Bloomsburg football

[Bart]

I love the Seinfeld reference Bart! But it was Jerry saying it to George.

"You know what they say: fool me once, strike one. But fool me twice... strike three".

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don’t know that there’s anyone left to interview the HC. The board has discussed at length that our teams don’t get that much media coverage. Maybe we can find a volunteer to go to tomorrow’s “Huddle with the Huskies” event and ask about it if no one from WNEP thought to do so.

Does he do a weekly show? Several coaches throughout our league have one -- typically Monday or Tuesday evening.

Granted, these are typically put on by the university (in some capacity) so you aren't going to get the heavy-hitting questions, etc.

One thing I will always give Tort credit for is he did his show 48 hours after the Timeout Fiasco a few years ago. He knew what was coming and could have easily cancelled that week.

[TheBigCat2192]

Has the HC given any interviews? If so, what was his philosophy on the situation?

I don’t know that there’s anyone left to interview the HC. The board has discussed at length that our teams don’t get that much media coverage. Maybe we can find a volunteer to go to tomorrow’s “Huddle with the Huskies” event and ask about it if no one from WNEP thought to do so.

[CC_BU]

In 2023 Bloom had 4 PKs on the roster: Gregory and George graduated, Carrigan now kicking for South Dakota State, and McGonigle now injured list for 2nd year.

In 2024 McGonigle was to take over, but was injured. Ben Paserk transferred in from Lackawanna to play in 2 games and now kicks for Thiel. Freshman Lorusso P/K

In 2025 Bloom had injured McGonigle again; recruited K Drew Keener out of Maryland who is not on the roster, Lorusso is present, and DB Ahmetour was listed as the kicker for the opening game.

Need a dependable kicker is correct. Couple of good punters on the team.

Bloom gambles and goes for a two point conversion in the first game. Bloom gambles and tries to kick a short fg in the second game.
"If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right". George Costanza

I love the Seinfeld reference Bart! But it was Jerry saying it to George.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The thing is - I agreed with and liked the decision to go for the 2 point conversion and the win at FSU. Long game….rain all night, etc. I liked it. The result was what it was but I liked the decision. Last Saturday at SHU I couldn’t understand why they didn’t try one more pass into the end zone before attempting to kick the field goal (if the pass play wasn’t successful). The lack of a timeout in that spot hurt them as they called their last one after spiking the ball to stop the clock. If any number of plays had broken the other way in either of their two games so far Bloom would be sitting at 2-0. They probably even should be 2-0 but they’re not. Saturday is a big game for a couple of reasons. It’s the home opener and they really need to get a win to gain some momentum before PSAC East play starts.

Football and basketball coaches, baseball managers, etc., all get too analytical these days.

They are a genius or they are an idiot. It's usually one or the other.

What would the analytics say to do in that position? The risk of running a play is obviously a sack (game over), an interception (game over), a bad snap (game over), etc.

However, 7 seconds is a long time. If the play isn't there the QB heaves it away. That would likely leave 1 second (and change) on the (stopped) clock.

Truth be told, if the SH DB doesn't drop an easy pick two plays prior this isn't even a thing.

Playing for the tie best work out in the end. It looks real bad when it doesn't.

Has the HC given any interviews? If so, what was his philosophy on the situation?

As always, us dorks get days to use hindsight. They have seconds to make these decisions. The prior week was probably on his mind.

My personal opinion after watching the ending ... you gotta go for the win there. He had time. Bloom has two stud WRs. Chances are it's a TD or they draw pass interference and you get another play (game can't end on a penalty). SH DBs are infamous for committing untimely penalties.

End of the day the HC made the call. The kicker has to hit that glorified XP. They make that kick in 9th grade ball. The snap and hold were good.

[BloomFootballDad]

In 2023 Bloom had 4 PKs on the roster: Gregory and George graduated, Carrigan now kicking for South Dakota State, and McGonigle now injured list for 2nd year.

In 2024 McGonigle was to take over, but was injured. Ben Paserk transferred in from Lackawanna to play in 2 games and now kicks for Thiel. Freshman Lorusso P/K

In 2025 Bloom had injured McGonigle again; recruited K Drew Keener out of Maryland who is not on the roster, Lorusso is present, and DB Ahmetour was listed as the kicker for the opening game.

Need a dependable kicker is correct. Couple of good punters on the team.

Bloom gambles and goes for a two point conversion in the first game. Bloom gambles and tries to kick a short fg in the second game.
"If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right". George Costanza

The thing is - I agreed with and liked the decision to go for the 2 point conversion and the win at FSU. Long game….rain all night, etc. I liked it. The result was what it was but I liked the decision. Last Saturday at SHU I couldn’t understand why they didn’t try one more pass into the end zone before attempting to kick the field goal (if the pass play wasn’t successful). The lack of a timeout in that spot hurt them as they called their last one after spiking the ball to stop the clock. If any number of plays had broken the other way in either of their two games so far Bloom would be sitting at 2-0. They probably even should be 2-0 but they’re not. Saturday is a big game for a couple of reasons. It’s the home opener and they really need to get a win to gain some momentum before PSAC East play starts.

[Bart]

Excellent breakdown of the game. I concur with your sentiments. I’m particularly hoping Riley starts playing more consistent football. I was expecting him to be a big reason why they would win games this year because he’s a senior. The late interception in their territory just cannot happen in that spot. Just can’t. The DB basically ran the route. I can’t fault him for the missed kick though. He’s a QB and not a kicker after all. Bloom really needs to get a dependable kicker in there next year. That should be a top priority. Get one from the portal if need be but get one. I’d probably even get two as insurance against an injury. Bottom line is they need a dependable kicker. Finally get a home game this Saturday so hopefully the boys will be fired up for that and get themselves into the win column!

In 2023 Bloom had 4 PKs on the roster: Gregory and George graduated, Carrigan now kicking for South Dakota State, and McGonigle now injured list for 2nd year.

In 2024 McGonigle was to take over, but was injured. Ben Paserk transferred in from Lackawanna to play in 2 games and now kicks for Thiel. Freshman Lorusso P/K

In 2025 Bloom had injured McGonigle again; recruited K Drew Keener out of Maryland who is not on the roster, Lorusso is present, and DB Ahmetour was listed as the kicker for the opening game.

Need a dependable kicker is correct. Couple of good punters on the team.

Bloom gambles and goes for a two point conversion in the first game. Bloom gambles and tries to kick a short fg in the second game.
"If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right". George Costanza

[BloomFootballDad]

I did not get to watch this game but I listened to about 3/4 of it on the radio. My takeaways from the broadcast and the box score/play-by-play:

Highlights for BU included

Brower: Brower had three carries for 45 yards that included two first downs (22 and 16 yards respectively) and a seven yard gain on 1st and 10. He was the target on Riley’s first interception and one or two other incomplete passes but his four catches turned into two first downs and a TD with some good YAC. Very productive on a per-touch basis.
Zimmerman: He only had five carries for 19 yards but two of those were short TDs and a third was a 10 yard first down. His yardage total is misleading when you look at the play outcomes and where some of those plays were run.
Griffen-Batchler: JGB only had three receptions but one was a long TD where he did most of the work as YAC, another was a fourteen yard first down on 3rd and 6, and the third was 10 yard gain on 3rd and 15 to set up a 4th and manageable. He had a bad return for no gain at the BU 4 (I’m not sure what happened here exactly), a fair catch on a KO (neutral value) and a good 23 yard return to get BU’s final drive started at their own 35.

In-between performances:
Clancy: After a solid debut Clancy struggled a bit on the ground. He didn’t have any explosive runs (long of 7) and had as many stuffs for no gain as he did first downs (two each). However he boosted himself into this territory for me with a key 4th down catch and run on BU’s final drive. Clancy now has two receptions this season and both have been late game fourth down conversions.
Run defense: The D did an acceptable job of bottling up Cragette who’s been a very good PSAC performer in the past. Unfortunately they did not do as well containing the QB and it cost them late.

Lowlights:
Riley: Riley took three sacks including two on 3rd down and tossed a pair of picks, one deep in BU territory with a slim lead. You cannot play QB like that and expect to win often.
Wolfe: Wolfe had two carries for negative one yard including a stuff for no gain on third and two. His three receptions picked up a whopping seven yards including back-to-back plays of no gain on 2nd and 10 and a one yard gain on 3rd and 9. His only decent play was a six yard reception on the game’s final drive. He was like the anti-Brower in that his per-touch contribution was awful.
Pass rush: Despite Seton Hill attempting 29 passes BU did not manage to get any sacks.
Other receivers: Achenbach caught a two point conversion but his only reception on a play from scrimmage was wiped out by offsetting penalties. A week after recording his first career receptions and a TD Wojciechowski was a non-factor. BU has a clear-cut #1 and #2 in Griffen-Bachler and Brower but no one has really stepped up to claim the #3 spot.
Coaching staff: Once again the coaches made a dubious decision on the last BU play (kicking a FG vs. throwing for the end zone) which was contradictory with their choice to play for the win last week. The prior play probably deserves some scrutiny as well. After Clancy’s long reception BU spiked the ball and then burnt their last timeout. Seton Hill also used a timeout and coming out of the double break BU ran an uninspiring play-action pass that Seton Hill was pretty well prepared for as no one was open to score and Riley’s checkdown was bottled up after only 6. The coaching staff sorely needs to find a #3 receiver and might need to consider using someone other than Wolfe as the second swingman/pivot as he has now racked up a total of 12 carries for 24 yards in his career and mostly been a non-factor as a pass-catcher despite either three or four years in the program (the roster lists him as a redshirt sophomore but he seems to have taken two redshirts, one regular and one medical perhaps.)

Excellent breakdown of the game. I concur with your sentiments. I’m particularly hoping Riley starts playing more consistent football. I was expecting him to be a big reason why they would win games this year because he’s a senior. The late interception in their territory just cannot happen in that spot. Just can’t. The DB basically ran the route. I can’t fault him for the missed kick though. He’s a QB and not a kicker after all. Bloom really needs to get a dependable kicker in there next year. That should be a top priority. Get one from the portal if need be but get one. I’d probably even get two as insurance against an injury. Bottom line is they need a dependable kicker. Finally get a home game this Saturday so hopefully the boys will be fired up for that and get themselves into the win column!

[TheBigCat2192]

I did not get to watch this game but I listened to about 3/4 of it on the radio. My takeaways from the broadcast and the box score/play-by-play:

Highlights for BU included

Brower: Brower had three carries for 45 yards that included two first downs (22 and 16 yards respectively) and a seven yard gain on 1st and 10. He was the target on Riley’s first interception and one or two other incomplete passes but his four catches turned into two first downs and a TD with some good YAC. Very productive on a per-touch basis.
Zimmerman: He only had five carries for 19 yards but two of those were short TDs and a third was a 10 yard first down. His yardage total is misleading when you look at the play outcomes and where some of those plays were run.
Griffen-Batchler: JGB only had three receptions but one was a long TD where he did most of the work as YAC, another was a fourteen yard first down on 3rd and 6, and the third was 10 yard gain on 3rd and 15 to set up a 4th and manageable. He had a bad return for no gain at the BU 4 (I’m not sure what happened here exactly), a fair catch on a KO (neutral value) and a good 23 yard return to get BU’s final drive started at their own 35.

In-between performances:
Clancy: After a solid debut Clancy struggled a bit on the ground. He didn’t have any explosive runs (long of 7) and had as many stuffs for no gain as he did first downs (two each). However he boosted himself into this territory for me with a key 4th down catch and run on BU’s final drive. Clancy now has two receptions this season and both have been late game fourth down conversions.
Run defense: The D did an acceptable job of bottling up Cragette who’s been a very good PSAC performer in the past. Unfortunately they did not do as well containing the QB and it cost them late.

Lowlights:
Riley: Riley took three sacks including two on 3rd down and tossed a pair of picks, one deep in BU territory with a slim lead. You cannot play QB like that and expect to win often.
Wolfe: Wolfe had two carries for negative one yard including a stuff for no gain on third and two. His three receptions picked up a whopping seven yards including back-to-back plays of no gain on 2nd and 10 and a one yard gain on 3rd and 9. His only decent play was a six yard reception on the game’s final drive. He was like the anti-Brower in that his per-touch contribution was awful.
Pass rush: Despite Seton Hill attempting 29 passes BU did not manage to get any sacks.
Other receivers: Achenbach caught a two point conversion but his only reception on a play from scrimmage was wiped out by offsetting penalties. A week after recording his first career receptions and a TD Wojciechowski was a non-factor. BU has a clear-cut #1 and #2 in Griffen-Bachler and Brower but no one has really stepped up to claim the #3 spot.
Coaching staff: Once again the coaches made a dubious decision on the last BU play (kicking a FG vs. throwing for the end zone) which was contradictory with their choice to play for the win last week. The prior play probably deserves some scrutiny as well. After Clancy’s long reception BU spiked the ball and then burnt their last timeout. Seton Hill also used a timeout and coming out of the double break BU ran an uninspiring play-action pass that Seton Hill was pretty well prepared for as no one was open to score and Riley’s checkdown was bottled up after only 6. The coaching staff sorely needs to find a #3 receiver and might need to consider using someone other than Wolfe as the second swingman/pivot as he has now racked up a total of 12 carries for 24 yards in his career and mostly been a non-factor as a pass-catcher despite either three or four years in the program (the roster lists him as a redshirt sophomore but he seems to have taken two redshirts, one regular and one medical perhaps.)

[BloomFootballDad]

Could be long year. Offense plays in spurts. If they could move the ball on the ground, they could have run the clock out with 4 minutes to go. The D did a better job stopping the run this week, but the secondary looked porous. The kicking game is going to be a problem all year again. Hopefully better times are ahead.

It’s odd because the secondary did get roasted on several occasions but also came away with a couple of picks. Simply put, this team needs better and more consistent play on both sides of the line of scrimmage in order to take the next step in my opinion. This is a relatively young team and a number of true freshmen saw meaningful snaps today. As you said, this may be a long year but I anticipate things could look better in a year when this group of freshmen and sophomores are a year older, stronger, faster. They will need to identify the next QB for next year but there are a couple of young intriguing options to choose from.

[Bart]

This team should be sitting at 2-0 right now instead of 0-2. Such frustrating losses back to back to start the season. The guys are playing hard but for whatever reason just can’t finish games out. Finally will get a home game next weekend so maybe that will help them get a badly needed win. The kicking game in particular has cost them dearly going back two years now. I was perplexed why they didn’t try to throw the ball into the end zone from the 6 yard line today with seven seconds left. Take your shot to win the game in regulation right there. That’s enough time to run a quick out or slant and if it hits then you win the game. If not, there will still be a couple seconds to kick the field goal (or try to ), and then play for OT. So frustrated for the guys.

Could be long year. Offense plays in spurts. If they could move the ball on the ground, they could have run the clock out with 4 minutes to go. The D did a better job stopping the run this week, but the secondary looked porous. The kicking game is going to be a problem all year again. Hopefully better times are ahead.

[BloomFootballDad]

One more thing…. The interception Riley threw in their own territory before SHU went ahead was just not acceptable. He telegraphed it and was late to boot. A Senior QB can’t make that mistake in that spot. Throw it away and punt the ball. That was a killer. Of course the defense didn’t need to let them score that winning TD but that was back breaking turnover. Shifted all the momentum.

[BloomFootballDad]

This team should be sitting at 2-0 right now instead of 0-2. Such frustrating losses back to back to start the season. The guys are playing hard but for whatever reason just can’t finish games out. Finally will get a home game next weekend so maybe that will help them get a badly needed win. The kicking game in particular has cost them dearly going back two years now. I was perplexed why they didn’t try to throw the ball into the end zone from the 6 yard line today with seven seconds left. Take your shot to win the game in regulation right there. That’s enough time to run a quick out or slant and if it hits then you win the game. If not, there will still be a couple seconds to kick the field goal (or try to ), and then play for OT. So frustrated for the guys.

[BloomFootballDad]

It looks that way from this view. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DONDyPhjXr2/

Yep it sure does. Dang what a missed opportunity!!!

[TheBigCat2192]

Live stats gives you play-by-play...

I don't believe you read my entire post or perhaps did not understand it due to a lack of familiarity with spreadsheets. I did not say that there was no play-by-play. What I said was:

Would it kill [SIDEARM Stats] (or I suppose our schools) to shell out for the ability to get the play-by-play as an Excel file or even a CSV so that interested minds could more easily sort and filter the info instead of offering up a PDF with horribly formatted pseudo-tables

The way that the play-by-play in the game box scores is written is very impractical for spreadsheet program use and statistical analysis through these programs. Here is an example of how the play-by-play is written from the BU vs. FSU box score:

1st and 10 at BLO18

No Huddle-Shotgun Riley,KJ pass incomplete deep left to Griffen-Batchler,Jerry thrown to BLOOM47

Some of the flaws that make this format difficult to do any useful work with include

• There is too much information in some of these cells. Splitting down, distance, and location into three (or even four) distinct cells at the very least would make attempting to analyze red zone performance and performance on 3rd/4th down much easier.
• The cells have a mix of text and numbers which filters (and especially sorts) do not always work well with.
• Despite each drive having a start time (for example, this drive started at 14:54 in the first quarter) the individual plays do not have a timestamp which makes looking at two minute drill or four minute drill performance mostly dependent on manual scrolling and tallying.

My point was that it would be nice if we could somehow get these play-by-play summaries converted into a format that allowed easier importation to a spreadsheet program so that those who want to do analysis on a more granular level would be able to let the computer system help instead of having to do so much manual tallying and math.