Box Score WEST CHESTER, Pa. -
Shaquil James (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic) returned an interception 92 yards for score with 19 seconds remaining to seal a 33-22 victory for West Chester (5-3, 4-1 PSAC) over PSAC East rival Bloomsburg (5-3, 4-1) before an announced homecoming crowd of 6,347 at John A. Farrell Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Bloomsburg had rallied from 19 points down to take a 22-19 lead with 3:49 to play in the game. However, West Chester answered with a 6-play, 54-yard drive in 2 minutes, 16 seconds to regain the lead, 26-22 with 1:33 to go. The Huskies drove down to the Golden Rams' 23-yard line, before James picked off Kelly's pass at the 8-yard line that fell short of his intended mark.
The roller-coaster final five minutes of the ballgame witnessed four combined touchdowns by the two clubs. Bloomsburg piled up 15 of its 22 points and 147 of its 181 total yards of offense in the fourth quarter.
The win marked just the second such triumph for West Chester over Bloomsburg in the last seven meetings and first at home since Halloween of 2009. The Golden Rams' defense limited the Huskies to just 75 yards on the ground, marking the first time since that home win in 2009 that WCU held a Bloomsburg squad to under 100 yards rushing in a game. The Huskies averaged just 1.8 yards per carry on Saturday.
The defense was the star of the game for the home team on Homecoming Weekend. Two of the Rams' three interceptions on the day were returned to inside the Huskies' 10-yard line.
George Shipp (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) registered a safety in the first quarter, and James returned the other INT for six points. West Chester's defense single-handedly staked the home side to a 19-0 lead by accounting for, or setting up, 12 of the team's 19 points in the first quarter.
West Chester sacked Kelly four times and intercepted him on three other occasions. Sr., DE
Andrew Cohen (Holland, Pa./Council Rock South) had a pair of sacks and four QB hurries. Bloomsburg's offensive line had allowed just four sacks on the year coming into Saturday's contest. The Golden Rams' front seven pestered Kelly all day, adding eight QB hurries to their four sacks and three INTs. Kelly finished the day just 8-for-27 for 106 yards and the three picks.
Still, with visions of that 35-point lead that slipped away from West Chester on Homecoming Weekend four years ago, Bloomsburg fought back from a 19-0 hole early to take a lead late in the contest. Lawrence Elliott, Jr., scored on a 1-yard dive with 5:56 to play in the game, making it a 19-14 game. Then, the Huskies forced a fumble at the Golden Rams' 8-yard line on the ensuing possession and Kelly snuck in from one yard out to put the visitors on top, 22-19. To that point, BU had managed just one successful drive that resulted in a Kelly sneak from the 1-yard line with 33 seconds to play before halftime.
Bloomsburg punted on five of its first eight possessions of the game with two others ending on an interception and the one with a safety. The Huskies recorded just three first downs in the first half, including two on that final drive that culminated in Kelly's TD.
West Chester jumped all over Bloomsburg early on.
Kevin Malone (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic) intercepted Kelly on the third play of the game at the Bloomsburg 39 and returned it down to the 8. A pair of rushes from Monk and an incomplete pass only got the Rams to the 3-yard line. So,
Brendan Paulison (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) came on to kick a 20-yard field goal to put WCU up 3-0.
On Bloomsburg's ensuing possession, Kelly was sacked in the end zone by Shipp on the third play of the drive to put the hosts up, 5-0.
The two teams traded punts, before West Chester went on a 5-play, 48-yard drive that resulted in a 10-yard TD strike from
Pat Moriarty (Harriton, Pa./Gladwyne) to
Tim Brown (Clifton Heights, Pa./Upper Darby). On Bloomsburg's next possession, Ted Patton picked off a Kelly pass at the Bloomsburg 44 and returned it to the 3-yard line where Brandon Monk (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) ran it in for a 19-0 lead.
Moriarty finished 17-for-26 for 181 yards and the TD to Brown, who closed out the day with six catches for 84 yards while wearing a cast on his right hand.
Adam Dempsey (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) caught four passes for 43 yards.
Shipp finished with six tackles, including a pair of sacks and a forced fumble.
Kavon Johnson (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) and
Josh Ganzelli (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) each had six stops as well.
West Chester's win over Bloomsburg creates a log-jam atop the Eastern Division standings of the PSAC with Shippensburg, West Chester and Bloomsburg all sporting 4-1 league marks. To muddy the waters even more, Bloomsburg beat Shippensburg and Shippensburg beat West Chester, leaving each of the tied teams 1-1 against one another. With two weeks left in the regular season, there is still much to be sorted out within the crammed division standings.
West Chester travels cross county next Saturday for a PSAC East tilt against winless Cheyney at 12 p.m.
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