Bloom shuts down Central Mtn.
BLOOMSBURG — Honoring first responders and members of the military, Bloomsburg wore jerseys that meshed its school colors with the camouflage pattern seen on military uniforms.
The look worked for the Panthers. They seemingly blended in with their home field Friday night. Their defense was a transparent wall, stuffing Central Mountain time after time while the offense snuck past the Wildcats on several explosive plays in a 41-7 win.
The Panthers were perfect tacticians on defense, even with no breathing room. Facing a first-and-goal series early in the second quarter, the Panthers stuffed the run four times — twice from the 1-yard line — to keep the shutout intact.
It wasn't only the running plays the Panthers shut down. In the third quarter, Jharee Moore-Stewart picked off Hunter Hoy's third-down pass intended for Isaiah Maldonado and returned it 27 yards for six points. Hoy's next pass attempt — also on third down — was then picked off again by Dominick Rosini.
The Wildcats went 1-for-10 on third down, a sign the Panthers controlled the line of scrimmage and were quick to the ball carrier all night.
"Our defense really rose to the occasion when they had their backs against the wall — a testament to them when they had some really big stops," Bloomsburg coach Mike Kogut said. "They had some momentum-changing plays and a pick-six and won the turnover battle. I was really happy with our effort."
Tyler Polizzi recovered a fumble for the Panthers on their final defensive play to give them three takeaways for the game to the Wildcats' one — setting them up for the goal line drive.
"Our defense played well last week and it carried over into this week," Kogut said. "That starts with coach [Steve] Weigle who brought in a new energy and new belief in. The kids are buying into it and getting really comfortable with it now. I think that's it's really starting to work and why some big things happened tonight — both offensively and defensively."
Ah, yes, the Panthers didn't just win by 34 points with a great defense. They also got solid offensive contributions by throwing a little backyard style.
The Wildcats did have success putting pressure on quarterback Wyatt Brosious, but he simply bought more time by getting out of the pocket and making great throws on the run all night to the tune of 11-for-16, 271 yards, and three touchdowns.
"When I'm out of the pocket, I honestly feel better," Brosious said. "But I've been working on staying in the pocket this week and trying to become two-dimensional."
It's nice to have options — both where to pass from and where to pass to. He got into a rhythm early by finding his No. 1 target, Jack Katulis, for a 56-yard touchdown on a corner route four plays into the game.
The two connected twice more on the ensuing drive, which was capped off by Stewart-Moore's fourth-down 5-yard sweep touchdown run.
Katulis finished with five receptions for 148 yards.
Stewart-Moore's stellar night wasn't done as he proved to be Brosious' second favorite target. He reeled in an over-the-shoulder 61-yard touchdown grab minutes before halftime. He broke Mario Serefini's tackle attempt in the process as the freshman accounted for all 80 yards on the drive with a pair of catches.
"I thought we spread the ball around a little bit and got to see what our skill players could do," Kogut said. "... We wanted to run basic things and get our guys in space. We felt our skill level was better than theirs. They're young in a lot of areas, but our kids executed in a lot of areas and I'm proud of them."
Brosious capped off his strong performance with a 20-yard touchdown to Krue Wheadon, hitting him just in front of the left pylon at the 1-yard line.
All told, Brosious found five different receivers.
"We worked a lot on the passing and watched film with the coaches and it paid off," he said.
Despite all the good, the Panthers proved to be their own worst enemy at times. Penalties negated a 44-yard pass to Zane Thomas the play before the first touchdown. The Panthers, though, weren't as fortunate in the second go-around when Krue Wheadon's 95-yard touchdown was called back and the Panthers later punted.
"There are going to be some growing pains, but we will continue to learn and clean some things up," Kogut said. "There's always work to be done."
The Wildcats only broke through midway through the fourth when Ben Shields came down with a jump ball for a 24-yard touchdown as the Panthers worked in their backup players.
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