Posted: Oct 26, 2024
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to turn a one-point halftime lead into a 35-13 Landmark Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Rocco Calvo Field as the Greyhounds celebrated Homecoming and remained undefeated in conference action.
How It Happened
- The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff and needed just 16 seconds to take the lead as graduate student running back Joey Richmond took a handoff up the middle, broke several tackles and cut back into the open field as he raced 65 yards for a touchdown. Freshman Jack Corrigan split the uprights for the first of five extra-points on the day to make it 7-0 for the Blue & Grey with 14:44 on the clock
- The next four possessions ended with punts including the Eagles pinning Moravian at its own one-yard line and Corrigan returning the favor with a 62-yard punt
- Juniata put together a 16-play, 99-yard drive spanning the late first and early second quarters to knot the score at 7-7 on a two-yard touchdown run
- The Blue & Grey answered with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that saw senior quarterback Jared Jenkins find graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham with a 19-yard touchdown pass to put the Hounds back in front, 14-7, with 6:41 left in the first half
- The next three drives ended with punts before Moravian looked to score late in the quarter. However, Jenkins was intercepted, and the Eagles converted the turnover into a touchdown on the final play of the half with a 35-yard pass. A penalty after the score pushed Juniata's extra-point attempt to a 35-yard kick that sailed wide right and sent the teams to the locker room with Hounds winning 14-13
- The Eagles had the ball to begin the second half but punted after three plays. Moravian freshman defensive lineman Hunter Johnson blocked the punt to give the Blue & Grey the ball in the red zone
- The Greyhounds needed three plays to extend the lead when Jenkins connected with freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow on a four-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-13 with 12:11 left in the third quarter
- After forcing the Eagles to punt, Moravian was driving again when Jenkins was intercepted again
- However, the Hounds' defense forced Juniata to punt again
- Jenkins drove into the red zone to start the fourth quarter before turning the ball over on downs
- Moravian's defense stepped again to force the Eagles turn the ball over on downs as well
- The Blue & Grey found the end zone on the next possession as Jenkins tossed a short pass to senior wide receiver Diego Del Castillo, who broke a tackle and raced 55 yards to the end zone to make it 28-13 with 7:57 to play
- Corrigan hit a high and short kickoff into the wind that hit the turf and was recovered by graduate student linebacker Declan Coors for the Greyhounds. Moravian needed three plays to find the end zone again as Jenkins tossed a 27-yard scoring pass to Bingham with 6:23 remaining to finish the scoring
Inside the Numbers
- The Greyhounds 480 yards of offense on 68 plays while controlling the ball for just over 32 minutes
- Jenkins connected on 20-of-27 passes for 257 yards with four touchdowns and a pair of interceptions, and he ran for 43 yards on six carries. Jenkins became the sixth player in school history to surpass 5,000 yards passing in a career, and he is fifth with 5,195 yards. Jenkins now has 18 touchdown passes this fall to give him 49 career touchdowns to tie Sean Keville's school record
- Bingham caught eight passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Del Castillo had three receptions for 71 yards and a score. Ludlow added three catches for 20 yards and a score while senior wide receiver Will Castel had one reception for 35 yards and senior Bryan Monge added one catch for nine yards
- Richmond had his first career 100-yard game with 133 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries to go with a catch for 11 yards while junior running back Isiah Ricco added 26 yards on five rushing attempts and four yards on one reception
- Freshman running back Jed Bendekovits had 13 yards on four carries to go with one receptions for four yards while junior running back Camron Tinajero had three rushes for four yards and one catch for a yard. Sophomore running back Cole Maholtz added five yards on three carries
- In addition to his five extra points, Corrigan punted three times for an average of 48.0 yards with a long of 62 yards, his fifth punt of longer than 60 yards this season. Corrigan kicked off five times for an average of 58.0 yards and one touchback
- Junior linebacker Ethan O'Neill led the Moravian defense with ten tackles including three for loss and a sack while sophomore defensive back Aidan Lane had nine stops
- Junior defensive lineman Nathan Carr recorded seven tackles with one for loss and a sack while Johnson had four tackles to go with his blocked punt
- Graduate student defensive lineman Ian Brunner had four tackles with one for loss while sophomore defensive back Cleveland Harding, senior linebacker Chad Newhard and freshman linebacker Malachi McNeil-Harrison all had four tackles with Newhard and McNeil-Harrison both adding a pass break-up
- Senior defensive back Isaiah Johnson added three stops with one for loss
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, November 2 at Susquehanna University, 1:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 9 vs. Lycoming College, 12:00 p.m. – Senior Day