By The Daily Item
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ASHLAND, OH — Quarterback Taylor Housewright threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns to lead Ashland to a 24-14 win over Bloomsburg on Saturday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.
The Huskies opened the scoring in the first period on its first possession of the season. After the Bloomsburg defense forced a three-and-out for the Eagles, the Huskies took over at the Ashland 40 and moved 25 yards in seven plays. On the drive, quarterback Pat Carey completed his first collegiate pass for 18 yards to Matt Marchioni to keep the drive alive. When the drive stalled, Dan Fisher connected on a 32-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Ashland tied the score on its next possession, moving to the Huskies 17-yard line before settling for a 34-yard field goal from Gregg Berkshire.
The Eagles took the lead for good in the second quater with the help of their special teams. After pinning the Huskies deep in their own territory, Ashland blocked a Bloomsburg punt from inside the 5-yard line, with Anthony Capasso recovering in the end zone to give the home team a 10-3 lead.
Bloomsburg got three points back late in the second period after marching from its own 32 to the Ashland 21 before settling for a 38-yard field goal from Fisher.
Ashland extended its lead to 17-6 with the help of a big play from Housewright. After the Eagles were pinned back inside their 5-yard line following a Huskies punt, Housewright hit Joe Horn with a 96-yard touchdown pass to put the Huskies in a deep hole.
The Huskies cut into the Ashland lead in the fourth quarter, putting together a 13-play, 90-yard drive. Freshman tailback Franklyn Quiteh carried seven times for 40 yards on the drive, including the final five yards for the score. Quiteh then added a two-point conversion to make it a 17-14 game with 3:33 to go.
On Ashland’s first play on the ensuing drive, Housewright ran 53 yards to the Huskies 14. Housewright capped off the drive, hitting Mike Knueven with a five-yard scoring pass.
Housewright finished 16-for-26 for 248 yards and no interceptions, while rushing four times for 65 yards. For Bloomsburg, Quiteh carried 35 times for 140 yards and one score, while Pat Carey was 14-for-28 with two interceptions for 150 yards. Defensively, Mike Varanavage made 10 tackles to lead the Huskies.
