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Bloomsburg downs Central Columbia 29-20, wins the Battle for the Burg for the second straight year

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 26, 2024


SOUTH CENTRE TOWNSHIP – Two schools that are separated by only 6 miles, Bloomsburg versus Central Columbia is a rivalry that dates all the way back to 1961. These two schools have played each other every year since 1963, and this season was no exception. The Battle for the Burg has been almost a completely even series since it began, Central Columbia entering the night with only a one game lead over Bloomsburg in the series which stood at 30-29-2. With Central Columbia’s season already over, their goal tonight was to potentially knock their biggest rival out of the playoffs and to reclaim the Battle for the Burg trophy which had belonged to them for 6 straight years up until last season. Bloomsburg on their other hand had something else in mind heading into the game, which was to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Bloomsburg started the night with their first possession that began from their own 38 yard line. The Panthers offense went to work right away, getting all the way to the Blue Jays’ 20 yard line, with junior quarterback Wyatt Brosious and freshman running back Jahree Moore-Stewart leading the way. A holding penalty moved Bloomsburg back to the 30 yard line and had them facing a 3rd and 16 play, where a pass to Jack Katulis was knocked out of his hands by Parker Day and snatched out of the air by Josh Worthington at the 20 yard line. Central Columbia’s momentum didn’t last long at all, as on the first play of the drive, Day’s pass down the right sideline intended for Kole Hummer was intercepted by Brosious and returned all the way to the 16 yard line. Unfortunately for Bloomsburg, they were moved all the way back to the 44 yard line because of a block in the back penalty on the return.

Penalty flags started to become a common theme as the game went on, which wasn’t necessarily unexpected in a huge rivalry game such as this one, in fact Bloomsburg’s next possession featured 5 more of those dreaded yellow flags thrown onto the field. The Panthers drive moved all the way down to the Blue Jays’ 13 yard line, however a 15 yard penalty on the Panthers turned a 3rd and 9 into a 3rd and 24, where they would only gain 3 yards, forcing them to settle for a 42 yard field goal by Justin Pegg, giving the game its first points, and a 3-0 lead for the Panthers heading into the games first intermission.

The Blue Jays offense got their first first down of the game on their next drive, but the drive quickly stalled afterwards, and as the second quarter began Central Columbia stood at a whopping 10 total yards of offense after two possessions. Blue Jays’ punter Dylan Shultz didn’t let the offensive struggles stop him from making his own mark on the game, as his first punt of the night was a beautiful 56 yard boot that rolled all the way down to the Bloomsburg 9 yard line. Bloomsburg was not phased by this poor starting field position, as they drove all 91 yards down the field in just 11 plays, including a 39 yard pass play to senior wide receiver Dominick Rosini that put the Panthers at the 8 yard line. That 91 yard drive was capped off with a 5 yard touchdown run by none other than quarterback Wyatt Brosious, putting Bloomsburg in front 10-0 with just under 7 minutes to play in the first half.

The Blue Jays followed up with another drive that ended in a punt, this one only lasting 3 plays for a total of 3 yards. As Dylan Shultz was set to punt it away, Jharee Moore-Stewart, who had been one of the game’s key players so far, was back to return the punt for Bloomsburg. Moore-Stewart had trouble securing the ball at the 27, but was able to recover and make his way up past the 35 yard line, where a hit from Josh Worthington knocked the ball free leading to a recovery by Alex Zeisloft. With a little momentum in their favor, the Blue Jays began their fourth possession of the night from Bloomsburg’s 38 yard line, and after a gain of 3 and a loss of 3, they found themselves staring at another 3rd and long. Senior quarterback Parker Day took matters into his own hands to try and give the offense a spark. A 6 yard scramble by Day made the upcoming 4th down play much more manageable, then on 4th and 4, another scramble by Day set up the Blue Jays all the way down at the Bloomsburg 14 yard line. 2 plays later, Central Columbia’s offense finally found the end zone on a 7 yard run by Ty Regan, putting the Blue Jays on the board. The extra point attempt by Day came up short, which kept the score at 10-6 in favor of Bloomsburg with just 3:19 left to play in the half.

The Blue Jays wouldn’t see the ball for the remainder of the half, as Bloomsburg’s final drive of the half used up the rest of the clock. However this drive ultimately led to no points, as the last play of the half got Bloomsburg down to the Blue Jays’ 38 yard line where the final seconds of the half ticked off the clock. Bloomsburg headed into the locker room with a 10-6 lead over Central Columbia.

The second half began with a bang as Crue Chipeleski took the opening kickoff of the second half 93 yards all the way to the end zone, giving the Blue Jays their first lead of the night. The two point conversion attempt failed after Parker Day’s pass was batted down by Jahree Moore-Stewart. The momentum had completely shifted as Bloomsburg now found themselves trailing for the first time. However, not even a minute and a half later, Bloomsburg jumped right back in front, as the Panthers drove 65 yards in only 6 plays, capping off the drive with a one yard quarterback sneak by Wyatt Brosious, his second touchdown of the night. After a completion to Krue Wheadon for the two point conversion, Bloomsburg was back in the lead 18-12 only a minute and 45 seconds into the third quarter.

Central Columbia started their next possession from their own 32 yard line, and they decided to go to what has been working for them all season on offense, and that’s running the ball with Ty Regan. Regan got the ball on the first 5 plays of the drive and turned into 26 more rushing yards. Parker Day used his running abilities to pick up 12 more yards on the ground, which was followed up by a 15 yard penalty on the Panthers that set Central Columbia up at the 15 yard line. Two plays later the Blue Jays tied the game up with a 13 yard run by Josh Worthington, and then took back the lead after Day ran it in for the two point conversion, putting Central Columbia back in front 20-18 with 6:20 left in the third.

With Bloomsburg back on the trailing end of this game, their offense went to work again, but this time they didn’t get anything going. After a sack on first down Kole Hummer, Brosious’ pass on 2nd and 16 bounced off the hands of Shane Frey and right into the arms of Crue Chipeleski at Bloomsburg’s 45 yard line. After the interception, the Blue Jays looked like they may have found their stride. The first play of the Blue Jays’ next drive was a run by Ty Regan who almost broke away from the Panthers’ defenders, but Regan had the ball knocked out of his hands by senior Thomas Klingerman and recovered by Hunter Collett, ending the drive after only one play.

The two teams entered a standstill for the rest of the third quarter, and it carried into the fourth quarter as well. Both Bloomsburg and Central Columbia’s next possession ended on a failed fourth down conversion, followed by a three and out by the Panthers giving Central Columbia possession at their own 16 yard line with just under 8 minutes to play in regulation. The Blue Jays were able to wind almost 3 and a half minutes off the clock on their 8 play drive, however the drive stalled at their own 30 yard line, forcing them to punt the ball back to Bloomsburg with just over 4 minutes left. On the first play of the next drive, Wyatt Brosious hit Jahree Moore-Stewart in stride down the left sideline for a 52 yard score, putting the Panthers ahead once more with 4:01 left. Tensions between the players began to boil over after Parker Day knocked Dominick Rosni flat on his back on the two point conversion, which was still completed despite the hit and it put Bloomsburg ahead 26-20.

Flags flew on the Panthers’ next kickoff after Blue Jays’ Kole Hummer shoved Shane Frey to the ground and Bloomsburg’s Zane Thomas ran over one of the officials. After all the chaos had settled, ejections on both sides left Central Columbia without their starting quarterback Parker Day, a huge blow this late in the game. The Blue Jays had to send out Josh Worthington to play quarterback and unfortunately the drive went nowhere, ending on an incomplete pass on 4th and 9. Bloomsburg was able to put one last score on the board with a 39 yard field goal by Justin Pegg, increasing the lead to 29-20 with only 58 seconds left. The final nail in the coffin came on an interception by name, sealing the win for the Panthers.

“I am emotionally exhausted after that game, but in a good way, [the game] lived up to the hype obviously. You throw records out the window as we all know, and it was a back and forth battle, not the prettiest, of both sides, but in the end we asked our kids to persevere and they did. They made plays when they needed to and I’m really proud of our kids,” head coach Mike Kogut said after the win. “Starting off 1-4 definitely wasn’t ideal, but now we’re 5-5 which means we’re 4-1 in our last 5 against some really good teams with Central [Columbia] included with that, and i think we grew up a lot in the second half of the year. So, hopefully we can continue that momentum as we go into the playoffs.”

Bloomsburg (5-5) will hope to continue the momentum they got tonight as they head into the District 4 2A playoffs, where their first round matchup will be on the road against an 8-2 Towanda squad. Meanwhile for Central Columbia, their 2024 season is over as they finish with a final record of 2-8, and missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

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