Moravian Heads to Lycoming for Final Road Game of 2023 on November 4

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team makes its first trip to Lycoming College since 2005 for the first Landmark Conference game between the squads on Saturday, November 4. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. at David Person Field at Girardi Stadium in Williamsport in the Greyhounds' final road game of 2023. 

THE COACHES: Jeff Long (Muhlenberg '14) is in his first season as Moravian's head coach with a 4-4 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.
     Lycoming coach Mike Clark (Lycoming '93) is in his 16th year with the Warriors with an 83-68 record.

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 21st in the series and first game since 2006 with Lycoming leading the series 13-7. The Greyhounds won the last meeting between the programs with a 22-3 victory at Rocco Calvo Field on October 28, 2006 while the Warriors won the last game in Williamsport with a 17-13 triumph on October 29, 2005.

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.

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 Warriors were picked fourth.

QUARTERBACKS: Junior Jared Jenkins has completed 200-of-305 passes for 2,210 yards to go with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. Jenkins has been sacked 16 times, and he has gained 135 yards and scored a touchdown on 61 rushing attempts. Jenkins is also 6-for-12 on two-point conversion passes and has run for a two-point conversion. Junior Carter Hallgren is 1-for-4 this fall while senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway is 1-of-2 for 18 yards and an interception.

THE BACKFIELD: Senior running back Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 674 yards and seven touchdowns on 166 carries, and he has run for a pair of two-point conversions, caught a two-point conversion and thrown for a two-point conversion. Sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has 39 carries for 166 yards and a touchdown while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has run for 21 yards on four 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 earned the starting left guard spot while freshman Eli Thompson is starting 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 starting each game since. Craft also played at Juniata College. Freshman Hezakyah Hynson started at The Catholic University of America and also saw action against the Eagles. 

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 12 different players catch a pass in 2023 led by senior Jordan Bingham, who has grabbed 61 passes for 753 yards and nine touchdowns in his first season at Moravian after transferring from Valparaiso University. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan has 41 receptions for 538 yards and seven touchdowns while senior wide receiver Tim Garlick has 29 catches for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis has caught 22 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, and he has thrown a two-point conversion while junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has added 17 receptions for 121 yards. Sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has 11 catches for 54 yards while senior running back Nate Boyle has caught 11 passes for 168 yards. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro has caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has grabbed three passes for 12 yards. Junior wide receiver Nick Weston has one reception for 11 yards. while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has one catch for five yards and a score and freshman linebacker Jackson Lake. Bingham has four two-point conversion catches including one on a pass from Boyle to win the game versus The Apprentice School 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 35 tackles with three sacks, three and a half tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick while sophomore defensive tackle Nathan Carr has made 25 stops with a sack, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive end Drew Bailey has contributed 19 tackles with two for loss and a sack while sophomore defensive end EJ Harvey has 18 tackles with two and a half sacks, two and a half tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Junior defensive tackle Prince Sokpo has recorded eight stops while freshman defensive end EJ Boney has made four tackles while freshman defensive lineman Logan Arteaga has added three stops. 

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Sophomore Clay Basile leads linebackers and the team with 61 tackles to go with four and a half tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery while senior Chris Ortalano has contributed 55 tackles, two and a half tackles for loss, a sack and a trio of pass breakups. Sophomore Ethan O'Neill has added 35 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 Damere Rooker has 15 tackles with a sack and one and a half tackles for loss while sophomore Jashon Teller has made 14 stops and added two pass breakups and two and a half tackles for loss. Junior Jeremiah Espinosa has recorded 12 tackles with one for loss, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery while sophomore Josh Ruela has contributed seven tackles. Sophomore Cael Markle has six stops while freshman Cavin King has posted five tackles. Freshman Pasquale Festa has three stops while junior Chad Newhard has recorded two tackles.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety Isaiah Johnson leads the Moravian defensive backs with 40 tackles and six pass breakups while senior safety Colin Conway has added 29 tackles to go with three pass breakups. Senior safety Zach Scillia has 18 stops, an interception and two passes defended while sophomore cornerback Shea Endean has contributed 18 tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions including an 82-yard touchdown return versus Keystone College and five passes defended. Sophomore cornerback Matt Capobianco has 13 tackles, and interception and five passes defended while freshman cornerback Elijah Fajardo has made 13 tackles, a half a tackle for loss and three pass breakups. Freshman defensive back Aidan Lane has 13 stops and an interception while freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has four tackles and a fumble recovery. 

KICKING GAME: Senior defensive back Colin Conway has punted 33 times for an average of 39.3 yards per punt with three fair caught, 13 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 10-for-11 on extra-points this fall while sophomore wide receiver Sean Murphy has attempted on PAT this season. Freshman quarterback Avery Koser has kicked off 22 times for an average of 55.5 yards and three touchbacks while 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. 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 Nick Coffaro has returned 13 kickoffs for 236 yards with a long of 50 yards, and he has also made a pair of tackles on special teams and returned two punts. Senior Jordan Bingham has added three kickoff returns for 63 yards and a special teams tackle while sophomore Camron Tinajero has three kickoff returns for 31 yards. Freshman Avery Koser has a pair of kickoff returns for 22 yards while freshman Anderson Louis Jeune has returned two kickoffs for nine yards. Junior Bryan Monge has one kickoff return for 18 yards. Freshman Jackson Lake has returned one kickoff for 28 yards while sophomore running back Parker Miller has one kickoff return for eight yards and five special teams tackles. Koser and freshman Mike Willis each have four tackles on special teams while junior wide receiver Nick Weston has three tackles. Junior wide receiver Will Castel has 10 punt returns for 81 yards. 

MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have six players closing in on milestones for his career. Senior running back Nate Boyle became the 12th player in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards when he reached the milestone at Juniata College, and Boyle has 2,094 yards on 511 career carries to sit in 11th all-time in yards and sixth in rushing attempts. Boyle has 18 career touchdowns (17 rushing, one receiving) to sit in a tie for ninth in touchdown scoring, and he is 10th all-time with 126 points including two-point conversions and extra points. Boyle needs 10 yards to move into tenth and 84 yards to jump to 8th all-time in career rushing. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins has become the 16th Greyhound to reach 2,000 career passing yards with 2,802 yards on 241-of-378 to go with 28 career touchdown passes. Jenkins needs 198 yards to become the 10th quarterback in program history to throw for 3,000 yards, and he needs just one touchdown pass this season to break the single season mark of 23. Senior wide receivers Brad Bryan and Tim Garlick are both closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards with Bryan needing 114 yards and Garlick needing 191 yards. Senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is closing in on pair of single season records, needing just three touchdowns to break the school record of 11 and five receptions to pass the program record of 65. 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 LYCOMING: The Warriors are 3-5 overall and 3-1 in Landmark Conference action after a 56-10 win over Juniata College last Saturday. Junior quarterback Will Fish leads Lycoming on the field having completed 116-of-247 passes for 1,526 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. His top targets have been senior wide receiver Brandon Timothy, who has 37 catches for 481 yards and four touchdowns, sophomore wide receiver Dawson Debebe, who has 23 receptions for 422 yards and four touchdowns, junior wide receiver Billy Coppock, who has caught 27 passes for 355 yards and four scores, and freshman wide receiver Ross Eyer, who has 18 receptions for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Terrence Oliver leads the Warriors' rushing attack with 521 yards and five touchdowns on 94 carries while freshman running back Quasim Benson has 392 yards and five scores on 69 attempts. Senior kicker/punter Ian Plankenborn is 27-for-29 on extra-points, 6-of-8 on field goals with a long of 39 yards, averaging 58.4 yards per kickoff with six touchbacks and averaging 35.9 yards per punt on 47 kicks with a long of 51 yards, 16 fair caught and nine inside the 20-yard line. Sophomore defensive back Tyler Marshall has returned 23 kickoffs for an average of 22.1 yards while senior defense back Austin Rowley has 11 punt returns for an average of 7.6 yards. Junior defensive lineman Jake Welch leads the Lycoming defense with 42 tackles to go with three and a half tackles for loss, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble while senior linebacker Kevin Gianoni has made 41 tackles with eight and a half tackles for loss, two sacks, three pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. Sophomore linebacker Joey Rivituso also has 41 stops with two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup while sophomore defensive back Jordan Rhinehart has added 37 tackles to go with a half a tackle for loss, seven passes defended, two interceptions and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive back Ryan Pentz has contributed 34 tackles with four and a half for loss, five passes defended, two interceptions, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: The schools have not met since October 28, 2006, when the Greyhounds posted a 22-3 win at Rocco Calvo Field in Bethlehem. Running back Tyler McCambridge ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, and he also threw a four-yard touchdown pass for Moravian. Kicker Brian Reckenbeil added two extra points while the Greyhounds' other two points came on a safety. Tight end Kris Bisci caught two passes for 13 yards and a touchdown including a four-yard scoring pass from McCambridge as the Greyhounds completed just 3-of-6 passes in the contest. Moravian rushed for over 200 yards on the afternoon. Jayson Williams led the Hounds' defense with nine tackles, a sack and a forced fumble while Kevin McGorry had eight tackles with two for loss.

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 second in the Landmark Conference in total offense at 405.0 yards per game, and the Hounds are second in passing offense at 278.3 yards per contest and third in rushing offense at 126.8 yards per outing. The Blue & Grey are second the Landmark Conference in time of possession at 32:59 per outing, and the squad is second in scoring offense at 29.0 points per game and first downs per outing at 23.0. Moravian is fourth in total defense at 416.8 yards per game. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins is first in the Landmark Conference in passing yards per game at 276.3, and he is second in passing efficiency with a 145.4 rating and first in total offense at 293.1 yards per game. Senior running back Nate Boyle is second in the conference in rushing yards at 84.3 yards per outing and he is four in the Landmark in scoring at 7.5 points per contest and eighth in total offense at 84.3 yards per outing while senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham leads the conference in receiving yards at 94.1 yards per contest, and he is third in scoring at 7.8 points per game. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan ranks fourth in the conference in receiving yards at 67.3 per contest and he is sixth in scoring at 5.8 points per game. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro is sixth in the Landmark Conference in kickoff return average at 18.2 yards per return on 13 returns while junior Will Castel is second in punt return average at 8.1 yards a return on 10 returns. Senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway is second in conference in punting with an average of 39.3 yards per punt. Sophomore linebacker Clay Basile is sixth in the Landmark at 7.6 tackles per game while senior linebacker Chris Ortalano is ninth in tackles at 6.9 per outing. Junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson is tied for 16th at 6.3 tackles per contest, and he is sixth in the conference in passes defended at 0.86 per game. Sophomore defensive backs Shea Endean and Matt Capobianco are tied for tenth with 0.63 passes defended a game with Endean tied for fourth in interceptions per outing at 0.25. Sophomore defensive lineman EJ Harvey is tied for sixth in sacks per game at 0.42 while junior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan is tied for eighth at 0.38 sacks per outing.

THE NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds rank 19th in time of possession at 33:00 per game, 30th in net punting at 35.59 yards per punt, 35th in fourth down defense at 33.3 percent (4-of-12), 39th in completion percentage at 65.0 percent (202-of-311), 39th on passing offense at 278.2 yards per game and 39th in first downs with 184. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins ranks 17th in passing yards with 2,210, 19th in points responsible per game at 19.8, 20th in total points responsible for at 158, 20th in passing yards per game at 276.2, 20th in passing touchdowns with 23, 30th in total offense at 293.1 yards per game, 32th in completions per game at 25.0, 39th in completion percentage a 65.6 percent (200-of-305) and 63rd in passing efficiency with a 145.4 rating. Senior punter Colin Conway is 28th with an average of 39.3 yards per punt while senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is 9th in receptions per game at 7.6, 28th in receiving yards with 753, 31st in receiving yards per game at 94.1, 38th in receiving touchdowns with nine, 77th in scoring at 7.8 points per contest and tied for 89th in total touchdowns with nine. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan is tied for 67th in touchdown receptions with 7 while senior running back Nate Boyle is 59th in rushing yards with 674, 60th in rushing yards per game at 84.2, 85th in rushing touchdowns with 7 and 89th in scoring at 7.5 points per game. Junior wide receiver Will Castel is 52nd in punt return average at 8.1 yards a return.