GAME NOTES
Moravian (2-4, 2-3) at Ursinus (4-2, 3-2)
When: Saturday, October 22nd
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video:Â VIDEO
Live Stats:Â STATS
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SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Ursinus leads the series 12-10-1
First Meeting: `1901 – Ursinus won 16-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 23, 2021 @ Ursinus – Ursinus won 34-7
Streak: Ursinus +4
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The Ursinus Bears Football Team will host Moravian for its annual homecoming game contest on Saturday at Patterson Field.
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Last week, the Bears dominated McDaniel 56-17 under the lights behind a fast start. Ursinus used a balanced offensive attack to gain a 28-3 advantage halfway through the second quarter. Following a Green Terror touchdown, Ursinus responded with a touchdown of their own to go up 35-10 into halftime. Ursinus added three more second half scores to finish off the win with all of them coming in the third quarter. The Bears out-gained the Green Terror 447-278 behind 250 yards through the air and 217 on the ground. Ursinus also forced four turnovers while not yielding one of their own and posted four sacks.
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Meanwhile, the Greyhounds were defeated 26-7 by Dickinson on the road on Friday night. Moravian fell behind 10-0 in the first half before scoring a touchdown with just over a minute left in the second quarter. The Greyhounds got a stop to open the second half, but had their ensuing punt blocked which led to a Dickinson touchdown. The Greyhounds were unable to get much going on offense in the second half as Dickinson added nine more points to pull away in the fourth quarter. Moravian had three turnovers in the loss as well.
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LAST MEETING: The Bears used an overpowering defensive effort and strong opportunistic special teams to defeat Moravian 34-7 in Bethlehem last season. Ursinus got on the board with a touchdown after a scoreless quarter and a half before extending it to 17-0 after forcing two-straight fumbles on kick returns. Ursinus added a field goal and two more touchdowns to pull away in the second half.
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STANDING ALONE: Senior quarterback
Jack Psenicska set a pair of milestones against McDaniel last Friday. Psenicska took over the Bears career touchdown pass record with a trio of touchdown strikes against the Green Terror and became the 4th Bears quarterback in program history to eclipse the 5,000-yard passing yard plateau. He now sits at 46 touchdown passes after passing former Ursinus quarterback and teammate, Thomas Garlick. Psenicska sits at 5,131 passing yards and seeks to potentially move into second all-time in career passing yards over the next two games. This season, Psenicska currently leads the conference in passing yards at 1,519 and in passing yards per game with 253.2. He also ranks third in the Centennial with his 17 touchdown passes.
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SOPHOMORE STANDOUT: Sophomore wide receiver
Justin Collier continued his breakout sophomore season by catching a pair of touchdown passes against McDaniel. He caught two touchdown passes for the first time in his career and finished with four receptions for 41 yards. His two touchdowns moved into the team lead with four touchdown receptions on the season. Collier also now ranks third on the team with 221 receiving yards and has caught touchdowns in four of the six games this season for the Bears.
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DUAL THREAT: Sophomore
Jalen Bradford showed off his dynamic play last Friday against McDaniel. The dual threat quarterback saw time in the backfield as one of the Bears lead backs and rushed for a career-high 123 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns. The touchdowns were the first of his collegiate career after seeing limited time as the backup QB in 2021. Bradford also saw time under center for the first time this season in the fourth quarter and completed four out of five of his passes for 48 yards.
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POWER BACK: Junior fullback
Dawson Fresses scored the first two touchdowns of his career last Friday against McDaniel. Fresses scored both of his touchdowns to help the Bears pull away in the second half. Fresses finished the game with 59 yards on 13 carries. Fresses continues to hold strong as one of the lead backs for Ursinus following some injuries in the Bears backfield and has rushed for 215 yards so far this season.
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BEARS ON HOMECOMING: Since 2010, the Bears have posted an 8-3 record in homecoming games behind winning four of their last five homecoming contests. Ursinus dominated Gettysburg 42-21 in their 2021 homecoming game to bounce back from a tough 2019 setback to Juniata. Ursinus last hosted Moravian for a homecoming contest back in 2018 and defeated the Greyhounds 21-14. Today's contest will conclude with the presentation of the Kenneth E. Walker trophy that will be awarded to the top performing Ursinus player in the contest. Former running back
Samuel Ragland has won the last four Walker trophies behind his performances on homecoming Saturday.
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FIRST PICK: Sophomore
Anthony Esposito grabbed the first interception of his collegiate career last Friday against McDaniel. His interception in the third quarter capped off a strong night as he recorded a 2.0 TFL, which were also the first of his career. Esposito has started in every game at corner for the Bears this season and currently stands with 10 tackles (six solo) along with three pass break-ups plus one blocked kick in the season opener at Alvernia.
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SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS: Junior running back Nate Boyle is having a strong season in the Greyhounds backfield. Boyle ranks second in the Centennial with 627 yards on the ground and is tied for third with five rushing touchdowns. Boyle scored the lone Moravian touchdown last week at Dickinson and rushed for a career-high 183 yards and three scores three weeks ago against Juniata. Junior wide receiver Tim Garlick leads the team with 30 receptions, is tied for first with two touchdown receptions, and ranks second on the team with 310 receiving yards. That last name should sound familiar to Bears fans as he is the younger brother of former Ursinus quarterback, Thomas Garlick. Junior Brad Bryan will also be a featured target as he leads the Greyhounds with 327 receiving yards while catching a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Carter Hallgren has assumed the starting quarterback job for the Greyhounds and has thrown for 372 yards and three touchdown passes in three games.
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On defense, junior linebacker Nick Levinski ranks among the league leaders in tackles as he is tied for second with 53 total stops (28 solo). He also ranks second on the team with 2.5 TFL. Fellow linebacker Jack Gawlik paces the team with 4.5 TFL and two sacks while totaling 17 tackles (11 solo). Junior defensive back Zack Scillia leads Moravian secondary with a pair of interceptions. Junior defensive back Colin Conway is tied for second in the Centennial with five pass break ups and has posted 21 tackles (10 solo).Â
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