Huskies Shutout Indiana (PA); Hale Gets 100th Career Win at Bloomsburg

Danny Hale

BLOOMSBURG—The Bloomsburg University football team presented Danny Hale with his 100th career win as coach of the Huskies with a 27-0 win over Indiana (PA) on Saturday afternoon.

The win was also the first for the Huskies at IUP since 1950 and also marked the third straight road game that Bloomsburg has not allowed any points.

After a scoreless first period, the Huskies finally got on the board when Jamar Brittingham (Levittown/Neshaminy), who finished with a game-high 246 yards rushing on 34 carries, scored from 11 yards out with 2:57 left in the half. The drive was set up by an interception and 30-yard return by Phil Riccardi (Lansdale/North Penn).

Brittingham, who went into the game leading all of Division II in scoring, scored his second touchdown of the day in the third period after Keith Davis (Woodlyn/Strath Haven) intercepted a pass and returned it 29 yards deep into IUP territory.

Backup tailback Josh Heck (Hazleton/Hazleton) made it a 20-0 game when he scored from eight yards out later in the third period, then tacked on a 13-yard scoring run with just over a minute to play that put an exclamation point on the victory for Bloomsburg.

The Bloomsburg defense, which has not allowed a point in the fourth period all season and now has three shutouts in a season for the first time since 1954, stopped the Indians on several attempts deep in Bloomsburg territory. In the second period IUP threatened following the Huskies scoring drive, but a 51-yard field goal attempt with just seconds left in the half, fell short. Then in the fourth period IUP's final scoring chance came with less than five minutes to play and ended at the Huskies' eight yard with two incomplete passes. Rob Biernat (Bristol/Conwell Egan) led the defense with eight tackles, while Tyler Trettin (Hummelstown/Hershey) chipped in with seven.

In all, the Huskies gained 372 yards of total offense, while limiting the Indians to just 174.

For Hale, the win pushes his Bloomsburg record to a 100-38-1 in 13 years as head coach at the school. Hale, who also spent five years at West Chester, now has a career mark of 140-51-1. He is Bloomsburg's all-time leader in career football wins.

The win was also the first for the Huskies at IUP since the 1950 season and pushes the Huskies string of answered points to 107 dating back to its game with Shippensburg.

Bloomsburg, 5-0, will now have a PSAC Eastern Division showdown with East Stroudsburg, also 5-0 after a 17-13 win over Millersville. Kickoff in East Stroudsburg is set for 1:05 p.m.