GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – The regular season schedule hits its halfway point this Saturday as Gettysburg College (0-4, 0-3 CC) heads to Moravian College (2-2, 1-2 CC) for a Centennial Conference match up at Rocco Calvo Field at 1:05 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will feature live video (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/moravian/) and live stats (https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/fball/2018-19/boxscores/20180929_tes0.xml). The game will also be broadcast live on TV-2 Sports.
 
THE SERIES
Gettysburg has won 12 of 16 meetings with Moravian since the teams' first meeting in 1978. The two sides have met every year since 2007 with the Bullets coming out victorious eight times. Gettysburg has scored a total of 80 points in its last two victories against the Greyhounds.
 
LAST MEETING
Gettysburg knocked off Moravian 28-14 for its first win of 2017. The Bullets' offense was rolling early with Justin Davidov '18 finding Ryan Thompson '18 for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the game. After Moravian tied the game, Nick Rella '19 (Denville, N.J./Morristown-Beard) scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns to give Gettysburg a 14-7 edge at the end of the opening period. Doug Erney tossed his second touchdown pass of the game to open the second quarter, but a touchdown toss by Davidov put the Orange and Blue ahead for good. Rella accounted for the game's final score with a 14-yard scamper into the end zone in the fourth quarter. The Bullets shut out the Greyhounds in the second half, allowing just 115 yards and posting a pair of fumble recoveries. Glenn Benson '18 grabbed both fumbles and Mike McKnight '19 (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) kept Moravian's passing game in check with a career-high five pass break-ups. Davidov totaled 296 yards, completing 20 passes to 10 different receivers for 201 yards and adding 95 yards on 18 carries. Gettysburg's offensive line did not allow a sack in the contest. Jake Skinner '19 (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) led the defense with 13 tackles. Erney finished 13-of-27 for 179 yards and two touchdowns for Moravian. Tim Valentine paced the Greyhounds' defense with 13 tackles, while Steve Ewald and Nick Tone each added 10 stops.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg was upended by McDaniel 25-0 on its Homecoming. The Green Terror took advantage of four turnovers, including an interception midway through the third quarter that led to a touchdown five plays later. Six Bullets posted double-digit tackles with sophomore Jack Humphries (Lutherville, Md./Calvert Hall) and senior Jake Skinner each finishing with 14. Senior Logan Aikey (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) posted a dozen stops, 1.5 tackles for a loss, and forced a fumble, while junior Cole Keyes (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) managed 10 tackles. Freshman Brent Hayes (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville) and junior Ryan Greene (Easton, Pa./Easton) each tallied 10 stops and combined for two sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss. Making his first start at quarterback, sophomore Ryan Finlay (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) finished 14-of-33 for 90 yards. Senior Johnny Davis (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) led the receiving corps with 49 yards on three catches.
 
Moravian fell by a touchdown at Ursinus 21-14 last Saturday. The Bears scored the lone touchdown of the first half and added another midway through the third. The Greyhounds answered immediately as sophomore Doug Erney connected with sophomore wide receiver Nick Petros for a 68-yard scoring strike with 6:27 left in the third quarter. Moravian managed just five yards on its next two possessions, while Ursinus padded the lead with another touchdown and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. Another touchdown pass from Erney to Petros for 39 yards late in the game set the final score. Erney finished 11-of-16 for 177 yards, while Petros hauled in six catches for 138 yards. Senior Eli Redmond posted 45 yards on 12 carries. Senior Nick Tone posted 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while sophomore Jackson Buskirk totaled 10 tackles.
 
GETTYSBURG OVERVIEW
It's the start of a new era of Bullets football as former offensive coordinator Kevin Burke '90 takes on the mantle of head coach. Burke spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach under Barry Streeter, who retired as the program's all-time leader with 196 victories over 39 seasons. Burke is looking for his first win as a head coach since coaching Juniata College to a 20-7 victory over FDU-Florham in 2003. Gettysburg was picked sixth in the Centennial Conference Preseason Poll.
 
GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Sophomore Mike Welsh (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) should return to the starting job at quarterback this week after missing last week's game. Welsh has totaled 283 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while rushing for a team-high 111 yards. The Bullets' leading receiver this fall is senior Johnny Davis (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) with nine receptions for 144 yards. Senior Chase Fee (Spotswood, N.J./Spotswood) has hauled in 11 catches for 65 yards and a score, while adding 21 yards on four carries.
 
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
Gettysburg leads the conference with 87 tackles per game. Senior Jake Skinner ranks second in the conference with 10.3 tackles per game. Senior safety Mike McKnight reached 200 career tackles last week and leads the secondary with 24 tackles. After setting the program record with 17.5 tackles for a loss in 2017, senior defensive end Logan Aikey (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) has racked up 8.5 hits in the backfield this fall, including four sacks. He ranks second in the league in tackles for a loss. Sophomore Thomeir Richardson (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) leads the CC with three interceptions and six pass break-ups. Through his first 14 career games, Richardson has racked up four interceptions and 17 pass break-ups.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) hit his third career field goal of 40 or more yards in the season opener. Geisel has already climbed into fourth on Gettysburg's career list with 17 made field goals and is one behind Rich Eppleman '79 for third. Sophomore punter Evan Tannenbaum (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) set a program record with 448 yards on 11 punts against Ursinus. He is averaging 37.8 yards per punt this season, which ranks second in the CC. Richardson has returned 13 kickoffs for an average of nearly 19.2 yards per return this fall.
 
MORAVIAN OVERVIEW
Moravian was picked ninth in the preseason conference coaches' poll. The Greyhounds are coming off a 2017 campaign that saw the team go 2-8 overall and 2-7 in Centennial play. Jeff Pukszyn is heading into his eighth season as head coach at Moravian. Pukszyn, who was an assistant coach for a decade prior to rising to the head role, led the Greyhounds to the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series and was named the conference and regional coach of the year in 2015.
 
MORAVIAN OFFENSE
After putting up 452 yards in its season-opening win over King's, Moravian has averaged only 216 yards in the three games since. The Greyhounds were held to 70 yards passing or less in two of those outings. Sophomore Doug Erney has completed 39-of-68 passes for 505 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for 167 yards and a score. Senior Eli Redmond has racked up a team-high 244 yards on the ground and is just 63 rushing yards shy of 2,000 for his career. Sophomore Nick Petros has hauled in 15 receptions for 257 yards and three touchdowns this fall.
 
MORAVIAN DEFENSE
The Greyhound defense has forced six turnovers, including five on fumbles. Moravian ranks second in the conference with 77.3 tackles per game. Senor Nick Tone leads the line with 27 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while sophomore linebacker Brady Hornbaker has racked up 26 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Sophomore defensive back Jackson Buskirk leads the team with 34 tackles and he returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown against McDaniel.
 
MORAVIAN SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior Jon Miller has connected on all seven extra-point attempts and 2-of-4 field goals, with a long of 29 yards this season. Petros doubles as the team's punter and has averaged 33.5 yards per punt. The versatile Redmond has returned three kickoffs for an average of 17.3 yards, while Buskirk has averaged 9.8 yards on his four punt returns.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Gettysburg hosts Juniata College on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m. The Bullets lead the all-time series 22-10 and have won nine of 11 meetings since 2007. Gettysburg won last year's meeting 42-35 in Huntingdon.