September 1, 2023
Greyhounds Drop 2023 Season Opener at Muhlenberg
ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team dropped a 52-13 decision at rival Muhlenberg College Friday evening at Scotty Wood Stadium as the squad faced off for the first time in 16 years as non-conference opponents.
Moravian University
0-1
12
Muhlenberg College
1-0
53
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
|
|
7 | 16 | 23 | 7 | 53 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Muhlenberg College
Pa:
Joe Repetti
- 280
Ru:
Ian Csicsek
- 86
Rec:
James Nye
- 117
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Moravian University | Muhlenberg College |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 259 | 284 |
| Rushing Yards | 45 | 212 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of Poss. | 35:12 | 24:48 |
ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team dropped a 52-13 decision at rival Muhlenberg College Friday evening at Scotty Wood Stadium as the squad faced off for the first time in 16 years as non-conference opponents.
How It Happened
- The Hounds had the first possession of the game, and Moravian moved into the red zone before turning the ball over on downs
- The Mules scored on a 58-yard touchdown pass on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter
- The teams traded punts on the next two possessions, and Muhlenherg took possession early in the second quarter with an interception. The Mules capitalized on the turnover with a 19-yard touchdown pass to and extend the lead to 14-0 with 13:41 left in the second quarter
- The squads traded punts again before Moravian took over on its own two-yard line. The Greyhounds put together a 14-play, 98-yard drive for the first points of the season on a 21-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jared Jenkins to senior wide receiver Brad Bryan. Moravian, which converted one fourth down conversion on the drive, had its extra-point attempt from sophomore Sean Murphy blocked and Muhlenberg returned the block for a defensive two-point play to set the score at 16-6 with five minutes left in the second quarter
- The Mules added another touchdown on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 3:07 before the intermission to take a 23-6 into the locker room
- Muhlenberg scored 16 points in the first five and a half minutes of the third on a four-yard touchdown pass, a safety after a bad snap on the Moravian punt attempt rolled out of the end zone, and a 24-yard touchdown run to make the advantage 39-6 with 9:33 still to play in the third quarter
- The Mules found the end zone again on a 23-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 46-9 with 4:07 to go in the third stanza
- Moravian found the end zone again with 1:30 left in the third quarter as senior running back Nate Boyle scored on a five-yard run to make it 46-12 as the Hounds' two-point conversion attempt failed
- Muhlenberg finished off the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run with 9:35 remaining in the contest
Inside the Numbers
- The Greyhounds had 304 yards of total offense on 304 plays including 259 passing yards. Moravian also had the ball for 35:12 in the contest
- Jenkins, who was named Moravian's Sean Keville MVP after the contest, completed 18-of-37 passes for 259 yards with a touchdown and an interception
- Boyle finished with 52 yards on 19 rushing attempts to go with his touchdown and caught two passes for 38 yards, and Boyle is now 28 yards from reaching 1,500 yards in his career
- Freshman running back LJ Cooper added 14 yards on six attempts while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero rushed for seven yards on five carries and caught one pass for three yards. Freshman Mike Willis had two yards on his first two career attempts
- Bryan caught three passes for 80 yards and his touchdown while senior Tim Garlick had a team-high four receptions for 38 yards. Junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis added three catches for 45 yards while senior wideout Jordan Bingham grabbed three receptions for 40 yards. Junior wide receiver Bryan Monge had two catches for 15 yards
- Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro returned three kickoffs for 79 yards with a long of 50 yards
- Senior defensive Colin Conway led Moravian's defense with seven tackles, and he also punted five times for an average of 35.8 yards per punt and a long of 52 yards
- Sophomore linebacker Clay Basile contributed six tackles while senior linebacker Chris Ortalano and sophomore defensive lineman EJ Harvey both had five tackles with Ortalano breaking up two passes
- Junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson made four stops while senior defensive back Zach Scillia and sophomore defensive back Matt Capobianco both had three tackles
- For just the second time in the series, the Greyhounds and the Mules played in the month of September. The last time was also a Friday night game back on September 25, 1942. With Moravian leaving its associate membership in the Centennial Conference for the Landmark Conference this year, the game will likely remain as the season opener
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, September 9 at Utica (N.Y.) University, 1:00 p.m.
- Saturday, September 16 vs. The Apprentice School, 1:00 p.m.
