Golden Ram Football Club: Game Preview

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Game Preview - Bloomsburg

The Golden Rams (5-1, 3-0) host the Bloomsburg Huskies (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday in a PSAC East matchup. Note, the original noon kickoff at John A. Farrell Stadium has been changed to 12:30 pm. The game will be televised by SPORTSfever Television Network and be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 49-26 and these two schools often play big games. The two schools have met twice in playoffs - 2008 and again in 2013 - with both postseason games played in Bloomsburg. The Huskies took the 2008 contest while the Golden Rams won in 2013 en route to the NCAA Division II semi-finals. Although both schools have traditionally strong defenses, contests between these two have been fairly high scoring. Bloomsburg head coach Paul Darragh is in his fourth season and is 2-3 against the Golden Rams.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2008	Away	Loss	28-21	2013	Home	Loss	31-28
2009	Home	Win	30-14	2013	Away	Win	40-38
2010	Away	Loss	45-21	2014	Away	Loss	41-10
2011	Home	Loss	55-42	2015	Home	Win	33-22
2012	Away	Loss	24-23	2016	Away	Win	27-7

Last Meeting:

10/16/2016 West Chester 27 - Bloomsburg 7

The Golden Rams totally dominated the Huskies in front of over 5,000 people on a beautiful October day in Bloomsburg. The Huskies' only points came against West Chester's backups with just 16 seconds left in the game. The worst part about the game was that each team was flagged a dozen times.

Jarel Elder rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown while Tyler Karpinski had 105 yards receiving on four catches. Marcus Sydnor also made it into the end zone on an 18-yard catch. Defensively, Kevin Duggan had five tackles including a sack while Jarey Elder had three stops and a tackle for loss.

Scouting the Opponent:

This isn't the traditional Bloomsburg team with a strong, clock-consuming running game and stifling defense. Make no mistake, the running game is still the strength of the offense, but that's because the passing game ranks near the bottom of the PSAC. Quarterback Chris Palubinsky (84 of 153, 1,108 yards, 5 TD's, 5 ints) has just a 120.0 passing efficiency rating. He works equally to All-PSAC East wide receiver Michael Allen (28 catches, 373 yards, 3 TD's) and 6'2" Jay Popson (22 catches, 374 yards). Tight end Aaron Allison (11 catches, 73 yards, 2 TD's) also will require some attention. The running game is led by Qmac Quiteh (116 carries, 499 yards, 5 TD's) and Alex Gooden (53 carries, 327 yards, 2 TD's) while quarterback Palubinsky has six touchdowns rushing.

Kicker Ryan Abbott is 5 of 6 on field goals with a long of 36 yards, but hasn't converted a field goal attempt in three weeks. He's only missed one PAT on 19 attempts. Sophomore punter Kieron Smethers (29 punts, 37.7 yards average, 7 inside the 20, 5 50+) has had a good season thus far. Allen has averaged 18 yards on just four punt returns while freshman Chris Monaco is the primary kick returner.

The Huskies' 4-2-5 defense is led by All-PSAC East defensive end Chris Gary (24 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 6 QB hurries, and a 55-yard fumble recovery) and defensive end Scott Beltz (31 tackles, 3.5 sacks). Linebacker Nate Monroe (33 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 3 fumble recoveries) is the team's top tackler. The secondary is led by 30-year old marine and now safety Eric Schwartz (32 tackles, 1 int) and cornerback Marquis Seamon (14 tackles, 2 int, 6 pass breakups).

Analysis:

Similar to last year's game at Bloomsburg and last week's game at Shippensburg, the opponents' record is inflated due to a relatively weak schedule. Last Saturday, they faced Kutztown, arguably their best opponent thus far this season, and managed just seven first downs and 166 total yards of offense. Defensively, the game plan will be the same as usual Bloomsburg script - stop the Quiteh and the running game and force them into the passing game. As long as the Golden Ram offense can stay balanced, and the line can keep Dooley clean, West Chester should be able to move the ball.

Atomic Football favors the Golden Rams by 23 while Massey Ratings likes West Chester by a similar margin of 22.