HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata football's 14 first quarter points were enough to defeat Centennial Conference rival Moravian College, 14-6, Saturday afternoon. It was their first home win against the Greyhounds (2-7, 2-6 Centennial) since 2001. Juniata (3-6, 2-6 Centennial) is on a two-game win streak for the first time since 2002 and have their first three win season since 2003.
"I feel this game is a good game in where we are at in the evolution of our program," said Juniata Head Coach Tim Launtz. "We had some giveaways but we were still able to come out of this football game with a victory. For our seniors and for the program it is always good to have a win at home."
The Eagles defense held Moravian to only two field goals, marking the first time an opponent has not scored a touchdown on Juniata since the season opener in 2010 against McDaniel. They were led by juniors Kevin Gorman (Waverly, N.Y./Waverly Central) and Brandon Felus (Columbia, Pa./Columbia). The pair combined for 15 tackles (3.5 for 26 lost yards), two sacks, an interception and a broken pass.
"From the front seven into the secondary, [the defense] all played very well," said Launtz. "I was very impressed with how aggressive we played today. When you play aggressively the way we were, that slows an offense down quite a bit. [Gorman and Felus] are just good hardnosed football players that come every game. They play with great intensity and they are very tenacious."
The defense intercepted Greyhound QB Jimmy Lahue three times in the contest, including the win sealing pick by freshman Jordan Shroyer (Hollsopple, Pa./Conemaugh Township) on Juniata's 6-yd line with 54 seconds to play.
Juniata's two scores were seven minutes apart.
Sophomore Ward Udinski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) rushed for the Eagles first touchdown 4:58 into the contest. He then found senior Dominic Bornman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) for the second on a 31-yard pass with less than three minutes to go in the first quarter.
Launtz calls Udinski "the straw that serves the drink offensively." He has rushed for 10 and passed for eight touchdowns this year. Udinski leads the team with 2,229 passing and 438 rushing yards. The touchdown was Bornman's second of the season. He leads the team in receiving yards (609), averaging 67.7 yards per game.
Juniata will close its season on the road against Susquehanna on Saturday, Nov. 10, in the annual "Battle for the Goalpost" game. In a battle for bragging rights that dates back to 1955, the prize is a six-foot high portion of the wooden goalposts from Susquehanna's Stagg Field.
The Crusaders lead the overall series (37-32-3) and the "Goalpost Games" (27-23-1). Juniata is 13-43 when traveling to Susquehanna, but the Eagles look to hold onto the goalpost after winning last year's matchup 17-16 back on November 12, 2011. Kickoff for the season finale is set for 1 p.m. Juniata has a chance at its first four win season since 2002 when the Eagles went 5-5 overall.
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