November 9, 2024
Hounds Roll Past Lycoming on Senior Day to Clinch Winning Season & Berth in Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad rolled out to a 21-3 first half lead on the way to a 34-23 victory over visiting Lycoming College in Landmark Conference action on Senior Day at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday. The Greyhounds clinched their first winning season since 2015 and are guaranteed to finish in the top three in the Landmark Conference standings to earn a berth to the 2024 Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series on Saturday, November 23 in Salem, Virginia versus a team from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Lycoming College
4-5
23
Moravian University
6-3
34
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 23 |
|
|
7 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Lycoming College
Pa:
Jay Huber
- 284
Ru:
Terrence Oliver
- 53
Rec:
Terrence Oliver
- 105
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Lycoming College | Moravian University |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 284 | 253 |
| Rushing Yards | 25 | 167 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of Poss. | 24:22 | 35:38 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad rolled out to a 21-3 first half lead on the way to a 34-23 victory over visiting Lycoming College in Landmark Conference action on Senior Day at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday. The Greyhounds clinched their first winning season since 2015 and are guaranteed to finish in the top three in the Landmark Conference standings to earn a berth to the 2024 Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series on Saturday, November 23 in Salem, Virginia versus a team from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
How It Happened
- The Hounds received the opening kickoff and drove 60 yards in 12 plays to get on the scoreboard first as senior quarterback Jared Jenkins found junior running back Isiah Rico with a nine-yard touchdown pass. Two plays prior to the score, Jenkins ran for ten yards on a fourth-and-7 play to keep the drive alive. Freshman Jack Corrigan connected on the extra-point to put the Blue & Grey up 7-0 with 9:20 left in the first quarter
- The Warriors punted on their opening possession after picking up one first down while Corrigan connected on a 62-yard punt when Moravian's next drive stalled
- The Greyhounds forced Lycoming to punt again after one first down, and the Blue & Grey took over at their own 45-yard line
- The Hounds faced a fourth-and-10 at the Lycoming 29-yard line when Jenkins hit graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham with a 29-yard touchdown pass to finish off the nine-play, 55-yard drive. Corrigan split the uprights again to make it 14-0 with 11:24 to go in the second quarter
- The squads traded punts before the Warriors got onto the scoreboard with a 29-yard field goal with 5:46 left before the intermission
- Moravian countered with a quick six-play, 67-yard drive as graduate student Joey Richmond found the end zone on a four-yard touchdown run, and Corrigan followed with the extra-point to make it 21-3 with 2:36 until the break
- Lycoming moved into position to try a pass into the end zone on the final play of the half; however, the Hounds' defense knocked the ball away
- The Warriors opened the second half with the ball but would punt after gaining one first down
- Moravian would also punt on its first possession in the third quarter before Lycoming scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 21-10
- The Greyhounds countered right away was Richmond scored on a seven-yard run to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive. Corrigan's extra-point hit the right upright after a high snap to set the score at 27-10 with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter
- The Blue & Grey got the ball right back as sophomore defensive back Aidan Lane forced a fumble that senior defensive back Isaiah Johnson covered. However, the Hounds were unable to convert the turnover into points
- The teams each punted on their next drives while Moravian would get the ball back when junior defensive back Dorian Gray forced a fumble on a sack that senior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan covered
- Moravian needed five plays to get into the end zone as Jenkins connected with sophomore wide receiver Avery Koser on a three-yard touchdown pass. Corrigan added the extra-point for a 34-10 advantage with 8:58 remaining in the contest
- The Warriors answered back with a 26-yard touchdown pass, but Lycoming missed the two-point conversion to set the score at 34-16 with 7:10 to play
- The Blue & Grey punted on their next possession, and the Warriors turned a short screen pass into an 80-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-23 with 5:01 remaining
- Moravian punted one more time before Lycoming turned the ball over on downs
- The Hounds would pick up two first downs before running out the clock to end the contest
- Before the game, Moravian honored its 17 departing seniors and graduate students – defensive lineman Drew Bailey, wide receiver Jordan Bingham, wide receiver Will Castel, offensive lineman Paul DeFalco, linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa, offensive lineman Brandon Guffy, quarterback Carter Hallgren, offensive lineman Dalton Kucher, quarterback Jared Jenkins, defensive back Isaiah Johnson, offensive lineman Reins Leedy, defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan, wide receiver Bryan Monge, linebacker Chad Newhard, defensive lineman Prince Sokpo, running back Joey Richmond and wide receiver Nick Weston
Inside the Numbers
- The Greyhounds offense picked up 420 yards on 81 plays while controlling the clock for 38 minutes. The Blue & Grey had 253 yards in the air and 167 on the ground
- Jenkins completed 22-of-32 passes for 224 yards to go with three touchdowns as he tied his own single season record with 26 touchdown passes this fall and extended his career touchdown record to 57. Jenkins also had 19 yards on nine carries while Hallgren completed 3-of-6 passes for 29 yards
- Bingham caught nine passes for 121 yards and a score to become the 12th player in program history to 1,500 career receiving yards, now with 1,521 yards on 134 receptions to go with 17 touchdown catches
- Koser pulled in three receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown while Richmond had three catches for 19 yards to go with 40 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries
- Rico added three attempts for 18 yards and three receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown while senior wide receiver Diego Del Castillo has two catches for 29 yards
- Freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow added two receptions for 14 yards and three punt returns for 15 yards while sophomore wide receiver Nick Coffaro had one catch for 12 yards and both Monge and Weston added one reception for seven yards
- Freshman running back Jed Bendekovits led the Moravian rushing attack with 78 yards on ten carries while junior running back Camron Tinajero added five carries for 14 yards and freshman quarterback Declan McCarthy had five rushing attempts
- Freshman running back Jacob Sutton returned two kickoffs for 38 yards
- Corrigan punted six times for an average of 40.8 yards with his fourth 60-yard punt of the season, and he also kicked off six times for an average of 44.8 yards
- Lane led the Moravian defense with six tackles including one and a half for loss, a forced fumble and a pass break-up while McGuigan added four tackles with two and a half sacks, two and a half for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass break-up
- Junior linebacker Clay Basile, junior linebacker Chris Cacace and graduate student linebacker Declan Coors all had four stops with Cacace adding a half a tackle for loss and a half a sack, Coors registering one tackle for loss and Basile making a half a tackle for loos
- Johnson finished with three tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass break-up while Newhard, freshman defensive lineman Hunter Johnson, sophomore linebacker Ethan O'Neill, junior linebacker Jashon Teller and junior defensive lineman EJ Havey all had three stops. Newhard added a half a sack and a half a tackle for loss while Hunter Johnson had one and a half tackles for loss and Harvey posted one tackle for loss and a pass break-up
- Gray finished with two tackles including a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble
- Moravian improved to 6-3 on the year and 4-1 in the Landmark Conference, assuring the program of its first winning season since 2015 when the Greyhounds were 8-3 and played in the inaugural Centennial Conference/Middle Atlantic Conference Bowl Series
- The Hounds have clinched their first postseason berth since 2015 as they will finish in the top three in the Landmark Conference to play in the Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference on Saturday, November 23 in Salem, Virginia. Next Saturday's game at Wilkes University will determine which of the two teams has the higher seed and game times in the bowl series
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, November 16 at Wilkes University, 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, November 23 vs. to be determined in the Chesapeake Challenge Bowl Series in Salem, Virginia, TBA
