Bloomsburg football

[TheBigCat2192]

I think there were a lot more negatives than positives to take away from yesterday's game.

• The O-line, which I thought would be a strength, looked rough at times, and the center in particular had a few bad snaps that hurt the team on 3rd downs.
• Ruhland was absolutely brutal as both a rusher and a passer. He had a fumble that was lost which was entirely on him, had more stuffs as a runner than first downs, and generated four first downs and no TDs in 19 dropbacks as a passer (18 throws, one sack taken). It wasn't entirely his fault, as I counted at least two drops by the WRs, but I wonder how tight his hold on the #2 QB spot is. I also wonder what the WR depth chart is going to look like going forward; we already saw Zimmerman on the field more often and a lack of appearances by Young (who had two targets in the opener).
• Sheptock and co. made some absolutely head-scratching decisions, including two dubious punts in Edinboro territory and settling for a FG at the 3. I thought he and the staff had made strides in go vs. kick decisions last year, but apparently the addition of a competent kicker turned the staff right back to their old ways. The coaching staff for Boro wasn't much better and if you told me that this game was being guest coached by Jim Tressel and Kirk Ferentz, I would have believed you.
• The official scorer had some plays incorrectly marked, including giving Ruhland and Clancy extra runs for no gain, taking a first down away from Wolfe, and creating a phantom fourth down conversion by Zimmerman.

On the positive side, I think the defense played quite well, especially considering how often the offense put them out there, and I felt that 3/4 of the special teams game looked good (punt return, kick return, and kickoffs). Decker in particular looks to have a real leg, and I wonder if he'll be around much past this year if he keeps booting touchbacks and fair catches. Kashynski made his field goals, which is an upgrade from the shaky kicking of last year.

On a more neutral note, I don't think the officials cost BU the game, but I would LOVE to get some insight into what was different between the Pusateri PI and the non-call on BU's final pass.

[Bart]

Disappointing outcome for Bloom yesterday. Very, very winnable game. The defense played outstanding again but the offense just couldn’t get much going. Really hope the QB1 can get back soon because they obviously miss him and didn’t get much from the backup yesterday. I wonder if they may even give another kid an opportunity next week if the QB1 is still out because there were throws to be made yesterday and he was pretty consistent in sailing everything high. The punting game struggled mightily too. Have to regroup and get ready for next week.

Reports are QB1 said plans are for him to work toward starting against Gannon, and HC said best case scenario is for him to be back for PSAC East play. We'll see. I agree with your assessment, but it also doesn't appear the WRs are getting open.

D did give up Edinboro that 28 yard rushing TD. That drive by Edinboro with 28 seconds to go in the half was a killer. Most people thought they would let the half run out, but they drove from their own 25 for a 33 yard fg. Bloom had the edge in punting, as kicking game looked like Edinboro's weak spot.

This year's D with last year's offense would have been something to see.

[BloomFootballDad]

Disappointing outcome for Bloom yesterday. Very, very winnable game. The defense played outstanding again but the offense just couldn’t get much going. Really hope the QB1 can get back soon because they obviously miss him and didn’t get much from the backup yesterday. I wonder if they may even give another kid an opportunity next week if the QB1 is still out because there were throws to be made yesterday and he was pretty consistent in sailing everything high. The punting game struggled mightily too. Have to regroup and get ready for next week.

[Bart]

QB Zayd Etheridge listed as Questionable for this week's game.

https://bloomsburg_ftp.sidearmsports...20Edinboro.pdf

[NewFootballDad]

The defensive performance from week 1 is what I envisioned it could be. The last couple of classes have been loaded with talented kids. It took a year or so and they might still have some growing pains going forward but the Bloom defense is legit this year and should keep them in every game. The QB1 was looking very good until he was injured. That stings as I’m not sure how well the backups can throw it. I feel like they’ll have to be heavy dose of running plays with an occasional play action mixed in and let the defense and kicking game win some games until the QB1 hopefully gets back. The Bloom kickers looked outstanding last week as well which was GREAT to see!! On to Edinboro!!

Agree on all points! Looking forward to Saturday!

[BloomFootballDad]

The defensive performance from week 1 is what I envisioned it could be. The last couple of classes have been loaded with talented kids. It took a year or so and they might still have some growing pains going forward but the Bloom defense is legit this year and should keep them in every game. The QB1 was looking very good until he was injured. That stings as I’m not sure how well the backups can throw it. I feel like they’ll have to be heavy dose of running plays with an occasional play action mixed in and let the defense and kicking game win some games until the QB1 hopefully gets back. The Bloom kickers looked outstanding last week as well which was GREAT to see!! On to Edinboro!!

[Bart]

Not sure if it counts, but K Decker is a freshman starter. PK Kashynski was listed as a freshman but is a transfer.

Coach Sheptock put a lot of effort into recruiting two of PA's top K/Ps from the 2026 HS class, bringing in Reagan Decker from Delaware Valley and Cole Richards from Whitehall.

QB Ruhland stepped in when needed and proved that he is still in the fight for QB1

It was a fun game to be at!

The kicking game was great. I overlooked that part of the starting lineup. Good catch. But I did notice it during the game in a previous post. It will be a difference maker this year.

[NewFootballDad]

Preview up. Only 3 freshmen on the two deep, no starting freshmen.

https://bloomsburgathletics.com/news...ont-state.aspx

Not sure if it counts, but K Decker is a freshman starter. PK Kashynski was listed as a freshman but is a transfer.

Coach Sheptock put a lot of effort into recruiting two of PA's top K/Ps from the 2026 HS class, bringing in Reagan Decker from Delaware Valley and Cole Richards from Whitehall.

QB Ruhland stepped in when needed and proved that he is still in the fight for QB1.

It was a fun game to be at!

[TheBigCat2192]

OK. Rushing yards was 278. Lost 59. Net 219.

In fairness, Ruhland had two dropped passes, including a beautiful throw that would have been TD. The QBs only attempted 12 passes total, and maybe the lead had something to do with that. This is going to be a run first team.

It was still an encouraging performance for a team that’s working in a new guy or two at QB and wasn’t great on defense last year. My comment was primarily pointing out that the official score keeping actually undersold the team in some ways.

[Bart]

The rushing number is really more like 257 - remember that the botched snap on a punt that lost them 36 yards technically counts as a rush, and they "lost" two yards on a kneeldown at the end of the game. The third down conversions need to be better, but that "14" attempts is counting the kneeldown as well, so the number is more like 4/13. While that's still not great, I'm willing to give the team more time, and also think it's worth remembering our expectations may be too high after an absurdly effective 3rd/4th down attack last year. I'm hopeful for Etheridge to be healthy enough to go next week because Ruhland really didn't do much passing the ball. He only had one first down on seven passing attempts, no TDs, and no really explosive plays (long of 17).

OK. Rushing yards was 278. Lost 59. Net 219.

In fairness, Ruhland had two dropped passes, including a beautiful throw that would have been TD. The QBs only attempted 12 passes total, and maybe the lead had something to do with that. This is going to be a run first team.

[TheBigCat2192]

QB Etheridge was having himself a game before the 2nd quarter "apparent hamstring injury" per Press Enterprise. In pregame radio interview HC Sheptock praised him as a confident dual threat with a soft touch in passing and a good teammate. Backup QB Ruhland came in and didn't miss a beat, rushing for 66 yards including a 35 TD run. Rushing game totaled 219 yards compared to 63 for Fairmont, holding them to 1.7 yards per carry. The OL was also missing about 3 players due to injuries who would have been in the rotation. The passing game was limited to 109 yards, with WR Wolfe pulling in a 48 yard reception and a 30 TD reception, along with a 19 run.

The D was dominant. LB is deep and likely the strongest area of the whole team.

It was good to see the kicking game excel. Kickoff specialist Decker was hitting the end-zone, and PK Kashynski hit every extra point which didn't happen in the kicking game last year, and barely missed wide on a 54 yard FG attempt. Last year Bloom lost to Fairmont on the last play of the game because they went for 2 because they didn't have faith in the extra point try. Kicking game could be a difference maker given they lost 6 games by 8 or fewer points last year.

They need to clean up the 5 fumbles, although they didn't lose any. One was on a 4th down attempt. There also was a bad snap on a punt that lost 36 yards. They also need to improve on 3rd down conversions as they went 4 for 14.

Fairmont will be at Bloom for the next two seasons.

The rushing number is really more like 257 - remember that the botched snap on a punt that lost them 36 yards technically counts as a rush, and they "lost" two yards on a kneeldown at the end of the game. The third down conversions need to be better, but that "14" attempts is counting the kneeldown as well, so the number is more like 4/13. While that's still not great, I'm willing to give the team more time, and also think it's worth remembering our expectations may be too high after an absurdly effective 3rd/4th down attack last year. I'm hopeful for Etheridge to be healthy enough to go next week because Ruhland really didn't do much passing the ball. He only had one first down on seven passing attempts, no TDs, and no really explosive plays (long of 17).

[Bart]

QB Etheridge was having himself a game before the 2nd quarter "apparent hamstring injury" per Press Enterprise. In pregame radio interview HC Sheptock praised him as a confident dual threat with a soft touch in passing and a good teammate. Backup QB Ruhland came in and didn't miss a beat, rushing for 66 yards including a 35 TD run. Rushing game totaled 219 yards compared to 63 for Fairmont, holding them to 1.7 yards per carry. The OL was also missing about 3 players due to injuries who would have been in the rotation. The passing game was limited to 109 yards, with WR Wolfe pulling in a 48 yard reception and a 30 TD reception, along with a 19 run.

The D was dominant. LB is deep and likely the strongest area of the whole team.

It was good to see the kicking game excel. Kickoff specialist Decker was hitting the end-zone, and PK Kashynski hit every extra point which didn't happen in the kicking game last year, and barely missed wide on a 54 yard FG attempt. Last year Bloom lost to Fairmont on the last play of the game because they went for 2 because they didn't have faith in the extra point try. Kicking game could be a difference maker given they lost 6 games by 8 or fewer points last year.

They need to clean up the 5 fumbles, although they didn't lose any. One was on a 4th down attempt. There also was a bad snap on a punt that lost 36 yards. They also need to improve on 3rd down conversions as they went 4 for 14.

Fairmont will be at Bloom for the next two seasons.

[Bart]

Bloom using coach to player helmet communication for the first time. Multiple players will have it, but only 1 can be active at a time and it has to cut off in 15 seconds per rules. QB and FS will be using them. Also the team will have instantaneous video on the sideline due to WiFi.

[Bart]

Preview up. Only 3 freshmen on the two deep, no starting freshmen.

https://bloomsburgathletics.com/news...ont-state.aspx

[Bart]

QB commit: Colton Sams Southern Lehigh All State QB 2x (1st team) and 2025 State Champion, Top 25 Mr. PA football— 6’1 180 all time record holder in yards, touchdowns, completions. Class of 27

https://www.hudl.com/profile/18838862/Colton-Sams