Senior running back Nate Boyle runs to the outside at Muhlenberg College in the 2023 season opener.
September 9, 2023

Hounds Come Up Short in First Meeting with Utica

UTICA, N.Y. --- The Moravian University football squad fell to Utica (N.Y.) University, 35-20, in non-conference action Saturday as the schools met for the first time on the gridiron.

Video Box Score

UTICA, N.Y. --- The Moravian University football squad fell to Utica (N.Y.) University, 35-20, in non-conference action Saturday as the schools met for the first time on the gridiron.

How It Happened

  • The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff for the second straight week but were stopped after three plays, forcing the Blue & Grey to punt. The Pioneers fumbled the punt, and freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune jumped on the ball for Moravian. The Hounds offense used the miscue to march down the field and take a 6-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jared Jenkins to senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham. The duo had connected on a fourth down play on the snap prior to the score. Jenkins attempted a two-point conversion pass but missed to make it 6-0 for the Greyhounds with 9:48 to play in the first quarter
  • Utica moved down to the Moravian 26-yard line on its first possession before turning the ball over on a failed fourth down play
  • The Blue & Grey's second possession ended in a punt while the Pioneers missed a 29-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter to keep the Greyhounds' 6-0 intact through 15 minutes of action
  • Moravian moved down the field to start the second quarter and was in the red zone again when Jenkins was intercepted in the end zone
  • Utica converted the turnover into a six-play, 80-yard drive that finished with a 30-yard touchdown pass as the Pioneers took a 7-6 edge with 7:41 left in the second quarter
  • The Hounds next drive ended with a punt after picking up three first downs
  • The Pioneers scored again with just 1:04 left in the opening half on a one-yard touchdown run to head to the locker room with a 14-6 advantage
  • Moravian opened the second half with an 11-play drive that culminated with senior running back Nate Boyle scoring on a five-yard run. Jenkins' two-point conversion pass failed again as the Greyhounds cut the deficit to 14-12
  • After each team punted once, Utica scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass to make the lead 21-12 with 3:30 left on the clock in the third quarter
  • The Hounds' next possession ended with Jenkins being intercepted on the second play; however, the ball would come right back to the Blue & Grey as sophomore defensive back Shea Endean intercepted a pass
  • Moravian converted the turnover into a 10-play, 43-yard drive with Jenkins finding Bingham for a one-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal. Jenkins scampered into the end zone on a broken two-point conversion play as the Greyhounds cut the deficit to a point at 21-20 with 12:11 remaining in the contest
  • Both squads punted on their next possession before Utica found the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 6:21 to go
  • The Pioneers added the final score on a four-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds remaining to set the final at 35-20

Inside the Numbers

  • The Greyhounds controlled the clock for 33:24 of the contest, and Moravian's offense had 340 yards on 75 plays including 249 yard passing and 91 yards on the ground
  • Jenkins completed 27-of-41 passes for 249 yards to go with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions
  • Senior wide receiver Bryan Monge caught a career high eight passes for 32 yards while Bingham finished with seven receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis grabbed five passes for 34 yards while senior wide receiver Brad Bryan had four catches for 69 yards and junior wide receiver Nick Weston caught one pass for 11 yards
  • Boyle led the Moravian rushing attack with 81 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and he caught two passes for 18 yards. Boyle became the 15th Greyhound running back to reach 1,500 career yards during the game as he improved his career totals to 1,553 yards and 12 touchdowns on 384 rushing attempts. Freshman running back Mike Willis contributed 11 yards on two carries
  • Senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway averaged 39.7 yards per punt on seven attempts with a long of 58 yards and three inside the 20-yard line, and Conway also made six tackles and recorded a pass breakup
  • Sophomore linebacker Clay Basile led the Hounds' defense with seven tackles with a sack and one and a half tackles for loss while sophomore linebacker Ethan O'Neill also made seven tackles
  • Junior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan and Endean both had five tackles with Endean adding his interception and three passes defended while senior linebacker Chris Ortalano, sophomore linebacker Josh Ruela, freshman linebacker Jackson Lake and sophomore defensive lineman Nathan Carr all making four stops
  • Junior defensive lineman Drew Bailey added three tackles with one for loss while sophomore linebacker Jashon Teller had three stops with a half a tackle for loss and senior defensive back Zach Scillia had three tackles

Up Next for the Greyhounds

  • Saturday, September 16 vs. The Apprentice School, 1:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, September 23 vs. SUNY Morrisville, 2:00 p.m.