Sports
Huskies hold off Bears
BLOOMSBURG — It has been a football season of some spectacular victories and steady improvement for a revamped Bloomsburg University team that has climbed to No. 11 in the NCAA Division II rankings.
BY DOYLE DIETZ
CORRESPONDENT
BLOOMSBURG — It has been a football season of some spectacular victories and steady improvement for a revamped Bloomsburg University team that has climbed to No. 11 in the NCAA Division II rankings.
Going into Saturday’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East opener against Kutztown, the undefeated Huskies understood that if they were to avoid an upset, it would be the steady — not the spectacular — that would keep them on track. That was never more evident than in the way their defense responded in keeping its composure until the offense got on track for a 31-21 victory.
“Today, I think we showed what kind of an unselfish team we have,” Bloomsburg coach Danny Hale said. “We found a way to make just enough plays, got the passing game going when they looked to stop the run, and were steady on defense.”
One of those steady Huskies (4-0, 1-0) making his mark on the improving defense is sophomore linebacker Thomas McFarland, a first-year starter who had a spectacular career at Pottsville High in helping the Crimson Tide reach back-to-back PIAA Class AAA finals. His consistent play against Kutztown (1-3, 0-1) resulted in him being at the right place at the right time for two key solo tackles on potential breakaway kickoff returns and four stops overall.
“What our coaches teach is assignment and containment, and if you do that on defense, you give yourself a chance to win 9-of-10 times,” McFarland said. “When you go on the field in this league, everybody you’re going to play against has been some sort of all-star in high school, so you’re not always going to be able to just physically beat people.
“Our program takes a lot of pride in being mentally tough when we take the field, and for me, making the adjustment from high school has been more mental than physical. That helps in a game like this when we obviously didn’t have our best performance, but understood we just had to keep playing hard.
“It was frustrating at times, but we never lost our confidence, and even when things weren’t going well, we continued to play as a team. That is why we can look at this and say the best thing is we got the W.”
Kutztown kept the Huskies on their heels in the first half with a 38-22 advantage in offensive plays, including 13 that resulted in gains of five yards or better. In addition, the Golden Bears converted 4-of-8 third downs and their only fourth-down play in taking leads of 3-0 on a 37-yard field goal by Matt Dineen and 10-3 on a 15-yard pass from Shane Martin to Kaleb Klosky.
Then, in the closing minutes of the half, the Bloomsburg offense began to assert itself behind the passing of
junior quarterback Dan Latorre. Trailing 10-3 with 3:13 left, the Southern Columbia graduate led a three-play, 69-yard drive that began with a 10-yard pass to Kyle Ream and ended with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Ream that led to a 10-10 tie after Jon Koenig, a junior from Pine Grove, kicked the extra point.
In the third quarter, the Huskies sandwiched touchdowns on a 28-yard pass from Latorre to Ream and a 7-yard run by Ken Domzalski around a 34-yard field goal by Dineen for a 24-13 lead. That lead held until Martin’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Jason Uhlig and conversion pass to Nick Aspromonte made it 24-21 with 1:47 left, but the Huskies recovered the ensuing on-side kick and Derrick Price scored the clincher on a 9-yard run.
With the Bears selling out defensively to stop the run, Latorre responded by completing 10-of-15 passes for 210 yards to four different receivers. He also rushed 10 times for 57 yards, which was second to Price’s 12 for 60.
“Oh, my gosh, we started so slowly offensively, and that’s something we have to improve on as we go on,” Latorre said. “You can’t lay back and relax, and we’ve got to be more aggressive.
“Our defense played well, and when we were able to tie it at 10-10, things seemed to turn for the offense. It just shows what you can do when all 11 guys are on the same page.”
Going into Saturday’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East opener against Kutztown, the undefeated Huskies understood that if they were to avoid an upset, it would be the steady — not the spectacular — that would keep them on track. That was never more evident than in the way their defense responded in keeping its composure until the offense got on track for a 31-21 victory.
“Today, I think we showed what kind of an unselfish team we have,” Bloomsburg coach Danny Hale said. “We found a way to make just enough plays, got the passing game going when they looked to stop the run, and were steady on defense.”
One of those steady Huskies (4-0, 1-0) making his mark on the improving defense is sophomore linebacker Thomas McFarland, a first-year starter who had a spectacular career at Pottsville High in helping the Crimson Tide reach back-to-back PIAA Class AAA finals. His consistent play against Kutztown (1-3, 0-1) resulted in him being at the right place at the right time for two key solo tackles on potential breakaway kickoff returns and four stops overall.
“What our coaches teach is assignment and containment, and if you do that on defense, you give yourself a chance to win 9-of-10 times,” McFarland said. “When you go on the field in this league, everybody you’re going to play against has been some sort of all-star in high school, so you’re not always going to be able to just physically beat people.
“Our program takes a lot of pride in being mentally tough when we take the field, and for me, making the adjustment from high school has been more mental than physical. That helps in a game like this when we obviously didn’t have our best performance, but understood we just had to keep playing hard.
“It was frustrating at times, but we never lost our confidence, and even when things weren’t going well, we continued to play as a team. That is why we can look at this and say the best thing is we got the W.”
Kutztown kept the Huskies on their heels in the first half with a 38-22 advantage in offensive plays, including 13 that resulted in gains of five yards or better. In addition, the Golden Bears converted 4-of-8 third downs and their only fourth-down play in taking leads of 3-0 on a 37-yard field goal by Matt Dineen and 10-3 on a 15-yard pass from Shane Martin to Kaleb Klosky.
Then, in the closing minutes of the half, the Bloomsburg offense began to assert itself behind the passing of
junior quarterback Dan Latorre. Trailing 10-3 with 3:13 left, the Southern Columbia graduate led a three-play, 69-yard drive that began with a 10-yard pass to Kyle Ream and ended with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Ream that led to a 10-10 tie after Jon Koenig, a junior from Pine Grove, kicked the extra point.
In the third quarter, the Huskies sandwiched touchdowns on a 28-yard pass from Latorre to Ream and a 7-yard run by Ken Domzalski around a 34-yard field goal by Dineen for a 24-13 lead. That lead held until Martin’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Jason Uhlig and conversion pass to Nick Aspromonte made it 24-21 with 1:47 left, but the Huskies recovered the ensuing on-side kick and Derrick Price scored the clincher on a 9-yard run.
With the Bears selling out defensively to stop the run, Latorre responded by completing 10-of-15 passes for 210 yards to four different receivers. He also rushed 10 times for 57 yards, which was second to Price’s 12 for 60.
“Oh, my gosh, we started so slowly offensively, and that’s something we have to improve on as we go on,” Latorre said. “You can’t lay back and relax, and we’ve got to be more aggressive.
“Our defense played well, and when we were able to tie it at 10-10, things seemed to turn for the offense. It just shows what you can do when all 11 guys are on the same page.”
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