WEST CHESTER, PA – Freshman quarterback
Ethan Kohler (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) nearly brought the Golden Rams all the way back from 18 points down in the fourth quarter, but Bloomsburg desperately held on for a 21-16 victory over visiting West Chester on a damp and cold Saturday evening at Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium.
West Chester (3-2, 1-1 PSAC East) turned the ball over three times, and Bloomsburg (2-3, 1-1) blocked a punt that it returned 27 yards for a touchdown and scooped up a mishandled snap and raced 88 yards for another score just three seconds before halftime, which proved to be the difference in the game.
West Chester's defense performed admirably once again, giving up just a deep pass at the beginning of the game for Bloomsburg's first touchdown. The special teams score and the defensive scamper accounted for the rest of the Huskies' points.
For the third straight game, the Golden Rams' defense did not allow a point after halftime. In fact, Slippery Rock is the only opponent this year to put up points in the fourth quarter on the Rams' stop unit. If not for a pair of dropped passes, we might be boasting about Kohler engineering the largest fourth-quarter comeback in school history in just his second game as a true freshman.
However, five fumbles – two of them lost – and dropped passes all over the field doomed the Golden Rams' offense Saturday night. Twice, West Chester penetrated Bloomsburg's red zone just to cough up the football. A fumble through the end zone in the first quarter halted what looked like a game-tying drive, and the fumble at the end of the first half gave the Huskies points when West Chester seemed poised to score instead.
Jackson Taylor (Glenside, Pa./Abington) was all over the field defensively once again. He led West Chester in tackles with eight, including 4.5 for a loss, while recovering a fumble.
Oscar Uduma (Folcroft, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) and
Khalib Slaughter (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) each had five stops. Slaughter came up with the stop on 3rd-and-inches that forced Bloomsburg to punt late in the fourth quarter, giving West Chester one last chance to win the game.
Kohler finished the game 15-for-33 for 185 yards and a 15-yard TD pass to TE
Thatcher Miller (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) in the fourth quarter. It marked the second time in as many games that new combination hooked up for a TD.
Phil Poquie (Philadelphia, Pa./Haverford School) ran for 106 yards and a TD – 69 of those yards coming in the second half. He scored on an 11-yard run up the middle early in the fourth.
West Chester returns home next Saturday for Homecoming Weekend when they take on Shippensburg at 2 p.m. inside Farrell Stadium.
