COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. --- Junior quarterback Chris Curran completed 15-of-29 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ursinus College football team to a 24-7 victory over visiting Moravian College Saturday at Patterson Field.
The Bears, now 3-2 overall and 2-2 in Centennial Conference action, would receive the opening kickoff of the game. Ursinus moved down the field before the drive stalled at the Moravian 20-yard line. Freshman Eric Boyer came in to attempt a 37-yard field goal with 10:12 remaining that was wide left; however, the Greyhounds were offsides giving Ursinus a first down at the Moravian 15-yard line. Three plays later, junior running back Bryan Ellis scored on a three-yard touchdown run to cap the 12-play, 76-yard drive. Boyer would make the extra-point for a 7-0 Ursinus lead with 8:55 left in the first quarter.
Moravian, which fell to 2-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference play, would move near midfield on its opening drive with freshman wide receiver Jimmy McCarthy on a 13-yard run out of a wildcat formation as McCarthy lined up as a quarterback. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Lahue would then connect on first down passes for senior wide receiver Albie Moran and McCarthy to move inside the Ursinus 33-yard line. Lahue was sacked, and it would force the Greyhounds to punt.
The Bears needed just five plays to cover 80 yards and extend their lead on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Curran to sophomore wide receiver Darius Jones. Boyer's second extra-point of the game pushed the Ursinus lead to 14-0 with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
Moravian picked up two first downs on its second possession of the game before punting a minute into the second quarter. The Greyhounds' defense would get a stop on the Bears' next drive as Ursinus would punt after just three plays. Both teams would also punt on their next possessions after three-and-out series.
Senior Tyler Thompson came in for his fourth punt of the game and would get off a season long 60-yard punt to pin Ursinus back at its own nine-yard line. After Moravian's defense held, Ursinus senior Derek Giannetti came into punt inside his own ten-yard line. The snap bounced to Giannetti, who punted it off of the turf, which is a penalty. Moravian would get the ball on the Bears' four-yard line, and McCarthy would run in a four-yard touchdown on another wildcat formation. Thompson's extra-point cut the Ursinus lead to 14-7 with 4:16 left in the first half.
The Bears moved into field goal range after the kickoff with Boyer coming in to connect on a 42-yard field goal, pushing the Ursinus lead to 17-7 with just 1:19 left in the second quarter. Ursinus would come up with a pair of sacks to force Thompson to punt from his own end zone. Boyer came on to attempt a 43-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the half, and the kick ended up wide right to keep the halftime score at 17-7 Ursinus.
Moravian started the second half with the ball and picked up two first downs before having to punt the ball away. The Greyhounds' defense would hold Ursinus without a first down on the Bears' first possession of the second half. Moravian's next drive would go backwards with a penalty and a sack before Thompson punted for the seventh time in the game.
Ursinus would get back on the scoreboard on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Curran to sophomore wide receiver Josh Williams to cap a five-play, 49-yard drive. Boyer's extra-point pushed the Bears' lead to 24-7 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
The Greyhounds picked up a first down on their next possession before punting again. Ursinus would take the ball and drive down to the Moravian 24-yard line. The Bears went for a short fourth down, and Curran was sacked by senior linebackers Luke Trexler and Tyler Potterton to give the ball back to the Moravian offense.
On the last play of the third quarter, Lahue found McCarthy with a completion to move the ball near midfield. However, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Ursinus senior defensive back Chris Roundtree intercepted Lahue at the Ursinus 25-yard line.
The Bears would get just one first down before punting the ball back to Moravian. The Greyhounds would do the same with 10:17 left in the game. The teams would continue to trade punts throughout the fourth quarter before the Bears ran out the clock.
Ursinus ran 73 plays for 366 yards while controlling the ball for 37:43 of the game. Ellis ran for 136 yards on 33 carries to go with his touchdown while Williams added six receptions for 112 yards.
Moravian ran 49 plays for 95 yards in the game. Lahue completed 13-of-28 passes for 86 yards with an interception. McCarthy led the Greyhounds with 32 yards and a touchdown on four carries, and he caught three passes for 32 yards. Moran added four receptions for 24 while senior running back Joe Tegan had 19 yards on 11 attempts to go with two receptions for 11 yards. Thompson would punt ten times in the game, the third time in his career that he has been called on ten times, and Thompson's 368 yards are the most punting yards in a game in school history.
Trexler led the Moravian defense with nine tackles including one and a half tackles for loss and a half a sack while sophomore linebackers Richard Kugel and Kevin Bracken, freshman linebacker Brendan Downey and senior defensive back Travis King each had six stops for the Greyhounds. Bracken added a sack in the game while Downey had a tackle for loss.
Senior defensive back Scott Gardus led the Ursinus defense with six tackles while sophomore defensive back Matt Glowacki had five stops.
With the first half of the season complete, Moravian has its bye next week and the Greyhounds will not return to action until Saturday, October 13th when the squad hosts Susquehanna University in its annual homecoming game at Rocco Calvo Field starting at 1:00 p.m.
