Greyhounds Return to Rocco Calvo Field on October 28 to Host No. 11 Susquehanna on Family Day & 1993 Team Recognition

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad hosts No. 11 Susquehanna University in a Landmark Conference game on Saturday, October 28 as the Greyhounds celebrate Family Day and the 30th anniversary of the 1993 team making the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Rocco Calvo Field in Bethlehem.

THE COACHES: Jeff Long (Muhlenberg '14) is in his first season as Moravian's head coach with a 4-3 record, and he 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.
     Susquehanna coach Tom Perkovich (Canisius '03) is in his ninth year with the River Hawks with a 59-19 record.

THE 1993 TEAM: The 1993 squad, led by Hall of Fame coach Scot Dapp, posted an 8-3 record on the season, won the MAC Commonwealth League with a 5-1 mark, and made the NCAA Division III Playoffs for the second time in five years. Moravian started the season with a 2-2 mark before winning six straight games including a 24-14 win over Muhlenberg College to finish off the regular season. The Greyhounds traveled to Washington & Jefferson College for their NCAA playoff game, falling to the Presidents, 27-7.

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 49th in the series with Susquehanna leading the series 25-23-1 after a 37-3 victory in Selinsgrove last fall. The River Hawks won the last meeting at Rocco Calvo Field, 44-0, in 2021. The River Hawks also earned a 31-7 victory in Bethlehem in 2019 while the Greyhounds' last win in the series was a 21-18 triumph in Selinsgrove in 2018.

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.

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 while the River Hawks were picked first. 

LANDMARK CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS: Senior running back Nate Boyle  was selected as the Landmark Conference Football Offensive Athlete of the Week Fueled for his performance in the Greyhounds' 44-13 victory at Juniata College last Saturday. Boyle rushed for 143 yards on 22 attempts to become the 12th player in program history to reach 2,000 career yards. He had touchdown runs of 23 and 22 yards to go with a pass reception of 58 yards. Boyle, who has also been kicking for the Hounds this fall, was 4-for-4 on extra-points, and he scored a pair of two-point conversions, one receiving and one rushing. Boyle has 2,012 yards on 489 carries in 25 career games, and he has 17 rushing and one receiving touchdown in his career to go along with 10 PATs and four two-point conversions for a total of 126 points in his career to rank tenth in school history.

THE QUARTERBACKS: Junior Jared Jenkins has completed 180-of-272 passes for 1,969 yards to go with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. Jenkins has been sacked 11 times, and he has gained 107 yards and scored a touchdown on 46 rushing attempts. Jenkins is also 5-for-11 on two-point conversion passes and has run for a two-point conversion. Junior Carter Hallgren is 1-for-4 this fall while senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway is 1-of-2 for 18 yards and an interception.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Senior running back Nate Boyle leads the Moravian rushing attack with 592 yards and seven touchdowns on 144 carries, and he has run for a pair of two-point conversions, caught a two-point conversion and thrown for a two-point conversion. Sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has 38 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has run for 21 yards on four attempts. Freshman running back Mike Willis has 17 yards on five attempts and freshman running back LJ Cooper has gained 14 yards on six attempts. 

THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has three returning starters in juniors left tackle Reins Leedy, center Brandon Guffy and right guard Paul DeFalco (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan HS). Junior Dalton Kucher earned the starting left guard spot while freshman Eli Thompson is starting 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 with Ludlow starting each game since. Craft also played at Juniata College. Freshman Hezakyah Hynson started at The Catholic University of America and also saw action against the Eagles.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 12 different players catch a pass in 2023 led by senior Jordan Bingham, who has grabbed 53 passes for 628 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season at Moravian after transferring from Valparaiso University. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan has 38 receptions for 513 yards and six touchdowns while senior wide receiver Tim Garlick has 27 catches for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Jordan Lewis has caught 17 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns, and he has thrown a two-point conversion while junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has added 16 receptions for 14 yards. Sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has 11 catches for 54 yards while senior running back Nate Boyle has caught 11 passes for 168 yards. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro has caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Tre Crenshaw has grabbed three passes for 12 yards. Junior wide receiver Nick Weston has one reception for 11 yards. while freshman quarterback Avery Koser has one catch for five yards and a score and freshman linebacker Jackson Lake. Bingham has three two-point conversion catches including one on a pass from Boyle to win the game versus Apprentice in the final 20 seconds. Bryan, Garlick and Boyle have also caught two-point conversion passes.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Junior nose guard Jeremy McGuigan leads the Moravian defensive lineman with 27 tackles with three sacks, three and a half tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick while sophomore defensive tackle Nathan Carr has made 18 stops with a sack, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive end Drew Bailey has contributed 16 tackles with two for loss and a sack while sophomore defensive end EJ Harvey has 14 tackles with two and a half sacks and two and a half tackles for loss. Junior defensive tackle Prince Sokpo and freshman defensive end EJ Boney have both made four tackles while freshman defensive lineman Logan Arteaga has added three stops. 

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Sophomore Clay Basile leads linebackers and the team with 50 tackles to go with four and a half tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery while senior Chris Ortalano has contributed 48 tackles, two and a half tackles for loss, a sack and a trio of pass breakups. Sophomore Ethan O'Neill has added 32 stops with a sack, two tackles for loss, an interception, two passes defended and a fumble recovery while freshman Jackson Lake has 17 tackles and a pass breakup. Sophomore Jashon Teller has made 14 stops and added two pass breakups and two and a half tackles for loss while sophomore Damere Rooker has 12 tackles with a sack and one and a half tackles for loss. Junior Jeremiah Espinosa has recorded 11 tackles with one for loss, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery while sophomore Josh Ruela has contributed seven tackles. Sophomore Cael Markle has six stops while freshman Cavin King has posted four tackles and freshman linebacker Pasquale Festa has three stops.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety Isaiah Johnson leads the Moravian defensive backs with 38 tackles and five pass breakups while senior safety Colin Conway has added 29 tackles to go with three pass breakups. Senior safety Zach Scillia has 18 stops, an interception and two passes defended while sophomore cornerback Shea Endean has contributed 17 tackles, a forced fumble, two interceptions including an 82-yard touchdown return versus Keystone College and five passes defended. Sophomore cornerback Matt Capobianco has 13 tackles, and interception and five passes defended while freshman cornerback Elijah Fajardo has made 12 tackles, a half a tackle for loss and three pass breakups. Freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has four tackles and a fumble recovery while freshman defensive back Aidan Lane has three stops.

KICKING GAME: Senior defensive back Colin Conway has punted 31 times for an average of 38.9 yards per punt with three fair caught, 13 inside the 20-yard line and a long of 59 yards while junior quarterback Jared Jenkins has punted once for 22 yards. Senior running back Nate Boyle is 10-for-11 on extra-points this fall while sophomore wide receiver Sean Murphy has attempted on PAT this season. Freshman quarterback Avery Koser has kicked off 20 times for an average of 56.0 yards and three touchbacks while freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has kicked off 11 times for an average of 48.5 yards, and he missed an extra-point attempt. Freshman linebacker Jackson Lake has kicked off three times for an average of 44.0 yards while Boyle has one kickoff for 39 yards and Jenkins has a free kick for 35 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro has returned 10 kickoffs for 195 yards with a long of 50 yards, and he has also made a pair of tackles on special teams and returned two punts. Senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham has added three kickoff returns for 63 yards and a special teams tackle while sophomore running back Camron Tinajero has three kickoff returns for 31 yards. Freshman quarterback Avery Koser has a pair of kickoff returns for 22 yards while freshman defensive back Anderson Louis Jeune has returned two kickoffs for nine yards. Junior wide receiver Bryan Monge has one kickoff return for 18 yards. Freshman linebacker Jackson Lake has returned one kickoff for 28 yards while sophomore running back Parker Miller has one kickoff return for eight yards and five special teams tackles. Freshman quarterback Avery Koser and freshman running back Mike Willis each have four tackles on special teams while junior wide receiver Nick Weston has three tackles. Junior wide receiver Will Castel has 10 punt returns for 81 yards.

MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have six players closing in on milestones for his career. Senior running back Nate Boyle became the 12th player in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards when he reached the milestone at Juniata College, and Boyle has 2,012 yards on 489 career carries to sit in 12th all-time in yards and seventh in rushing attempts. Boyle has 18 career touchdowns (17 rushing, one receiving) to sit in a tie for ninth in touchdown scoring, and he is 10th all-time with 126 points including two-point conversions and extra points. Boyle needs 104 yards to move into tenth all-time in career rushing and 11 carries to be the seventh Greyhound to 500 rushing attempts. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins has become the 16th Greyhound to reach 2,000 career passing yards with 2,561 yards on 221-of-345 to go with 26 career touchdown passes. Jenkins needs 439 yards to become the 10th quarterback in program history to throw for 3,000 yards, and he needs just three touchdown passes this season to break the single season mark of 23. Senior wide receivers Brad Bryan and Tim Garlick are both closing in on 1,000 career receiving yards with Bryan needing 139 yards and Garlick needing 217 yards. Senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is closing in on pair of single season records, needing just four touchdowns to break the school record of 11 and 13 receptions to pass the program record of 65. Senior punter/defensive back Colin Conway set the school record for punt average in a single game with three or more punt attempts when he averaged 53.3 yards per punt on three kicks in the Hounds' game with SUNY Morrisville. 

SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY: The River Hawks are 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Landmark Conference action after a 34-7 win over Wilkes University last Saturday, and Susquehanna is ranked No. 11 in the latest D3football.com Top 25 Poll. The River Hawks are led on the field by sophomore quarterback Josh Ehrlich, who has completed 116-of-166 passes for 1,243 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, and he has 608 yards and six touchdowns on 115 rushing attempts. Ehrlich's top targets have been junior wide receiver Kyle Howes, who has 48 receptions for 643 yards and seven touchdowns, senior wide receiver Jacob Erb, who has 16 catches for 158 yards, junior tight end Rowen Hershey, who has 11 receptions for 140 yards and three scores, senior wide receiver Eddie Nugent, who has caught 15 passes for 87 yards and a score, senior wide receiver Warren Griffith, who has 13 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore running back Tommy Grabowski, who has 12 catches for 75 yards. Grabowski also leads the Susquehanna rushing attack with 755 yards and 10 touchdowns on 140 carries while junior running back DK Wyche has 166 yards and three scores on 38 carries and freshman running back Matt Surtz has 160 yards and three touchdowns on 29 attempts. Howes has returned 20 punts for 227 yards and five kickoffs for 117 yards while sophomore defensive back Dominic Winn has three kickoff returns for 132 yards including a 94-yard return for a touchdown. Senior punter Aaron Kahn is averaging 35.62 yards on 21 kicks with nine inside the 20-yard line, seven fair caught and a long of 49 yards. Junior kicker Christian Colasurdo is 40-for-43 on extra points, and he is 10-for-14 on field goal attempts with a long of 40 yards and two blocked.  Freshman Dominic Bourgeois is averaging 58.8 yards per kickoff with nine touchbacks. Junior linebacker Garrett Carter leads the River Hawks defense with 53 tackles including ten and a half for loss, five saves, a pass breakup, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery while senior linebacker Drew Robinson has 44 tackles with three for loss, one and a half sacks and three forced fumbles. Graduate student defensive back Keith Green III has contributed 32 tackles with three for loss, two sacks, an interception, six passes defended and four fumble recoveries including one for a touchdown while junior linebacker Josh Buck has 31 stops, four and a half tackles for loss, two saves, a pair of quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Senior linebacker Josh Parson has made 30 tackles with one and a half for loss, one and a half sacks and a fumble recovery while graduate student defensive lineman Cameron Noble and junior defensive back Andrew Wells both had 27 tackles with Noble adding four and a half tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble and Wells contributing one and a half tackles for loss, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Selinsgrove last fall, Moravian dropped a 37-3 decision to host No. 23 Susquehanna University. The River Hawks had the opening possession of the contest and would take a 3-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal with 11:41 to play in the opening quarter. Moravian's first possession of the game ended with a 41-yard punt from Sam Bingaman. The Hounds had looked to take a lead with an interception return for a touchdown; however, a penalty called the play back and the River Hawks ended up punting. The Blue and Grey's second possession ended with a bad snap on a punt attempt that set up Susquehanna in the red zone. The River Hawks needed two plays to get into the end zone and extend the lead to 10-0 with 7:25 remaining in the first quarter. Moravian reached the red zone for the first time on the next drive, but quarterback Jared Jenkins was intercepted to end the scoring chance. Susquehanna extended its advantage 17-0 on the first play of the second quarter. The Greyhounds answered with their first points of the afternoon as Bingaman capped a 10-play, 60-yard drive with a 32-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 17-3 with 10:50 to go in the second quarter. Moravian's defense would force Susquehanna to punt but a tipped pass by Jenkins would be intercepted again to set the River Hawks up in the red zone once again. Susquehanna capitalized again on the turnover to make it 24-3 with 8:05 to play in the first half on a fourth down run. After forcing the Greyhounds to punt, the River Hawks moved into the red zone but missed a short field goal with just four seconds left in the second quarter as the score remained 24-3 at the intermission. Moravian punted on the first possession of the third quarter while Susquehanna drove down the field to extend the lead to 31-3 with 12:14 to go in the period. Early in the fourth quarter the River Hawks found the end zone again to make it 37-3, and that would be the final points of the afternoon, Moravian finished the game with 123 yards on 56 plays, and it was the first time in three games in 2022 that the Hounds did not control time of possession. Jenkins completed 8-of-20 passes for 61 yards as he was intercepted twice and sacked four times, and Jenkins also carried the ball nine times for 10 yards. Quarterback Carter Hallgren was 1-for-2. Running back Nate Boyle ran for 58 yards on 16 carries and added one catch for six yards while Angelo Macera picked up 11 yards on seven attempts. Wide receiver Tim Garlick caught four passes for 23 yards while wide receiver Brandon Grace had two catches for four yards and wide receiver Brad Bryan added one reception for 28 yards. Bingaman punted five times for an average of 32.4 yards and a long of 46 while Jenkins punted once for 30 yards. Trevor Yacuboski kicked off twice for the Hounds. Wide receiver Will Castel returned three kickoffs for 55 yards and one punt for six yards. Linebacker Nick Levinski led the Moravian defense with 11 tackles and a quarterback hurry while defensive back Chad Newhard had eight stops. Defensive back Romello Walters contributed six stops and a pass break-up while defensive line Drew Bailey and linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa both had five tackles. Linebacker Colin Conway, linebacker Chris Ortalano and linebacker Clay Basile all recorded four tackles with Ortalano and defensive lineman Mason Zimmerman both had a half a tackle for loss and Conway and Espinosa each recording a pass break-up. Defensive back Zach Scillia made his second interception of the year with a 21-yard return to go with a pair of tackles while defensive back Jalen Richardson recorded three stops.

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 second in the Landmark Conference in total offense at 412.3 yards per game, and the Hounds are second in passing offense at 286.3 yards per contest and third in rushing offense at 128.7 yards per outing. The Blue & Grey are second the Landmark Conference in time of possession at 33:40 per outing, and the squad is second in scoring offense at 31.1 points per game. Moravian is fourth in total defense at 424.0 yards per game. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins is first in the Landmark Conference in passing yards per game at 281.3, and he is second in passing efficiency with a 146.6 rating. Senior running back Nate Boyle is second in the conference in rushing yards at 84.6 yards per outing and he is second in the Landmark in scoring at 8.6 points per contest while senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is third in receiving yards at 77.7 per outing, and he is third in scoring at 7.7 points per game. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan ranks fourth in the conference in receiving yards at 74.5 per contest and he is tied for seventh in scoring at 5.7 points per game. Freshman wide receiver Nick Coffaro is fourth in the Landmark Conference in kickoff return average at 19.5 yards per return on 10 returns while junior Will Castel is second in punt return average at 8.1 yards a return on 10 returns. Senior defensive back/punter Colin Conway is third in conference in punting with an average of 38.9 yards per punt. Sophomore linebacker Clay Basile is tied for seventh in the Landmark at 7.1 tackles per game and tied for tenth in sacks per contest at 0.36 while senior linebacker Chris Ortalano is ninth in tackles at 6.9 per outing. Junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson is 15th at 6.3 tackles per contest, and he is tied for sixth in the conference in passes defended at 0.83 per game. Sophomore defensive backs Shea Endean and Matt Capobianco are tied for ninth with 0.71 passes defended a game with Endean tied for the conference lead in interceptions per outing at 0.29. Sophomore defensive lineman EJ Harvey is tied for fourth in sacks per game at 0.50 while junior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan is tied for seventh at 0.43 sacks per outing.

THE NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds rank 13th in time of possession at 33:40 per game, and Moravian is 11th in fourth down defense at 20.0 percent (2-of-10), 31st in net punting at 35.66 yards per punt, 35th in completion percentage at 65.5 percent (182-of-278), 36th in the nation in fourth-down conversions at 61.5 percent (16 of 26) and 37th on passing offense at 286.3 yards per game. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins ranks 12th in the nation in completions per game at 25.71, 18th in passing touchdowns with 21, 19th in passing yards with 1,969, 20th in points responsible per game at 20.6, 21st in total points responsible for at 144, 22nd in passing yards per game at 281.3, 27th in total offense at 296.6 yards per game, 36th in completion percentage a 66.2 percent (180-of-272) and 58th in passing efficiency with a 146.6 rating. Senior punter Colin Conway is 33rd in the nation with an average of 38.9 yards per punt while senior wide receiver Jordan Bingham is 10th in receptions per game at 7.6, 28th in receiving touchdowns with eight, 39th in receiving yards with 628, 39th in receiving yards per game at 89.7, 74th in scoring at 7.7 points per contest and tied for 76th in total touchdowns with eight. Senior wide receiver Brad Bryan is 77th in receptions per game at 5.4, and he tied for 73rd in touchdown receptions with six while senior running back Nate Boyle is 52nd in rushing yards per game at 84.6, 41st in scoring at 8.6 points per game, 56th in rushing yards with 592 and 58th in rushing touchdowns with seven and 80th in all-purpose yardage at 108.57 yards per game. Junior wide receiver Will Castel is 46th in punt return average at 8.1 yards per return.