ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- The Moravian University football team saw its 2021 season come to a close with a 55-0 loss to No. 15 Muhlenberg College in Centennial Conference action on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Scotty Wood Stadium. 

How It Happened

• The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff but would end up punting
• It took Moravian four plays to get the ball back as freshman defensive back Chad Newhard intercepted a pass by Mike Hnatkowsky to set the Blue and Grey up near midfield
• Freshman quarterback Carter Hallgren, who was making his first career start for the Hounds, was intercepted on a fourth-and-one play
• The Mules turned the miscue into the first of eight touchdowns in the game as Muhlenberg led 7-0 with 7:37 to go in the first quarter
• Muhlenberg added another touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and the Mules scored twice more before the intermission to head to the locker room with a 27-0 lead
• Muhlenberg began the second half with a long drive and extended the advantage to 34-0.
• After being limited to just 27 total yards in the first half, 22 on the ground, and no first downs, Moravian put together a 14-play, 74-yard drive on its opening possession of the second half that moved into the red zone and down to the one-yard line before sophomore running back Nate Boyle was stopped on fourth down to give the ball back to the Mules
• Muhlenberg turned the defensive stand into another touchdown, and Muhlenberg added one more score before the game ended
• After the game, Greyhound senior defensive back Jackson Buskirk was selected as Moravian's Sean Keville Most Valuable Player Award winner after making 13 tackles with nine solo stops. It is the third straight game in the series that Buskirk has been the Moravian MVP. This is the first year the award has been named in memory of Sean Keville '95, who passed away from COVID-19 in April 2020, and is a member of the Moravian and Middle Atlantic Conference Halls of Fame. Hnatkowsky was honored as Muhlenberg's Bianco Award MVP in the contest while the Mules were awarded the Sodexo Cup

Inside the Numbers

• Moravian finished the game with 117 yards including 94 on the ground
• Senior running back Carrington Smith had 83 yards on 20 carries while Boyle had 13 yards on nine attempts
• Hallgren was 5-for-12 for 23 yards with an interception in his first career start while junior quarterback Brad Bryan did not attempt a pass but had three yards on one rushing attempt
• Senior wide receiver Trevor Cunningham caught three passes for 20 yards while sophomore wide receiver Tim Garlick had one reception for two yards and Smith caught one pass for a yard
• Buskirk's 13 tackles gave him 298 tackles in his career including 191 solo stops to finish his career fifth in school history
• Newhard, senior linebacker Romello Walters and freshman linebacker Jeremiah Espinosa all had six tackles, and Walters also had two kickoff returns for 57 yards
• Graduate student defensive back Renard Nicholson contributed five tackles while senior defensive back Justin McRae had four stops. Senior linebacker Francis Lagreca had three tackles with one for loss and a pass break-up while senior defensive back Connor Lyon and senior linebacker Nicholas Azpeitia each had a tackle for loss and junior defensive lineman Javi Espinal-Katz was credited with a quarterback hurry
• Freshman wide receiver Nick Weston returned two kickoffs for 29 yards while junior wide receiver Nick Basenese had a pair of kickoff returns for 25 yards and sophomore linebacker Chris Ortalano returned two kickoffs for 20 yards 

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Season Complete