Greyhounds Set for 2023 Home Opener Versus Apprentice School on Gary Martell Day at Rocco Calvo Field

BEHTLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad hosts the Apprentice School a non-conference contest on Saturday, September 16 in the Greyhounds 2023 home opener. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Rocco Calvo Field in Bethlehem on Gary Martell Day. 

THE COACHES: Jeff Long (Muhlenberg '14) is entering his first season as Moravian's head coach and 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.
     Apprentice coach Vincent Brown (Morgan State '04) is in his third year as head coach with a record of 12-10.

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the first contest between the schools. 

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.

GARY MARTELL DAY: At halftime of Saturday's game, Moravian will honor Gary Martell '76, P'07 on his 50th year with the Greyhounds' program. Gary hit the gridiron in 1969 as a player for four seasons before three years in the National Football League with the Baltimore Colts. While on the field for the Greyhounds, Gary served as a team captain, quarterback and all-around player. He finished his career completing 102-of-202 passes for 1,139 yards and eight touchdowns. He also ran the ball 207 times for 939 yards and ten touchdowns, and Gary had eight receptions for 97 yards and a score, 17 punt returns for 113 yards and six kickoff returns for 214 yards and a touchdown against Wagner. Gary returned to Moravian in 1974 to finish his degree and began his long career as an assistant coach under the tutelage of Rocco Calvo that continued under Ed Little, Scot Dapp, Jeff Pukszyn and Jeff Long. Since his start as a player, Gary has been part of 486 games for the Greyhounds with 229 victories and seven ties, a pair of Middle Atlantic Conference titles, one in 1970 as a player and one in 1988 as a coach and two NCAA Division III Playoff appearances as a coach in 1988 and 1993.In helping raise money for the athletic department, Gary was instrumental in starting the Blue and Grey Club and Moravian's Athletics Hall of Fame. Outside of Moravian, Gary worked for the Boys & Girls Club of Bethlehem from 1997 through his retirement in 2019.

2023 CAPTAINS: The Hounds has named senior running back Nate Boyle, junior quarterback Jared Jenkins, junior defensive back Chad Newhard and sophomore linebacker Clay Basile as captains for the 2023 season.

LANDMARK CONFERENCE HONORS: Moravian senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham was honored as the Landmark Conference Football Offensive Athlete of the Week for his performance last week. Bingham hauled in seven receptions for 85 yards with the first two touchdowns of his Moravian career in the Hounds' 35-20 setback at Utica (N.Y.) University. Bingham's scoring reception of 12 yards handed the Blue & Grey an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter, and his one-yard TD catch on a fourth down play cut the game to a 21-20 Utica lead early in the fourth quarter. Bingham returned one kickoff for 18 yards on the afternoon. 

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.

THE QUARTERBACKS: Junior Jared Jenkins has completed 45-of-78 passes for 508 yards to go with three touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Jenkins has been sacked four times. Junior Carter Hallgren has attempted one pass this fall. 

THE BACKFIELD: Senior running back Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 133 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries. Freshman running back LJ Cooper has gained 14 yards on six attempts while freshman running back Mike Willis has 13 yards on four attempts and sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has five carries for seven yards.

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 has earned the starting left guard spot while freshman Eli Thompson will start 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. 

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had eight different players catch a pass in 2023 led by senior Jordan Bingham, who has grabbed 10 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns in his first season at Moravian after transferring from Valparaiso University. Junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has also added 10 receptions for 47 yards while junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis has caught eight passes for 79 yards. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan has seven receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown while senior running back Nate Boyle has caught four passes for 56 yards. Senior wide receiver Tim Garlick, who has four catches for 38 yards while junior wide receiver Nick Weston has one reception for 11 yards and sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has one catch for three yards.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Junior nose guard Jeremy McGuigan leads the Moravian defensive lineman with seven tackles while sophomore defensive end EJ Harvey has five tackles. Sophomore defensive tackle Nathan Carr has also made five stops while sophomore defensive end Drew Bailey has contributed five tackles with one for loss. Freshman defensive end EJ Boney and freshman defensive lineman Logan Arteaga both have two tackles while junior defensive tackle Prince Sokpo has one stop.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Sophomore Clay Basile leads linebackers and is tied for team lead with 13 tackles to go with one and a half tackles for loss and a sack while senior Chris Ortalano  has contributed nine tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Sophomore Ethan O'Neill has added seven stops while freshman Jackson Lake also has six tackles. Sophomore Jashon Teller has made five stops and added a pass break-up and a half a tackle for loss while sophomore Josh Ruela also has five tackles. Sophomore Damere Rooker and sophomore Cael Markle have each added one stop.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Senior safety Colin Conway leads the defensive backs and is tied for the team lead with 13 tackles to go with one pass breakup. Sophomore cornerback Shea Endean has contributed six tackles, an interception and three passes defended while senior safety Zach Scillia has six stops. Junior safety Isaiah Johnson has four tackles and a pass breakup while sophomore cornerback Matt Capobianco also has four tackles. Freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has a pair of tackles and a fumble recovery.

KICKING GAME: Senior Colin Conway has punted 12 times for an average of 38.1 yards per punt with two three caught, three inside the 20-yard line and a long of 58 yards. Sophomore Sean Murphy has attempted on PAT this season while freshman Jackson Lake has kicked off three times for an average of 44.0 yards. Freshman Anderson Louis Jeune has kicked off twice for an average of 48.5 yards while senior Nate Boyle has one kickoff for 39 yards and junior Jared Jenkins has a free kick for 35 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro has returned three kickoffs for 79 yards with a long of 50 yards, and he has also made a pair of tackles on special teams. Freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has returned two kickoffs for nine yards while junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has one kickoff return for 18 yards. Senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham has added one kickoff return for 18 yards and a special teams tackle while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has one kickoff return for nine yards. Junior wide receiver Nick Weston has one tackle on special teams. 

MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have two players closing in on milestones for his career. Senior 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 1,553 yards on 384 career carries to sit in 14th all-time. Boyle, who has 13 career touchdowns (12 rushing, one receiving) to sit in a tie for 15th in touchdown scoring, needs 447 yards to become the 12th Greyhound to reach 2,000 career yards. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins has reached 1,000 career passing yards with 1,100 yards on 86-of-151 to go with eight career touchdown passes.

SCOUTING APPRENTICE SCHOOL: The Builders are coming off a 37-23 win at Buffalo State University. Senior quarterback Mason Tatum is 23-for-50 for 290 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he has also run for 93 yards and a pair of scores on 26 attempts. Sophomore wide receiver Ta'Kevion Petty has caught a team high seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for Apprentice while junior wide receiver/tight end Ricardo Corpus has six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown and sophomore wide receiver Makegan Piokowski has three receptions for 58 yards. Freshman running back Kamron Jackson leads the Builders' rushing attack with 115 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries while senior running back Lawrence Reed has 59 yards and a score on 18 attempts and sophomore running back Curtis Green has 47 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Freshman wide receiver Joshua Hubbard has returned three punts for 23 yards while sophomore defensive back Jasiah Beacham has four kickoff returns for 72 yards. Freshman kicker Jeremiah Morgan is 6-for-7 on extra points and has made his only field goal attempt of 25 yards, and Morgan is also averaging 56.6 yards per kickoff and 39.6 yards per punt on eight punts with three inside the 20-yard line and one fair caught. Sophomore linebacker Chase Gayness lead the Builders' defense with 13 tackles, a half a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery while junior defensive end/linebacker Denzel Porter has 11 tackles with two for loss and a pair of quarterback hurries. Junior defensive lineman/linebacker Justin DePriest has made 10 stops with one and a half for loss and two quarterback hurries while Beacham has added nine tackles and a forced fumble. Junior defensive back Xavien Hunter has eight stops with a pass break-up, and interception and a blocked kick while senior defensive tackle Chandler Perry and junior defensive lineman Kaytwan Shuler both had eight stops with Shuler adding two tackles for loss. Reed has the Builders' lone interception, which he returned 24 yards while sophomore defensive back Benny Nena has a fumble return of 85 yards. 

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Moravian and Apprentice School have not met on the gridiron before. 

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 third in the Landmark Conference in total offense at 322.0 yards per game after two weeks, and the Hounds are second in passing offense at 254.0 yards per contest. The Blue & Grey are second the Landmark Conference in time of possession at 34:18 per outing, and the squad is tied for the lead in first downs with 19.0 per game. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins is second in the Landmark Conference in passing yards per game at 254.0, and he is fourth in passing efficiency with a 117.4 rating. Senior running back Nate Boyle is third in the conference in rushing yards at 66.5 per outing while senior wide receiver Brad Bryan is fourth in receiving yards per game at 74.5 and senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is sixth in receiving yards at 62.5. Boyle and Bingham are both tied for second in the conference in scoring at 6.0 points per game. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro is tied for first in the Landmark Conference in kickoff return average at 26.3 yards per return on three attempts while senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway is fourth in punting with an average of 38.1 yards per punt. Conway is also tied for 13th in tackles with 6.5 per contest while sophomore linebacker Clay Basile is also tied for 13th at 6.5 tackles per game.