BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College is looking back at the 2015-16 athletic campaign with the No. 4 story in Top 10 Stories – the football team participating in the inaugural Centennial Conference-Middle Atlantic Conference Bowl Series.
The Greyhounds were rewarded for their 8-2 regular season with a berth in one of the two inaugural Centennial-MAC Bowl Series games. The Hounds ended up falling to Delaware Valley University, 20-16, on the road in the program's first postseason appearance since 2010.
The Centennial and Middle Atlantic Conferences formed the Bowl Series on November 5, 2015 as a partnership for two postseason football games between member institutions. The Inaugural Centennial-MAC Bowl Series involved the top two teams from each conference that were not selected to the NCAA Division III Championship. The two conferences also supported the NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) partnership with Special Olympics by donating 25 percent of ticket revenue generated during the Bowl Series to the organization. Giving back to local and regional communities not only adds to the comprehensive learning component of Division III, but also provides a venue for passion and service. It has been announced that the series will continue in 2016.
The 2015 Greyhound team was just the 15th squad in the 91-year history of Moravian football to reach eight wins, and just the second to start the season with an 8-1 mark. Moravian made its eighth appearance in the postseason with two trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1988 and 1993 and ECAC Division III Bowl berths in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010.
"It was a very humbling and exciting experience to be able to be one of not many teams to be playing in the postseason," commented junior wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio. "It was great to see the support that we received and it was good to be able to play in such a meaningful game against great competition."
Head Coach Jeff Pukszyn has led Moravian from a 2-8 record in 2013 to 5-5 two seasons ago before last fall's 8-3 mark.
"The success that we had last season was directly correlated to the work that we put in during the offseason physically, and a strong sense of pride, work ethic, and camaraderie that we developed mentally," stated Snyder-Scipio. "It's noticeable in our players in the excitement we show on the field, but most importantly it's noticeable when no one is looking."
The year started off with a 21-17 win at King's College in the final minute of the game as Moravian played its first night contest since 2007. The Greyhounds rolled to a 40-8 victory at McDaniel College on September 12 to begin the Centennial Conference season before falling to nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins University, 45-23, to open the home season on September 19.
Moravian bounced back with six straight wins to get to that 8-1 mark for just the second time in school history. The winning streak started with a 55-38 win at Dickinson College on September 26 as junior running back Chris Negron tied the school record with six touchdowns in the game. Moravian would head into the bye week at 4-1 after a 31-3 win over Ursinus College. After the break, the Hounds topped Susquehanna University, 21-14, before returning home for a 34-19 victory over Franklin & Marshall College on Homecoming.
"First off our team had a great core of seniors last year that had a lot of experience," noted junior defensive back Noah Miller. "Also our team chemistry was great. I've never played with a team that got along so well before."
The Greyhounds added a 35-32 win over Gettysburg College on Halloween before a 42-10 victory against Juniata College to finish out the home schedule. Moravian fell to Muhlenberg College, 28-14, in the final regular season game after the Greyhounds had been regionally ranked by the NCAA for the first time since 1993, the program's last NCAA Playoff appearance. Moravian was still the second team in the Centennial Conference not to qualify for the NCAA Tournament so the Greyhounds would travel to Doylestown to play the Aggies for the first time since 2006, the program's final year in the MAC before joining the Centennial Conference as an associate member for football in 2007.
"We recognized that we had something special the moment we came into camp, and we knew that we had to work hard to get to where we wanted to be," Miller explained. "We came up short of our goals of making the NCAA playoffs, but the opportunity to play in the MAC vs. Centennial Bowl Series was a great opportunity for us to showcase our talent and play one last game for the seniors."
Moravian has 53 returning players reporting to preseason camp on August 13 as the group prepares for the 2016 season that will kick off on Saturday, September 3 versus King's.
"With the taste of success we earned last season, we now are cognizant of what needs to be done to have success in the Centennial Conference," Snyder-Scipio said. "We are very pleased with where we were, but we are not going to be complacent."
That sentiment goes through the whole program.
"The amount of guys we have coming back is huge for our team. Last year gave us a little taste of what it's like to be successful. We're all hungry and determined to build off what we did last year, yet we realize this is a new team. We're looking forward to making a new identity for our team and improving on that 8-3 record," finished Miller.
You can read the original game story at http://moraviansports.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20151121q0e4pi.
Story number three of the countdown will be released on Monday, August 15.
