West Chester University Football (5-2, 3-1 PSAC) fell to Bloomsburg University (5-2, 3-1 PSAC) by a single point inside of John A. Farrell Stadium on a brisk Saturday afternoon, as the Huskies successfully snapped the Golden Rams’ season-long four-game win streak.
With the loss, there is now a four-way tie between Kutztown, Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and West Chester for first place in the PSAC East.
WCU, who had bested Shippensburg University 37-27 on Oct. 7 as the students were on Fall Break, dropped their home conference clash with Bloomsburg 19-20 despite a herculean rushing effort from Golden Rams running back Jarel Elder, who finished the defeat with 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 attempts.
Elder averaged 7.4 attempts per carry on the afternoon, and even reeled off a 49-yard scamper on the Golden Rams’ opening drive, a run that put them at the Bloomsburg eight-yard line. West Chester failed to capitalize Elder’s run, coming away from the drive empty-handed thanks to a missed field goal.
West Chester and Bloomsburg exchanged scoring blows in the second quarter to give the Huskies a 7-6 edge at halftime, but West Chester managed to take the lead right out of the gates in the second half behind Elder’s second touchdown run of the afternoon, a 10-yarder on a drive that saw the back rack up 61 rushing yards.
After Elder’s third score of the day with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter, WCU elected to go for a two-point conversion. Their attempt failed and set the stage for a 12-play, 65-yard, near six-minute drive from Bloomsburg that ended in quarterback Chris Palubinsky scoring on a QB sneak.
WCU was afforded one more opportunity to regain the lead from the Huskies, but fell short in their attempt of scoring as quarterback Paul Dooley had a pass intercepted by Bloomsburg’s Eric Schwartz on the second play of the drive.
It was Dooley’s third thrown interception of a pedestrian afternoon that saw him go 8-19 for 106 yards and the three turnovers. Dooley also rushed for 44 yards on six carries.
West Chester will travel to Cheyney University (1-6, 0-4 PSAC) to take on their cross-town rival in another conference matchup at 1 p.m.
B.J. Boyer is a third-year student majoring in communications. He can be reached at WB806695@wcupa.edu.