BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team heads to Dickinson College in a Centennial Conference game to start the second half of the 2022 season on Friday, October 14. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. at Biddle Field in Carlisle.
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 279 games for Moravian since 1994 with a 132-147-1 record.
Dickinson coach Brad Fordyce (Springfield '97) is in his sixth year with the Red Devils.
THE SERIES: Friday's meeting will be the 25th in the series with the Greyhounds leading the series 13-9-2. Moravian, which has won nine of the last 11 contests between the schools, posted a 21-14 win last fall on Homecoming in Bethlehem, and Moravian earned a 24-6 victory in 2019 while the Red Devils last triumph was a 36-29 win in Carlisle in 2018.
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. Dickinson was tied for fifth in the poll. 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 running back Nate Boyle, sophomore quarterback Carter Hallgren and sophomore defensive back Chad Newhard serving as captains for this weekend's game at Dickinson College.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Sophomore Jared Jenkins has completed 41-of-73 passes for 592 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 33-for-64 for 262 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions after making starts against No. 9 Johns Hopkins University and Juniata College to garner his first career victory. Senior Nick Reardon is 2-for-3 for 68 yards and a touchdown.
IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 532 yards and four touchdowns on 119 carries this season while senior Angelo Macera has contributed 105 yards on 25 rushing attempts. Freshman Camron Tinajero has run the ball four times for 66 yards.
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, and he started at Johns Hopkins University and versus Juniata College while sophomore Jai Fentress and freshman Danny Smith have seen reserve action this season, and Smith has recorded one tackle.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 10 different players catch a pass this year led by junior wide receiver Tim Garlick has 27 catches for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Brad Bryan has 18 catches for 258 yards with a long of 77 yards and two touchdowns in his first year at the position while sophomore wide receiver Jordan Lewis has 12 receptions for 141 yards and two scores. Junior running back Nate Boyle has caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Brandon Grace has five receptions for 15 yards. Senior tight end Chris Carpini has three catches for 15 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Nick Weston has two receptions for 70 yards and a score. Sophomore wide receiver Bryan Monge has added one reception for 14 yards while junior tight end Sean Foley has one catch for four yards and senior running back Angelo Macera also has one reception.
DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior Javi Espinal-Katz leads the Moravian defensive front with 15 tackles, one tackle for loss and half a sack while freshman Drew Bailey has contributed 13 tackles with a half a quarterback sack and tackle for loss. Sophomore Jeremy McGuigan has 12 stops with two tackles for loss, a quarterback sack, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble while sophomore Prince Sokpo has added 11 tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass break-up. Senior Jack Gawlik has 11 tackles with two and a half tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass break-up after missing the season opener while freshman EJ Harvey has seven tackles. Senior Bryan Bendig has added three tackles while sophomore Mason Zimmerman and freshman Drew Brizan both have one stop.
THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Junior Nick Levinski leads the linebackers and the entire Moravian defense with 45 tackles, one and a half tackle for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry while junior Colin Conway has added 21 stops with a tackle for loss, five pass break-ups and a forced fumble. Freshman Clay Basile has 18 tackles and a pass break-up while sophomore Jeremiah Espinosa has 13 tackles with one tackle for loss and a pass break-up. Junior Chris Ortalano has contributed 13 tackles with a half a tackle for loss while freshman Jashon Teller has 12 stops and one and a half a tackles for loss. Junior Anthony Mosley has made seven stops while freshmen Joshua Ruela and James Wells each have six tackles. Freshman Damere Rooker has added two tackles in his first year with the Hounds.
THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Sophomore Chad Newhard leads the defensive backs with 33 tackles with a half a tackle for loss. Graduate student Romello Walters has contributed 31 tackles including a half a tackle for loss to go along with three pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. while sophomore Isaiah Johnson has 15 stops, four passes defended and an interception. Junior Zach Scillia has 12 tackles and two interceptions including a 47-yard return versus Gettysburg College this season while graduate student Jalen Richardson has 13 tackles after missing the first two games of the year. Junior Matt Blazofsky has added eight tackles while graduate student Carrington Smith has made eight stops after missing the first two contests. Freshman Joe DeRossi has two tackles and blocked a punt versus Gettysburg while senior Stefan Lorick has contributed two stops this year. Freshmen Matt Capobianco and Tom Post both have one tackle in their debut season.
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 11-for-12 on extra points. Bingaman has punted 24 times with an average of 38.5 yards to go with a long of 50 yards, three inside the 20-yard line and five fair catches, and he has kicked off four times for an average of 58.0 yards. Senior Trevor Yacuboski has kicked off 19 times for an average of 49.1yards with one touchback, and he has punted four times with an average of 47.0 yards, a long of 64 yards, one touchback and two inside the 20-yard line. Yacuboski is 1-for-1 on field goals with a one of 30 yards, and he is 0-1 on extra-points. Sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins has punted once for 30 yards while sophomore quarterback Carter Hallgren has punted once for 45 yards.
FRED MITCHELL OUTSTANDING PLACE-KICKING WATCH LIST: Moravian freshman kicker Sam Bingaman was one of 29 place-kickers across from non-BCS schools the nation that has been recognized by The Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicking Award for his performance during the opening half of the 2022 season. Bingaman has gone four-for-four on field goal attempts and 11-of-12 on extra-points for 23 points through Moravian's first five games of the year. Bingaman's first kick for the Greyhounds was a 41-yard field goal at The College of New Jersey on September 3. He has also kicked off four times with an average of 58.0 yards, and Bingaman has 24 punts in 2022 for an average of 38.5 yards with a long of 50 yards, five fair caught and three inside the 20-yard line.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore wide receiver Will Castel has returned six kickoffs for 71 yards while freshman wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has returned four kickoffs for 54 yards. Graduate student defensive back Jalen Richardson has five kickoff returns for 67 yards while junior wide receiver Brad Bryan has two kickoff returns for 35 yards. Castel has five punt returns for 33 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, sophomore wide receiver Nick Weston and freshman running back Tyler Rohn all have added a pair of tackles on special teams while Bryan, junior wide receiver Tim Garlick and sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins each have one tackle.
MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have two players closing in on milestones for his careers. Junior running back Nate Boyle became the 26th player in school history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards, and he has 1,137 yards on 249 career carries to sit in 23rd all-time. Boyle needs 363 yards to become the 15th Greyhound to reach 1,500 career yards. Senior kicker Trevor Yacuboski is tied for six with 11 career field goals made, and he is 13th in total kicking points with 56.
SCOUTING DICKINSON COLLEGE: The Red Devils enter the game at 1-4 overall and 1-3 in Centennial Conference action after falling to McDaniel College, 21-13, before the bye week. Junior quarterback Matt Maiona has completed 44-of-83 passes for 489 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions while sophomore quarterback Rocco DiRico is 13-for-35 for 136 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions and junior quarterback Presley Egbers has completed 7-of-14 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. The trio's top targets have been junior wide receiver Princeton Douglass, who has 16 receptions for 209 yards and a touchdown, sophomore running back Diante Ba, who has 12 catches for 93 yards and a score, senior wide receiver Bryce Peterson, who has 10 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown, senior wide receiver Johnny Knight, who has 12 receptions for 94 yards, and sophomore wide receiver Bobby Markey, who has eight catches for 77 yards. Ball leads the Red Devils' rushing attack with 583 yards and six touchdowns on 99 rushing attempts while Maiona has added 63 yards on 27 carries. Douglass has run the ball 12 times for 55 yards while Egbers has 29 yards on six rushing attempts. Maiona has also punted the ball 26 times for an average of 39.4 yards with a long of 56 yards, seven inside the 20-yard line, six fair caught and one touchback. Markey has returned 10 kickoffs for 153 yards while Douglass has seven kickoff returns for 170 yards. Senior kicker Matt Moroz is 9-for-9 on extra-points and 2-for-3 on field goal attempts with a long of 25 yards for a total of 15 points. Graduate student linebacker Tanner Long leads the Dickinson defense with 51 tackles with three and a half tackles for loss, a half a sack, three passes defended and an interception. Senior defensive lineman Neville Kruger has contributed 30 tackles with four for loss, a sack and a pass break-up while senior linebacker Chris Klem has made 26 tackles with three for loss. Junior defensive back Alex Sulin has recorded 24 tackles including one and a half for loss, a sack and four pass break-ups while freshman linebacker Bram Leys has added 21 tackles with three for loss. Freshman defensive back Jason Hollinger leads the Red Devils with two interceptions and five passes defended.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem in last fall, Moravian jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and held on to defeat Dickinson, 21-14, in Centennial Conference action on Homecoming at Rocco Calvo Field. The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff and drove down into field goal range. Trevor Yacuboski came on to attempt a 41-yard field goal, but it was blocked. The Red Devils moved into the red zone on their first possession and would attempt a 35-yard field goal that linebacker Nicholas Azpeitia blocked the kick to give the ball back to the Blue and Grey. Moravian needed just three plays to get on the scoreboard on their second drive. Running back Nate Boyle had runs of 11 and 10 yards before quarterback Christopher Mills found wide receiver Nick Petros behind the Dickinson defense for a 59-yard touchdown catch and run. Yacuboski added the extra-point as the Greyhounds took a 7-0 lead with 7:10 left in the first quarter. After forcing the Red Devils to punt, Moravian moved into the red zone before Mills had a tipped pass intercepted at the two-yard line. Just two plays later, the Blue and Grey got the ball back as linebacker Noah Breidinger intercepted a pass and returned it to the Dickinson 22-yard line. On the next play, Mills found Petros with a 22-yard touchdown pass. The score was Petros' school-record 19th career touchdown pass while it was Mills' 30th career touchdown pass. Yacuboski made the extra-point to extend the Moravian lead to 14-0 with 13:02 left in the second quarter. The Greyhounds' defense forced Dickinson to turn the ball over on downs on its next possession. Moravian needed seven plays to find the end zone again as Boyle ran in from four yards out to finish off the drive. Yacuboski's extra-point made it a 21-0 game with 7:53 before the intermission. Dickinson looked like it was ready to find the end zone on its next drive, but linebacker Romello Walters forced a fumble at the one-yard line and Renard Nicholson recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback. The first half would end with Moravian leading 21-0. The Red Devils had the ball first in the second half and needed just five plays to go 80 yards and get on the scoreboard on a 22-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Greyhounds' lead to 21-7. Each team punted once before Moravian turned the ball over on downs on the first play of the fourth quarter. Dickinson responded to the defensive stand by scoring on the next drive to make it 21-14 with 12:07 remaining. The Hounds had a quick three-and-punt drive, and a short punt caused the Red Devils to get the ball near midfield. Dickinson drove into the red zone before defensive back Jackson Buskirk forced a fumble that Walters scooped up. The Blue and Grey would end up punting but a play from wide receiver Jordan Lewis kept Petros' punt from being a touchback and leaving the Red Devils with a longer field. Dickinson would drive into Moravian territory before the Greyhounds' defense forced the Red Devils to turn the ball over on downs. The Hounds needed just one kneel down to seal the win. Moravian had a slight advantage in overall yardage at 383 to 378. Mills completed 17-of-26 passes for 258 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, and he also had four rushing yard. Petros caught six passes for 105 yards, his ninth career 100-yard game with three of them against Dickinson, and Petros became the all-time record holder in receiving touchdowns with 19 to go with 152 receptions (second to Jalen Snyder-Scipio's school mark of 159) and 2,142 yards (second all-time). Boyle finished with 114 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, his first career 100-yard game, and he also caught five passes for 44 yards. Wide receiver Tim Garlick caught two passes for 69 yards while wide receiver Nick Basenese had one catch for 24 yards. Lewis caught one pass for eight yards while tight end Chris Carpini had one reception for seven yards and running back Carrington Smith had one catch for a yard and four rushing attempts for nine yards. Buskirk led the Moravian defense with ten tackles to go with his forced fumble and a pass break-up while defensive back Chad Newhard had seven tackles with a sack. Defensive back Justin McRae also contributed seven stops while defensive lineman Javi Espinal-Katz made five tackles with one and a half for loss and two pass break-ups. Walters registered five tackles with his forced fumble and fumble recovery, and Walters also returned three kickoffs for 65 yards. Linebacker Jack Gawlik contributed three tackles with a half a tackle for loss while defensive lineman Brady Hornbaker had three stops with one and a half for loss. Breidinger had his interception and two passes defended and two tackles before leaving with an injury.
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 ninth in the Centennial Conference in total offense at 275.3 yards per game, and Moravian is ninth in scoring at 14.8 points per contest. The Hounds are fourth in the conference in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 30:33 per game. Defensively, Moravian is eighth in the conference in yards per game, allowing 450.8, and the Blue and Grey are ninth in points allowed at 37.5 per outing. Individually, sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins is fifth in the conference at 197.3 yards per game, tied for eighth in touchdown passes with four and fourth in pass efficiency with a 138.7 rating. Sophomore quarterback Carter Hallgren is eighth in passing efficiency with an 88.9 rating, and he tied for ninth with three touchdown passes and ninth in yards per game at 65.5. Junior running back Nate Boyle is third in the Centennial Conference at 106.4 rushing yards per contest, and he leads the conference in rushing attempts with 119 while junior wide receiver Tim Garlick ranks seventh in the conference at 61.0 yards per game and third in receptions per contest at 5.4. Sophomore punter/kicker Sam Bingaman is fourth in the Centennial Conference at 38.4 yards per punt, and he is sixth in kick scoring with 23 points while being sixth with four made field goals. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is tied for third in the conference with 9.0 tackles per game while sophomore defensive back Chad Newhard is 20th at 6.6 tackles per contest and graduate student defensive back Romello Walters is tied for 22nd at 6.0 tackles per outing. Junior linebacker Colin Conway is tied for second in the conference with five pass break-ups while junior defensive back Zach Scillia is tied for sixth with a pair of interceptions.
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Sophomore kicker Sam Bingaman is tied for 46th in field goals per game at 0.80 and 43rd in punting with an average of 38.4 yards per punt. Junior running back Nate Boyle is 29th in rushing yards with 532, 27th in rushing yards per game with an average of 106.4 yards per outing and 50th in all-purpose yards per contest at 126.8. Junior wide receiver Tim Garlick is 77th in receptions per game at 5.4. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is 66th with an average of 9.0 tackles per game while junior Zach Scillia is tied for 71st in interceptions per game at 0.4 and graduate student Romello Walters is tied for 61st in fumbles recovered with one.
BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 85 players on the Moravian roster, 34 are freshmen, 24 are sophomores and 15 are juniors. There are nine seniors and three fifth-year players on this season's squad, and the Greyhounds return 39 letterwinners and five starters from 2021.