WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Sr., RB Jarel Elder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) strung together one of his best performances of the season for the Golden Rams, capturing 171 yards on the ground and a trio of touchdowns.
However, it was not enough as Bloomsburg (5-2, 3-1 PSAC) prevailed, 20-19, over West Chester (5-2, 3-1 PSAC) for a huge Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division victory inside Farrell Stadium Saturday.
West Chester's loss means there is a four-way tie for first place in the PSAC East. The tie is amongst Kutztown, Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, and West Chester.
The opening drive for the Golden Rams looked promising as Elder had a 49-yard burst to put the ball on the Bloomsburg eight yard line.
West Chester came up empty though on the drive, due to a missed field goal. Both teams exchanged the ball a handful of times as it was scoreless after the first quarter.
The scoring picked up in the second quarter as the Huskies struck first, stringing together a 15 play, 73 yard drive that was capped off by a Chris Palubinsky touchdown pass to Michael Allen.
West Chester answered as Elder punched in his first touchdown of the day from a yard out with 21 seconds remaining. The extra point was blocked by Nate Monroe, giving the Huskies a 7-6 edge at the half.
The Golden Rams marched right down the field to begin the third quarter. Elder accumulated 61 rushing yards on the drive and found the end zone on a 10-yard burst for his second of the day.
The back-and-forth affair resulted in Bloomsburg's Palubinsky connecting on a 51-yard pass Ethan Price. That led to a rushing touchdown by Alex Gooden. The extra point made it 14-13 Bloomsburg.
In the fourth, Elder captured his third score of the day. The senior's 20-yard scamper made it 19-14. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful at the 7:39 mark.
Bloomsburg took over from there, beginning on its own 35-yard line. A pair of fourth down conversions helped the Huskies down the field. Palubinsky took a quarterback sneak into the end zone for a 20-19 advantage. It was a 12 play, 65 yard drive that took six minutes off the clock.
West Chester had one more opportunity with a pair of timeouts in its pocket. R-So., QB Paul Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside-Chestnut Hill) had his pass intercepted on the second play of the drive on the far sideline by Eric Schwartz. That sealed the victory for Bloomsburg as the Huskies' secondary picked Dooley off three times this afternoon.
Dooley went 8-19 for 106 yards and three interceptions. He also rushed for 44 yards on six carries.
Defensively, LB Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) continues to lead the way as he accumulated a team-best 15 tackles. He also contributed two tackles for loss and a sack.
Bloomsburg ended the day with 376 yards of total offense, 234 of which came on the ground. The time of possession leaned heavily in the Huskies' favor with 35 minutes, compared to the Golden Rams' 24. West Chester actually rushed for more yards this afternoon with 250 (356 total).
This was the first loss to Bloomsburg since 2014. The last home loss to the Huskies came in 2013.
The Golden Rams head to cross-county rival Cheyney next Saturday for another PSAC East tilt at 1 p.m.
