BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Sophomore quarterback Mike Hayes was 12-for-23 and threw for three touchdowns including a pair in the third quarter as the Moravian College football team rallied from a 14-0 deficit just 8:40 into the game with 21 unanswered points for a 21-14 Centennial Conference victory over visiting Dickinson College at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday afternoon.
Hayes had 151 yards on his 12 completions, and he also added 48 yards on seven rushing attempts while being sacked once and throwing one interception.
"Mike did a great job as the game progressed, especially in the second half," stated Head Coach Jeff Pukszyn. "I thought we were sleepwalking through the first half in every facet of the game. He got more comfortable in the second half, and he took good care of the football while doing some good things both running and passing."
Hayes helped the Greyhounds gain 429 yards on 76 plays in the game including 278 on the ground that included sophomore running back Chris Negron picking up his second 100-yard game of the season with 124 yards on 33 carries while freshman running back Eli Redmond added 98 yards on nine attempts.
"It's great to have those two in the backfield, Pukszyn said. "Both of them take advantage of opportunities and you see that when they are in there. Eli did a phenomenal job today of reading his blocks and exploding through the holes, and I think Chris got stronger as the game went along. To have those two type of guys that have that explosiveness and agility as well as that break-it mentality each time they touch the ball, it is a good duo to have in the backfield."
The Greyhounds, who had not won more than two games in a season since 2010, improved to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in conference action with the victory.
"It was a great win for our seniors, our program and our staff," commented Pukszyn. "I was a great win after a tough loss at nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins last week. We might not have had the best week of practice, and it showed in the first half, but we persevered and the guys game together in the second half. We have some good leadership on the team, and they came out and fought for in the final 30 minutes and good things happened."
The game didn't start well for the Hounds. After forcing a punt, Moravian's offense took over at its own eight-yard line. The Greyhounds would have to punt after three plays sophomore punter Gonzalo Hurtado had the kick blocked and recovered in the end zone by Dickinson's Ned Emala for the first score of the game.
After the Greyhounds punted on their second drive, the Red Devils needed nine plays to cover the 74 yards to the end zone with senior quarterback Cole Ahnell finishing Eric Ondo with a 48-yard catch and run with 6:20 left in the first quarter.
Down by two scores on starting at their own 36-yard line, Hayes would finish off a 10-play, 64-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio on a crossing route as Snyder-Scipio, who caught two passes for 44 yards, reached to the end zone and his second touchdown of the season. Junior Cedar McCredie added the extra-point to pull Moravian within seven points at 14-7 with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the teams end drives with punts or turning the ball over on downs. The Red Devils got into the red zone late in the quarter and brought kicker Austin High in for a 33-yard field goal attempt with 42 seconds left before the intermission but the attempt was wide right. The Red Devils would end the half with a Mitch Helmandollar interception of Hayes just outside of the end zone on a deep pass.
Hayes connected with junior wide receiver Will McLaughlin on a 26-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half as McLaughlin, who had three receptions for 40 yards, caught the ball across the middle and beat the Dickinson defenders to the end zone for his second score of the year. McCredie's extra-point tied the game at 14-14 just 2:56 into the second half as the Greyhounds marched 72 yards on eight plays.
After forcing a punt, the Moravian offense would move right back down the field and take the lead when Hayes found sophomore wide receiver Liam Nolan on the far left side line for short pass. Nolan, who caught a team-high five passes for 62 yards, slipped one tackle, cut inside and raced into the end zone with a 43-yard touchdown reception for his second TD of the year. McCredie finished off the scoring with the extra-point for a 21-14 lead with 7:08 to play in the third quarter.
"Liam had a great game and is explosive which he showed after the cut on the touchdown," explained Pukszyn. "All the receivers did a great job and their hard work is really starting to payoff. We were able to spread the ball around a little bit today."
Moravian's defense forced the Red Devils into a three-and-punt on the next possession but the Greyhounds would have to punt again. Hurtado had the punt blocked again, this time by Mark Manganaro.
It wouldn't take the Greyhounds' defense long to get the ball back. On the third play of the drive in the red zone, senior linebacker Ed Buoye stepped in front of an Ahnell pass at the two-yard line for his first interception of the season, and he returned it 22 yards.
The Hounds picked up one first down but would have to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter. Junior defensive back Jimmy McCarthy was called on for the kick, and he tracked down a high snap and booted a 44-yard punt to pin the Red Devils at their own 16-yard line.
"Jimmy is a great athlete," commented Pukszyn. "I wanted to put him into punt. It was something that he did in high school and we've had him doing off the field since he got here. I think he did a great job, especially getting the snap that was a little off to the right and high, and then he got a great punt out of it. When you have an athlete like that who wants to compete, why not throw him in there."
When Moravian got the ball back, Redmond burst up the middle for a 41-yard run to get the Greyhounds into scoring position but the Hounds eventually turned the ball over on downs at the 18-yard line.
Trailing by seven points, Dickinson took over at the its own 18-yard line and put together a 19-play drive that moved the ball down to the Moravian 13-yard line. Ahnell was looking to tie the game when McCarthy made his team-leading third interception of the season in the end zone to end the threat.
"Coming up with a pair of red zone picks was a great job by the defense," Pukszyn said. "They're heads up plays by the secondary back there."
The Greyhounds worked to run out the clock, taking 10 snaps and running 4:14 off of the clock while gaining 41 yards before turning the ball over on downs. On the first play of the drive with 16 seconds left, sophomore defensive back Noah Miller intercepted Ahnell to seal the victory.
Senior linebacker Kevin Bracken made a team-high 12 tackles with a half a tackle for loss while senior defensive lineman Andrew Richmond and junior linebacker Brendan Downey each contributed nine tackles with Richmond making three tackles for loss. Senior defensive back Chris McGrath had eight stops in his first start of the season while Miller, Buoye and sophomore defensive lineman John Snyder all had seven tackles. Miller has two passes defended while Buoye had a sack, one and a half tackles for loss and two passes defended. Snyder also had a sack and two tackles for loss.
"John is so strong, and I think he did a really great job on their center today," stated Pukszyn. "He was able to get pressure even though he gets double teamed a lot. John was able to push the pocket, and that the open the rest of the line to get to the quarterback and really keep him from scrambling too much."
McCarthy, who had four tackles to go with his interception and two passes defended, returned one punt for eight yards, and he returned one kickoff for 21 yards to break a tie with Travis King '13 for the school record in kickoff returns with his 66th return. McCarthy also became the first player in school history to surpass 1,400 career kickoff return yards, now with 1,418 yards on those 66 returns.
Ahnell completed 12-of-29 passes for 136 yards, and he ran for 35 yards on 15 carries while Cedric Madden had 99 yards on 26 attempts. Brent Scardapane caught four passes for 36 yards while Ondo had three receptions for 62 yards. Teddy Airoldi led the Dickinson defense with 13 tackles while Jake Myers made 11 tackles.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Saturday, October 4 when they'll finish off the first half of the season in a Centennial Conference game at Ursinus College in a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Paterson Field in Collegeville.