STORYLINES
TURNING THE CORNER
ESU’s defense before and after its bye week has been two completely different units. Through the season’s first three games, they allowed an average of 35.0 PPG and 453.3 YPG. Since then, the Warriors have shut out Lackawanna and held West Chester to 13 points, yielding 190.0 YPG between the two outings. Additionally, they’ve intercepted five passes, creating turnovers in the secondary while limiting the Falcons and Golden Rams to just 88 combined rushing yards. Over this stretch, five different Warriors have come up with the interceptions.
BIG ON BIG
On the other side of the ball, the ESU offense’s strength goes directly against what the Bloomsburg defense has done better than almost everybody in Division II. All eyes will be on whether or not the rushing attack for ESU will have the edge, or if the Huskies’ run defense can hold firm. On offense, ESU ranks seventh in Division II and leads the conference with 269.8 yards per game on the ground. They have yet to finish with fewer than 240 rushing yards in a game this season, and are coming off a 318-yard game against West Chester. Lining up across from them, Bloomsburg ranks third in the country by allowing only 63.6 yards per game. Something will have to give, and it very well could determine who comes out on top.
WHO’S TURN?
The defining factor of the ESU rushing attack has been that the Warriors can turn to a stable of four players to carry the load on any given drive. Whether it's senior QB Harrison Susi, senior RB Ajani Walker, fifth-year RB Deante Crawford, or junior RB Cade Sawyer, all four have shown the ability to take over a drive, rip off a big play, or churn clock — whatever the situation calls for. Last week, Walker took hold of the lead spot, rushing for 154 yards on 15 carries. Marking a career high for the tailback, he earned his first PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week award as he became the first Warrior to eclipse 150 yards on the ground since 2019.
UNDER CENTER
For the second game in a row, ESU’s offense has featured Susi and junior QB Matt Machalik. Susi started and finished the game, finally breaking the program record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback after tying it in the season-opener. But Machalik began to alternate drives at the end of the first quarter and started ESU’s first drive of the second half. Neither had to do much through the air, though they combined for 103 yards on 9-of-18 passing, with Susi throwing both the lone touchdown and interception. Whether it’s dependent on game flow or who has the hot hand, the Warriors’ offense has been humming since incorporating a second QB into their game plan.
LEADING THE WAY FOR BLOOMSBURG
Statistically, Bloomsburg’s defense has been the best in the PSAC through its first five games. They lead the conference with 18.0 PPG allowed, 11 touchdowns against, 251.4 YPG, average 8.0 TFL per game, and have gotten to the opposing quarterback 14 times. They’ve recorded double-digit tackles for loss three times, coming against Fairmont State, Shippensburg, and Lackawanna, including 21 total in their last two games. The duo of DL Ian Donohue and LB Nahzier Booker are battling each other for the conference lead in tackles for loss, as Donohue is 0.5 ahead of his teammate with 10.0 on the year. Each has also earned the honor of PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week once this season, with Donohue picking it up after his performance two weeks ago against Shippensburg, and Booker earning it versus Fairmont State in the first game of the year. The player to watch on the Huskies’ defense is LB Garrett Garcia. Playing over the middle, he leads the team with 41 tackles so far, recording 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and two breakups as well.
THROUGH THE AIR
Looking at the perimeter matchups, it will likely be fifth-year WR Elijah Ford for the Warriors lining up against DB Zay Pusateri. Ford had a bit of a quiet game after a touchdown was wiped off the board, but still nearly accounted for half of the Warriors’ receiving production with 46 yards on three catches. He’s had multiple receptions now in four straight games, averaging 64.5 YPG and 25.8 YPC. Pusateri is the Huskies’ leader in breakups, totaling seven without an interception. When Bloomsburg has the ball, WRs Alex Achenbach and Xavier Diaz will go up opposite junior DB Harold Hill IV and sophomore DB Leyden Hertz, but RB Justin Wolfe has been their most reliable receiving threat. Wolfe has totaled 301 receiving yards and four touchdowns, averaging a team-leading 60.2 YPG and 17.7 YPC.
BLOOMSBURG’S RUN GAME
Bloomsburg has preferred to run its offense through its rushing attack, similarly to ESU. They’ll go against a defense that, over the last two weeks, has shut down the run well in ESU. RB Declan Clancy ranks second in the conference with 497 yards and seven touchdowns, picking those up on 86 carries for 5.8 yards per attempt and just under 100 per game. Meeting him in the middle will be a group of Warriors, led by LB Camerin Gross. The junior linebacker has been the Warriors’ leading tackler for most of the season, entering the contest with 38 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.
UNDER THE LIGHTS
The Huskies are hosting their first night game in two years and their eighth overall since renovating Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium. They’re 6-1 in such games, winning their last three after falling to Shippensburg in 2013. Bloomsburg has outscored their opponents by an average margin of 10.7 PPG, though the Warriors are no slouches when playing on the road at night. ESU is 2-0 this year in that situation, defeating Seton Hill 27-20 and Pace 37-26 in its first two games of 2026.
LAST YEAR’S MEETING
When these two teams played in 2025, it went from a comfortable ESU win to a walk-off field goal for the Warriors to hang on. The Warriors led 35-14 with 10:57 remaining, but Bloomsburg scored 21 straight points to tie the game with 1:40 remaining. ESU pulled it out thanks to a 21-yard chip shot from senior K Ty Quintois as the clock expired, but each team’s offense was the leading unit. Neither team recorded a sack, and both only had two tackles for loss. Junior DB Armonie Torres had the game's only turnover with an interception against QB KJ Riley, who’s now been replaced by Zayd Etheridge.
SERIES HISTORY
HC Jimmy Terwilliger and Bloomsburg’s Frank Sheptock took over each program at similar times — Terwilliger starting his first full season in 2019 and Sheptock returning to coaching after an eight-year gap in 2021. The matchup has been very one-sided, favoring ESU. The Warriors fell in Terwilliger’s first game against Bloomsburg, but he’s been dominant when coaching against the Sheptock-led Huskies. The Warriors are 5-0 since 2021, winning three times at home and twice on the road. Three of those wins have been my three possessions, including a 31-0 shutout victory the last time this game was played
