Five Hounds Named to 2016 Centennial All-Conference Teams
LANCASTER, Pa. --- The Moravian College football team has had five players selected to the 2016 Centennial All-Conference Teams with seniors linebacker Edward Delia, running back Chris Negron and defensive lineman John Snyder earning spots on the First Team and junior wide receiver Aaron Hudson and senior defensive back Noah Miller named to the Second Team.
LANCASTER, Pa. --- The Moravian College football team has had five players selected to the 2016 Centennial All-Conference Teams with seniors linebacker Edward Delia, running back Chris Negron and defensive lineman John Snyder earning spots on the First Team and junior wide receiver Aaron Hudson and senior defensive back Noah Miller named to the Second Team.
Senior wide receiver Jalen Snyder-Scipio was honored on the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team for football.
The group helped the Greyhounds to a 5-5 record this season with a 4-5 mark in the Centennial Conference regular season. Moravian's offense set a school record with 4,811 yards of total offense for the year including a program-best 3,041 yards through the air. The Blue and Grey had a pair of games this season in which the squad had over 660 yards of offense, and the squad picked up 269 first downs while scoring 309 points for the season.
Delia led the Greyhounds and the conference in tackles this fall with 124, which is tied for the tenth most in a single season at Moravian. Delia added 65 solo stops (tied for the seventh most in a single season in school history), seven and a half tackles for loss, a half a sack, three interceptions which he returned for 25 yards, a total of eight passes defended, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles in his first year as a starter. Delia played just two seasons on defense and finished his career with 144 tackles, eight and a half tackles for loss and a pair of blocked kicks to go with his three interceptions, eight passes defended, two forced fumbles and fumble recovery.
"I am very proud of Ed," stated Head Football Coach Jeff Pukszyn. "He made the transition from running back to linebacker last year and developed himself into one of the best linebackers in the conference in a short time. Ed left everything out on the field in every game."
Negron made the Centennial All-Conference First Team after three years on the Second Team. He registered his third 1,000-yard season this fall, just the second running back in Moravian history with three 1,000 yards seasons, as he gained 1,020 yards on 208 carries to go with eight touchdowns, and Negron also caught 26 passes for 174 yards and another score. Negron completed his career with school records of 4,355 rushing yards, 855 rushing attempts, 39 rushing touchdowns, 5,136 all-purpose yards, 43 total touchdowns and 258 points while playing in all 41 games of his career.
"Chris has been one of our leaders since his freshmen year," noted Pukszyn. "His work ethic and attitude day in and day out was outstanding. I have always said that Chris's accomplishments were due to his off season commitment. His selection as a First Team running back is well deserving."
Snyder received a spot on the Centennial All-Conference First Team after three seasons as an Honorable Mention selection. This fall, Snyder had 54 tackles including 36 solo stops, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception, four passes defended and a pair of blocked kicks. In 36 career games, Snyder posted 168 tackles with 92 of them solo, 27 and a half tackles for loss which ranks fourth in school history, 10 sacks which is ninth all-time at Moravian, one interception, 10 passes defended, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three blocked kicks.
"John has arguably been the most dominate interior defensive lineman in the Centennial Conference over the past four years," Pukszyn said. "His First Team recognition is well deserved. His leadership and 5 Star Heart attitude will help our younger players in our program."
Hudson earned his first postseason accolade after breaking the school record with 65 receptions this season as he picked up 781 yards, the fifth best season in school history, and scored seven touchdowns. Hudson has caught 86 passes in his career, 12th in program history for 1,022 yards as he became the 19th player in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. Hudson has eight touchdowns in his career and has also returned 36 kickoffs for 568 yards including 16 returns for 200 yards in 2016.
"Aaron's play got better each and every week," Pukszyn explained. "He was a high school running back would made the transition to wide receiver when he arrived on campus. Having said that, he has really come into his own now, and we're excited to have him back next year."
Miller switched from cornerback to safety this season and received postseason honors for the first time in his career. This fall, Miller made 58 tackles with 29 solo stops to go with two and a half tackles for loss, two interceptions, seven passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. While playing in all 41 games of his career, Miller posted 191 tackles with 123 of them solo stops to go along with five tackles for loss, six interceptions, 26 passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
"Noah has stared all but one game in his career," commented Pukszyn. "He excelled at a high level this year at the safety position, which was a switch from the previous three years playing cornerback. He was our leader in the secondary and it showed on the field."
Snyder-Scipio, who was on the All-Conference Second Team last fall, caught 27 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns this fall despite missing four games due to an injury. Snyder-Scipio completed his career as Moravian's school-record holder with 159 career catches in 37 games, and he is fourth all-time with 1,803 receiving yards and third in the Greyhounds' record book with 16 career touchdown receptions.
"Jalen is outstanding person," Pukszyn said. "His work ethic, integrity, and discipline both in the classroom and on the field is remarkable. He exemplifies what a Moravian student-athlete looks like."
