BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College football team could not overcome a 17-0 first-half deficit as the Juniata College Eagles defeated the Greyhounds 27-14 in Centennial Conference action on Saturday afternoon in the final 2013 home game at Rocco Calvo Field.
Sophomore defensive back Anthony Orlando had 12 tackles on defense and a 44-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, his second touchdown return in three weeks. Senior quarterback Robbie Moyer was 18-of-33 passing for 187 yards and a touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Will McLaughlin. The Greyhounds forced four turnovers on Saturday, with Orlando's fumble recovery joined by interceptions from junior linebacker Kevin Bracken, junior defensive back Ricky Sinnig and senior defensive back Rees Judge.
The Eagles soared out to an eventual insurmountable lead in the first half, and stopped the Greyhounds' ground game, which had helped them win two straight games ahead of Saturday's contest with Juniata. Coming off two consecutive 200-plus-yard rushing games, freshman running back Chris Negron was held to 46 yards on 14 carries.
"The line is where games can be won and lost," third-year head coach Jeff Pukszyn said. "Today, Juniata did a great job up front on the defensive line and we didn't play our best. When you don't play your best, especially in this conference, you're going to put yourself in a hole. That's what happened today."
The Greyhounds had to play from behind early in the game for the second consecutive week. The opening drive of the game for the Greyhounds ended in a fumble, setting the Eagles up at the Moravian 42-yard line. Juniata would drive eight plays and 58 yards, capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Ward Udinski with 9:09 remaining in the opening quarter. Junior kicker Ken Kysor booted the PAT for the 7-0 lead.
Moravian picked up four first downs on its next drive as Moyer started the game 6-of-7 passing. McLaughlin and sophomore wide receiver Jimmy McCarthy each hauled in two receptions during the drive, but Moyer was sacked on third-and-11 and the Hounds were forced to punt. Sophomore punter David Fiumara pinned the Eagles deep in their own territory with a 26-yard punt downed at the Juniata four-yard line.
The Eagles then took eight minutes off the clock by driving 88-yards, with Kysor kicking a 26-yard field goal for the 10-0 lead after Moravian got a defensive stop on third-and-6 with 11:22 remaining in the first half.
Negron rushed for 21 yards on two carries on the Greyhounds' next drive, but that would stall after a Moravian fumble was recovered by the Greyhounds behind the line of scrimmage, bringing up second-and-long. An incomplete pass on third down brought Fiumara on to punt, and the sophomore again pinned the Eagles inside the 10-yard line.
Juniata took over at its own nine-yard line and immediately picked up 36 yards on a scamper by Udinski. Three plays into the next series, Bracken picked off Udinski and added a return of 18 yards to the Juniata 44. It was Bracken's team-leading third interception of the season.
"This defense has been growing up every week," Pukszyn said. "We have some great leaders in Kevin Bracken, Anthony Orlando and Ricky Sinnig. Chris McGrath has been playing better and better every week. We saw it on both sides of the football today and on special teams; the guys played hard for 60 minutes."
Moravian would turn the ball over on downs after the Bracken pick, leading to another long drive by the Eagles. On fourth-and-1 from the Greyhounds' four-yard line, Udinski lined up under center, but the Eagles executed a direct snap to sophomore running back Deonte Alston, who threw a surprise touchdown pass to freshman tight end Maurice Slinger in the middle of the end zone. Juniata took a 17-0 lead after the Kysor PAT with only 35 seconds left in the first half.
Over the first four possessions of the second half, Juniata punted twice and Moravian turned the ball over on downs twice. The Eagles' following drive went seven plays and 48 yards, capped off by a Udinkski 26-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Aaron O'Brien to give Juniata a 24-0 lead with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter.
The two sides would trade punts, and Moravian got the ball back on its own 45-yard line. The Greyhounds started the drive with a 10-yard completion to McLaughlin to move the chains. The sophomore wide out finished the game with season-high marks of seven receptions and 89 yards.
"Will has had some nagging injuries over the last few weeks, but his effort has been there in practice," Pukszyn said. "He's battled through it and gotten healthy, and this week he really broke out. He's a physical as you can get in this conference with his blocking and you can see it in his pass receptions, and you can see that in the way he played today."
The drive would end on a turnover on downs to end the third quarter.
Juniata took over at its own 35-yard line. On third-and-5 of their first series of the possession, Udinski completed a pass to freshman wide receiver DaVon Mitchell, who was hit by Moravian junior defensive back Chris McGrath, forcing a fumble. The ball was scooped up by Orlando, who ran down the left side line for 44 yards and the touchdown to bring the score to 24-6 after a missed extra-point with 14:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Juniata would respond with yet another drive of over six minutes, going 12 plays for 59 yards ending in a 30-yard field goal by Kysor to give the Eagles a 27-6 lead with 7:28 remaining in the contest.
After a Moravian punt, the Greyhound defense was determined to get the ball back in the hands of the offense to attempt a fourth-quarter comeback. Judge intercepted Udinksi and added a 33-yard return, but the Greyhounds' offensive drive ended on downs.
The defense, however, gave them another shot deep in Juniata territory as Sinnig came up with Moravian's third interception of the day, this one without a return to set up the Greyhounds at the 22-yard line.
On the first play after the Sinnig pick, Moyer threw a 22-yard strike to McLaughlin for the touchdown and Moyer added a two-point conversion pass to McCarthy to bring the score to 27-14, the eventual final score with 1:51 left.
The onside kick attempt failed and Juniata assumed victory formation and ran out the clock.
Moravian ran 62 plays for 248 yards, but only possessed the ball for 20:13. McCarthy caught six passes for 59 yards, while freshman wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio hauled in four passes for 31 yards.
Freshman Liam Nolan was commended by Pukszyn for his work on special teams Saturday as he returned five kickoffs for a total of 105 yards and a long of 26 yards.
Pukszyn also praised the performance of sophomore tight end Andrew Racobaldo as he continued his superb blocking on offense.
"He hasn't caught the ball a lot, but he's been a key part of this offensive line that has helped us move the ball down the field," the Moravian headman said.
Bracken and junior defensive lineman Andrew Richmond combined to lead the Greyhounds with 13 tackles and four solo stops apiece with Bracken recording one tackle for a loss of two yards. McGrath added 10 tackles, including the hit that forced a fumble, while sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Pysher and junior linebacker Richard Kugel each added a pass breakup.
"Andrew really plays every snap as hard as he possibly can," Pukszyn said. "It's an emotional position. Things go down in there, and we love to see that passion. That can get contagious and often that's a good thing."
Juniata compiled 383 yards of offense on Saturday, led by 159 rushing yards by Udinski. Senior running back Zach McCaulley carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards, while Udinski completed 11-of-24 passes for 105 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. O'Brien led the Eagles' receiving corps with eight catches for 71 yards and a score.
Junior linebacker Ethan Wilt recorded a team-high 12 tackles, including nine solo stops and one and a half tackles for loss. Senior linebackers Kevin Gorman and Greg Nixon each added eight tackles and one tackle for loss apiece.
Moravian returns to action for its final game of the 2013 season at rival Muhlenberg College on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. Before breaking down film and comprising a game plan, Pukszyn said the strategy is to temper the excitement heading into the rivalry matchup.
"This is a big week," the head coach said. "You don't have to tell these kids to get up for this rivalry. We'll have to go back and look at our mistakes from this week. We don't want to peak emotionally before that game. We need to make sure, as coaches, to keep our guys on an even keel and balanced emotionally so we can peak on Saturday at Muhlenberg."
