EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University football team built a 21-7 second-half lead and held on to defeat Bloomsburg, 21-16, to improve to 7-1 for the first time since 2004 on Saturday afternoon at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
With the win, the Warriors (7-1, 4-1 PSAC East) record its third consecutive win and stay pace with Shepherd for second place in the PSAC East. The Huskies (1-7, 0-5 PSAC East) fall in its fifth consecutive contest.
Notables
- The Warriors were able to maintain possession with long drives, rushing for 202 yards on 47 rushes and held possession for 36 minutes compared to just 24 minutes for Bloomsburg. of game clock. ESU QB Sean McTaggart (63 yards), Tahir Mills (63 yards) and Tyriq Lewis (44 yards) combined for 170 yards on the ground. ESU outgained BU, 399-268, had 27 more offensive plays than the Huskies and punted just three times on the afternoon. Both teams' offenses played well on 3rd down, with ESU converting 11-of-18 chances, with Bloomsburg successful on 7-12 attempts.
- McTaggart completed 16-24 passes for 147 yards, tossing a 29-yard touchdown to Jonathan Post for the opening score of the game. Tahir Mills also rushed for a touchdown, while Warrior tight end and former quarterback Dawson Stuart showed off his arm with a 28-yard touchdown to DJ Thomson, to account for the three Warrior touchdowns. Justin Cook tied for the game lead with six receptions for 56 yards. Post caught a pair of passes for 40 yards, including the touchdown. Thomson finished with 39 yards on a pair of receptions, while Evan Roche (35 yards) and Randy Fizer (15 yards) helped the Warriors in the balanced pass offense.
- ESU limited BU's potent rushing attack, led by Pocono Mountain West graduate Kaleb Monaco - who ranked second in the conference in rushing – to 49 yards and 53 yards rushing overall on 21 attempts. Bloomsburg quarterback Ben Ries completed 18-28 passes for 215 yards, tossing a touchdown and an interception.
- Defensively, Sergei Felizor led the team with nine tackles, with Matthew Davis adding eight stops, as both linebackers combined for 17 tackles.
- Noah Hambrick added six tackles and a tackle for loss. Shavar Hussett brought down his fifth career interception on the first drive of the second half to give ESU momentum. Ryan Hieber was able to get home and record a sack for a loss of 11 yards.
- ESU is now off to its best start since 2004, with the Warriors earning wins in seven of eight contests to start the year. ESU head coach was a sophomore quarterback on the 2004 squad that started the season 7-0 before an overtime loss to West Chester in the eighth week of the season.
- The win for the Warriors is its third consecutive against Bloomsburg, after falling in 12-of-13 matchups dating back to the 2005 NCAA playoff game against the Huskies. The Huskies now lead the all-time series by a single game at 43-42-2, with the two rivals first meeting in 1927.
- ESU has now defeated Bloomsburg and West Chester in the same season, which has not happened since the 1991 campaign.
How It Happened
- The Warriors started strong offensively, going 75 yards on nine plays, as McTaggart found Post in the end zone to start the scoring for the second consecutive week. The Warriors converted a pair of 3rd down plays during the first drive, with McTaggart rushing for 16 yards on 3rd and 4 and completing a 10-yd pass to Cook on 3rd and 9 to extend the drive.
- After the Warrior defense forced a punt, ESU put together a promising drive, marching down to the Bloomsburg 36-yard line on 13 plays, but McTaggart came up just a yard short on a 4th and 5 attempt. The Warrior defense held strong, forcing a quick 3-and-out, as ESU went into the second quarter up 7-0.
- ESU consumed 6:14 of clock on 14 plays on its next drive, as a 49 field goal attempt went wide, keeping the score at 7-0. The Warrior defense forced another 3-and-out, as the ESU offense went to work on another long drive. This time, ESU found paydirt with a 9-play, 51-yard drive. Mills rushed for a pair of first downs on 3rd down chances, including a four-yard touchdown to lift ESU to a 14-0 advantage with under four minutes in the first half.
- Bloomsburg never gave up, as Ries was able to find Jaden Helton for a 43-yard gain on the first play of the drive. After taking the sack from Hieber, Ries stayed composted and found Gabe Brower for a 37-yard touchdown to make it a one-possession game at 14-7. That wrapped up the scoring in the first half, with ESU leading 14-7. The Warrior defense held Bloomsburg to just three first downs and 111 total yards through 30 minutes of action.
- On the second play of the second half, Ries threw the lone interception of the game to Hussett as the Warriors took over possession near midfield. Lewis combined to rush for 25 yards on three carries before Stuart found Thomson on the trick play for 28 yards and seven points.
- ESU forced a field goal attempt after a 15-play 79-yard drive from the Huskies. Bloomsburg nearly scored a touchdown, with Hambrick and CJ Lavarin stopping Monaco at the five-yard line. A false start on BU on 4th-and-1 on the one-yard line pushed the ball back five yards, as Christopher George put the short field goal attempt through the uprights, cutting the ESU lead to 21-10.
- ESU was forced to punt on its next drive, as Bloomsburg took possession with less than a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter. After gaining a first down via an ESU penalty, the Huskies were ultimately held and forced to punt.
- The Warriors were then forced to punt for the third and final time of the game. Needing a touchdown to make it a one-possession game, Bloomsburg did just that, compiling a 13-play, 70-yd touchdown drive which ended with Ries finding the end zone on a one-yard sneak. The Bloomsburg two-point conversion was broken up by Malachi Bowman.
- Holding a slim 21-16 lead with 5:29 remaining, the Warriors did what they do best: maintain a long drive and ran out all 329 seconds on the clock. Holding possession at the 12-yd line, ESU picked up a pair of first down opportunities with a Tobias completion to Post, a nine-yd rush for Mills on a 3rd and 9 conversion attempt and took advantage of a 15-yd unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With 24 seconds remaining on 4th and 6 from the Bloomsburg 30-yard line, Tobias used a play-action, naked bootleg, and rushed for 12 yards and a first down to seal the win for the Warriors.
Up Next
- The Warriors turn its head to Shippensburg next Saturday at Eiler-Martin Stadium. The opening kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. in the Poconos in the program's annual 'Shirts Off My Back' game.
