BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team travels to Ursinus College for a Centennial Conference contest on Saturday, October 22. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Patterson Field in Collegeville.
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 280 games for Moravian since 1994 with a 132-148-1 record.
Ursinus coach Pete Gallagher (West Virginia Wesleyan '96) is in his 22nd year with the Bears.
THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 24th in the series with overall series tied at 11-11-1. The Bears posted a 34-7 win in Bethlehem last fall and, and Ursinus recorded a 35-28 victory in 2019 in Bethlehem and a 21-14 triumph in Collegeville in 2018. The Greyhounds last victory in the series was a 33-32 win in Collegeville in 2016. Moravian snapped a four-game winning streak by Ursinus with a 31-3 victory in Bethlehem in 2015. The Bears lead the series, 9-5, since Moravian joined the Centennial Conference in 2007.
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. Ursinus was fourth 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 wide receiver Tim Garlick, sophomore wide receiver Jordan Lewis and freshman defensive lineman Drew Bailey serving as captains for this weekend's game at Ursinus 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 before an injury. Sophomore Carter Hallgren is 47-for-90 for 372 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions after making starts against No. 9 Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Juniata College to garner his first career victory. Senior Nick Reardon is 2-for-3 for 68 yards and a touchdown while freshman Sean Murphy is 2-for-4 for 13 yards.
THE BACKFIELD: Junior Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 627 yards and five touchdowns on 147 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 11 different players catch a pass this year led by junior wide receiver Tim Garlick has 30 catches for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Brad Bryan has 24 catches for 327 yards with a long of 77 yards and two touchdowns in his first year at the position while sophomore wide receiver Jordan Lewis has 15 receptions for 165 yards and two scores. Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Grace has seven receptions for 33 yards while junior running back Nate Boyle has caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. 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 sophomore wide receiver Will Castel has one catch for seven yards. Junior tight end Sean Foley has one catch for four yards, and senior running back Angelo Macera also has one reception. Bryan and Garlick both have seven yards rushing this fall as well.
DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior Javi Espinal-Katz leads the Moravian defensive front with 17 tackles, two tackle for loss and one and a half a sacks while senior Jack Gawlik has 17 tackles with four and a half tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass break-up after missing the season opener. Freshman Drew Bailey has contributed 15 tackles with a half a quarterback sack and tackle for loss while sophomore Jeremy McGuigan has 13 stops with two tackles for loss, a quarterback sack, two quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Sophomore Prince Sokpo has added 12 tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass break-up 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 53 tackles, two and a half tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry while freshman Clay Basile has 22 tackles, a half a tackle for loss and a pass break-up. Junior Chris Ortalano has contributed 22 tackles with a half a tackle for loss while junior Colin Conway has added 21 stops with a tackle for loss, five pass break-ups and a forced fumble. Sophomore Jeremiah Espinosa has 14 tackles with one tackle for loss and a pass break-up. 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 41 tackles with two tackles for loss and a pass break-up. Graduate student Romello Walters has contributed 37 tackles including a half a tackle for loss to go along with four pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery while sophomore Isaiah Johnson has 19 stops, four passes defended and an interception. Junior Zach Scillia has 15 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two interceptions including a 47-yard return versus Gettysburg College this season while graduate student Jalen Richardson has 15 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 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 12-for-13 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 five times for an average of 54.6 yards. Senior Trevor Yacuboski has kicked off 20 times for an average of 49.0 yards with one touchback, and he has punted eight times with an average of 41.8 yards, a long of 64 yards, one touchback, one fair caught, one blocked and four 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 12-of-13 on extra-points for 24 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 five times with an average of 56.1 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: Graduate student defensive back Jalen Richardson has seven kickoff returns for 126 yards while sophomore wide receiver Will Castel has returned six kickoffs for 71 yards. Freshman wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has returned four kickoffs for 54 yards while junior wide receiver Brad Bryan has two kickoff returns for 35 yards. Castel has six punt returns for 32 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 when he reached the milestone versus Juniata College, and Boyle has 1,232 yards on 277 career carries to sit in 21st all-time. Boyle needs 268 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 URSINUS COLLEGE: The Bears enter the game at 4-2 overall and 3-2 in Centennial Conference action after defeating McDaniel College, 56-17, last Friday night. Senior Jack Psenicska leads Ursinus on the field having completed 120-of-216 passes for 1,519 yards to go with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he has also run for 53 yards and a touchdown on 27 rushing attempts. Psenicska's top targets have been senior wide receiver Kevin DePrince, who has 20 catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns, senior wideout Dallas Evans, who has 17 receptions for 215 yards and three touchdowns, senior wide receiver Octavious Carter, who has 16 catches for 225 yards and a touchdown, sophomore wideout Justin Collier, who has 16 receptions for 221 yards and four scores, senior wide receiver Zachary Throne, who has 14 catches for 275 yards and three touchdowns and senior wideout Nick Schnaars, who has caught 14 passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore running back Tony Holden leads the Bears' rushing attack with 494 yards and four touchdowns on 90 carries while junior running back Dawson Fresses has 215 yards and two scores on 61 attempts. Sophomore quarterback Jalen Bradford has run nine times for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and he has also completed 4-of-5 passes for 48 yards. Schnaars has returned 20 kickoffs for 488 yards while DePrince has five punt returns for 44 yards. Junior defensive back Ryan DiVergilis has returned two punts for three yards, and he also leads Ursinus with two interceptions. Junior kicker Dakota Wherrity is 24-for-25 on extra-points and 6-for-7 on field goals with a long of 34 yards, and he has kicked off 37 times for an average of 59.6 yards with four touchbacks. Junior Billy Cook has punted 25 times with an average of 39.4 yards per punt, a long of 53 yards, one touchback, one blocked and 13 inside the 20-yard line. Senior linebacker Brent Gross leads the Ursinus defense with 51 tackles including two and a half tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery. Sophomore linebacker Connor Carter has made 34 tackles with two and a half for loss, a pass break-up and a forced fumble while DiVergilis has 33 tackles with two and a half for loss, a fumble recovery and seven passes defended to go with his two interceptions. Junior defensive lineman Ryan Bodolus has 32 stops, and he leads the Bears with eight tackles for loss and four and a half sacks to go with a pass break-up, a quarterback hurry and two forced fumbles.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem in last fall, Moravian fell to visiting Ursinus, 34-7, in Centennial Conference action at Rocco Calvo Field. The Greyhounds had the opening possession of the game and would get to the one-yard line on an 80-yard pass from quarterback Christopher Mills to wide receiver Nick Petros; however, the Greyhounds were unable to score and turned the ball over on downs. The game's next six possessions ended in punts. The Bears would get onto the scoreboard with 4:04 remaining on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Jack Psenicska to Zachary Throne. Moravian fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Ursinus would get back into the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run by Sam Ragland with 1:34 before the intermission. The Greyhounds were unable to cleanly field the kickoff again leading to Dakota Wherrity kicking a 24-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to give the Bears a 17-0 halftime advantage. Ursinus also had the first possession of the third quarter and extended its lead to 20-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Wherrity. Moravian moved into Ursinus territory on its first drive of the second half but would end up turning the ball over on downs. The Bears took over and scored again on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Psenicska to Octavious Carter. After a pair of punts, Ursinus scored its final points of the game on a 16-yard touchdown run from Joshua Bowman. The Greyhounds eventually got on the scoreboard with 7:08 to play when Mills found running back Angelo Macera with a 14-yard touchdown catch and run as Macera dove just inside the left pylon for the score. Trevor Yacuboski added the extra point for the final points of the game. Ursinus had a 389 to 217 advantage in total yards, and the Bears had the ball for 35:27 of the contest. Mills completed 15-of-25 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown while Petros caught eight passes for 149 yards to become the Moravian career record holder in receptions with 160. The 80-yard completion in the first quarter marked the second time the duo of Mills and Petros on a play of 80 yards. Wide receiver Tim Garlick grabbed two receptions for 12 yards while tight end Ethan Deater had two catches for nine yards. Running back Carrington Smith rushed for a team high 35 yards on 10 carries to go with one reception for two yards while Macera had seven yards on six carries to go with his touchdown catch. Defensive lineman Javi Espinal-Katz paced Moravian with 11 tackles including a half a tackle for loss and a pass break-up while linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa had ten tackles. Linebackers Romello Walters and Nicholas Azpeitia each made nine tackles with Azpeitia adding a sack while defensive back Chad Newhard contributed eight tackles with one and a half for loss and a sack. Defensive back Justin McRae recorded five tackles while defensive backs Jackson Buskirk and Connor Lyon both had five tackles.
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 eighth in the Centennial Conference in total offense at 308.0 yards per game, and Moravian is sixth in scoring at 19.5 points per contest. The Hounds are fifth in the conference in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 30:46 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 Carter Hallgren is eighth in passing efficiency with an 86.8 rating, and he tied for tenth with three touchdown passes and ninth in yards per game at 74.4. Junior running back Nate Boyle is second in the Centennial Conference at 104.5 rushing yards per contest, and he leads the conference in rushing attempts with 147 while junior wide receiver Brad Bryan is seventh in the conference at 54.5 yards per game and tied for fourth at 4.0 receptions per outing and junior wide receiver Tim Garlick is tie for ninth in the conference at 51.7 yards per game and third in receptions per contest at 5.0. Sophomore punter/kicker Sam Bingaman is fourth in the Centennial Conference at 38.4 yards per punt, and he is seventh in kick scoring with 24 points while being tied for sixth with four made field goals. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is tied for second in the conference with 8.8 tackles per game while sophomore defensive back Chad Newhard is tied for 13th at 6.8 tackles per contest and graduate student defensive back Romello Walters is tied for 20th at 6.0 tackles per outing and tied for eighth in pass break-ups with four. 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 seventh with a pair of interceptions.
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Sophomore kicker Sam Bingaman is tied for 63rd in field goals per game at 0.67 and 43rd in punting with an average of 38.4 yards per punt. Junior running back Nate Boyle is 30th in rushing yards with 627, 29th in rushing yards per game with an average of 104.5 yards per outing and 71st in all-purpose yards per contest at 121.5. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is tied for 71st with an average of 8.8 tackles per game.
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.
