Moravian 27, Muhlenberg 24

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Junior tailback Ryan Rempe ran for 180 yards and four touchdown including the winning score in overtime to lead the Moravian College football team to a 27-24 overtime upset victory over sixth-ranked and arch-rival Muhlenberg College in Centennial Conference action at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday afternoon.


The victory improves the Greyhounds to 8-2 overall, just the fourth time in the 84 years of the program Moravian has won eight games in a season and the first time since 1993, and Moravian completed the Centennial Conference season at 6-2, tied for second place. The Greyhounds will await word on Monday, November 17th to see who and where the team will likely play in an ECAC Bowl game. Moravian also improves to 2-0 in overtime this season and 7-2 all-time in overtime since the NCAA instituted the rule in 1996.


Muhlenberg saw its 20-game regular season winning streak and bid for a second straight undefeated regular season fall with the loss as the Mules drop to 9-1 on the year. Muhlenberg had already clinched the 2008 Centennial Conference championship and the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. The Mules end the Centennial Conference season at 7-1 and will find out Sunday afternoon their opponent in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. The Mules are just 2-3 in overtime games in their history.


Rempe, who was filling in for injured starting tailback Tyler McCambridge for the second time in three games, ran for his third straight 100-yard game and became the first Greyhound to run for four touchdowns in a game since Tim Barlok had four rushing touchdowns in a five-touchdown performance at Susquehanna University on October 28, 2000. Rempe was named Moravian’s Most Valuable Player of the game, and he had one kickoff return to 18 yards. Rempe has run for 461 yards and four touchdowns on 124 carries in the Greyhounds' last three games.


Senior running back John DeLuca won the Bianco Award as Muhlenberg’s MVP in the game as he ran for 148 yards and a score on 40 carries and added one kickoff return for 23 yards.


Moravian, which lost the coin toss for the second straight contest after winning the first eight of the season, received the opening kickoff and would take half of the first quarter time off of the clock while building a 7-0 lead. The Greyhounds slowly moved the ball down the field with Rempe running eight times, senior fullback Morgan deRouen carrying the ball three times, and senior quarterback Marc Braxmeier completing a pair of passes and running once. 


Moravian picked up five first downs on the drive including two by penalty with Muhlenberg being called for pass interference in the end zone on a third-and-four play from the 20-yard line, and a personal foul face mask on the next play to put the ball at the two-yard line. deRouen had the first crack at the end zone but fumbled the ball. Greyhound junior tight end Brian Dencker covered the ball inside the one-yard line to set up Rempe’s first one-yard touchdown run of the game. Senior kicker Brian Reckenbeil made his 64th straight extra-point to give the Greyhounds a 7-0 lead with 7:28 to play in the first quarter.


The Mules were called for a penalty before running an offensive play and two penalties on the their first short drive of the game. Muhlenberg senior punter David Mazzola kicked the ball away after just three plays.


Moravian would then punt for the first time in the game on its next possession as senior punter Michael Voskian kicked the ball back to the Mules after three plays.


Muhlenberg would get one first down on its next drive on an eight yard scramble by senior quarterback Eric Santagato on a third down play before Mazzola punted on the first play of the second quarter.


The Greyhounds took over at their own 36-yard line after the punt and would put together an 11-play, 64-yard scoring drive that included nine runs by Rempe with six of the carries going for more than five yards, and a pair of completions by Braxmeier. Rempe finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown run, and Reckenbeil’s extra-point pushed the Moravian lead to 14-0 with 9:45 remaining in the first half.


The Mules would start from their own 30-yard line, and DeLuca ran for 11 yards on the first play of the drive. Three plays later, Muhlenberg lined up for a punt but senior wide receiver Edward DeRisi took a short snap on the fake and ran 22 on a fourth-and-six play for a first down. The Mules picked up one more first down before a penalty and a sack of Santagato by Moravian senior linebacker Andrew Morrissey forced a fourth-and-15 at the Moravian 26-yard line. Morrissey forced Santagato to fumble on the sack but Muhlenberg senior offensive lineman Steve Halupka recovered the ball. Mule sophomore kicker Michael Katz came on to attempt a career long 43-yard field goal but was wide to the left.


Moravian took control of the ball at its own 26-yard line but punted for the second time on a fourth-and-one play after Braxmeier’s third down completion to deRouen was short.


Muhlenberg would then put together its first scoring drive of the game. The nine-play, 78-yard drive was capped off with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Santagato to sophomore wide receiver Bobby Bushong. Bushong was covered by a pair of Moravian defenders in the back of the end zone but was able to win the struggled for the ball as the players fell to the turf. Katz made the extra-point to close the Moravian lead to 14-7 with just 20 seconds remaining until the intermission.


Moravian would take a knee to head to the locker room with the 14-7 lead.


Muhlenberg received the opening kickoff of the second half, and after the ball rolled out of bounds on the kick, the Mules began at their own 40-yard line. Muhlenberg picked up two first downs including a fourth-and-one, a problem for the Greyhound defense this season as Moravian has allowed 16 of 25 fourth down attempts to be converted into first downs this season after the game. However, a penalty, a short run on first down and an incomplete pass forced the Mules into a third-and-14. Santagato had a pass tipped by Moravian senior defensive back Carl Robinson and intercepted by Greyhound sophomore linebacker Anthony Carney at the Moravian 23-yard line. Carney returned the ball out to the Moravian 39-yard line but a personal foul penalty on the Greyhounds forced Moravian to start from its own 24 yard line.


The Greyhounds would get a first down on the three straight runs by Rempe, but a sack of Braxmeier by Muhlenberg senior linebacker Matt Rathbun forced Moravian into a fourth-and-12 from the Moravian 33-yard line. On Voskian’s punt attempt, Mule freshman defensive back Chris Hartzell burst through the middle of the line and blocked the punt. Hartzell would scoop up the ball at the Moravian 17-yard line and run it into the end zone for the score. Katz drilled the extra-point to tie the game at 14-14 with 5:33 to play in the third quarter.


Moravian would begin from its own 45-yard line after a personal foul by Muhlenberg on the kickoff return by Greyhound freshman wide receiver Jesse Phillips. On a third-and-five play from midfield, Braxmeier connected on a 36-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Shawn Sylvainus down the right side line to move the ball to the Muhlenberg 14-yard line. However, Rempe was unable to control a handoff on the next play and fumbled with Hartzell covering the ball for the Mules at their own 12-yard line.


Muhlenberg picked up two quick first downs on long runs by DeLuca to move out the Mule 41-yard line. After moving the ball into Moravian territory, Muhlenberg was called for holding penalties around a ten-yard completion from Santagato to DeRisi. Facing a second-and-20 from their own 43-yard line, Santagato attempted a shovel pass but the ball deflected off of a player and into the hands of Moravian senior defensive lineman Doug Bocchino (Madison, NJ/Madison HS) for an interception at the Muhlenberg 40-yard line.


The Greyhounds, however, were unable to move the ball and with Braxmeier sacked for the second time in the game, punted on fourth-and-18 from the Muhlenberg 48-yard line on the third play of the fourth quarter.


Starting from their own 20-yard line after a touchback in the punt, Muhlenberg would put together a 12-play drive to move to the Moravian 28-yard line with four first downs on completions by Santagato. But Santagato was sacked by Bocchino and Greyhound sophomore defensive lineman Michale McClarin to set up a fourth-and-14 from the Moravian 30-yard line. Katz came on to attempt a career best 47-yard field goal but the kick was short.


Moravian took over on its own 30-yard line and Rempe was stopped for a three-yard loss on first down. On the next play, Braxmeier has a pass tipped in the secondary in intercepted by Muhlenberg junior defensive back Cameron Ahouse (Woodbury, CT/The Gunnery) to give the Mules possession at the Moravian 40-yard line.


Muhlenberg would need just seven plays to tie the game, five of them runs by DeLuca, who scored on a 17-yard run off of the left side of the line. Katz’s extra-point gave the Mules a 21-14 leads with just 4:13 remaining in regulation.


After an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on the Moravian sideline before the kickoff, Phillips would take the ball in the end zone and return it to just the Moravian 16-yard line. Rempe ran for eight yards on the first play and then one on the second play of the drive before bursting through the left side for a career long 63-yard run down left side line. Hartzell tripped up Rempe at the Muhlenberg 12-yard line and saved the touchdown. deRouen ran for seven yards on first down but Rempe was then held to a yard on two carries. Facing a fourth-and-two at the Mule four-yard line, Moravian called timeout. After the stop in play, Braxmeier attempted to hit senior wide receiver Tyler Hersch in the left front corner of the end zone but Ahouse got a hand on the ball.


The Mules took over on the four-yard line with just 1:23 to play but with Moravian holding two timeouts, Muhlenberg couldn’t kneel down. DeLuca ran for seven yards on the first play before the Greyhounds called a timeout. DeLuca would also get the call on second down but was stripped by senior defensive lineman Don Maxwell and Carney covered the ball at the Muhlenberg ten-yard line with 1:11 to go.


Rempe ran for three yards on first down before Moravian called its final timeout. Braxmeier attempted a quick strike to Dencker on the next play but the pass was too high. On third and goal from the seven-yard line, Braxmeier looked for sophomore wide receiver Alex Hersch but the pass was wide. However, Muhlenberg was called for pass interference, the Mules’ 12th penalty of the game, to give the Greyhounds a first-and-goal at the two-yard line. Rempe would run up the middle for his third score of the game. Reckenbeil made the extra-point, his 66th in a row and his 57th consecutive PAT as a member of the Centennial Conference, to tie the game at 21-21 with just 54 seconds remaining.


On the ensuing drive, Santagato would connect on a 26-yard pass to DeRisi to move the ball to the Moravian 44-yard line. After another first down on a seven-yard pass from Santagato to senior wide receiver Joe Caporoso, the Moravian defense, ranked in the top 20 in the nation in turnover margin and first in the Centennial Conference, would force its fourth turnover of the game and 33rd turnover of the season. Santagato rolled to his right on first down at the Moravian 33-yard line and attempted a pass that was batted into the air by Greyhound sophomore defensive lineman Allen Petros. Morrissey would grab the ball out of the air for the interception at the Moravian 28-yard line and he returned it 13 yards.


The Greyhounds were called for a delay of game penalty before snapping the ball at their own 41-yard line with 11 seconds to play, just Moravian’s fifth penalty of the game. Braxmeier threw a pass to Sylvainus but the ball was tipped around and fell to the turf. The Greyhounds would then take a knee and go to overtime for the second time in three games.


Muhlenberg had the ball first in the overtime and picked up a first down on two straight DeLuca runs. Santagato hit DeRisi with a nine-yard completion and DeLuca ran for another first down, moving the ball to the Moravian four-yard line. DeLuca was then stopped for a loss by Carney and Maxwell, and Santagato was sacked for the fourth time in the game by Moravian junior defensive back Brad Bodine for a four yard loss on second down. Santagato was incomplete on his attempt to Caporoso on third and goal from the nine so Katz was called on for this third field goal attempt of the game. Katz drilled the 27-yard field goal to give the Mules a 24-21 lead.


On Moravian’s overtime possession, Rempe ran for a yard on first down and then 11 more yards to move the ball to the 13-yard line. deRouen ran for a yard before Rempe was stopped for a two-yard loss. On third-and-11, Braxmeier found Tyler Hersch down the right side line for an 11-yard game and a first-and-goal from the three-yard line. Rempe gained two yards on first down but was stopped for no gain on second down. Rempe would

The Greyhound offense had just 277 yards in the game on 65 plays but Moravian improved to 8-0 on the season when running at least 61 offensive plays in a contest. deRouen finished with 18 yards on six carries while Braxmeier completed seven of 13 passes for 94 yards with one interception and he was sacked twice. Tyler Hersch caught three passes for 31 yards while Sylvainus has two receptions for 42 yards.


The Muhlenberg offense ran up 284 yards on 80 plays and controlled the ball for 33:46 of regulation, but the Mules committed four turnovers after committing just 11 turnovers in the first nine games of the season. Santagato completed 16 of 29 passes for 191 yards and a score, but he was intercepted three times and sacked four times. Santagato had thrown just four interceptions in 201 pass attempts this season entering the game. DeRisi caught eight passes for 87 yards to go with his 22-yard run while Caporoso has four receptions for 43 yards. Bishong has two catches for 47 yards including his touchdown and a pair of kickoff returns for 30 yards.


Petros led the Moravian defense with 12 tackles including a sack and two tackles for loss while Bodine had 11 tackles and a sack. Senior linebacker Kevin McGorry also added 11 tackles while Morrissey had ten stops with a sack, forced fumble and interception. Sophomore defensive back Daniel Burley made nine tackles with a pair of pass break-ups while Robinson had eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass break-up. Carney finished with six tackles, a half tackle for loss, the interception and the fumble recovery while senior defensive back Erik Brinkerhoff had six tackles and a pass break-up.


Rathbun made a game high 15 tackles to lead the Muhlenberg defense, and he added a sack and four tackles for loss while sophomore linebacker Scott Gavin had nine tackles with a half a tackle for loss. Sophomore defensive back Jared Holenda and junior defensive lineman Frank Emmett each had eight tackles for the Mules with Emmett forcing a fumble.




Press release submitted by on Nov 15, 2008 at 06:47 PM Eastern