GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – The Gettysburg College football team will take on Moravian College in a Centennial Conference matchup on Homecoming this Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Gettysburg (0-4, 0-3 CC) vs. Moravian (0-4, 0-3 CC)
Gettysburg, PA - Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium
1:00 p.m.
Live Stats/Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gettysburg/
Twitter: @gburgbullets
Instagram: @gettysburgathletics
Facebook: Gettysburg College Athletics
 
THE SERIES
Gettysburg holds a 12-5 advantage in a series that dates back to 1978. The Bullets are 7-1 against the Greyhounds at Shirk Field and won the last meeting on their turf 28-14 in 2017. Moravian has won four of the last six in the series.
 
LAST MEETING
The Greyhounds forced six turnovers on the way to a 59-23 win over the Bullets last fall. Moravian jumped out to a 45-0 lead by halftime with Gettysburg tallying all 20 points in the fourth quarter. Justin Geisel '20 (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day) knocked in three field goals from 26, 37, and 38 yards out for the Orange and Blue. Quarterback Mike Welsh '21 (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) threw for 184 yards and added 57 yards rushing and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Nick Rella '19 picked up 85 yards on 18 carries. Linwood Nicolas, Jr. '22 (Baltimore, Md./Franklin) led the defensive effort with seven tackles and Logan Aikey '19 recorded two tackles for a loss. For Moravian, Chris Mills completed 12-of-13 passes for 336 yards and five touchdowns in the opening half. Nick Petros hauled in six catches for 241 yards and four touchdowns for the Greyhounds.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Trailing 15-9 early in the third quarter, McDaniel ran off three consecutive scores on the way to a 32-22 win over Gettysburg last Saturday. The Bullets fell behind 9-0 before junior Matt Harris (Dennisville, N.J./Middle Township) converted a seven-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. A nine-yard run by freshman Matty Mulcahy (Madison, N.J./Madison) and a two-point conversion put Gettysburg in front 15-9 with 11:52 left in the third quarter.  The Green Terror picked up two rushing touchdowns and a field goal to regain the lead. A 51-yard touchdown pass from freshman Logan Edmond (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) to sophomore Linwood Nicolas, Jr. sliced the deficit to 25-22 with 5:22 to play, but McDaniel converted the final touchdown with less than a minute left to seal the win. Edmond and Harris combined for 174 passing yards, while Mulcahy carried the ball four times for 44 yards. Nicolas totaled 103 yards receiving. Sophomores Matt Lynch (Bridgewater, N.J./Immaculata) and Alex Stillman (Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow) each posted 16 tackles.
 
Senior Roberto Diez ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns, but the Greyhounds fell a touchdown shy of victory with a 35-28 loss to Ursinus at Rocco Calvo Field last Saturday. Moravian turned in the first two touchdowns on a 10-yard run by Diez and a 79-yard interception return by Romello Walters.  The Bears came back to tie the game in the third quarter, but another score by Diez put the hosts back in front entering the final period. Three consecutive touchdowns gave the lead to Ursinus. Following an 87-yard kickoff return by Cory Little, Diez punched in another score  to cut the margin to seven, but the Bears ran out the clock on their final possession. Renard Nicholson led Moravian's defense with 10 tackles and two tackles for a loss.
 
GETTYSBURG OVERVIEW
More than 80 freshman and sophomores dominate a young roster for Head Coach Kevin Burke's second year at the helm. The upstart Bullets will look to surprise some teams in the Centennial Conference this fall after being selected ninth in the preseason poll.


GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg has gone over 150 yards passing in each contest of 2019, while posting at least 100 rushing yards three times. Junior Matt Harris and freshman Logan Edmond have taken turns under center with Harris totaling 403 yards passing and a touchdown and Edmond going for 341 yards and two scores. Edmond has done some work on the ground with a team-high 165 rushing yards and one touchdown. Former quarterback Mike Welsh has racked up 152 rushing yards and a touchdown. Linwood Nicolas, Jr., a former defensive back, had a breakout game against McDaniel and posted the team's first 100-yard receiving game in three years. Sophomore Matt Lajoie (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) leads the team with 14 catches and 225 receiving yards.
 
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
The Bullets have forced seven turnovers this season with four interceptions and three forced fumbles. Sophomores Alex Stillman and Matt Lynch each totaled 16 tackles against McDaniel and rank first (35) and second (31), respectively, on the team in total tackles this season. Lynch also ranks second on the team with 4.5 tackles for a loss, just behind sophomore Alex Raimondo (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) with five.  Junior safety Justin Lessel (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) has picked off a pair of passes and posted three pass break-ups.
 
GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior Evan Tannanbaum (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) has averaged 37.9 yards on 31 punts this season with seven landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line and one going 50-plus yards. Sophomore Doug Cummings (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley) has connected on both of his field goal tries, including a career-long 36-yarder against Ursinus. Lajoie has fielded the majority of the kick-offs and is averaging 14.5 yards per return.
 
MORAVIAN OVERVIEW
Moravian is searching for its first win of 2019 after finishing 5-5 last season. Three of the team's losses have been by a touchdown or less. Head Coach Jeff Pukszyn, a 1998 graduate of Moravian, has spent 19 years on the coaching staff with the last nine as head coach. He led the Greyhounds to a berth in the inaugrual Centennial-MAC Bowl Series in 2015. Moravian was picked seventh in the CC Preseason Poll.
 
MORAVIAN OFFENSE
The Greyhounds run a balanced offense that has seen an equal number of first downs (26) rushing and passing. Senior Roberto Diez has been the featured back all season long with 398 yards on 88 carries and four touchdowns. Diez went over 1,000 career rushing yards in the last game against Ursinus. Christopher Mills has started three games and has thrown for nearly 500 yards. His top target is junior Nick Petros with 18 catches and 179 yards. Petros was All-CC First Team after posting 1,017 yards, 57 receptions, and 11 touchdowns in 2018.
 
MORAVIAN DEFENSE
Moravian has forced just three turnovers this fall, tied with Susquehanna for the league low. The Greyhounds rank second-to-last in the CC with 255.8 passing yards allowed this season. Junior defensive lineman Austin Heisler has racked up a team-high 5.5 tackles for a loss to go along with 20 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Noah Breidinger and junior defensive back Renard Nicholson are tied for the team lead with 33 tackles. Junior Jackson Buskirk has turned in four tackles for a loss.
 
MORAVIAN SPECIAL TEAMS
Petros averaged 49 yards on five punts against Ursinus, including a season-long 65-yard yarder. The junior is averaging 38.6 yards per punt on the season and he has also returned a pair of kickoffs for 53 yards. Sophomore Jack Coary and junior Brendan Morgans are a combined 7-for-8 on extra points with Coary hitting the team's only field goal from 21 yards. Sophomore Cory Little has returned seven kickoffs for a total of 261 yards this season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Gettysburg will enjoy the conference-wide bye next week before facing Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.