BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team heads to No. 9 Johns Hopkins University on Friday, September 23 for a Centennial Conference game. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Maryland.
THE COACHES: Jeff Pukszyn (Moravian '98) is entering his 12th season as Moravian's head coach after ten years as an assistant coach with the program. Pukszyn joined the Moravian staff as a part-time coach in 1997 after a three-year playing career that saw him named to the All-Middle Atlantic Conference First Team in 1994 and 1996. He was inducted into Moravian's Hall of Fame in 2019. He was also a two-time captain. Pukszyn became part of the coaching staff full-time in 1999 as defensive coordinator and added the titles of assistant head coach in 2001 and special teams coordinator in 2007. In 2015, Pukszyn led the Greyhounds to an 8-3 record and a berth in the inaugural Centennial-MAC Bowl Series while being named both the Centennial Conference and American Football Coaches Association Division III Region 2 Coach of the Year. He has been a part of 277 games for Moravian since 1994 with a 131-146-1 record.
Johns Hopkins coach Greg Chimera (Johns Hopkins '09) is in his fourth year with the Blue Jays.
THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 23rd in the series with the Blue Jays holding a 15-7 edge. Johns Hopkins has won the last 12 games in the series including a 54-6 victory in Bethlehem last fall and a 41-0 victory in 2019 when the squads last met in Baltimore on a Friday evening. The Greyhounds last win in the series was a 33-10 victory in Bethlehem in 2008, and Moravian captured the 2007 game, 44-41 in Baltimore, the first time in Moravian history that both teams had scored over 40 points in a game.
GREYHOUNDS IN THE CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE: Moravian joined the Centennial Conference as an associate member in the sport of football in 2007. The Greyhounds were selected seventh in the Centennial Conference preseason coaches poll. Johns Hopkins was picked first in the poll with seven first-place votes. Moravian is playing its final season in the Centennial Conference in 2022 with the Landmark Conference scheduled to begin football in the fall of 2023 as Lycoming College and Wilkes University become full Landmark Conference members.
WEEKLY GAME CAPTAINS: The Hounds will be selecting captains on a weekly basis in 2022 with junior wide receiver Tim Garlick and sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa serving as captains for this weekend's game at Johns Hopkins University.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Sophomore Jared Jenkins has completed 41-of-73 passes for 614 yards to go with five touchdown and three interceptions in 2022. He has also carried the ball 42 times for 36 yards and a score while being sacked 15 times. Sophomore Carter Hallgren is 1-for-2 passing on the year.
IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 297 yards and a touchdown on 74 carries this season while senior Angelo Macera has contributed 97 yards on 17 rushing attempts.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has one returner with game experience on the offensive line in junior Javal Reyes at right guard. The Greyhounds add four other new starters to the starting offensive line sophomore Reins Leedy at left tackle, sophomore Riley Craft at left guard, sophomore Brandon Guffy at center and freshman Tyler Herring at right tackle. The Greyhounds' front five has an average size of 6-2, 287. Sophomore Paul DeFalco has also seen time as a reserve at several positions on the offensive line this season.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had nine different players catch a pass this year led by junior wide receiver Tim Garlick has 12 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Brad Bryan has 10 catches for 223 yards with a long of 77 yards and two touchdowns in his first year at the position while sophomore wide receiver Jordan Lewis has nine receptions for 113 yards and a score. Junior running back Nate Boyle has caught four passes for 74 yards while sophomore wide receiver Brandon Grace has three receptions has three catches for 21 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Bryan Monge has added one reception for 14 yards while sophomore wide receiver Nick Weston has one reception for nine yards. Senior tight end Chris Carpini has one catch for seven yards and a touchdown and senior running back Angelo Macera has one reception.
DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior Javi Espinal-Katz leads the Moravian defensive front with 10 tackles, one tackle for loss and half a sack while freshman Drew Bailey has contributed 10 tackles with a half a quarterback sack and tackle for loss. Sophomore Prince Sokpo has added eight tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass break-up while sophomore Jeremy McGuigan has eight stops with a quarterback sack and a forced fumble. Senior Jack Gawlik has six tackles with a sack after missing the season opener while freshman EJ Harvey has five tackles. Senior Bryan Bendig has added a pair of tackles while sophomore Mason Zimmerman has one stop.
THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Junior Nick Levinski leads the linebackers and the entire Moravian defense with 28 tackles and a quarterback hurry while junior Colin Conway has added 16 stops with a tackle for loss, two pass break-ups and a forced fumble. Freshman Clay Basille has 13 tackles and a pass break-up while sophomore Jeremiah Espinosa has nine tackles with one tackle for loss. Junior Chris Ortalano has contributed six tackles with a half a tackle for loss while freshman Josh Ruela has three tackles. Junior Anthony Mosley has made two stops while freshman Jashon Teller has one stop and a half a tackle for loss.
THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Graduate student Romello Walters leads the defensive backs with 21 tackles including a half a tackle for loss to go along with a pass break-up, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Chad Newhard has also contributed 21 tackles with a half a tackle for loss while sophomore Isaiah Johnson has 12 stops and two pass break-ups. Junior Zach Scillia has six tackles and two interceptions including a 47 yard return versus Gettysburg College this season while junior Matt Blazofsky has added five tackles. Graduate student Jalen Richardson has three tackles after missing the first two games of the year. Freshman Joe DeRossi has two tackles and blocked a punt versus Gettysburg while senior Stefan Lorick has contributed one tackle this year.
KICKING GAME: Sophomore Sam Bingaman is 4-for-4 on field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards at TCNJ on his first attempt as a Greyhound, and he is also 5-for-6 on extra points. Bingaman has punted 15 times with an average of 40.2 yards to go with a long of 50 yards, three inside the 20-yard line and two fair catches. Senior Trevor Yacuboski has kicked off 13 times for an average of 52.5 yards with one touchback while sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins has punted once for 30 yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore wide receiver Will Castel has returned six kickoffs for 71 yards while junior wide receiver Brad Bryan has two kickoff returns for 35 yards. Freshman wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has also returned two kickoffs for 35 yards. Castel has two punt returns for eight yards while sophomore defensive back Joe DeRossi was credited with a punt return for 13 yards on his blocked punt versus Gettysburg and junior linebacker Chris Ortalano has a two-yard return after recovering the blocked punt. Senior running back Angelo Macera and freshman running back Tyler Rohn have both added a pair of tackles on special teams while sophomore wide receiver Nick Weston and Bryan each have one tackle.
MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have one player closing in on milestones for his careers. Senior kicker Trevor Yacuboski is tied for seventh with 10 career field goals made, and he is 13th in total kicking points with 53.
SCOUTING NO. 9 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: The Blue Jays enter the game at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in Centennial Conference action after defeating Juniata College, 70-0, last Saturday. Graduate student quarterback Ryan Stevens leads Johns Hopkins on the field having completed 57-of-80 passes for 11 touchdowns with one interception, and he has added 93 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts. Sophomore quarterback Bay Harvey has connected on 11-of-13 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore quarterback James Rinello is 2-for-3 for 23 yards. Their top targets have been graduate student Quinn Revere, who had 16 receptions for 142 yards and six touchdowns, senior wide receiver Artie Collins, who has caught 15 passes for 198 yards and three scores, senior wide receiver Christopher Pantelis, who has 10 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown, and graduate student tight end Emmett Turner, who has nine catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Collins has also returned four punts for 52 yards while sophomore wide receiver E.J Talarico has returned seven kickoffs for 238 yards with one touchdown. Senior running back Danny Wolf leads the Blue Jays' rushing attack with 208 yards and two touchdowns on 26 attempts while junior running back Spencer Uggla has added 183 yards and two scores on 24 carries and sophomore running back Jacob Chapman has 99 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts. Senior kicker John Krill is 19-for-20 on extra points while sophomore kicker/punter Joe Zahner is averaging 52.2 yards on 22 kickoffs and 32.7 yards on six punts with a long of 40 yards, two inside the 20-yard line and one fair caught. Graduate student linebacker Duncan Van Kouteren leads the Blue Jays' defense with 22 tackles including two and a half tackle for loss and a pair of pass break-ups. Senior linebacker Matt Dubois has contributed 15 tackles with a half a tackle for loss and a forced fumble while junior defensive back Luca Letzel has 14 tackles, two passes defended and an interception. Junior defensive lineman Luke Schuermann leads the Johns Hopkins defense with six and a half tackle for loss and three and a half sacks among his 13 tackles while junior defensive back Josh Andersson has 12 tackles and an interception. Graduate student defensive lineman Chris Bedell, senior defensive lineman Jake Vall-Ilobera and sophomore defensive back PJ Penders have all made 10 stops with Bedell and Vall-Ilobera each adding a tackle for loss. Bedell also has fumble recovery while Penders has contributed a pass break-up.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem in last fall, Moravian fell to nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins, 54-6, in Centennial Conference action. The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff and picked up first down and moved into Johns Hopkins territory before punting. The Blue Jays would put together a 13-play, 92-yard drive after the punt to score the opening touchdown of the game with 7:26 left in the first quarter. Moravian's next drive ended with a punt while Johns Hopkins would miss a 46-yard field goal attempt. After the Hounds punted again, defensive back Jackson Buskirk intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards. Moravian turned the miscue into a 25-yard field goal from kicker Trevor Yacuboski with 12:13 remaining in the second quarter as the Blue and Grey pulled within 7-3. The Blue Jays answered with a touchdown to extend the lead to 14-3, and Johns Hopkins would score on a fumble return after a touchdown to go up 21-3 with 7:38 left in the first half. Moravian drove down into the red zone and looked to have scored a touchdown, but it was nullified by a penalty. The Hounds would get points on the drive as Yacuboski split the uprights with a 28-yard field goal to make it a 21-6 contest with 3:25 before the intermission. Johns Hopkins returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and would score once more before halftime to head to the locker room with a 35-6 lead. All the scoring in the second half would from the Blue Jays including a field goal, a safety on a Moravian penalty in the endzone, another kickoff return for a score and a fumble return for a touchdown off of a muffed snap on a punt by Moravian. Johns Hopkins had a 437 to 226 edge in total offense as Moravian kept the Blue Jays nearly 200 yards below their season average of 623.7 entering action. Moravian had the ball on offense for 32:39 of the contest. Quarterback Christopher Mills was 20-for-39 for 196 yards with a touchdown and his top target was wide receiver Trevor Cunningham, who caught eight passes for 97 yards. Wide receiver Jordan Lewis had six catches for 52 yards while wide receiver Nick Petros caught five passes for 39 yards. Wide receiver Cory Little has one catch for eight yards, and he returned two kickoffs for 51 yards. Running back Isaac Cherry had 16 yards on five rushing attempts while running back Carrington Smith had 11 yards on 10 carries. Quarterback Brad Bryan contributed four yards on two attempts while running back Angelo Macera added one yard on three carries. Linebacker Noah Breidinger contributed 16 yards on a fake punt for a first down, and he also made six tackles. Defensive back Connor Lyon and defensive back Ethen Aquino each had 10 tackles to lead the Greyhounds' defense while defensive back Chad Newhard and defensive back Romello Walters each made eight stops with Newhard adding a half a tackle for loss and Walters returning three kickoffs for 72 yards. Buskirk finished with five tackles and a total of two passes defended including his interception in his first start of the season. Javi Espinal-Katz had Moravian's only sack of the afternoon. Yacuboski made both of his field goal attempts in the contest and averaged 49.3 yards on four kickoffs and 35.0 yards on six punts in the game.
OVERTIME 'HOUNDS: Moravian has played a total of 12 overtime games since the NCAA instituted the rule for the 1996 season and is 9-3 all-time in the extra-session including a pair of overtimes wins in 2021. Five of those 12 overtime games have been against Juniata College with the Greyhounds going 4-1 in those games. Moravian's contest in Huntingdon in 2008 marked the first time in the Greyhounds' have needed more than one overtime session in a game. The 2021 season marked the fourth year that Moravian has played at least two overtimes games in one season, the other years were 2008 when the Hounds played two overtime contests, 1999 when the Greyhounds played three overtime games and 1997 when Moravian played two overtime contests.
THE CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds are seventh in the Centennial Conference in total offense at 369.0 yards per game, and Moravian is eighth in scoring at 19.7 points per contest. The Hounds are second in the conference in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 32:48 per game. Defensively, Moravian is seventh in the conference in yards per game, allowing 401.0, and the Blue and Grey are seventh in points allowed at 32.0 per outing. Individually, sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins is fifth in the conference at 197.3 yards per game, tied for fourth in touchdown passes with four and third in pass efficiency with a 138.7 rating. Junior running back Nate Boyle is third in the Centennial Conference at 97.3 rushing yards per contest while junior wide receiver Brad Bryan ranks fourth in the conference at 74.3 yards per game. Sophomore wide receiver Tim Garlick is tied for eighth in receptions per game at 4.0 catches per outing. Sophomore punter/kicker Sam Bingaman is second in the Centennial Conference at 40.2 yards per punt, and he is tied for fifth in kick scoring with 15 points while being tied for the conference lead with four made field goals. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is second in the conference with 9.3 tackles per game while sophomore defensive back Chad Newhard is 15th at 7.0 tackles per outing and graduate student defensive back Romello Walters is 16th at 6.7 tackles per contest.
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds rank 45th of 240 NCAA Division III schools that have played a game in time of possession with an average of 32:48 per game. Sophomore kicker Sam Bingaman is tied for first in the nation in field goal percentage at 100 % (4-for-4), and he is tied for 12th in field goals per game at 1.33 and 41st in punting with an average of 40.2 yards per punt. Junior running back Nate Boyle is 32nd in rushing yards with 292, 43rd in rushing yards per game with an average of 97.3 yards per outing and 96th in all-purpose yards per outing with 122.0. Junior wide receiver Brad Bryan is 84th in receiving yards at 223 and 40th in yards per reception at 22.3. Sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins is 37th in yards per completion at 14.80, and he is 62nd nationally in yards per pass attempt at 8.22, 64th in passing touchdowns with five, 65th in passing yards with 592, 83rd in passing efficiency at 139.2 and 88th in passing yards per game at 197.3. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is tied for 56th with an average of 9.3 tackles per game while junior Zach Scillia is tied for 31st in interceptions per game at 0.7.
BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 84 players on the Moravian roster, 34 are freshmen, 24 are sophomores and 15 are juniors. There are eight seniors and three fifth-year players on this season's squad, and the Greyhounds return 39 letterwinners and five starters from 2021.
