West Chester Hits the Road Again for PSAC East Opener at Bloomsburg

WEST CHESTER at BLOOMSBURG
Game Details: 2:00 p.m. | Saturday, Sep. 28
Location: Bloomsburg, Pa. | Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium
Game Links: Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Web Stream: Bloomsburg University Sports Network
Radio: 95.3 WCHE
West Chester Links: News | Roster | Schedule
Bloomsburg Links: News | Roster | Schedule 

GOLDEN RAMS ON THE ROAD STILL IN SEARCH OF WIN NO. 1 ON THE SEASON
• West Chester (0-3) continues its two-game road swing this Saturday with its conference opener at Bloomsburg (2-1) on Saturday. The Golden Rams haven't been winless heading into its conference slate since 2010 when West Chester was 0-3 before playing East Stroudsburg. That year, WCU beat ESU on the road for its first win of the year.
• West Chester is also looking to hand new head coach Duke Greco his first win in Purple & Gold. An 0-3 start is uncharted waters for Greco in his 11 years as the head of a football program. But, a new season starts on Saturday with the advent of the PSAC schedule. West Chester is still very much in the running for a shot at the State Game. That journey begins on Saturday.
• Bloomsburg (2-1) is coming off a 37-27 road victory at Edinboro last weekend. Quarterback K.J. Riley came on in relief of starter Ben Ries and guided the Huskies to a come-from-behind win on the strength of 19 points in the fourth quarter. Riley has split his two career starts against West Chester – beating the Golden Rams in Bloomsburg in 2022, before dropping an overtime verdict at Farrell Stadium last season.

BLOOMSBURG GAME DAY INFORMATION
• Home football games are played at Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium right on the campus of Bloomsburg University. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Group rates for parties of 10 or more are also available. Gates open two hours prior to event start time. All tickets are general admission.
 
SALUTE TO DANNY HALE SATURDAY
• Bloomsburg football coaching legend, and West Chester University alum, Danny Hale, will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 Induction Class this coming December. Hale is one of the winningest head coaches in NCAA Division II history. He retired in 2013, after 20 seasons with the Huskies and 25 years as a head coach overall. He also led West Chester from 1984 to 1988.
• To celebrate, Bloomsburg and the National Football Foundation will honor Hale at a halftime ceremony. A Salute to Danny Hale will take place after the game as well.
 
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
The Huskies' defense continues to shine on Saturdays as Bloomsburg was carried by the defense through the first three quarters for the 32-27 win over Edinboro.
 
Leading the defensive effort for Bloomsburg is redshirt sophomore Brady Thompson with 26 total tackles, 3.5 TFL (15 yards) and 0.5 sacks (3 yards). He has one forced fumble as well. Ryan D'Ambra is second on the team with 25 tackles, 1.5 TFL (8 yards), 1.0 sacks (7 yards), a quarterback hurry. Nate Capers is off to a blistering start for the Huskies with 17 tackles, two pass break ups and a QB hurry. The Huskies are allowing just 306.0 yards of offense per game to opposing teams, including just 62.3 yards per game on the ground and 243.67 passing yards. The Huskies have allowed just one rushing touchdown this season.
 
Offensively, the Huskies averaging 394.3 yards of total offense per game, split between 187.7 yards on the ground and 206.67 passing yards. Bloomsburg has eight rushing touchdowns and four passing scores. Leading the rushing charge is true freshman Jake Williams. He has 230 net yards on the ground and has lost just three yards in 44 attempts. He has one rushing touchdown. Fellow freshman Riley Parker with 87 yards on the ground on 14 attempts. Parker has five rushing touchdowns this season and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. As a team, the Huskies are averaging 4.5 yards a carry.

GOLDEN RAMS vs. BLOOMSBURG ALL-TIME
• West Chester and Bloomsburg meet for the 82nd time in the storied conference rivalry. It is one of the most-played rivalries on the books at West Chester. The Golden Rams have only played Millersville (90) and East Stroudsburg (87) more times in its history. West Chester and Bloomsburg have met every year since 1950 – except for the 2020 season that was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• West Chester holds a 53-28 advantage in the previous 81 encounters, including a respectable 20-20 mark in Bloomsburg. The Golden Rams show a 7-3 advantage in the last 10 meetings. The two squads have split the last two contests, which includes the histories of both quarterbacks, K.J. Riley for Bloomsburg and Cooper Jordan for West Chester. Though, WCU backup QB Ethan Kohler started and played the entire game in 2022 at Bloomsburg – a game won by the Huskies 21-16. Bloomsburg starting QB this season for the first three games, Ben Ries, did see action in last year's overtime game as well.

LAST TIME vs. BLOOMSBURG (Sep. 30, 2023 – WEST CHESTER, PA.)
• Sean Henry redeemed himself in overtime with a 34-yard field goal on West Chester's first possession, and the Golden Rams' defense held Bloomsburg on their OT possession, for a wild 24-21 victory in front of the largest crowd of the season at John A. Farrell Stadium on Homecoming Weekend.
• Henry had missed a 30-yard attempt as time expired at the end of regulation that would have sent the crowd of over 7,000 home early. Instead, he saved his heroics for the extra session. With the loss, Bloomsburg fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the league.
• D'Shaun Seals racked up 123 all-purpose yards, including a crucial 60-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter that leveled the score momentarily. He finished with 61 yards receiving on six catches after eight targets. He had a 2-yard run as well.
 
WEST CHESTER - LAST TIME OUT
• West Chester turned the ball over five times, which proved too much to overcome, as host Seton Hill University walked away with a 27-24 victory at Offutt Field Saturday afternoon.
• West Chester (0-3) still had a chance to win in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. However, Seton Hill (2-2) engineered an 82-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown with 63 seconds left in the game. The Griffins win was their first over the Golden Rams in four career meetings.
• The loss put a sour taste on a career day from senior WR D'Shaun Seals, who finished with nine catches for 171 yards and a touchdown. His catches and yards receiving were both single-game highs. His 84-yard TD reception in the second quarter was a career best as well.
• Senior PK Sean Henry also nailed a career-long 50-yard field goal that put the Golden Rams on top, 24-14, heading into the final 15 minutes. He became just the second player in school history to kick a field goal of over 50 yards. It was also just the third field goal in all of Division II this year of at least 50 yards and the longest in the PSAC this fall.
• But, the story of the game was four interceptions and a fumble by the Golden Rams. Four of the five turnovers happened in the red zone, and two of the interceptions came in the end zone.
• Seton Hill put together a pair of 11-play drives in the fourth quarter to overcome that 10-point deficit and pull out a last-minute win for the second week in a row. The Griffins scored a TD with three seconds left in the game last week against Bloomsburg to score a 15-14 victory.