EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Junior kicker
Ty Quintois made a game-winning 21-yard field goal on the final play after East Stroudsburg University drove 66 yards in the last two minutes, emerging with a 38-35 victory after recovering from a 21-point fourth-quarter Bloomsburg comeback in PSAC East football on Saturday night at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
ESU (5-1, 3-0), which won its fifth straight game, led 35-14 with 10:57 remaining before Bloomsburg (1-5, 0-3) scored three consecutive touchdowns with less than six minutes left, tying it with a TD and two-point conversion with 1:40 on the clock.
Redshirt senior QB Sean McTaggert (15-for-21, 261 yards, pass TD, rush TD) converted a second-and-16 with a 17-yard pass to sophomore WR
Jaylen Andrews, and a Bloomsburg unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved ESU to the BU 43. Another pass to Andrews, covering 16 yards, put the Warriors within field goal range, and McTaggart had a 10-yard run to get to the 17 with 37 seconds left.
Redshirt freshman TB
Ajani Walker (21 carries, 119 yards, TD) had a six-yard run, followed by a facemask penalty, and gained two yards on the Warriors' final offensive snap to put the ball at the three. ESU used its final timeout with two seconds left, and Quintois made the 21-yard kick as the Warriors escaped.
ESU scored the go-ahead points in the final two minutes for the second time in its five-game winning streak, with victories over Pace (31-12), at Gannon (69-22), at Lock Haven (24-21) and at West Chester (45-14) before returning home for the first time since Sept. 4 in front of a Homecoming crowd of nearly 4,500.
Quarterback KJ Riley was 12-for-22 for 198 yards, four TD and an interception and had 10 carries for 80 yards for Bloomsburg. Jerry Griffen-Batchler (4 catches, 89 yards) and Gabe Brower (3 catches, 55 yards) both had two TD receptions.
ESU led 14-7 at halftime, scoring on its first two possessions and holding the ball for nearly 18 minutes. McTaggart had a five-yard TD run on the game's first drive, a nine-play, 65-yard march, and redshirt sophomore QB
Harrison Susi scored on a four-yard TD run to finish a nine-play, 62-yard drive, set up by an interception by redshirt freshman DB
Armonie Torres.
BU's first-half TD was a 46-yard pass from Riley to Griffen-Batchler early in the second quarter.
The Warriors forced a three-and-out and scored on their third offensive snap of the second half, a 56-yard TD pass from McTaggart to freshman WR
Jalen Cook (2 catches, 99 yards, TD), for a 21-7 lead.
ESU extended it to 28-7 on its next possession, going 80 yards on eight plays, including a 22-yard pass to Andrews, capped by a 14-yard TD run by redshirt freshman RB
Cade Sawyer with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.
Bloomsburg answered with a 61-yard drive, and Riley hit Brower for a five-yard TD to get back within 28-14 in the final minute of the third.
Once again, ESU pushed the margin back to three scores, moving 89 yards on eight plays. McTaggart and Cook hooked up for a 43-yard pass on the second play, and Walker scored from nine yards out for a 35-14 advantage at the 10:57 mark in the fourth quarter.
Bloomsburg's comeback started with a long drive spanning just over five minutes and a short rushing touchdown to make it 35-20 (the extra point was no good) with 5:53 left.
The Huskies then recovered two onside kicks, the first erased on an offsides penalty, the second recovered by defensive back/kicker Idriz Ahmetovic, who also had a team-high 11 tackles. BU went 60 yards in just three plays, as Riley and Brower connected for a 53-yard TD pass on third-and-seven, and suddenly it was 35-27 with 4:58 on the clock.
ESU went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, and a high snap led to a squibbed punt – officially a loss of one yard – to set up the Huskies at the ESU 28. BU was in the end zone again four plays later on Riley's 18-yard TD to Griffen-Batchler, and then tied the game at 35-35 as Riley hit Brower for the two-point conversion.
The Warriors had just enough left to pull out the victory following a 15-yard kick return by redshirt freshman
Elijah Carroll to the 31-yard line. McTaggart's 17 and 16-yard passes to Andrews (three catches, 55 yards) and the BU unsportsmanlike conduct penalty were the biggest plays.
ESU held a 472-411 advantage in total offense, with 208 yards rushing, led by Walker's second-straight 100-yard game, and 264 yards passing. Bloomsburg rushed for 213 yards on 34 carries and threw for 198. The Warriors forced the game's only turnover on the interception in the first quarter.
Redshirt freshman DB
Tristan McLeer (8 tackles), graduate linebacker
Khalil Scott (7) and redshirt junior DL
Jake Williamson and redshirt sophomore DB
Raquane Matthews (6 each) were ESU's top tacklers.
ESU will look for its sixth straight win, and fourth straight in PSAC East divisional play, next Saturday at 6:05 p.m. vs. Shippensburg (2-4, 2-1). The Raiders posted a 41-28 win over Millersville on Saturday, and also won 10-7 vs. Bloomsburg, around a 49-0 loss at No. 4 Kutztown last weekend.
