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Hounds Fall to Wilkes on Senior Day to End 2023 Campaign

The 2023 Moravian football seniors with their families on Senior Day at Rocco Calvo Field prior to playing Wilkes University. Photo by Ryan Fleming
The 2023 Moravian football seniors with their families on Senior Day at Rocco Calvo Field prior to playing Wilkes University. Photo by Ryan Fleming

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad fell to visiting Wilkes University, 41-6, in Landmark Conference action on Rocco Calvo Field as the Greyhounds closed out the 2023 campaign with Senior Day.

How It Happened

  • The Hounds had the opening possession of the game and drive down to the Wilkes' 38-yard line before junior quarterback Jared Jenkins was intercepted in the end zone
  • The Colonels punted on their next possession while the Blue & Grey closed in on the red zone before Jenkins was sacked and stripped of the ball to give Wilkes possession
  • The Colonels converted the turnover into points with a six-play, 72-yard drive capped off with a 44-yard touchdown pass. Moravian sophomore defensive lineman Nathan Carr blocked the extra-point to keep the score at 6-0 with 2:41 left in the first quarter
  • Moravian's next drive was just one play as Jenkins was intercepted, and Wilkes returned the ball 29 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 advantage with 2:27 on the clock in the opening stanza
  • The Greyhounds moved into Wilkes' territory again before turning the ball over on downs
  • The Colonels needed just five plays to cover the 71 yards to the end zone with Wilkes scoring on a 37-yard run to make it 20-0 with 11:18 until the intermission
  • The next three possessions ended in punts with two by the Hounds. Wilkes scored again on a nine-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-0 with 1:30 before halftime
  • Moravian needed just six plays to get into the end zone as Jenkins hit senior Brad Bryan with a 46-yard touchdown pass. The Blue & Grey went for two points but missed to set the score at 27-6 as the teams headed to the locker room
  • Wilkes had possession to start the second half, and the Colonels drove 69 yards in nine plays to extend their lead to 34-6 on a 10-yard touchdown pass
  • Wilkes finished off the scoring just two and a half minutes later when the Colonels intercepted Jenkins again and returned the ball 52 yards for a touchdown to make it 41-6 with 8:12 to go in the third quarter
  • Neither squad threatened to score again in the contest

Inside the Numbers

  • The Hounds completed the game with 337 yards on 73 plays while controlling the clock for 32:24 of the contest
  • Jenkins was 19-for-32 for 176 yards with a touchdown, but he was intercepted three times and fumble once on a sack. He finished the season with 2,737 yards, the third-best season in program history, and Jenkins set single season school records with 244 completions, 381 attempts and 26 touchdowns
  • Senior running back Nate Boyle ran for 149 yards on 25 carries, and he had three receptions for 26 yards in his final career game. The 149 yards was the second-best rushing day of Boyle's career, and he finished with 2,317 career yards, seventh in program history, on 558 rushing attempts, sixth all-time, in 28 games. Boyle's 897 yards in 2023 are tied for ninth in program history for a single season, and his 82.8 yard per game average is the third best in school history
  • Bryan caught six passes for 85 yards and his touchdown to finish his career with 1,089 yards and 11 touchdowns on 78 career receptions while senior wide receiver Tim Garlick added six receptions for 47 yards to finish his career with 891 yards and 95 receptions. Junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis had two catches for 17 yards while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero made two catches for 11 yards. Junior wide receiver Bryan Monge had one reception for eight yards while freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro added a catch for seven yards
  • Tinajero also returned five kickoffs for 81 yards while Coffaro had two kickoff returns for 48 yards. Junior wide receiver Will Castel returned a pair of punts for 13 yards
  • Senior punter/defensive back Colin Conway punted four times for an average of 35.0 yards with a long of 50 yards and two inside the 20-yard line, and he also had a pair of tackles
  • Sophomore linebacker Clay Basile led the Moravian defense with 11 tackles including a tackle for loss while senior linebacker Chris Ortalano, sophomore defensive back Shea Endean and freshman defensive back Aidan Lane all had five tackles with Endean making a tackle for loss and Lane adding an interception
  • Junior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan had four tackles while sophomore linebacker Damere Rooker added three tackles with a half a tackle for loss. Junior linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa, sophomore linebacker Cael Markle and sophomore linebacker Ethan O'Neill all had three stops
  • Prior to the start of the game, the Greyhounds honored their ten seniors – running back Nate Boyle, wide receiver Brad Bryan, defensive back Ben Carlin, defensive back/punter Colin Conway, offensive lineman Riley Craft, tight end Sean Foley, wide receiver Tim Garlick, wide receiver Brandon Grace, linebacker Chris Ortalano and defensive back Zach Scillia 

Up Next for the Greyhounds

  • Season Complete