Moravian Rallies in Second Half to Knock Off Utica

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team trailed 13-0 at halftime before rallying for an 18-13 non-conference victory over visiting Utica (N.Y.) University at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday that saw the Hounds' defense make an interception in the end zone on the final play of the game. 

How It Happened

• The Hounds received the opening kickoff and picked up one first down before punting
• The Pioneers had a pair of first downs on their first possession before punting as well
• Moravian moved from its own 12-yard line to inside the Utica 30-yard line before junior running back Isiah Rico was stripped of the ball, and Utica returned the fumble 76 yards for a touchdown. The Pioneers added the extra-point for a 7-0 lead with 5:41 left in the first quarter
• The Greyhounds answered with a 15-play, 64-yard drive into the red zone. However, the Blue & Grey failed to score on four plays inside the ten-yard line, turning the ball over on downs
• Both squads punted on their next possession
• Moravian earned its first defensive turnover of the game in the squad quarter as graduate student defensive lineman Ian Brunner forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive back Antonio Bowen
• The Hounds looked to turn the miscue into points, moving into the red zone one again before turning the ball over on downs after being stopped short on a fourth-and-two play
• The Pioneers were forced to punt, but a muff on the return gave the ball back to Utica, which found the end zone again with just nine seconds left in the half. The extra-point attempt was blocked by Brunner as blocked the kick to send the teams to the intermission with Utica holding a 13-0 advantage
• The second half began with three punts, two by the Pioneers and one from the Greyhounds
• Moravian's second possession of the second half saw the Blue & Grey find the end zone for the first time in the contest. Senior quarterback Jared Jenkins connected with senior wide receiver Diego Del Castillo on a 47-yard catch and run. The extra point from freshman Ryan Child hit the upright to set the score at 13-6 with 7:10 left in the third quarter
• The Pioneers were forced to punt again; however, Utica got the ball right back as they recovered a fumble on Moravian's first play
• Utica was forced to attempt a 37-yard field goal attempt that senior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan blocked to keep the score at 13-6
• The Blue & Grey punted late in the third quarter before the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs early in the fourth quarter
• Moravian turned the defensive stop into points as junior running back Camron Tinajero finished off a seven-play, 67-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run one play after he scampered for 22 yards. The extra-point was wide left as Utica held a 13-12 lead with 10:07 remaining
• The Hounds' defense forced Utica to punt for the seventh time in the game
• The Greyhounds drove 80-yards to the end zone on the ensuing drive keyed by a 38-yard pass from Jenkins to Del Castillo to get into Pioneers' territory. Jenkins finished off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass on a swing play to graduate student Joey Richmond. Moravian went for two and missed as the Blue & Grey took an 18-13 lead with 1:09 remaining
• Utica had one more shot and reached the 10-yard line. After a pair of incomplete passes, Moravian freshman linebacker Malachi McNeil-Harrison intercepted the final pass of the game in the end zone as time expired to seal the Greyhounds' first win of the season

Inside the Numbers

• The Greyhounds had 418 yards of total offensive including 110 on the ground and 308 in the air, and Moravian held the ball for 31:31 of the game and had a 24-17 advantage in first downs
• Jenkins completed 26-of-37 passes for 308 yards with two touchdowns while Del Castillo caught six passes for 113 yards and a score
• Graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham pulled in 10 passes for 86 yards while sophomore wide receiver Avery Koser had two catches for 39 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Nick Coffaro also had two receptions for 15 yards while sophomore tight end Jackson Lake added two catches for 14 yards
• Senior wide receiver Bryan Monge had one reception for 18 yards while Richmond had his touchdown catch of 15 yards to go with five carries for nine yards. Freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow caught one pass for five yards while sophomore wide receiver Ryan Frinzi added one catch for three yards
• Rico led Moravian's rushing attack with 50 yards on 12 carries while freshman quarterback Declan McCarthy added 40 yards on five attempts and Tinajero had 23 yards and a touchdown on two carries
• Ludlow returned one kickoff for 15 yards while freshman wide receiver Jacob Sutton added a kickoff return for 29 yards. Senior wide receiver Will Castel had a pair of punt returns for four yards
• Freshman Jack Corrigan punted five times for an average of 40.8 yards with a long of 65 yards, and he also kicked off three times for an average of 54.0 yards with one touchback
• Senior linebacker Chad Newhard led the Moravian defense with 12 tackles including one for loss while McNeil-Harrison had eight stops with three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass break-up to go with his interception. McNeil-Harrison's three sacks are the first time since 2018 that a Greyhound player had three sacks in a game
• Junior linebackers Jashon Teller and Ethan O'Neill both made six tackles while senior linebacker Clay Basile added three stops with two for loss
• Sophomore defensive back Aidan Lane also contributed three tackles to go with a pair of pass break-ups while senior linebacker Chris Cacace and McGuigan both had three stops with McGuigan adding a pass break-up to go with his blocked kick
• Junior defensive back Shea Endean added three pass break-ups to go with two tackles while Brunner had a forced fumble and a blocked kick with two tackles 

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Saturday, September 21 at Hobart (N.Y.) College, 1:00 p.m.
• Saturday, September 28 at SUNY Morrisville, 12:00 p.m.