Football Falls to Dickinson
September 28, 2013

Football Falls to Dickinson

CARLISLE, Pa. --- The Moravian College football team was tied 7-7 with the Red Devils of Dickinson College midway through the first quarter before Dickinson scored 24 unanswered points before the end of the third quarter to earn a 31-7 Centennial Conference win Saturday at Biddle Field.

Box Score

CARLISLE, Pa. --- The Moravian College football team was tied 7-7 with the Red Devils of Dickinson College midway through the first quarter before Dickinson scored 24 unanswered points before the end of the third quarter to earn a 31-7 Centennial Conference win Saturday at Biddle Field.

"We were equal across the board lining up, we weren't over matched and we weren't overpowered," said Head Coach Jeff Pukszyn. "The game came down to their discipline to execute and their effort per play. That is where it started and ended today."

The Red Devils drove 70 yards after the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead on an 11-yard run by sophomore running back Shawn Wilson.

Moravian needed just three plays and 1:06 of the clock to drive the same distance and tie the game. On a third-and-2 play, senior quarterback Robbie Moyer completed a shot pass to sophomore wide receiver Jimmy McCarthy. McCarthy broke a tackle and picked up a block before racing down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown, the longest pass of the season for the Greyhounds. Sophomore David Fiumara added the extra-point to tie the game with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter.

"The offense started well, and we battled back right away," Pukszyn said. "Dickinson ended up controlling us on their offensive side of the ball when they had possession, and we weren't able to get turnovers. When you're equally matched, you've got to take care of the football and we didn't do that today."

Dickinson missed a chance to retake the lead on its next possession when junior Adam Kaminski's 41-yard field goal attempt was wide right. The squads then traded punts for four possessions.

Early in the second quarter, Moravian looked like it would take its first lead of the season when freshman running back Larry Spann weaved his way through the Dickinson defense for a 64-yard run to the 1-yard line, but a holding penalty on the Greyhounds negated the run. Two plays later, Dickinson sophomore defensive back Jack Margavitch intercepted a Moyer pass that bounced off the hands of Greyhound sophomore wide receiver Will McLaughlin and into the air where Margavitch grabbed the ball. Six plays after that, the Red Devils took the lead on a touchdown pass by junior quarterback Cole Ahnell.

Dickinson wouldn't take long to extend the lead when sophomore Anders Overhaug blocked a punt by Fiumara, and sophomore Mark Manganaro scooped up the ball and ran 18 yards for the score to put the Red Devils in front, 21-7 with 6:48 left in the first half.

"It was a momentum changer, special teams always are," Pukszyn said. "Taking seven points off the board on the penalty the previous drive also stalled the momentum the offense was building."

The Greyhounds would keep Dickinson from adding to its lead late in the second quarter when sophomore defensive back Anthony Orlando hit Overhaug at the Moravian 7-yard line and forced a fumble. Senior defensive back Rees Judge grabbed the ball out of midair and ran it back 16 yards.

Moravian was unable to capitalize on the turnover when Moyer was intercepted by Manganaro on a deep pass attempt to McLaughlin late in the half.

The Red Devils scored on their first two possessions of the second half with Wilson scoring on a 41-yard run and Kaminski adding a 38-yard field goal with 1:03 left in the third quarter to finish the scoring.

The Greyhounds best chance to put points on the board in the second half came midway through the fourth quarter when Moravian drove into the red zone. However, sophomore quarterback Corey Clemons was intercepted at the 15-yard line to end the drive.

Moravian racked up 326 yards of offense on 60 plays in the game, the third straight contest with more than 300 yards of offense, something that hasn't happened for the Greyhounds since five straight games during the 2010 season. However, Moravian turned the ball over six times in the game and was unable to convert the yardage into points. Moyer completed 9-of-15 passes for 110 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and he ran for 35 yards on ten carries while Clemons was 9-for-17 for 92 yards but was intercepted four times in the second half.

Freshman running back Chris Negron led the Moravian rushing attack with 47 yards on 12 carries while Spann added 24 yards on four attempts and McCarthy ran for 18 yards on a pair of carries. McCarthy also caught five passes for 94 yards to go with his long touchdown reception while freshman wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio added seven catches for 67 yards. McLaughlin also caught two passes for 22 yards while Spann pulled in one reception for 16 yards.

"I think Jalen had an outstanding game," Pukszyn said. "You can see why he is successful on Saturdays because how he works during the week. We have to get more guys to play up to his level and do those things."

Ahnell completed 12-of-21 passes for 189 yards to lead Dickinson, and he added 50 yards on 15 carries. Wilson ran for 230 yards and two scores on 24 attempts while senior tight end Todd Smolinsky had four catches for 81 yards and a score.

Sophomore linebacker Brendan Downey led the Greyhounds' defense with 15 tackles including two for loss and a sack while freshman defensive lineman John Snyder added eight tackles with one for loss. Junior defensive back Ricky Sinnig had seven tackles for Moravian while Orlando and junior linebacker Kevin Bracken each made five stops with Bracken adding a pass break-up.

Sophomore defensive back Jake Myers and senior linebacker Michael Miller each had six tackles for the Red Devils.

Moravian will finish off the first half of its season next Saturday, October 5 when the Greyhounds host Ursinus College for Homecoming at Rocco Calvo Field. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.