West Chester’s first three possessions were all three-and-outs, lasting less than five minutes and gaining 11 yards in total. Meanwhile the Huskies were doing what they do best, grinding it out, holding the ball for over 11 minutes and amassing 147 yards. However, Bloomsburg was only able to carry a 3-0 lead into the second quarter due to a missed field goal and a fumble on fourth down.
West Chester’s next possession lasted only 38 seconds, but ended with a 51-yard Sean McCartney to Eddie Elliott touchdown pass to give the Golden Rams a 7-3 lead. But the Huskies responded with touchdown drives of 84 and 94 yards to reclaim the lead for good. They were aided by big plays on each of those drives – a 50-yard pass play on the first one and a 62-yard tackling break run on the second.
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Quarterback Sean McCartney surveys the defense
Trailing 17-7 with all three time outs and four minutes left in the first half, the Golden Rams had plenty of time to cut the deficit. Brandon Monk got it started with a 46-yard kickoff return to the Husky 44. After a couple of Rondell White runs moved the ball to the Bloomsburg 28, the drive seemed to stall. A sack and an incomplete pass left West Chester with a third and 15 from the 33. But McCartney lofted a 33-yard touchdown pass to Erick Brundidge.
With Bloomsburg’s lead at 17-14, they still had two minutes and two timeouts to navigate 66 yards. This would normally be a huge hurdle for the usually run dominated Husky offense. But the Huskies were throwing the ball with ease in this game and used completions of 8, 16, 19 and 9 yards to get to the West Chester 15. But on fourth and six, with only four seconds on clock, Bloomsburg’s reliable kicker hooked the 33-yard field goal attempt left and their lead would remain three at halftime.
After the break, Bloomsburg picked up right where they left off, marching 79 yards in 13 plays in four and a half minutes to extend the lead to ten points. The drive was capped off by a 32-yard quarterback bootleg. West Chester’s ensuing drive ended with yet another punt, but this one pinned the Huskies at their own seven. The Golden Ram defense appeared to have found success when the Huskies were faced with a third and eight. But the Bloomsburg passing game struck again, this time for 27 yards. Although the drive ended with Bloomsburg’s first punt of the game, they still managed to run 10 plays and take another five minutes off the clock. And oh yeah, the punt was downed at the West Chester one yard line.
The game then took on a déjà vu twist. West Chester went three-and-out, Bloomsburg went three-and-out and their punt was downed at the West Chester one. West Chester went three-and-out, Bloomsburg went three-and-out their punt was downed at the West Chester one. Yes, three consecutive punts downed on the WCU one-yard line. This time, West Chester moved the ball mainly on a 15-yard pass to tight end Tim Brown. But faced with a fourth and one, McCartney’s pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown, extending the Bloomsburg lead to 31-14 and sending many fans to the exits.
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But West Chester wasn’t finished. On their first play of the ensuing drive, McCartney hit Tim Keyser on a 71-yard catch and run touchdown to close the gap to ten. The Golden Ram defense would eventually force another punt, but not until Bloomsburg consumed another four minutes of game time. And Bloomsburg’s punt snuck across the goal line for a touchback.
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Tim Keyser on his 71-yard touchdown reception
Starting at their own 20 yard line, McCartney got back-to-back 20-yard completions to Brown and Brundidge. Later in the drive, on fourth and six, he connected with Elliot for nine yards. Another nine-yard completion, this time to White, moved the ball to the Bloomsburg to 18, but with the clock running. McCartney then found Elliot again over the middle for his second touchdown of the game and the Golden Rams cut the lead to 31-28.
Unfortunately, West Chester was not able to recover Shawn Leo’s onsides kick and the Huskies were able to run out the clock.
Notes - McCartney finished with 305 yards passing on the game, but 173 of them came on the four touchdown plays…Third down was another area where Bloomsburg held a huge advantage as they were 8 of 17 to West Chester’s 1 of 10…Bloomsburg had six ball carriers with at least ten yards, while West Chester’s Rondell White was the only West Chester rusher with positive yards, netting 88 on the day… Anthony McCloskey registered West Chester’s only sack in the game… Mike Labor notched 12 tackles while Brandon Pepper, Shawn Krautzel and Ronell Williams each had 10…After missing the last three games, LaRonn Lee played but did not register a catch...Saturday's game will be re-aired on Blue Ridge Cable on Sunday at 3 p.m.; Wednesday at 9 p.m. on ROOT Sports and Thursday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
West Chester Athletic Site - No. 16 Bloomsburg Tops No. 8 West Chester; Huskies Represent East In PSAC Title Game
Daily Local News - WCU upended by Bloomsburg, denied PSAC East title
NewsItem.com - Bloomsburg U. clinches PSAC East title
Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg Athletic Site - No. 16 Bloomsburg Hands No. 8 West Chester First Defeat To Clinch PSAC East Crown
Bloomsburg Athletic Site - Photo Gallery
D2football - PSAC Columnist - Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock Claim Division Championships
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