October 7, 2023
Moravian Scores on Five Straight Possessions to Defeat Catholic in Landmark Conference Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Moravian University football squad scored 28 points in the second quarter, and the Hounds found the end zone of five straight possession to earn a 36-28 Landmark Conference victory at The Catholic University of America Saturday afternoon in the first-ever meeting between the squads on the football field.
Moravian University
3-3
36
The Catholic University of America
2-4
28
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 36 |
|
|
7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
The Catholic University of America
Pa:
Madden Lowe
- 245
Ru:
Zach Williams
- 55
Rec:
John Maynes
- 50
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Moravian University | The Catholic University of America |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 282 | 245 |
| Rushing Yards | 145 | 81 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 4 |
| Time of Poss. | 39:32 | 20:28 |
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Moravian University football squad scored 28 points in the second quarter, and the Hounds found the end zone of five straight possession to earn a 36-28 Landmark Conference victory at The Catholic University of America Saturday afternoon in the first-ever meeting between the squads on the football field.
How It Happened
- The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff for the sixth straight game this fall, and the Hounds picked up one first down before senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway punted the ball inside the 10-yard line
- The Cardinals drove past midfield on their opening possession before Moravian sophomore defensive lineman Nathan Carr sacked the Catholic quarterback and forced a fumble that junior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan covered at the Catholic 49-yard line
- The Blue & Grey were unable to convert the turnover into points, punting after three play
- The Cardinals put up the first points of the game on the next drive, going 81 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a three-yard touchdown pass with 3:34 left in the opening quarter
- Moravian began at its own 27-yard line and drove down the field. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins capped the 14-play, 73-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Brad Bryan with 13:05 left in the second quarter. Jenkins then hit senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham with the two-point conversion to put the Hounds up 8-7
- The Greyhounds got the ball right back as sophomore running back Parker Miller forced a fumble on the kickoff that junior linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa jumped on at the Catholic 30-yard line
- This time, Moravian did convert the turnover into points as Jenkins connected on a five-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis just 57 seconds after the Hounds first score. Bryan raced into the end zone with the two-point conversion as the Blue & Grey extended the lead to 16-7 with 12:08 left in the second quarter
- The Cardinals answered back with a 13-play, 75-yard drive to pull within 16-14 on a six-yard touchdown run with 7:13 until halftime
- The Greyhounds scored again on their third straight possession as Jenkins found senior wide receiver Tim Garlick with a nine-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down play with just 48 seconds until the intermission. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Hounds' edge at 22-14. The drive was kept alive near midfield as Conway threw an 18-yard completion to linebacker Jackson Lane on a fourth down that was initially lined up for a punt
- Catholic returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield, however, the Cardinals' quarterback fumbled on the first play with Moravian sophomore linebacker Clay Basile covering the ball at the Catholic 43-yard line
- The Blue & Grey needed four plays to get into the end zone as Jenkins connected with Bryan on a one-yard scoring strike as time expired. Moravian went for two points again, but the pass failed, sending the Greyhounds to the locker room with a 28-14 advantage
- Moravian's defense would force the Cardinals to punt on the opening possession of the second half
- The Hounds drove 51 yards on eight plays to score for the fifth consecutive possession. Jenkins tossed his career-best fifth touchdown pass, finding Lewis with a 21-yard reception. Jenkins connected with Bingham again on the two-point conversion to push the Moravian lead to 36-14 with 10:50 remaining in the third quarter
- Catholic found the end zone again on its next drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to cap six-play, 59-yard drive and cut the score to 36-20 with 8:45 left in the third stanza
- Jenkins was intercepted on the third play of the Hounds' next possession. The Cardinals looked to be turning the miscue into points with the ball at the one-yard line, but sophomore defensive back Matt Capobianco intercepted a pass in the end zone to keep the score at 36-20
- Moravian moved just past midfield before facing a fourth down. Conway attempted another pass instead of punting but was intercepted. The turnover set up Catholic for a 25-yard touchdown pass with just 17 seconds left in the third to cut the Hounds' lead to 36-28
- The Hounds drove down to the Catholic 37-yard line where Jenkins was intercepted again. The Cardinals thought they had a pick-six to get within two points, but an illegal block during the return negated the score, and Catholic had to punt after three plays
- Moravian ran out the clock, holding onto the ball for the final 10:28 of the contest with a 19-play drive that saw the Hounds get to the one-yard line before kneeling down three times to run out the clock and remain undefeated in Landmark Conference action
Inside the Numbers
- The Greyhounds had 427 yards of total offense with 282 in the air and 145 on the ground while controlling the clock for over 39 and a half minutes. The Hounds were also 5-for-6 on fourth down conversions
- Jenkins completed 33-of-50 passes, both career highs, for 264 yards with five touchdowns to tie Christopher Mills single game school record and a pair of interceptions. Jenkins also ran for 48 yards on nine carries while being sacked once
- Bryan caught 10 passes for 85 yards and his two touchdowns while Garlick had eight catches for 50 yards and a score. Bingham grabbed six balls for 74 yards while Lewis added three receptions for 21 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro caught two passes for 10 yards and returned a pair of kickoffs for 28 yards while Lake had one reception for 18 yards and one kickoff return for 28 yards
- Senior running back Nate Boyle led the Moravian rushing attack with 97 yards on 24 carries as he became the 12th Greyhound to reach 1,800 career rushing yards, now 1,869 on 467 carries. Boyle also caught a pass for nine yards while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero added three yards on five carries and three receptions for 15 yards
- Freshman quarterback/kicker Avery Koser once for three yards, and he kicked off five times for an average of 53.0 yards with one touchback. Koser also had a tackle on special teams
- Conway punted twice for 76 yards, and he was 1-for-2 passing for 18 yards with an interception. Conway also contributed nine tackles on defense
- Junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson led the Hounds' defense with 10 tackles and a pass break-up while Basile added seven stops and a fumble recovery. McGuigan posted six tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery while senior linebacker Chris Ortalano and sophomore linebacker Ethan O'Neill both had six stops as well
- Sophomore defensive back Shea Endean made four tackles while freshman defensive back Elijah Fajardo and sophomore defensive lineman EJ Harvey both three stops with Fajardo adding a pass break-up
- Capobianco had two tackles to go with his interception
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, October 21 at Juniata College, 12:00 p.m.
- Saturday, October 28 vs. Susquehanna University, 1:00 p.m.
