BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football heads out on the road for the first time in four weeks with a Landmark Conference game at The Catholic University of America on Saturday, October 7. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium in Washington, D.C.
THE COACHES: Jeff Long (Muhlenberg '14) is in his first season as Moravian's head coach with a 2-3 record, and he is just the fifth head coach for the Hounds' program since 1955 when Rocco Calvo began his legendary career guiding the Greyhounds. The Blue and Grey have played 830 games over 96 seasons, and Long is the 13th coach since the program resumed action in 1930 after a 25-year break. Moravian's first football game was played in 1898. Long has spent the last six seasons with the Blue Streaks including the last three years as defensive coordinator. He began his time at John Carroll as the defensive line coach and has also been a secondary coach and linebackers coach. Prior to coaching at John Carroll, Long spent two seasons as a defensive line coach at Wilkes University, and he also worked as a scouting intern for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.
Catholic coach Mike Gutelius (Catholic '92) is in his sixth year as head coach with a record of 22-34.
THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the first contest between the schools.
LANDMARK CONFERENCE HONORS: Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins and freshman quarterback/kicker Avery Koser were selected as the Landmark Conference Football Offensive and Special Teams Athletes of the Week for their performance last week in the Greyhounds' 58-34 win over Keystone College in the first-ever Landmark Conference contest. Jenkins completed 27-for-40 passes for 294 yards to go with four touchdowns in the victory with scoring strikes of 4, 39, 12 and 5 yards. He added seven carries for 53 yards including a four-yard touchdown run, and Jenkins tossed three two-point conversions in the game to total 36 points in the afternoon. His 27 completions marked the third time Jenkins has completed that many passes in a single game in just eight career contests. Koser kicked off for the first time this season for Moravian, averaging 56.2 yards on eight kickoffs on Saturday. Koser also caught a five-yard touchdown pass for the Hounds' final score of the game, and he made three tackles on special teams.
GREYHOUNDS IN THE LANDMARK CONFERENCE: After 15 seasons as an associate member of the Centennial Conference, the Greyhounds are moving to the Landmark Conference this fall with all of Moravian's other sports with the Landmark Conference hosting its inaugural season in 2023 after adding Lycoming College and Wilkes University as full members and Keystone College as an associate member. The Hounds were selected fifth in the preseason coaches poll while the Cardinals were picked third
BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 75 players on the Moravian roster, 23 are freshmen, 23 are sophomores and 18 are juniors. There are 11 seniors on this season's squad, and the Greyhounds return 47 letterwinners and 14 starters from 2022.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Junior Jared Jenkins has completed 119-of-182 passes for 1,354 yards to go with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. Jenkins has been sacked eight times. Junior Carter Hallgren has attempted two passes this fall.
THE BACKFIELD: Senior running back Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 352 yards and five touchdowns on 98 carries. Sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has 25 carries for 103 yards while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has run for 18 yards on three attempts. Freshman running back Mike Willis has 17 yards on five attempts and freshman running back LJ Cooper has gained 14 yards on six attempts.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has three returning starters in juniors left tackle Reins Leedy, center Brandon Guffy and right guard Paul DeFalco. Junior Dalton Kucher has earned the starting left guard spot while freshman Eli Thompson will start at right tackle. The Hounds' line averages 6-2, 277, and the quintet has allowed just four sacks this season. Senior Riley Craft and freshman Mason Ludlow saw action on the line in the game at Utica with Ludlow also starting against The Apprentice School, SUNY Morrisville and Keystone College and Thompson recovers from an injury.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 11 different players catch a pass in 2023 led by senior Jordan Bingham, who has grabbed 35 passes for 392 yards and five touchdowns in his first season at Moravian after transferring from Valparaiso University. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan has 21 receptions for 362 yards and four touchdowns while junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has added 15 receptions for 106 yards. Junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis has caught 13 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown. while senior wide receiver Tim Garlick has 13 catches for 99 yards. Senior running back Nate Boyle has caught nine passes for 101 yards while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has eight catches for 39 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has grabbed two passes for 14 yards while junior wide receiver Nick Weston has one reception for 11 yards. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro has caught one pass for 39 yards and a touchdown while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has one catch for five yards and a score. Bingham has one two-point conversion catch on a pass from Boyle to win the game versus Apprentice in the final 20 seconds. Bryan, Garlick and Boyle have also caught two-point conversion passes.
DEFENSIVE FRONT: Junior nose guard Jeremy McGuigan leads the Moravian defensive lineman with 19 tackles with two sacks, two and a half tackles for loss and a blocked kick while sophomore defensive tackle Nathan Carr has also made 16 stops with a half a tackle for loss. Sophomore defensive end Drew Bailey has contributed 11 tackles with two for loss while sophomore defensive end EJ Harvey has 10 tackles with two and a half sacks and two and a half tackles for loss. Freshman defensive lineman Logan Arteaga and junior defensive tackle Prince Sokpo both have three tackles while freshman defensive end EJ Boney has made two stops.
THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Sophomore Clay Basile leads linebackers and the team with 36 tackles to go with four tackles for loss, two and a half sacks and two pass breakups while senior Chris Ortalano has contributed 31 tackles, two and a half tackles for loss, a sack and a pair of pass breakups. Sophomore Ethan O'Neill has added 26 stops, with a sack, two tackles for loss, an interception, two passes defended and a fumble recovery while freshman Jackson Lake has 17 tackles and a pass breakup. Sophomore Jashon Teller has made 12 stops and added a pass break-up and two and a half tackles for loss while sophomore Damere Rooker has 10 tackles with a sack and one and a half tackles for loss. Sophomore Josh Ruela has contributed seven tackles while junior Jeremiah Espinosa has recorded seven tackles with one for loss. Sophomore Cael Markle has six stops while freshman Cavin King has posted four tackles.
THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety Isaiah Johnson leads the Moravian defensive backs with 21 tackles and four pass breakups while senior safety Zach Scillia has 18 stops, an interception and two passes defended. Senior safety Colin Conway has added 17 tackles to go with three pass breakup while sophomore cornerback Shea Endean has contributed 10 tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions including an 82-yard touchdown return versus Keystone College and five passes defended. Sophomore cornerback Matt Capobianco has six tackles and four pass breakups while freshman cornerback Elijah Fajardo has made six tackles and one pass breakup and freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has a trio of tackles and a fumble recovery.
KICKING GAME: Senior defensive back Colin Conway has punted 25 times for an average of 40.6yards per punt with three fair caught, 11 inside the 20-yard line and a long of 59 yards while junior quarterback Jared Jenkins has punted once for 22 yards. Senior running back Nate Boyle is 6-for-7 on extra-points this fall while sophomore wide receiver Sean Murphy has attempted on PAT this season. Freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has kicked off 11 times for an average of 48.5 yards, and he missed an extra-point attempt while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has kicked off eight times for an average of 56.2 yards. Freshman linebacker Jackson Lake has kicked off three times for an average of 44.0 yards while Boyle has one kickoff for 39 yards and Jenkins has a free kick for 35 yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro has returned eight kickoffs for 167 yards with a long of 50 yards, and he has also made a pair of tackles on special teams and returned two punts. Senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham has added three kickoff returns for 63 yards and a special teams tackle while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has three kickoff returns for 31 yards. Freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has returned two kickoffs for nine yards while junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has one kickoff return for 18 yards and sophomore running back Parker Miller has one kickoff return for eight yards and three special teams tackles. Freshman quarterback Avery Koser and freshman running back Mike Willis each have three tackles on special teams while junior wide receiver Nick Weston has one tackle. Junior wide receiver Will Castel has five punt returns for 38 yards.
MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have five players closing in on milestones for his career. Senior 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 1,772 yards on 443 career carries to sit in 13th all-time in yards and ninth in rushing attempts. Boyle has 16 career touchdowns (15 rushing, one receiving) to sit in a tie for 12th in touchdown scoring, and he is 16th all-time with 106 points including two-point conversions and extra points. Boyle needs 228 yards to become the 12th Greyhound to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins has reached 1,000 career passing yards with 1,946 yards on 160-of-255 to go with 17 career touchdown passes. Jenkins needs just 54 yards to become the 16th quarterback in program history to throw for 2,000 yards. Senior wide receivers Brad Bryan and Tim Garlick are both closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards with Bryan needing 290 yards and Garlick needing 319 yards. Senior punter/defensive back Colin Conway set the school record for punt average in a single game with three or more punt attempts when he averaged 53.3 yards per punt on three kicks in the Hounds' game with SUNY Morrisville.
SCOUTING THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA: The Cardinals are 2-3 on the season after a 50-21 loss at No. 12 Susquehanna University last Saturday. Catholic is led on the field by senior quarterback Madden Lowe, who has completed 155-of-218 passes for 1,333 passes with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he has run for a touchdown. Lowe's top targets have been sophomore wide receiver Andrew Tabor, who has 39 catches for 259 yards, senior wide receiver Preston Jeffrey, who has 34 receptions for 470 yards and six touchdowns, freshman tight end Hole Henry, who has 16 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns, junior wide receiver Anthony Giordano, who has 12 receptions for 131 yards, and junior wide receiver John Maynes, who has 11 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Zach Williams lead the Cardinals' rushing attack with 263 yards on 59 carries while junior Coby Oxendine has 69 yards on 14 attempts. Tabor has returned four punts for 21 yards while sophomore wide receiver Blake Morgan has nine kickoff returns for 160 yards and freshman defensive back Ramonte Haigler has returned five kickoffs for 78 yards. Senior kicker Connor Gill is 13-for-14 on extra-points and 3-for-5 on field goals with a long of 38 yards. He is also averaged 37.3 yards on 23 punts with seven fair caught, two inside the 20-yard line and a long of 54 yards. Gill is averaging 56.0 yards on 23 kickoffs with four touchbacks. Sophomore linebacker Michael Hopkins leads the Catholic defense with 43 tackles with a tackle for loss and an interception while junior linebacker Carson Henry has 39 tackles with 10 for loss, two tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Senior linebacker Luke Brautigan has recorded 36 tackles, four and a tackles for loss, a sack and three pass breakups while junior defensive back Mason Stillwell has 26 tackles with one and a half for loss, an interception and a pair of passes defended.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Moravian and Catholic have not met on the gridiron before.
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 LANDMARK CONFERENCE STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds rank third in the Landmark Conference in total offense at 345.0 yards per game after four weeks, and the Hounds are second in passing offense at 265.0 yards per contest. The Blue & Grey are second the Landmark Conference in time of possession at 31:51 per outing. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins is second in the Landmark Conference in passing yards per game at 265.0, and he is third in passing efficiency with a 140.5 rating. Senior running back Nate Boyle is fifth in the conference in rushing yards at 61.3 per outing and he is third in the Landmark in scoring at 7.0 points per contest while senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is fourth in receiving yards at 72.3 per outing, and he is fourth in scoring at 6.5 points per game. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan ranks third in the conference in receiving yards at 79.0 per contest while junior wide receiver Bryan Monge is ninth at 35.3 yards per game and junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis ranks tenth at 34.5 yards per outing. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro is fourth in the Landmark Conference in kickoff return average at 21.8 yards per return on three attempts. Senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway leads the conference in punting with an average of 41.5 yards per punt. Sophomore linebacker Clay Basile is tied for sixth in the Landmark at 7.0 tackles per game. Sophomore defensive lineman EJ Harvey is tied for the conference lead in sacks with 0.83 per contest while junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson and sophomore defensive backs Shea Endean and Matt Capobianco are all tied for second with 1.00 passes defended a game.
