Ronald Hanaki
Staff Writer
A late rally by the Warriors fell short as the Bloomsburg University Huskies defeated the Warriors 22-17 last Saturday, Oct. 19, at Eiler-Martin Stadium. It was ESU’s second consecutive loss after starting the season with five straight wins.
ESU opened the scoring with a Jordan Walters field goal in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, a bad snap went past redshirt sophomore quarterback Jake Cirillo. The ball rolled into the end zone where the opportunistic Huskies defense recovered it for their first touchdown.
They added a field goal to take a 10-3 lead over ESU at the end of the first half.
Off the field, there was a surprising development at halftime as Warrior Marching Band member Josh Del Toro proposed to his girlfriend to the delight of the home fans.
Another Husky field goal in the third quarter made it a two-possession game.
The Warriors would answer when redshirt sophomore tailback Gunner Anglovich scored on a 19-yard touchdown run. ESU was now down by only a field goal.
In the final period, the Husky defense forced Cirillo back into his own end zone and the result was safety for Bloomsburg. The Huskies were awarded two points and a free-kick.
The free-kick went to Bloomsburg redshirt sophomore Chris Monaco, who took it to the house on an 87-yard touchdown return.
With the score now 22-10 Bloomsburg, it was a two-possession game again.
On ESU’s next possession, Cirillo was sacked by Bloomsburg redshirt sophomore Michael Larsen. The Warrior quarterback sustained an injury to his left leg, and he had to be taken out of the game.
Then, ESU’s defense forced a turnover. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Watson intercepted a Bloomsburg pass around midfield to give the Warriors another chance to cut into the lead.
Redshirt junior quarterback Ben Moser came into the game for the injured Cirillo.
Moser quickly went to work and completed a key fourth-down pass to sophomore wide receiver Rece Bender to extend the drive. Subsequently, Moser scored a touchdown on a quarterback keeper to make the score 22-17.
A quick three-and-out defensive stop by the Warriors gave the offense a chance to win with three-and-a-half minutes left in the game.
The Warriors were soon faced with a fourth down-and-three to extend their drive.
Unfortunately, false start and delay of game penalties pushed ESU back. 4th-and-3 eventually became 4th and 18 after three consecutive penalties.
Redshirt junior tailback Devante Robinson had 10 carries for 44 yards and was one of the bright spots for ESU.
“It was a tough battle. We had certain plays that we didn’t complete to our full ability. We just got to do it right next time,” Robinson said.
Cirillo was injured, and his left leg was heavily wrapped with an ice pack but was seen walking around under his own power after the game.
“It was more of an execution thing. We didn’t execute like we could have,” Cirillo said.
Head Coach Jimmy Terwilliger lamented the miscues and penalties after the game. A bad center-quarterback exchange led to seven points for Bloomsburg, and the Warriors were penalized nine times for 70 yards.
“The thing that you want to avoid is shooting yourself in the foot. The things that we can control are not getting penalties and not turning the ball over,” Terwilliger said.
Some alumni of the football program came to ESU for Homecoming in support of Terwilliger’s team.
“Whenever you see those guys, it gives you a warm feeling. We’re about relentlessly pursuing being a Warrior for life,” Terwilliger said. “That made it a special environment for us to play. But for us, we need to execute a little bit better to do things,” Terwilliger said.
ESU (5-2, 2-2) will play West Chester (6-1, 3-1) on the road this Saturday.
Email Ronald at
rhanaki@live.esu.edu
