Edinboro Football: Scots break school record for penalties with 19, lose to Bloomsburg 20-17 in finale

Despite capturing a lead early in the third quarter, a school record 19 penalties kept the Fighting Scots from winning their final battle of the 2019 campaign. They would lose to Bloomsburg University, 20-17.

Already eliminated from playoff contention with a PSAC West record of 3-3, this would be a pride game for the Fighting Scots. They would battle all game, as they have all season long.

Bloomsburg got off to a scorching start, turning the opening possession into seven points. The Huskies would eat eight minutes off the clock before the Fighting Scots even got to call a play, going 73 yards for the touchdown.

Each team played carelessly with the ball after that Huskies opening drive, as both quarterbacks were intercepted. However, the Huskies came away with points after their pick. Converting two short yardage third downs, Bloomsburg would eventually blast a 30-yard field goal through the uprights, giving them a 10-0 lead early in the second.

Edinboro began their comeback effort with quarterback Jordan Castelli pushing the football efficiently down the field. He completed a 15-yard bullet to Jon Long, followed up by two rushes for 25 yards.

Another school record was then broken as Vicente Arriagada took the field to convert a 35-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Arriagada, the redshirt freshman, has been one of the most consistent players for this football team all season. As a reward, he now sits alone atop the school record books, surpassing the previous record of 15 field goals in a season.

The penalty bug started hitting the Fighting Scots at a very unfortunate time, with three penalties each giving Bloomsburg a first down. Following the miscues, the Huskies found themselves in range to at least add three more points to their lead going into halftime. The ‘Boro defense would keep them out of the end zone, thanks to two big sacks by Joshua Boyd and Gilberto Ortiz. A 21-yard field goal made it a 13-3 Bloomsburg lead.

The Scots caught fire in the first four minutes of the second half, as Levi Becker returned to the field and began parading the team down the gridiron. A connection to Ta’Nauz Gregory would net the Scots 43 yards on the very first play of the second half, followed by a 15-yard completion to the leaping Jake Cervik, bringing the Scots into the Huskies red zone. The next play would result in a touchdown, as senior Andre Dowdell couldn’t have picked a better time to snag his first career touchdown. After the extra point split the uprights, the Scots found themselves down only a field goal at 13-10.

After Bloomsburg converted a first down soon after, senior defensive back Aaron Rogers would come up with quite possibly the biggest defensive play of the season. Rogers intercepted quarterback Logan Leiby, taking it all the way to the house for six, his second “pick six” of the season. It gave the Scots a total of five defensive touchdowns on the season.

“I’ve just been in great positions to make plays on the ball and capitalized on every opportunity,” said Rogers in an interview earlier this season.
“Our coaches preach consistency and draw up a good game plan every week to put us in the best positions; it’s just up to us to make those plays when the time comes.”

Edinboro found themselves with a four-point lead early in the second half. Both teams began to play tight defense, but ‘Boro had the chance to increase their lead to a touchdown late in the fourth after a nice completion from Castelli to Gregory. Arriagada would miss a 34-yard field goal wide left, though, and the lead remained at 17-13.

Brandon Anderson would intercept a tipped ball thrown by Leiby at the Bloomsburg 45-yard line, however on the ensuing play, Becker’s deep ball attempt was then intercepted by Logan Yahn at the Huskies’ own 13-yard line.

A very costly penalty would then occur as Leiby would escape a potential 11th sack of the day, scrambling for a big gain of 14 yards. At the end, he gave himself up but was blasted by an Edinboro defender. The ref’s flag flew in the air, indicating a targeting call, which would add 15 yards to the play.

Leiby then found himself in a third down scenario with 12 yards to go for a first down. Here, he found Duffy Gilhool up the middle for 25 yards, moving the ball to the ‘Boro 7-yard line. Leiby would later push himself past the goal line for seven with a mere 28 seconds left in the contest. Bloomsburg led, 20-17.

Following the loss, the Fighting Scots ended the season with a 3-8 overall record, going 3-4 against conference foes.

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