter.

The Huskies were forced to punt late in the quarter, but Rowan's interception gave the ball back. The Griffins had gained 12 yards on two plays before Rowan picked off a pass over the middle and returned it 21 yards to the Seton Hill 15. Clancy ran for four yards, then Zimmerman carried 10 yards to the 1-yard line. Zimmerman finished the job with a leaping score to give Bloomsburg a 6-3 lead.

The second quarter featured five combined scoreless drives, including a missed Seton Hill field goal and a Husky interception. With 1:33 left in the half, Greene intercepted a pass at the Bloomsburg 45 and returned it to midfield.

Riley and Brower quickly took advantage of the short field. Brower ran for 16 yards to the Griffin 36, and Riley followed with an 11-yard carry to the 25. Facing 4th-and-10 at the 25 after three incompletions, Bloomsburg called timeout. Out of the huddle, Riley found Brower wide open over the middle for a first down to the Seton Hill 7. Riley ran to the 1 before spiking the ball with 11 seconds left. After a Griffin timeout, Zimmerman again dove over the line for his second score. The Huskies elected to go for two, and Riley connected with Alex Achenbach (Tower City, Pa./Williams Valley) in traffic to push the lead to 14-3 at halftime.

Seton Hill forced a quick punt to start the third quarter, but the Husky defense held firm with a stop of its own. After another exchange of punts, the Griffins put together an eight-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 29-yard touchdown catch by Zach Schrockman to cut the deficit to 14-10.

The Huskies answered with a six-play, 75-yard drive. Riley hit Griffen-Batchler for a 53-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-10 with 14:09 left in the fourth.

Seton Hill responded immediately with a 57-yard kickoff return and a short three-play scoring drive to pull within 21-17 after a successful two-point conversion with 12:36 remaining.

Bloomsburg struck back again. Starting at its own 25, Riley hit Brower for a first down at the 45. After a series of runs, Riley was sacked for a seven-yard loss, but on the next play he connected with Brower for a 48-yard touchdown. With Riley's extra point, Bloomsburg led 28-17 with 7:37 to go.

The Griffins answered once more, driving 74 yards in 3:30 to make it 28-23 after a missed extra point.

Bloomsburg got the ball back with 4:03 left but was intercepted on 3rd-and-12 from its own 31. Seton Hill capitalized on the short field, and quarterback Boden St. Marie scored on an 11-yard run. Rayyan Bataineh's extra point gave Seton Hill a 31-28 lead with 47 seconds left.

The Huskies weren't done. After a penalty pushed them back, Riley connected with Griffen-Batchler for 10 yards. Facing 4th-and-5 with 28 seconds left, Riley found freshman Clancy over the middle for 48 yards to the Griffin 12. After a spike and a short completion to Wolfe, Bloomsburg lined up for a 23-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining. Riley, who had played every offensive snap, pushed the kick just wide right as Seton Hill escaped with the 31-28 victory.

Bloomsburg returns home to Redman Stadium and Danny Hale Field next Saturday for its home opener against Edinboro. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Career Milestones

• With 229 passing yards, Riley moved into seventh all time at Bloomsburg with 4,816. He passed current NFL official Alan Eck, who had 4,815 from 1989-91. Riley needs 137 more to move into sixth place.

• With 77 receiving yards today, Griffen-Batchler entered the top 10 at Bloomsburg with 1,750. He is 10th all time and needs 12 yards to move into ninth and 102 to climb to eighth.