Greyhounds Drop 2024 Season Opener to No. 21 Muhlenberg

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad dropped a 33-7 decision to rival No. 21 Muhlenberg College Saturday at Rocco Calvo FIeld as the squads faced off in the 2024 season opener as part of the Sodexo Crosstown Clash.

How It Happened

• The Greyhounds had the opening possession of the game, and both squads punted on their first drive
• Moravian's second possession began inside the Mules' 10-yard line. Senior quarterback Jared Jenkins found graduate student Jordan Bingham for a first down on the opening play of the drive. Eleven plays later, Jenkins finished the 92-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Diego Del Castillo. Freshman kicker Ryan Child made the extra-point as the Blue & Grey took a 7-0 lead with 4:38 to play in the first quarter
• Muhlenberg answered with a nine-play, 80-yard drive to find the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown pass. However, the Mules missed the extra-point as the Hounds remained ahead 7-6 with just over a minute left in the opening period
• The Greyhounds next possession ended in a punt with freshman Jack Corrigan booting a 71-yard punt on his second career kick
• Muhlenberg began at Moravian 20-yard line after the touchback and used 16 plays and took over six and a half minutes off the clock before scoring on a two-yard touchdown run. The Mules fumbled the snap on the extra-point attempt and the two-point attempt run failed after the loose ball, setting the score at 12-7 Muhlenberg with 6:44 until the intermission
• The Mules recovered an onside kick, but the possession ended with a punt. Jenkins was intercepted on Moravian's drive before Muhlenberg ran out the clock to head to the intermission leading 12-7
• The Mules opened the second half with a 100-yard kickoff return to stretch the advantage to 19-7
• The Blue & Grey punted on their first possession of the half
• Muhlenberg countered with a nine-play; 77-yard drive that finished with a 1-yard touchdown pass to extend the edge to 26-7
• The Greyhounds looked as if they were going to cut into the deficit with a 15-play drive into the red zone; however, Moravian failed on three straight plays at the one-yard line to turn the ball over on downs
• The Mules needed one play; a 99-yard touchdown pass to make the advantage 33-7 with 1:42 left in the third quarter
• Early in the fourth quarter Moravian moved into the red zone before turning the ball over on downs
• Del Castillo was selected by the media in attendance as the Hounds' Sean Keville '94 Most Valuable Player of the Game

Inside the Numbers

• The Greyhounds 252 yards of total offense with Jenkins going 16-for-26 for 180 yards and a touchdown, and he added 11 yards on eight carries
• Graduate student running back Joey Richmond led Moravian with 37 yards on six carries while junior running back Isiah Rico added nine yards on nine attempts to go with one catch for 20 yards
• Freshman quarterback Declan McCarthy completed 1-of-2 passes for 12 yards, and ran for eight yards on two rushing attempts
• Bingham caught five passes for 46 yards while Del Castillo had three receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown
• Senior wide receiver Bryan Monge had three catches for 23 yards while sophomore wide receiver Nick Coffaro added three receptions for 12 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Avery Koser had a catch for 19 yards while freshman running back Jacob Sutton caught one pass for eight yards
• Freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow returned five kickoffs for 117 yards while senior wide receiver Will Castel returned a punt for two yards
• Corrigan punted four times for an average of 48.2 yards with a long of 71 yards
• Junior linebacker Clay Basile led the Moravian defense with 11 tackles while sophomore defensive back Aidan Lane added 10 stops with one tackle for loss
• Sophomore defensive back Antonio Bowen contributed seven tackles and an interception while senior defensive back Isaiah Johnson, freshman linebacker Malachi McNeil-Harrison and senior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan all made five stops with Johnson adding a pass break-up
• Junior defensive back Dorian Gray, senior linebacker Chad Newhard, junior defensive lineman Nathan Carr and junior defensive back Shea Endean each recorded four tackles with Gray breaking up a pass and Carr making a tackle for loss
• Senior linebacker Chris Cacace and junior linebacker Ethan O'Neill both recorded three tackles with Cacace breaking up a pass 

Sodexo Crosstown Clash Gear

• Purchase your gear (t-shirts, long sleeve shirts and hoodies) from the Sodexo Crosstown Clash at https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/eLyYaFXmXa. The store closes on September 16 

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Saturday, September 14 vs. Utica (N.Y.) University, 1:00 p.m.
• Saturday, September 21 at Hobart (N.Y.) College, 12:00 p.m.