Moravian Set for Final Centennial Conference Road Game at Franklin & Marshall on November 5

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team travels to Franklin & Marshall College fora Centennial Conference contest on Saturday, November 5 in the Hounds' final road game of 2022 and the last road trip. as a member of the Centennial Conference. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Tom Gilburg Field at Shadek Stadium in Lancaster.

THE COACHES: Jeff Pukszyn (Moravian '98) is entering his 12th season as Moravian's head coach after ten years as an assistant coach with the program. Pukszyn joined the Moravian staff as a part-time coach in 1997 after a three-year playing career that saw him named to the All-Middle Atlantic Conference First Team in 1994 and 1996. He was inducted into Moravian's Hall of Fame in 2019. He was also a two-time captain. Pukszyn became part of the coaching staff full-time in 1999 as defensive coordinator and added the titles of assistant head coach in 2001 and special teams coordinator in 2007. In 2015, Pukszyn led the Greyhounds to an 8-3 record and a berth in the inaugural Centennial-MAC Bowl Series while being named both the Centennial Conference and American Football Coaches Association Division III Region 2 Coach of the Year. He has been a part of 281 games for Moravian since 1994 with a 133-149-1 record.
     Franklin & Marshall coach Tom Blumenauer (Ithaca '07) is in his first year as head coach with a 4-4 mark.

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 34th in the series with Franklin & Marshall owning a 24-9 advantage. The Diplomats posted a 14-10 win in Bethlehem while the Greyhounds earned a 17-16 victory in Bethlehem in 2019. Franklin & Marshall earned a win in the only postseason game between the two schools with a 37-20 victory in the 2004 ECAC Southwest Bowl in Lancaster. The Diplomats won the first eight games between the schools and 15 of the first 16 contests while the teams have split the last 17 games with F&M going 9-8.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE: Moravian joined the Centennial Conference as an associate member in the sport of football in 2007. The Greyhounds were selected seventh in the Centennial Conference preseason coaches poll. Franklin & Marshall was tied for fifth in the poll. Moravian is playing its final season in the Centennial Conference in 2022 with the Landmark Conference scheduled to begin football in the fall of 2023 as Lycoming College and Wilkes University become full Landmark Conference members. 

WEEKLY GAME CAPTAINS: The Hounds will be selecting captains on a weekly basis in 2022 with sophomore/punter Sam Bingaman, junior quarterback/wide receiver Brad Bryan and freshman linebacker Clay Basile serving as captains for this weekend's game at Franklin & Marshall College.

THE QUARTERBACKS: Sophomore Jared Jenkins started the season and completed 41-of-73 passes for 592 yards to go with five touchdown and three interceptions before an injury. He also carried the ball 42 times for 36 yards and a score before an injury. Sophomore Carter Hallgren was 47-for-90 for 372 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions after making starts against No. 9 Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Juniata College to garner his first career victory before an injury. Junior quarterback/wide receiver Brad Bryan has started the last two weeks and is 18-for-35 for 136 yards while freshman Sean Murphy is 6-for-11 for 60 yards to go with 13 rushing yards on five carries. Senior Nick Reardon is 2-for-3 for 68 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Jordan Lewis is 1-for-1 with a 17-yard touchdown pass at Ursinus.

THE BACKFIELD: Junior Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 796 yards and seven touchdowns on 197 carries this season while senior Angelo Macera has contributed 131 yards on 34 rushing attempts. Freshman Camron Tinajero has run the ball four times for 66 yards while Bryan has added 46 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has one returner with game experience on the offensive line in junior Javal Reyes at right guard. The Greyhounds add four other new starters to the starting offensive line sophomore Reins Leedy at left tackle, sophomore Riley Craft at left guard, sophomore Brandon Guffy at center and freshman Tyler Herring at right tackle. The Greyhounds' front five has an average size of 6-2, 287. Sophomore Paul DeFalco has also seen time as a reserve at several positions on the offensive line, and he has started at four games as well while sophomore Jai Fentress and freshman Danny Smith have seen reserve action this season, and Smith has recorded one tackle.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 12 different players catch a pass this year led by junior wide receiver Tim Garlick, who has 36 catches for 348 yards and three touchdowns. Junior quarterback/wide receiver Brad Bryan has 24 catches for 327 yards with a long of 77 yards and two touchdowns in his first year at the position while sophomore wide receiver Jordan Lewis has 18 receptions for 214 yards and two scores. Junior running back Nate Boyle has caught 11 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Brandon Grace has eight receptions for 46 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Bryan Monge has added seven receptions for 62 yards while senior tight end Chris Carpini has three catches for 15 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Nick Weston has two receptions for 70 yards and a score while sophomore wide receiver Will Castel has two catches for seven yards. Junior tight end Sean Foley has one catch for four yards, and senior running back Angelo Macera has two receptions and sophomore wide receiver James Bensen has one reception for five yards. Garlick has seven yards rushing this fall as well.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior Jack Gawlik leads the Moravian defensive front with 29 tackles with seven tackles for loss, four sacks and a pass break-up after missing the season opener while senior Javi Espinal-Katz has added 28 tackles, four tackle for loss and two and a half a sacks. Freshman Drew Bailey has contributed 26 tackles with one and a half sacks and two tackles for loss while sophomore Jeremy McGuigan has 19 stops with three tackles for loss, three sacks, two quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Sophomore Prince Sokpo has added 12 tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass break-up while freshman EJ Harvey has seven tackles. Senior Bryan Bendig has added three tackles while sophomore Mason Zimmerman and freshman Drew Brizan both have one stop. 

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Junior Nick Levinski leads the linebackers and the entire Moravian defense with 56 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry while freshman Clay Basile has 39 tackles, three tackles for loss and a pass break-up. Sophomore Jeremiah Espinosa has 32 tackles with two and a half tackles for loss and a pass break-up while junior Colin Conway has added 30 stops with three tackles for loss, a sack, five pass break-ups and a forced fumble. Junior Chris Ortalano has contributed 27 tackles with a half a tackle for loss while freshman Jashon Teller has 13 stops and one and a half a tackles for loss. Freshman Joshua Ruela has nine tackles while junior Anthony Mosley has made seven stops. Freshman James Wells has six tackles while freshman Damere Rooker has added two tackles in his first year with the Hounds.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Graduate student Romello Walters leads the defensive backs with 45 tackles including a half a tackle for loss to go along with five pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Chad Newhard has 41 tackles with two tackles for loss and a pass break-up while sophomore Isaiah Johnson has 27 stops, one tackle for loss, four passes defended and an interception. Graduate student Jalen Richardson has 25 tackles after missing the first two games of the year while junior Zach Scillia has 26 tackles, two tackles for loss, one and a half sacks, a forced fumble and three interceptions including a 47-yard return versus Gettysburg College this season. Graduate student Carrington Smith has made 11 stops after missing the first two contests while junior Matt Blazofsky has added eight tackles. Freshman Matt Capobianco has six tackles with an interception and a half a tackle for loss while freshman Joe DeRossi has four tackles and blocked a punt versus Gettysburg and freshman Tom Post has one tackle in his debut season.

KICKING GAME: Sophomore Sam Bingaman is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards at TCNJ on his first attempt as a Greyhound, and he is also 16-for-17 on extra points. Bingaman has punted 30 times with an average of 39.5 yards to go with a long of 57 yards, five inside the 20-yard line and seven fair catches, and he has kicked off 12 times for an average of 55.6 yards with two touchbacks. Senior Trevor Yacuboski has kicked off 20 times for an average of 49.0 yards with one touchback, and he has punted 13 times with an average of 41.4 yards, a long of 68 yards, one touchback, two fair caught, one blocked and five inside the 20-yard line. Yacuboski is 1-for-1 on field goals with a one of 30 yards, and he is 0-1 on extra-points. Sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins has punted once for 30 yards while sophomore quarterback Carter Hallgren has punted once for 45 yards. 

FRED MITCHELL OUTSTANDING PLACE-KICKING WATCH LIST: Moravian freshman kicker Sam Bingaman was one of 29 place-kickers across from non-BCS schools the nation that has been recognized by The Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicking Award for his performance during the opening half of the 2022 season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Graduate student defensive back Jalen Richardson has 11 kickoff returns for 194 yards while sophomore wide receiver Will Castel has returned six kickoffs for 71 yards. Freshman wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has returned four kickoffs for 54 yards while freshman running back Cameon Tinajero has four kickoff returns for 84 yards. Junior quarterback/wide receiver Brad Bryan has two kickoff returns for 35 yards while graduate student defensive back Romello Walters both have a pair of kickoff returns for 42 yards. Castel has 10 punt returns for 39 yards while sophomore defensive back Joe DeRossi was credited with a punt return for 13 yards on his blocked punt versus Gettysburg and junior linebacker Chris Ortalano has a two-yard return after recovering the blocked punt. Sophomore wide receiver Nick Weston has made three stops while senior running back Angelo Macera and freshman running back Tyler Rohn have added a pair of tackles on special teams. Bryan, junior wide receiver Tim Garlick and sophomore quarterback Jared Jenkins each have one tackle.

MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have two players closing in on milestones for his careers. Junior running back Nate Boyle became the 26th player in school history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards when he reached the milestone versus Juniata College, and Boyle has 1,401 yards on 327 career carries to sit in 16th all-time. Boyle needs 99 yards to become the 15th Greyhound to reach 1,500 career yards. Senior kicker Trevor Yacuboski is tied for six with 11 career field goals made, and he is 13th in total kicking points with 56. 

SCOUTING FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: The Diplomats enter the game at 4-4 overall and 3-4 in Centennial Conference action after falling 28-21 to Muhlenberg College last Saturday. Freshman quarterback Ty Tremba leads F&M on the field having completed 75-of-129 passes for 1,067 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions while sophomore quarterback Logan Clouse is 22-for-50 for 205 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Their top targets have been junior wide receiver Jack Sutton, who has caught 26 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns, junior running back Aaron Rascoe, who has 20 receptions for 267 yards and three scores, and freshman wide receiver Gary Lewis, who has 14 catches for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Rascoe also leads the Diplomats' rushing attack with 572 yards and eight touchdowns on 108 attempts while senior running back Mitch Wagner has 211 yards and two scores on 48 attempts and Tremba has added 110 yards and three touchdowns on 74 carries. Junior wide receiver Trey Glass has returned 15 kickoffs for 304 yards and three punts for 15 yards while sophomore linebacker Matt Scully has 14 kickoff returns for 280 yards and four punt returns for 44 yards. Sophomore kicker Laurence Miller is 6-for-7 on field goal attempts with a long of 30 yards, and he is 25-for-27 on extra-points. Senior Jack Rodenberger is averaging 35.8 yards per punt on 41 punts with a long of 52 yards, 15 fair caught, 12 inside the 20-yard line, three touchbacks and one blocked. Sophomore linebacker Jacob Hille leads the Diplomats' defense with 65 tackles to go with four tackles for loss, one sack, three pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Senior defensive lineman Kevonte Beard has contributed 50 tackles with seven and a half for loss, two and a half sacks and two pass break-ups while senior linebacker Owen Walsh has 49 stops with two for loss, a half a sack and three interceptions. Scully has added 45 tackles with one for loss, nine passes defended, two interceptions and a blocked kick. Senior defensive lineman Brian Lafty has 46 tackles including four for loss, two sacks and a pass break-up while sophomore Jeff Decker has 43 tackles, eight and a half tackles for loss and two and a half sacks. Junior defensive back Justin Gebhart leads F&M with 11 passes defended and seven interceptions to go with 24 tackles while junior defensive back Dante Medlar has five passes defended with three interceptions and 36 stops on the year.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, Moravian had a 10-0 lead at halftime but ended up falling to visiting Franklin & Marshall College, 14-10, in Centennial Conference action on Senior Day. The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff and saw quarterback Christopher Mills connected on passes with wide receiver Trevor Cunningham for 11 yards and wide receiver Tim Garlick for 49 yards to move into the red zone. However, Moravian ended up having to attempt a field goal, and Trevor Yacuboski pushed the 38-yard attempt wide to the left. After the Diplomats punted on their first possession of the game, Moravian would get into the endzone on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Mills to Cunningham that finished off a seven-play, 64-yard drive. Yacuboski's extra-point gave the Blue and Grey a 7-0 lead with 6:02 to play in the first quarter. F&M punted once again, and the Diplomats would force the Greyhounds to punt on the first play of the second quarter, but a muffed return would be jumped on by defensive back Renard Nicholson at the F&M 14-yard line. Moravian would get three more points on a 25-yard field goal by Yacuboski for a 10-0 lead with 13:13 left in the first half. F&M moved down to the one-yard line on its next possession, and the Diplomats would be stopped on three straight plays by the Moravian defense to turn the ball over on downs. The Greyhounds moved out to the 39-yard line before punting, and another muffed punt was covered by wide receiver Nick Weston at the F&M 25-yard line. Mills threw to the endzone on the first play but was intercepted. The first half ended with the Diplomats punting again and Moravian running out the clock with its 10-0 advantage. F&M had the ball first in the second half and moved into the red zone before Laurence Miller missed a 31-yard field goal attempt. Moravian punted after four plays on its first possession of the second half. The Diplomats would get onto the scoreboard on their next possession with Jermaine Conyer scored on a 17-yard run as F&M cut the Hounds' lead to 10-7 with 4:40 to play in the third quarter. The teams traded punts on the next four possessions with a muffed return by the Greyhounds setting up the Diplomats at the one-yard line. Conyer scored two plays later as F&M moved ahead 14-10 with 5:22 remaining. Moravian picked up a first down before turning the ball over on downs near midfield. The Greyhounds got the ball right back as linebacker Romello Walters orced a fumble that defensive lineman Brady Hornbaker recovered. However, Moravian turned the ball over on downs. The Greyhounds would force the Diplomats to punt, but quarterback Carter Hallgren was intercepted with just 15 seconds remaining to finish the game. Moravian had a 295 to 226 advantage in yards in the game, and the Greyhounds also had possession of the ball for just over 33 minutes in the game. Mills completed 17-of-30 passes for 135 yards with a touchdown and an interception while Garlick caught six passes for 87 yards. Hallgren was 2-for-3 for 15 yards with an interception in his collegiate debut. Cunningham grabbed three passes for 49 yards and his touchdown while wide receiver Nick Petros had three catches for four yards before leaving the game with an injury. Tight end Chris Carpini and wide receiver Jordan Lewis both had two receptions. Running back Nate Boyle posted a career-high 143 yards on 26 carries, the second 100-yard game of his career. Running back Carrington Smith had 24 yards on five attempts to go with one reception. Defensive back Jackson Burskirk led the Moravian defense with nine tackles while Walters and Richardson both made seven stops with Walters forcing his fourth fumble of the season and Nicholson recovering a fumble. Linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa and defensive lineman Javi Espinal-Katz both recorded six tackles while defensive lineman Brandon Nemeth made five stops. Hornbaker had four tackles and a pass break-up to go with his fumble recovery while defensive lineman Francis Legreca also added four stops. Defensive back Justin McRae, defensive back Chad Newhard and linebacker Nicholas Azpeitia all had three tackles with Azpeitia recording a tackle 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 CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds are eighth in the Centennial Conference in total offense at 284.5 yards per game, and Moravian is eighth in scoring at 18.5 points per contest. The Hounds are fifth in the conference in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 30:27 per game. Defensively, Moravian is eighth in the conference in yards per game, allowing 372.6, and the Blue and Grey are seventh in points allowed at 28.8 per outing. Individually, junior running back Nate Boyle is second in the Centennial Conference at 99.5 rushing yards per contest, and he leads the conference in rushing attempts with 197 while junior wide receiver Tim Garlick is fifth in receptions per contest at 4.5. Sophomore punter/kicker Sam Bingaman is seventh in the Centennial Conference in kick scoring with 31 points while being tied for sixth with five made field goals and third in punting with an average of 39.5 yards per punt. Junior linebacker Nick Levinski is tied for sixth in the conference with 8.0 tackles per game while sophomore defensive back Chad Newhard is 15th at 6.8 tackles per contest. Graduate student defensive back Romello Walters and junior linebacker Colin Conway are tied for fourth in the conference with five pass break-ups while junior defensive back Zach Scillia is tied for third with three of interceptions. Senior defensive lineman Jack Gawlik is eighth with seven tackles for loss this season, and he is fifth with four sacks this fall. 

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Sophomore kicker/punter Sam Bingaman is 21st in punting at an average of 39.5 yards per punt, and he is tied for 79th in field goals per game at 0.62. Junior running back Nate Boyle is 32nd in rushing yards with 796, 34th in rushing yards per game with an average of 99.5 yards per outing, tied for 79th in rushing touchdowns with seven and 84th in all-purpose yards per contest at 118.3. Junior defensive back Zach Scillia is tied for 69th with 0.4 interceptions per game while sophomore wide receiver Will Castel in tied for 77th in punt returns at 3.9 yards per return.

BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 84 players on the Moravian roster, 34 are freshmen, 24 are sophomores and 15 are juniors. There are eight seniors and three fifth-year players on this season's squad, and the Greyhounds return 38 letterwinners and five starters from 2021.