Let It Snow: Football Stays In Playoff Hunt With 24-21 Upset Victory Over No. 2 Bloomsburg
Box Score
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (Oct. 29, 2011) – The C.W. Post Pioneers scored two late touchdowns and handed No. 2 Bloomsburg its first loss of the season with a 24-21 victory in a snow-covered PSAC East football clash Saturday afternoon at Redman Stadium.
The win for the Pioneers is the first-ever in five games against Bloomsburg since the first meeting in 2007. It is also the first time the Huskies have lost a conference game since a 30-14 loss to West Chester on Oct. 31, 2009. The highest-ranked team the Pioneers have beaten in recent memory was the NCAA Second Round game against Shepard on Nov. 19, 2005.
C.W. Post improves its overall record to 5-4 overall and 5-1 in the PSAC East. Bloomsburg falls to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference. Kutztown defeated West Chester earlier today to move into a three-way tie with Post and Bloomsburg for first place in the PSAC East.
On the stat sheet, C.W. Post had Bloomsburg beat in nearly every big offensive category, including first downs (CWP-25;BU-12), offensive yards (CWP-459;BU-279) and rushes (CWP-56-265; BU-43-208).
Redshirt freshman
Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) completed 12 of 27 pass attempts for 194 yards and one touchdown. Laurino also added 75 yards of rushing toward his total output for the day.
Sophomore running back
Jeff Mack (Bronx, N.Y.) rushed for a career-high 183 yards and scored two key touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter that put the Pioneers in line for the win.
Playing against a team that is averaging 38.5 points a game, the Pioneer defense made the Huskies work for every yard and point in the heavy snow, holding them to 279 total yards, including 71 in passing.
Senior defensive lineman
Lou Scala (Coram, N.Y.) led the team with 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Junior
Antonio Powell-Fields (Hempstead, N.Y.) and sophomore
Casey Biasi (Islip, N.Y.) provided outstanding support on special teams as each made interceptions in the game to keep the
Huskies off-balance.
Bloomsburg scored the game's first touchdown early in the first quarter when Franklin Quiteh broke for a 70-yard run at 13:50.
The Pioneers added a field goal in the quarter when freshman
Marc Montana (East Amherst, N.Y.) kicked a 27-yard attempt through the uprights at 9:12.
C.W. Post took a 10-7 lead in the second when Laurino completed a pass to junior wide receiver
Ryan Derham (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) at 13:20.
The Huskies were back on top, 14-10, in the game after Quiteh scored his second TD of the game on a 5-yard run at 8:29.
The Huskies kept pushing down the field in the second half and it looked as though they were putting the game out of reach after scoring their third touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run from Eddie Mateo at 6:26.
But C.W. Post scored in its next drive on a 6-yard run from Mack, who had already racked up 29 yards on four previous carries in the series. This cut the lead to 21-17 in favor of the Huskies with 3:10 to play in the third.
The Huskies couldn't move the ball into the CWP 20 in the fourth and punted the ball back to the Pioneers with 11:57 to go in the game. The visitors pushed the ball down on a 13-play, 80-yard drive and pulled ahead with Mack's second TD on a 3-yard carry with 6:54 left to play.
The game was not without drama, particularly with the snow affecting visibility and the field surface.
Bloomsburg got no further than its own 31 before punting the ball in its next drive, but got another opportunity after Justin Rivera recovered a fumble at the Bloom 45. Still, C.W. Post's defense held off the Huskies from getting into the redzone. And on fourth down, quarterback Pat Carey's pass went incomplete thanks to Biasi on the break up.
The Pioneers struggled to eat up the clock in their final drive of the game and were forced to punt the ball with 1:27 to play, allowing the Huskies the chance to score with the ball on their own 29. But Bloomsburg was unable to capitalize as Carey's first pass attempt resulted in a sack, followed by an incomplete pass. His third attempt was picked off by Powell-Fields, who returned the ball 16 yards to the Bloom 43 to ice the win.
Carey finished the game 4 of 15 attempts for 72 passing yards with two interceptions and three sacks. Quiteh led the Huskies in rushing with 140 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Jarrett Pidgeon led with 12 tackles.
C.W. Post closes out conference play next Saturday at home against Cheyney. Kickoff is at 12 p.m.