Box Score

BLOOMSBURG – Franklyn Quiteh, the leading rusher in Division II, carried 39 times for 246 yards to lead Bloomsburg to a 26-13 win over East Stroudsburg University in Saturday's PSAC East match-up at Redman Stadium.

Quiteh went over 200 yards for the third time this season for a Bloomsburg offense that was fourth in the nation in rushing through four games (249.2 ypg) and compiled 319 yards on the ground.

The redshirt freshman set up four field goals by Dan Fisher, the longest from 41 yards, and two touchdown passes by junior quarterback Pat Carey, who was just 6-for-21 for 67 yards and three interceptions but tossed scoring passes to Kyle Fisher (32 yards) and Cory Stiger (three yards).

Redshirt senior quarterback Matt Marshall was 20-for-35 for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception for ESU, which lost its fourth straight game for the first time since 2000 and has a losing streak of four or more games for just the seventh time in 37 seasons under head coach Denny Douds.

Redshirt senior outside linebacker Matt Freed had the top day for the ESU defense with 17 tackles, the second-most in his career which includes two straight All-America campaigns. Freed has 13 or more tackles in eight of his 28 career starts and 19 double-figure efforts.

The Warriors scored on their first possession, as freshman kicker Taylor Groff hit a 41-yard field goal to cap a scoring drive that was sparked by a 58-yard shovel pass from Marshall to redshirt freshman tailback Joe Klebon on the second play from scrimmage.

ESU's defense came up with four turnovers on the day and forced an interception, a fumble and a missed field goal from 42 yards on Bloomsburg's first three possessions as the Huskies were unable to capitalize on great field position.

Junior safety Herschel Thornton's first career interception thwarted the Huskies' first drive, while redshirt junior linebacker Taylor Cave and senior linebacker Kevin Schafer combined for a turnover when Quiteh fumbled at the one-yard line late in the first quarter.

Fisher drew Bloomsburg even with a 26-yard field goal with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. ESU was forced to punt on its next five possessions after its opening drive for the field goal, and it looked as though the Huskies would be content to go into halftime with a 3-3 tie until Quiteh ripped off a 42-yard run with less than two minutes left in the half and Carey hit Fisher for the touchdown two plays later.

The Warriors avoided more damage in the final minute, when senior cornerback David Castillo picked off Carey for the second time in the half after Marshall threw an interception to Vince Browning on the Warriors' first play after the ensuing kickoff.

Bloomsburg received the second half kickoff and ESU redshirt sophomore safety Zechariah Runkle gathered another interception on the second play from scrimmage, returning the pick 26 yards to the Huskies' 22-yard line. The Warriors were unable to pick up a third-and-five and Groff nailed a 33-yard field goal to make the score 10-6, but Bloomsburg came back with a 10 play, 68-yard drive that culminated in Fisher's 21-yard field goal to push the margin back to a touchdown at 13-6.

The Huskies turned an ESU fumble into another field goal, this one from 30 yards, as the Warriors' defense held inside the red zone, but the 16-6 deficit would prove to be too much to overcome.

Bloomsburg drew two pass interference flags on the next drive, Quiteh broke another 42-yard gain and Stiger hauled in Carey's three-yard TD pass to make it 23-6 late in the third quarter. Fisher added his fourth field goal of the game from 41 yards out with 6:21 left in regulation.

Marshall led the Warriors' only touchdown drive of the day in the final two minutes, going 60 yards in eight plays, with redshirt senior Jeff Giglio hauling in a 10-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds remaining. The TD pass extended Marshall's streak to 20 consecutive games with a scoring toss and was the 48th of his career. The score marked Giglio's 17th career TD reception and was the 16th in his last 23 games.

Bloomsburg's defensive effort stalled ESU for most of the afternoon, forcing three turnovers and nine punts by senior Greg Knauss, who averaged 36.7 yards per kick. The Warriors led the PSAC in net punting entering the game (36.7) but had their first touchback of the season and yielded 24 yards on four returns.

Freed (17 tackles – 9 solo) had his first sack of the season and Thornton and senior outside linebacker Mark Kalo were both credited with 10 stops for the Warriors' defense. Their four takeaways were one more than their total from the previous three games after leading the PSAC with 33 takeaways last season.

ESU hosts Kutztown next Saturday at 2 p.m. on Homecoming Weekend at Eiler-Martin Stadium, and will face a team that is 5-0 for the first time in school history. The Golden Bears overcame a 24-7 second-half deficit in a 33-24 win over Shippensburg on Saturday. The Warriors will be looking for their 10th straight win in the series and their first win on Homecoming since 2006.


Game Notes
* Bloomsburg won its fifth straight game in the series and the sixth consecutive regular season match-up between the two schools
* The meeting was the 75th between the Warriors and Huskies since East Stroudsburg became a four-year school in 1926. ESU lists a 38-35-2 advantage, while Bloomsburg puts the series at 43-37-2 in favor of ESU, which includes seven games prior to 1926.
* Bloomsburg's average field positions was its own 42-yard line; ESU's was its own 29
* The Huskies held the ball for 35:33, the fourth time in five games that ESU's opponents have had the ball for at least 33:30

* Klebon had 256 all-purpose yards, leading the Warriors in rushing (five carries, 24 yards), receiving (three catches, 62 yards) and kick returns (seven returns, 170 yards)
* His averages of 152.0 all-purpose yards per game and 24.0 yards per kick return should rank among the PSAC leaders in next week's stats
* Marshall went over 200 yards passing for the 15th time in his career, and 14th time in 19 starts
* He hit 11 different receivers, the most this season, spreading the ball around to three running backs, one fullback, six wide receivers and one tight end
* Fr. TB Dusty Reed had four catches for 26 yards, one week after pulling in six catches for 71 yards vs. West Chester
* Groff is 8-for-10 on field goals and is 6-for-6 from under 40 yards in the first five games of his career

* Freed has 330 career tackles, five behind Mike Reichenback (1980-83), an AFCA All-American and seven-year starter in the NFL for the Eagles and Dolphins
* He had a career-high 20 tackles last season vs. Slippery Rock, and 16 tackles in games at Kutztown in 2009 and West Chester in 2008. Three of his top four games in tackles have been on the road.
* Thornton and Runkle both had their first career interceptions and combined for 19 tackles from the safety position (Thornton 10, Runkle 9)
* Castillo's interception was his first of the season and the seventh of his career