HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata football defense held Centennial Conference rival McDaniel College scoreless for over three quarters to help the team pull out a 24-7 win on their annual Pink Game at Knox Stadium Saturday afternoon. It was the Eagles first home win of the season. They improve to 2-6 (1-6, Landmark) on the year while McDaniel dropped to 0-8 (0-7 Landmark).
"To finally get one on Goodman field is very rewarding to our team and it shows our appreciation to all the folks helping us get that turf," said Juniata Head Coach Tim Launtz. "We control what happens to us. It's just about execution and doing our jobs and that's what we did today and you see the result."
This was the fewest points the Juniata defense has allowed all season and marked the fifth time the Green Terror have been held to 10 points or fewer this year.
Pacing the Eagles defense was junior Brandon Felus (Columbia, Pa./Columbia). The defensive lineman finished with a game and season-high 10 tackles, five solo and five assisted. He also had a game-high three sacks, his most in a single-game this season, and finished with 3.5 tackles for a loss of 23 yards.
"Defense really rose to the occasion today and played very, very well," commented Launtz. "The whole defense, they came up with plays when they had to. Brandon today was a man possessed. He just dominated."
Sophomore Ward Udinski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) continued his stellar year on the field. Passing for over 308 yards and a touchdown, Udinski also led the team with 79 total rushing yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.
"Ward doesn't have a lot to say, he lets his actions and his caliber of play speak for him," said Launtz. "He just continues to improve game in and game out."
Udinski completed over 70-percent of his passes with zero interceptions in the win. He currently leads the team with 1,944 passing yards and 320 rushing yards.
Juniata had three receivers with over 80 yards on the day. Seniors Dominic Bornman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Quadir Christian (Johnstown, Pa./Greater Johnstown) led the team with 94 and 90 receiving yards, respectively. Freshman Michael John (Osceola Mills, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola) finished with 83 yards of his own.
"That whole core of seniors have just been a real mainstay for us and provided Ward with a good experienced group to throw to," added Launtz.
Christian's 30-yard touchdown pass from Udinski in the fourth quarter sealed the Eagles victory with 2:56 to play.
For the first time since 2003, Juniata has two wins with at least two games remaining in the season. They are looking for the first three win season in almost 10 years but have two tough conference games left on the calendar with only one more home game left in the 2012 season. They face league rival Moravian on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 12 p.m. It will be senior day in Knox Stadium as Juniata says goodbye to 12 Eagles.
"Things are changing here," said Launtz. "And whatever happens in the future, the seniors have played a large role in that success."
Juniata is 26-28-2 all-time against Moravian who is 2-5 in conference play this year with league wins over McDaniel and Dickinson. The programs have been meeting since 1932 and the Eagles haven't found a way past Moravian since 2003. The Greyhounds won the team's last meeting 28-3 back on Nov. 5, 2011.
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