BLOOMSBURG – With about six or so teams vying for the last four spots in the District 4 Class 2A playoffs and them all being bunched together in the standings, Friday’s game against Midd West was of particular importance for Bloomsburg.
Off to a 1-4 start to its season after dropping a pair of close games the last two weeks, including by just a touchdown to Loyalsock last week, Bloomsburg was in desperate need of a win to not only keep pace in the standings, but also to gain some confidence and it heads into the second half of the regular season.
The Panthers managed to do both as they both got the much-needed win and the added confidence that goes along with it, as freshman back Jharee Moore-Stewart led the way by scoring four touchdowns – all in the first half – on just eight total touches for the game, as Bloomsburg topped Midd West 43-0.
“Jharee is a heck of an athlete and he’s really special,” said Bloomsburg coach Mike Kogut. “He can do a lot of different things for us. We challenged our special teams to make something happen and he did that. He works hard and we had good blocking up front for him as well. He had a lot of good years ahead of him as well.”
Moore-Stewart finished with 151 rushing yards on just seven carries, and 229 all-purpose yards. He also added an interception on defense. His exploits largely decided the game early, as he ripped off scoring runs of 74 and 16 yards on Bloomsburg’s first two possessions, and then returned a punt 54 yards for another score all in the first quarter alone.
“Kudos to him, he’s a really good player. I coached junior high here at Midd West last year and we went against him last year, so we knew he’s hard to bring down. He’s got good balance and a lot of speed,” said Midd West coach Jeff Janovich. “But if you take away the big plays, our defense did pretty well tonight. We’re working through the first season here with some new schemes and trying to figure out who we are and who fits where, and I see that as part of the progress.”
Bloomsburg added another score before the end of the first quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt Brosious to Dominick Rosini to take a 29-0 lead after the first quarter.
“We asked them to come out and play fundamental football and they did. We did a nice job staying within ourselves and executing the game plan. It feels good after a couple of tough ones,” said Kogut.
Moore-Stewart tacked on a 13-yard touchdown run to cap a short, two-play drive with 7:22 left in the second quarter to extend Bloomsburg’s lead to 36-0. Brosious hit Krue Wheadon for a 9-yard touchdown pass later in the second quarter, giving the Panthers five touchdowns in their first six offensive possessions.
Brosious also had a solid game as he completed 10-of-16 passes for 118 yards to go with the two touchdowns, and he also added 48 rushing yards. His 27-yard pickup on the ground set up Moore-Stewart’s second touchdown in the first quarter.
The Panthers’ defense also had their best game of the year, holding Midd West to just 97 yards of offense as the Panthers pitched the shutout. The Mustangs were forced to punt six times and turned it over on downs once. They only managed to run three plays all night in Bloomsburg territory, which came in the fourth quarter. But that drive ended with an interception in the end zone.
Bloomsburg 43, Midd West 0
Midd West (0-6) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Bloomsburg (2-4) 29 14 0 0 – 43
First quarter
11:36 – (B) Jharee Moore-Stewart 74-yard run (Pegg kick), 3-80, :24
8:06 – (B) Jharee Moore-Stewart 16-yard run (Pegg kick), 4-56, 1:50
4:22 – (B) Jharee Moore-Stewart 54-yard punt return (Katulis run)
1:34 – (B) Dominick Rosini 20-yard pass from Wyatt Brosious (Pegg kick), 3-44, 1:12
Second quarter
7:22 – (B) Jharee Moore-Stewart 13-yard run (Pegg kick), 2-55, :52
4:12 – (B) Krue Wheadon 9-yard pass from Wyatt Brosious (Pegg kick), 7-44, 2:02
Statistics
MW B
First downs 6 20
Rushes-net yards 21-59 28-272
Passing yardage 38 162
Passing 5-20-0-2 12-20-2-0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 0-0 7-70
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Midd West: Landon Hartman (13-30), Mason Fultz (4-42), Noah Kratzer (2-(-4)), Brady Janovich (1-0), Team (1-(-9)); Bloomsburg: Jharee Moore-Stewart (7-151-3), Wyatt Schrader (7-79), Wyatt Brosious (4-48), Zane Thomas (3-0), Bilal Washington (2-2), Jack Katulis (1-11), Hines Dietz (1-2), Brady Hendricks (1-1), Bentley Patterson (1-(-5)), Team (1-(-17))
PASSING: Midd West: Mason Fultz (4-15-18-0-2); Bloomsburg: Wyatt Brosious (10-16-118-2-0), Zane Thomas (2-4-44-0-0)
RECEIVING: Midd West: Konnor Kullman (2-8), James Devine (1-20), Keaton Kreider (1-8), Noah Kratzer (1-2); Bloomsburg: Jack Katulis (4-71), Krue Wheadon (4-23-1), Brady Hendricks (2-44), Dominick Rosini (2-24-1)
