BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Behind an overpowering defense and strong opportunistic special teams, the Ursinus football team defeated Moravian 34-7 on the road on Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference action.
With the win, the Bears improve to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in Centennial Conference action. Meanwhile, the Greyhounds fall to 2-5 overall and 2-4 in conference action.
Bears junior quarterback Jack Psenicska finished the day 16-of-26 for 198 yards and tossed two touchdown passes. Senior running back Samuel Ragland powered the Bears running game with 146 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. It was Ragland's third 100-yard game of the 2021 season. Junior wide receiver Kevin DePrince led the Bears wide receivers with a team-high 45 yards on two catches. Senior wide receiver Octavious Carter caught two passes for 37 yards and one touchdown while classmate Zachary Throne caught Psenicska's other touchdown pass, his only reception of the game for 28 yards.
Moravian opened the game with the ball and seemed they were going to strike quickly as Greyhounds quarterback Christopher Mills found Nick Petros for an 80-yard pass completion to the Bears one-yard line. However, an out-of-bounds tackle from senior defensive back Aaron Diamond on the play would loom large on the drive. The Bears defense stuffed the Greyhounds on four-straight plays from the one-yard line to force a turnover on downs. Ursinus created some breathing room on offense after starting from the one-yard line, but were forced to punt away after six plays. The Bears defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Moravian drive before a punt pinned the Bears offense inside their own 10-yard line again. After a short march, the Bears were forced to punt again following a fumble that was recovered by Psenicska.
Ursinus once again came up big on defense as they halted a Greyhounds at midfield with a sack to open the second quarter. Following each team trading punts on their respective ensuing drives, the Bears broke the scoreless tie when Psenicska found Throne for a 28-yard touchdown strike over the middle with 4:04 left in the second quarter. Freshman linebacker Marc Clayton then forced a fumble on the Greyhounds kick return to set the Bears up at the Moravian 23-yard line. Ursinus faced a third and goal from the two-yard line and Ragland punched it in to put Ursinus up 14-0 with 1:34 left in the first half. Once again, the Greyhounds had troubles on the kick return and fumbled the ball right back to the Bears inside their own 10-yard line. Ursinus was able to extend their lead to 17-0 as junior kicker Dakota Wherrity made a 24-yard field goal as time expired.
The Bears came out throwing on the opening drive of the second half as Psenicska used three completions to set up Wherrity's second-straight field goal, this time from 27 yards out to put Ursinus up 20-0. Moravian looked to respond as they drove into Bears territory once again, but the Bears defense halted the Greyhounds on downs at the Ursinus 39-yard line. Psenicska went a perfect 5-of-5 on
the Bears next drive and capped it with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Carter, extending the Bears advantage to 27-0 with 2:03 left in the third quarter. Ursinus was able to pin the Greyhounds on a punt at their own one-yard line, and it paid off as a short punt following a three-and-out put the Bears at the Moravian 34-yard line. Junior running back Joshua Bowman capped the Bears scoring for the day with a 16-yard touchdown run to put Ursinus up 34-0 with 10:19 left in regulation. Moravian broke the shutout on their next drive, but the Bears responded by wiping off 6:32 of the final 7:08 to seal the win.
Junior defensive lineman Ethan Belville led the Bears defense with a team-high eight tackles (one solo) and one TFL. Junior linebacker William Tatlonghari added six tackles (two solo) and 0.5 TFL, while junior defensive lineman Jack Ginley III and Ryan Bodolus each recorded sacks. The Bears out-gained the Greyhounds 389-217 in total offense, and held a sizable 191-31 yards edge on the ground. Petros led the Greyhounds with 149 receiving yards on eight catches, and Angelo Macera caught the Greyhounds lone touchdown pass. Mills finished the day 15-of-25 for 186 yards and one touchdown.
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, October 30th as they will host Gettysburg for homecoming at 1 p.m.