Moravian Heads to No. 7 Susquehanna in Battle for First Place in the Landmark Conference on November 2

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University football squad travels to No. 7 Susquehanna University for a Landmark Conference game on Saturday, November 2, 2024. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field at Doug Arthur Stadium in Selinsgrove as the two squads are the last undefeated teams in the conference this fall.

THE COACHES: Jeff Long (Muhlenberg '14) is entering his second season as Moravian's head coach. Last fall in his debut campaign, Long led the Greyhounds to a 9-8 overall record and a 6-3 slate in Landmark Conference action. He coached eight Landmark All-Conference selections including five First Team honorees. Long has spent the previous 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 tenth year with the River Hawks with a 68-21 record. 

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 50th in the series with Susquehanna leading the series 26-23-1 after a 33-14 win in Bethlehem last fall and a 37-3 victory in Selinsgrove in 2022. The River Hawks won 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.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE LANDMARK CONFERENCE: The Greyhounds will compete in the Landmark Conference this fall for the second straight season. The Hounds were selected third in the preseason coaches poll while the River Hawks were picked first. The Landmark Conference has announced it will be adding an eighth team in 2025 with Western Connecticut State University becoming an associate member. 

LANDMARK CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS: Moravian University junior linebacker Ethan O'Neill and freshman kicker/punter Jack Corrigan were selected as the Landmark Conference Football Defensive & Special Teams Athletes of the Week for their performances in the Greyhounds' 35-13 win over Juniata College. O'Neill helped the Moravian defense allow just 13 points to the Eagles in a contest that extended the Hounds' winning streak to four games as the defense has allowed just 11.5 points per game during the streak. O'Neill had team-high and career-best ten tackles versus Juniata with three tackles for loss and a sack. Corrigan was 5-for-5 on extra-points in the victory, and he is now 7-for-7 on the season. Corrigan also punted three times for an average of 48.0 yards with a long of 62 yards that pinned the Eagles at the one-yard line, his fifth punt of longer than 60 yards this season, and two punts inside the 20-yard line. Corrigan kicked off five times for an average of 58.0 yards and one touchback.

BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 102 players on the Moravian roster, 50 are freshmen, 16 are sophomores and 15 are juniors. There are 17 seniors and four graduate students on this season's squad, and the Greyhounds return 41 letterwinners and 13 starters from 2023.

2024 CAPTAINS: The Hounds have named graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham, senior quarterback Jared Jenkins, senior offensive lineman Reins Leedy, senior defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan and junior running back Isiah Rico as captains for the 2024 season.

THE QUARTERBACKS: Senior Jared Jenkins has completed 153-of-223 passes for 1,866 yards with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions, and Jenkins has run the ball 53 times for 101 yards while being sacked 18 times. Freshman Declan McCarthy is 2-for-4 for 42 yards, and he has 70 yards on 13 rushing attempts and one reception for a yard while senior Carter Hallgren is 1-for-3 for a yard to go with a two-point conversion completion, and he also has one rushing attempt for seven yards and a touchdown.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Graduate student Joey Richmond leads the Moravian rushing attack with 323 yards and two touchdowns on 62 carries with a long of 65 yards versus Juniata while junior Isiah Rico has added 129 yards and a touchdown on 41 attempts. Junior Camron Tinajero has 67 yards and three touchdowns on 16 attempts while sophomore Cole Maholtz has 61 yards on 26 carries. Freshman Jed Bendekovits has run for 36 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts and freshman wide receiver Jacob Sutton has run the ball six times for four yards.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has four returning starters on the offensive line in seniors Reins Leedy, Brandon Guffy and Paul DeFalco and sophomore Mason Ludlow, and the quartet is joined by freshman Jake Englehart. Senior Dalton Kucher also has starting experience while junior Drew Brizan saw action a year ago.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have 18 players that have caught a pass in 2024 led by graduate student Jordan Bingham, who has 47 receptions for 487 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Diego Del Castillo has 32 catches for 566 yards and eight touchdowns while sophomore Avery Koser has 15 catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Josh Ludlow has 14 receptions for 184 yards and three touchdowns while senior Bryan Monge has added 11 receptions for 138 yards and a score. Sophomore Nick Coffaro has eight catches for 75 yards while graduate student running back Joey Richmond has six catches for 40 yards and a touchdown and junior running back Isiah Rico has four receptions for 44 yards. Senior Will Castel has three catches for 100 yards while freshman Jacob Sutton has two receptions for 18 yards. Junior running back Camron Tinajero has five catches for 12 yards while junior Ryan Frinzi has added two receptions for 10 yards, and he also has five rushing attempts for 40 yards. Freshman Justin Wistuba has caught one pass for 17 yards while senior wide receiver Nick Weston has one reception for five yards. Freshman Gavyn Gennarelli has one reception for a yard while freshman running back Jed Bendekovits has one catch for four yards. 

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior Jeremy McGuigan leads the defensive linemen with 25 tackles, two and a half tackles for loss, a sack, a pass break-up and a blocked kick versus Utica (N.Y.) University while junior Nathan Carr has 25 tackles with eight and a half for loss and two and a half sacks. Junior EJ Harvey has 15 stops with one and a half tackles for loss and half a sack while graduate student Ian Brunner has posted 14 tackles with a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a quarterback hurry and a blocked kick versus Utica. Freshman Hunter Johnson has ten tackles with one for loss while freshman Ryan Burns has made eight tackles. Senior Drew Bailey has contributed eight tackles, one tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry while sophomore Logan Arteaga have has recorded five stops. Sophomore EJ Boney has made two tackles while freshman Matthew Martinez has two tackles, half a sack and half a tackle for loss and senior Prince Sokpo has one stop.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Freshman Malachi McNeil-Harrison leads the linebackers and the entire defense with 41 stops on the year with nine and a half tackles for loss, five sacks, five passes defended, a forced fumble and an interception on the final play versus Utica. Junior Clay Basile has contributed 38 tackles with four for loss, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry while junior Ethan O'Neill has recorded 34 tackles with three for loss and one sack. Senior Chris Cacace has 33 tackles with two and a half for loss, one and a half sacks and a pass break-up while senior Chad Newhard has made 29 tackles including two for loss. Graduate student Declan Coors has 14 tackles with a tackle for loss and a pass break-up while junior Jashon Teller has added 12 stops with a tackle for loss. Senior Jeremiah Espinosa has contributed seven tackles and a pass break-up while freshman Sahmad Bailey has one stop.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Sophomore Aidan Lane leads the defensive backs with 38 tackles including one for loss, an interception versus The Catholic University of America and three passes defended while sophomore Antonio Bowen has contributed 23 stops to go along with a tackle for loss, two interceptions, four passes defended and a fumble recovery. Junior Shea Endean has 17 stops and eight pass break-ups while senior Isaiah Johnson has added 17 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, four pass break-ups and a blocked extra-point at SUNY Morrisville. Sophomore Cleveland Harding has registered 13 stops and a pass break-up while junior Dorian Gray has eight tackles with a pass break-up Freshman Antonio Rivera has seven stops while sophomore Elijah Fajardo has posted six tackles and sophomore Anderson Louis Jeune has added five tackles with a pass break-up.

KICKING GAME: Freshman Ryan Child is 10-for-14 on extra-points of the season. Freshman Jack Corrigan has punted 29 times this fall for an average of 44.1 yards with a long of 71 yards on his second career attempt, and he has nine punts of more than 50 yards and five longer than 60 yards. Corrigan has four touchbacks, two fair caught and 11 punts inside the 20-yard line, and he has kicked off 31 times for an average of 56.5 yards and seven touchbacks. Corrigan is 7-for-7 on extra points and has had his only field goal attempt of the year blocked.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow has ten kickoff returns for 240 yards and four punt returns for 25 yards while freshman wide receiver Jacob Sutton has two kickoff return for 43 yards. Freshman defensive back Antonio Rivera has one kickoff return for 23 yards while graduate student linebacker Declan Coors has returned two kickoffs for six yards and graduate student running back Joey Richmond has a kickoff return to 15 yards. Senior wide receiver Will Castel has three punt returns for six yards while graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham and Ludlow have both added two tackles on special teams. Freshman long snapper Connor Pennington and junior running back Parker Miller each have one tackle on special teams. 

MILESTONE WATCH: The Greyhounds have a pair of student-athletes closing in on milestones for their careers. Graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham became the 23rd player in program history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards, now with 1,317 yards, and he needs 183 yards to become the 12th player to 1,500 yards. Bingham also has become the 12th player to reach 100 career receptions with 116 catches, which is ninth in program history, and he reached the milestone in just in 13 games. Senior quarterback Jared Jenkins is ranked fifth in program history with 5,195 passing yards, and he needs 805 yards passing to become the fourth player in to reach 6,000 yards. Jenkins is also second all-time in completions with 437, seventh in program history with 676 pass attempts and tied for first in school history with 49 touchdown passes. Freshman punter Jack Corrigan booted the fourth-longest punt in school history on his second attempt versus Muhlenberg College in the opener with the ball traveling 71 yards, and he has five punts over 65 yards and nine of his 31 punts have been longer than 50 yards.

SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY: The No. 7 River Hawks enter the game at 7-1 overall and 4-0 in Landmark Conference action after a 48-21 win at Wilkes University last Saturday. Senior quarterback Josh Erlich leads the Susquehanna offense on the field having completed 137-of-191 passes for 1,968 yards with 23 touchdowns and one interception to go with 446 yards and six touchdowns on eight rushing attempts. Erlich's top targets have been senior wide receiver Kyle Howes, who has 45 receptions for 770 yards and 11 touchdowns, graduate student wide receiver Chris Bookter, who has 25 catches for 463 yards and six scores, freshman running back Rahshan La Mons, who has 25 receptions for 323 yards and three scores, junior wide receiver Hunter Morgenroth, who has 18 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown, and senior tight end Rowen Hershey, who has 11 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown. La Mons leads the River Hawks' rushing attack with 831 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 carries while sophomore running back Matt Surtz has added 277 yards and two scores on 40 attempts. Morgenroth has returned six kickoffs for 156 yards while Howes has three kickoff returns for 139 yards and a touchdown. La Mons has ten punt returns for 359 yards with three touchdowns. Senior kicker Christian Colasurdo is 43-for-48 on extra-points and 3-for-6 on field goals with a long of 39 yards, and he has punted 19 times for an average of 40.5 yards with nine fair caught, nine inside the 20-yard line and three longer than 50 yards. Sophomore Dominic Bourgeois is 5-for-5 on extra-points and 2-for-2 on field goals with a long of 32 yards, and he has kicked off 53 times for an average of 62.2 yards and 18 touchbacks. Senior linebacker Garrett Carter leads the River Hawks with 56 tackles to go along with eight tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and a quarterback hurry while senior defensive back Andrew Wells has added 39 stops with one and a half for loss and a pair of pass break-ups. Graduate student linebacker Drew Robinson has contributed 38 tackles with three for loss, one and a half sacks, two interceptions, four passes defended, a quarterback hurry and a pair of forced fumbles while graduate student linebacker Josh Parson has 30 stops with three for loss, a sack, an interception, four passes defended and a quarterback hurry and junior defensive lineman Brian Layton has 29 tackles with five and a half for loss, three and a half sacks, two pass break-ups, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, Moravian suffered its first loss of the inaugural Landmark Conference season, falling to No. 11 Susquehanna University, 33-14, at Rocco Calvo Field. For the first time in 2023, the Greyhounds did not receive the opening kickoff of the contest. However, it took Moravian just three plays to get the ball as defensive back Isaiah Johnson broke up a pass attempt that landed in the hands of defensive back Aidan Lane for an interception that Lane returned seven yards. The Blue & Grey were unable to capitalize on the miscue as their third play was also a turnover as quarterback Jared Jenkins was intercepted inside the five-yard line on a deep pass on a third-and-long play. The River Hawks ended up driving 96 yards in 17 plays while taking 9:14 off the clock. They capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, and Susquehanna went for two on a fake but the pass failed to keep it 6-0 with 3:17 left in the opening quarter. The Hounds answered with a 10-play drive into Susquehanna territory, however, the drive stalled and Moravian turned the ball over on downs early in the second quarter. The River Hawks scored again on another one-yard run after a nine-play, 66-yard drive to extend their lead to 13-0 with 8:54 to go in the third quarter. The Greyhounds looked to score at the end of the first half with a 21-play, 79-yard drive that saw Moravian get to the one-yard line before Jenkins was stopped short of the end zone with just a second left in the half to send the teams to the locker room with Susquehanna leading 13-0. The Blue & Grey received the second half kickoff and needed just five plays to get into the end zone. Running back Nate Boyle ripped off a 27-yard run on the first play of the half while Jenkins finished off the drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Bingham. Jenkins also connected with Bingham on the two-point conversion attempt as the Hounds cut the deficit to 13-8 just 1:45 into the third quarter. Susquehanna countered right back with a five-play, 67-yard drive capped with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 20-8 with 11:05 still to go in the third quarter. Moravian had to punt on its next possession, the first punt of the game for either squad. The River Hawks scored again on a one-yard run but missed the two-point conversion to set the score at 26-8 with 2:48 remaining in the third stanza. Each squad punted on their next drive before the Greyhounds took over on their own 25-yard line. Jenkins would lead the Blue & Grey into the end zone again on the drive as he found wide receiver Brad Bryan with a 16-yard touchdown pass to finish off the eight-play, 75-yard drive. Jenkins attempted to run for the two-point conversion but was stripped of the ball to make it 26-14 with 7:18 left in the contest. The River Hawks added one more touchdown on a 12-yard run on their next possession to set the final score at 33-14 with 4:29 to play. Moravian had one more possession but turned the ball over on downs after gaining 31 yards on 10 plays before Susquehanna ran out the clock. The Greyhounds had 354 yards of offense on 71 plays including 241 through the air. Jenkins completed 20-of-33 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and he ran the ball 15 times for 28 yards. Jenkins' two scoring passes give him 23 touchdowns, tying Sean Keville's single season school record set during the 1994 campaign. Bingham caught eight passes for 125 yards and a score while wide receiver Jordan Lewis pulled in five receptions for 52 yards. Bryan caught three passes for 25 yards and a touchdown while wide receiver Tim Garlick had two receptions for 26 yards. wide receiver Bryan Monge added a catch for seven yards while quarterback/wide receiver/kicker Avery Koser had a reception for six yards. Boyle led Moravian on the ground with 82 yards in 11 carries while running back Camron Tinajero added a rush for three yards. Wide receiver Nick Coffaro returned three kickoffs for 41 yards. Koser had a pair of kickoffs for an average of 50.0 yards while defensive back/punter Colin Conway punted twice for an average of 44.5 yard with a long punt of 56 yards. Linebacker Clay Basile led the Hounds' defense with 11 tackles while Lane finished with ten tackles and the interception in his first career start. Defensive lineman Jeremy McGuigan contributed eight stops while linebacker Chris Ortalano and defensive lineman Nathan Carr each made seven tackles. Defensive lineman Prince Sokpo and defensive lineman EJ Harvey each had four stops with Harvey breaking up a pass at the line of scrimmage. 

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 fourth in the Landmark Conference in total offense at 391.1 yards per game, and the Hounds are second in passing offense at 272.0 yards per contest and fourth in scoring at 25.0 points per outing. Moravian's defense is first in the conference at 297.9 yards per game, and the squad is second in rushing defense at 107.0 yards per contest, tied for first in passing defense at 190.9 yards per outing and first in points per game allowed at 17.1. The Blue & Grey lead the Landmark Conference in defensive pass efficiency at a 113.2 rating, net punting at 38.9 yards per punt and red zone defense at 63.2 percent. Senior quarterback Jared Jenkins leads the Landmark Conference in passing yards per game at 265.9, and he is first in completions with 153, third in attempts with 223, second in yards with 1,861, second in touchdowns with 18 and third in passing efficiency with a 161.8 rating. Graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham is first in receptions per game at 6.7 and sixth in reception yards per game at 69.6 while senior wide receiver Diego Del Castillo is second in receiving yards at 80.9 and sixth in receptions per contest at 4.6. Freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow is third in the Landmark Conference in kickoff return average at 24.0 yards per return on five attempts. Graduate student running back Joey Richmond is tenth in the conference at 47.6 yards per outing. Freshman punter Jack Corrigan is second in the Landmark Conference in punting with an average of 44.1 yards per punt. Freshman linebacker Malachi McNeil-Harrison is second in the conference at 0.71 sacks per game, and he second in tackles for loss at 1.36 per outing and tied for ninth in stops per game at 5.9. Junior linebacker Clay Basile and sophomore defensive back Aidan Lane are tied for 14th with 5.4 tackles per contest while linebackers junior Ethan O'Neill and senior Chad Newhard are tied for 22nd at 4.9 tackles per outing. Junior Nathan Carr is third in tackles for loss with 1.21 per outing and tied for seventh at 0.78 sacks per game while junior defensive back Shea Endean is second the conference in passes defended with 1.14 per contest and junior defensive back Isaiah Johnson sophomore defensive back Antonio Bowen are both tied for fourth at 0.67 passes defended per outing. McNeil-Harrison is tied for third in passes defended at 0.81 per contest, and Bowen is tied for third in interceptions per game at 0.29. 

THE NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Moravian is tied for 23rd in NCAA Division III in blocked kicks with the Greyhounds blocking four kicks so far this fall. The Hounds are also tied for 37th in fewest passes intercepted with four and 24th in red zone defense at 61.9%, allowing scores on just 12 of opponents' 19 trips to the red zone. Moravian is also tied for 11th on opponent fourth down conversion at 18.8 percent, 12th in net punting at 38.9 yards per punt, 38th in passing yards per game at 272.2 yards per contest, 47th in scoring defense a t 17.1 points per contest and 48th in team passing efficiency with a 160.16 rating. Freshman punter Jack Corrigan ranks third in the nation in NCAA Division III with an average of 44.1 yards per punt. Graduate student wide receiver Jordan Bingham is 29th in the country in receptions per game at 6.7 while senior quarterback Jared Jenkins is 14th in completions per game at 21.71, 19th in passing yards with 1,866, 19th in passing yards per game at 266.6 yards per outing, 22nd in total offense at 281.0 yards per outing, 30th in passing touchdowns with 18, 41st in pass efficiency with a 162.2 rating. 52nd in points responsible per game at 15.4, 53rd in points responsible for with 108 and 50th in yards per pass attempt at 8.41. Freshman linebacker Malachi McNeil-Harrison is tied for 64th in sacks per game with an average of 0.71 while junior defensive back Shea Endean is tied for 71st in the nation in passes defended with 1.10  per contest. Freshman wide receiver Josh Ludlow is 51st in kickoff returns at an average of 24.0 yards per return. Senior wide receiver Diego Del Castillo is 64th in receiving yards at 566, and he is tied for 27th in touchdown receptions with eight, 64th in receiving yards per game at 80.9 and 88th in yards per reception at 17.69.