LANCASTER, Pa. --- Sophomore quarterback Mike Hayes completed 14-of-30 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown but it wasn't enough as the Moravian College football team dropped a 42-12 decision at Franklin & Marshall College Saturday afternoon.
The Greyhounds finished with 251 yards on 55 plays in the game with Hayes adding seven yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Chris Negron had 35 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries while freshman running back Eli Redmond added 30 yards on seven attempts, and he caught two passes for 25 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio had three receptions for 58 yards and a score while sophomore wide receiver Liam Nolan caught a team-high four passes for 37 yards.
"I'm sure once we look at the film, there are going to be some good things that we're going to pick out, and with every game, we'll see some other things that need to worked on for next week to get better," commented Head Coach Jeff Pukszyn. "I have to do a better job of getting these guys prepared during the week along with the energy and enthusiasm as well as the discipline to execute on each snap to make us better."
Moravian received the opening kickoff and picked up three first downs on passes by Hayes including a 31-yard pass to junior tight end Andrew Racobaldo, but Hayes was just high on a fourth down pass in the end zone as the Hounds turned the ball over on downs at the F&M 14-yard line.
The Diplomats turned the defensive stop into an 86-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead with 7:38 left in the first quarter. F&M then recovered an onside kick to get the ball right back and drove back down the field for a 14-0 lead with 3:14 to play in the opening quarter.
F&M extended its lead to 21-0 just 11 seconds before halftime, capping a 93-yard, 15-yard drive on a shot pass. The Diplomats also scored the first points of the second half with short touchdown run with 3:14 on the clock in the third quarter.
The Greyhounds scored their first touchdown with just four seconds left in the third quarter when Negron busted through the line on a one-yard touchdown run to finish off an 11-play, 75-yard drive that cut the deficit to 28-6.
After a quick score by F&M, Moravian would move down the field on a six-play, 75-yard drive. Hayes found Snyder-Scipio in the back left corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Snyder-Scipio was able tap his foot down just before going out of bounds for his third score of the season, which made the score 35-12 with 9:34 left in the contest.
"Jalen is a big-time player that we probably need to get the ball in his hands more but we have a lot of good receivers and we preach ball distribution," stated Pukszyn. "Jalen does a great job for us, and the best thing about Jalen is that he wants to be the complete wide receiver so his blocking and catching are both phenomenal. He is the best teammate you can have."
F&M finished off the scoring with another touchdown with 4:46 left on the game. The Diplomats had 525 yards on 78 plays including 303 on the ground.
Senior safety Ricky Sinnig led the Moravian defense with 10 tackles including a tackle for loss while sophomore cornerback Noah Miller had eight stops and a pass break-up. Senior safety Chris McGrath contributed seven tackles while senior defensive lineman Andrew Richmond and senior linebacker Kevin Bracken each had six stops. Junior defensive back Jimmy McCarthy made five tackles and one pass break-up, and he also punted six times in the game for an average of 33.0 yards.
"When your strong safety has 10 tackles, I think things are getting to that third level too quickly," Pukszyn said. "However, Ricky does a great job of putting himself in the right positions out there, and our scheme does have our safeties coming up to be part of the attack against the run. Ricky takes it very seriously, and works hard all week to be prepared on Saturday for what teams are going to try and do against us and that shows up on the field."
The Greyhounds will continue their three-game road trip next Saturday, November 1 when the squad heads to Gettysburg College for a 1:00 p.m. Centennial Conference kickoff.
