Courtesy of Bloomsburg Sports Information
Bloomsburg, Pa. – Bloomsburg senior running back Franklyn Quiteh has put together a career full of memorable moments, breaking nearly every school and conference rushing record during his time in maroon and gold. In years to come the first play mentioned by those recalling his career, however, might be a 10-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds remaining to erase a deficit, sending the Huskies to a 42-38 win over No. 18 Slippery Rock in the PSAC Championship Game Saturday afternoon at Redman Stadium.
The scoring play, where Quiteh avoided a tackle near the line of scrimmage to break away to the far sideline, capped an eight-play, 70 yard drive in 1:44 following a Slippery Rock field goal which had given The Rock a three-point lead with 2:16 remaining. It also put an exclamation mark on Bloomsburg’s rally to erase a 15-point Bloomsburg second half deficit and send the 12th-ranked Huskies (10-1, 6-1 PSAC East) to their first PSAC Championship Game victory since 1985.
The game-winning touchdown capped a tremendous day for Quiteh, who rushed for 231 yards on 27 carries with three scores to break the all-time PSAC rushing touchdown record previously held by Jamar Brittingham with his 85th while capturing Championship Game MVP honors along the way.
Bloomsburg finished the afternoon with 533 total yards including 366 on the ground while Slippery Rock racked up 494 yards of offense.
PSAC West champion Slippery Rock (9-2, 6-1 PSAC West) seemed to have control of the contest midway through the third quarter. The Rock roared to a 28-13 lead following a 74-yard touchdown pass from Nigel Barksdale to John Schademan with 5:13 left in the penultimate period.
Bloomsburg began to rally on its next drive, though, marching 64 yards in nine plays. The possession came to a close in the end zone on a six-yard touchdown strike from TimKelly to Connor Gades. Joe Parsnik converted a two-point rushing attempt to pull to within 28-21.
Perhaps the biggest momentum swing came in the waning seconds of the third. Following the Bloomsburg kickoff after the Gades touchdown, the Huskies’ defense created a takeaway on the very next play. Senior Jonathan Patrick forced a fumble from Rock receiver Jaimire Dutrieuille which was scooped up by Donovan Morris at The Rock 24-yard line.
Quiteh ended the third quarter on a 23-yard run to The Rock 1 and Parsnik opened the fourth by plunging in for the score and a 28-28 tie.
The Bloomsburg defense forced a Rock punt on the ensuing possession, but the Huskies would go three-and-out pinned in the shadow of their own goal line. Rock’s Drew Scales raced 44 yards for the score on the resulting punt to re-take the advantage.
It would be short-lived, though, as the Huskies drove 75 yards in five plays for the tie upon getting the ball back. For a moment, it seemed as though The Rock defense would force a punt and re-take possession after pushing Bloomsburg into a third-and-18 from its own 17-yard line following an illegal block penalty. Kelly put his wheels on display, however, sprinting 41 yards to emphatically move the chains and keep the drive alive. Quiteh broke off a 40-yard run on the next play and finished the drive on a 2-yard score to again tie the score.
The Rock drove inside the Bloomsburg 10-yard line, but the Husky defense held on third-and-five, bringing a Mike Wainauskis 24-yard field goal and a 38-35 lead.
Another Kelly run set up the Huskies on what turned out to be the game-winning drive. On third-and-four, Kelly worked his way through the first level of the Rock defense for a 21-yard gain into Rock territory. Following a Rock timeout, Quiteh allowed the Huskies to begin thinking about a touchdown rather than a game-tying field goal attempt with his 20-yard run to the 23-yard line. Kelly completed two straight passes – one of eight yards to Glenn Hutton Jr. and another five-yard connection to Aaron Allison to set up first-and-goal. Quiteh then rushed for the score to push the hosts ahead.
The Rock’s last gasp was snuffed out when Gary Postell intercepted a Barksdale pass attempt with four seconds remaining to send the Huskies to victory.
Bloomsburg opened the scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run from Parsnik early in the opening period, but The Rock rattled off the game’s next 21 points to take a 21-7 lead before a 10-yard run by Quiteh followed by a blocked extra point attempt sent the visitors to a 21-13 lead at intermission.
Kelly threw for 173 yards and a score and also rushed for 96. Parsnik recorded his first career multi-touchdown game with two scoring runs and Hutton hauled in six catches for 85 yards.
Defensively, a number of Huskies turned in standout performances. Justin Shirk led the team with 13 tackles while Postell made a career-high 12 stops along with the game-ending interception. Larry Webster also made a career-high 11 stops with two sacks. Andrew Harris had 11 tackles and Morris made 10 stops with a sack and forced fumble.
Barksdale completed 24-of-41 passes for 343 yards and two scores. Schademan caught 10 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Entering Saturday’s game Bloomsburg ranked third in the regional standings and The Rock was fifth. Both teams now await their NCAA Playoff fate to be announced with the Division II selection show Sunday evening at 5 p.m. aired live on NCAA.com.
Photo Credit: Bloomsburg Athletics
