Bloomsburg Football Advances to NCAA D-II National Semifinals

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV -- Different week, same type of game, same result. That pretty much sums of the Bloomsburg University (12-1) 24-21 win over Shepherd University (11-1) in the NCAA Division II football quarterfinal playoff game. With the win the Huskies advance to the national semi-finals for the first time 2000 and will play the winner of the Northwest Missouri State/Chadron State on Sunday, Dec. 10 at a time and place to be announced.

Jamar Brittingham (Levittown/Neshaminy)'s four-yard fourth quarter touchdown rush provided the winning margin in the victory.

The junior running back, who has been slowed by injuries much of this season, displayed the form that made him a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist in 2005 with 171 yards on 33 carries versus Division II's top squad in scoring defense and total defense.

The game was a near replica of last week's win over West Chester when both teams started quickly and then had everyone on the edge of their seats in the final minutes.

It looked like it would be an offensive shootout as both teams quickly marched down the field on their opening possessions. A Tyler Lazear five-yard pass to Mark Springirth capped off Shepherd's opening drive and put the Rams on top 7-0.

The Huskies needed only seven plays to knot the score. Josh Heck (Hazleton/Hazleton) completed the 65-yard drive with a 12-yard burst. Jon Koenig (Pine Grove/Pine Grove)'s extra point tied the game with 6:18 left in the first quarter.

A 37-yard Dan Latorre (Elysburg/Southern Columbia) to Brahin Bilal (Philadelphia/Lincoln) touchdown strike on fourth down gave Bloomsburg their first lead with 1:32 in the first quarter. Koenig's extra point was blocked by Nick Costello to leave the Husky edge at 13-7.

The first quarter's offensive fireworks weren't done yet. WVIAC Offensive Player of the Year Dervon Wallace took a pass out of the backfield from Lazear and slithered 53 yards for a touchdown on the quarter's final play. The Ricky Schmitt point after put the Rams back on top 14-13.

The defenses settled in during the second quarter after allowing a combined 255 yards of offense (SU 128, BU 127) in the opening fifteen minutes. A Koenig 33-yard field goal accounted for the lone second quarter tally to help Bloomsburg go into the locker room with a 16-14 edge.

The Huskies opened the second half on the march, but Ram safety Dan Peters spoiled the drive with the first of his three interceptions. The senior returned it 54 yards to the Bloomsburg 39. Nine plays later, Wallace capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown rush on fourth-and-short. Schmitt's PAT made it 21-16 midway through the third quarter.

Bloomsburg drove into Shepherd territory on each of their next two drives, but Peters picked off two more passes to kill those marches. His three interceptions allowed the Peters to tie the NCAA Division II single season record with 14.

A pair of completions to Bilal were the keys to the Huskies' game-winning drive. A 13-yard catch on 3rd-and-6 prolonged the march, but it was a 44-yard bomb down to the Ram 4-yard line that was the killer for Shepherd. Brittingham easily went across for the score from there. It was Brittingham again on the two-point conversion and Bloom was up 24-21 with 3:36 left.

Shepherd would have two more opportunities, but the Bloom defense responded with a pair of picks of their own. Jesse Cooper (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp) got the first one, but the Huskies could not run out the clock and had to punt.

The Rams mounted their final charge with 1:23 left. A Lazear to Wallace pass was good for 18 yards to the Ram 38. However, Lazear's pass across the middle went off a receiver and was intercepted by BU's Tyler Trettin (Hummelstown/Hershey) to close it out.

Bloomsburg coach Danny Hale said the Huskies overcame a lot of adversity.

"After making a couple of turnovers our team showed some character by being able to drive the field for the gamewinning score," said Hale. "Shepherd is a great team and it took a great effort to beat them."

Brittingham said the Huskies wanted to establish the run in the game.

"We (Bloomsburg) wanted to be physical and open up some seams," said Brittingham. "Our line blocking was great today and I was able to find the holes. It felt great to get in the endzone at the end."

Bloomsburg held a 429-272 advantage in total offense, including a game-high 137 receiving yards from BIlal on six receptions. Wallace led Shepherd with 64 yards on 18 receptions and 71 yards on two receptions.

Peters had a game-high 11 tackles to go with his three interceptions.

The Huskies pushed their winning streak to a dozen games and will face either Northwest Missouri or Chadron State in next week's NCAA Division II football semfinals. Shepherd suffered their first setback after eleven straight victories.

GAME NOTES:

• Peters' 32 career interceptions are a WVIAC record and second all-time in Division II. The senior is virtually assured to become the first player in collegiate football history to repeat as a national interception champion.
• The Rams' 11 wins are tied for the most WVIAC history in a single-season.
• Wallace's two touchdowns pushed his career point total to 306 and moved him into fifth on the all-time league list.
• Bilal became only the eighth receiver in school history to go over 1,000 yards in a single season. He has 49 catches for 1,079 yards in 2006.
• December 2 has been kind to Bloomsburg football. The Huskies' only other game on the date resulted in a 58-48 national semifinal win over UC Davis in 2000.
• BU's 12 victories tie the 1985 and 2000 squads for the most in school history.