COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind an overpowering rushing attack, the Ursinus football team moved past Moravian 35-19 on Saturday night in non-conference action.
With the win, the Bears improved to 3-0 for the fourth straight season as they wrapped up non-conference action. Meanwhile, the Greyhounds fell to 0-3 overall.
Senior
Jason Bernard and junior
Devon Green delivered a powerful 1-2 punch on the ground as the duo combined for 314 of the Bears 331 rushing yards. Bernard rushed for a career-high 177 yards on 27 carries while Green also set a career-high with 137 yards on 14 carries with three touchdowns. It was the first time since November 2024 against Gettysburg that the Bears had a pair of running backs rush for over 100 yards when former Bear Tony Holden and Bernard combined for 308 yards against Gettysburg.
Senior quarterback
Tristan Machado went 12-of-19 for 154 passing yards and added the other 17 yards on the ground off four carries. Senior wide receiver
Aidan Donahue led the Bears receivers with four catches for 54 yards.
After the teams traded punts to start in the first quarter, the Bears put together a 10-play 56-yard drive to take the early 7-0 lead off a 1-yard plunge from Bernard at the 7:08-mark. However, the Greyhounds responded with a 13-play 75-yard drive to score their first touchdown of the night at the 2:11-mark but missed the extra point to keep the Bears in front at 7-6. Green got things rolling for the Bears on their ensuing drive with a pair of lengthy runs and capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown to give Ursinus a 14-6 lead at the 13:36-mark of the second quarter. Ursinus halted a Greyhounds drive that just crossed into Bears territory and extended their lead to 21-6 with 4:38 left in the first half when Bernard scored his second touchdown of the game, this time from five yards. However, Moravian stayed in the game by putting together a 13-play 75-yard with a touchdown drive to cut the lead down to 21-13 that carried into halftime.
The Bears forced a Greyhounds punt to start the second half but turned the ball over on downs at the Greyhounds 18-yard line on their next drive. Moravian responded by chipping further into the Bears lead with a 29-yard touchdown run on 4
th-and-2 to make it 21-19. Ursinus was able to hold its lead by breaking up the Greyhounds two-point attempt. The two-point conversion turned out to be the Greyhounds best chance as the Bears extended their lead back to 28-19 in the first 12 seconds of the fourth quarter after Green scored a four-yard touchdown. Green added one last touchdown on the next Ursinus drive to cap the Bears night at 35-19.
Junior linebacker
PJ Blessington led the Bears defense with nine tackles (five solo) and one sack plus a pass break up. Junior defensive end
Manny Saenz added another sack for Ursinus and finished with four tackles (three solo). Sophomore defensive end
Loui Goin recorded eight tackles (four solo) as well.
The Bears have the next week off before returning to action on Friday, October 2
nd as they will host Muhlenberg for their Centennial Conference opener at 7:00 p.m.
