HUNTINGDON, PA- After a one-week hiatus, the Juniata football team returns to action on Saturday when its hosts undefeated Ursinus at Knox Field on Homecoming Day. Kickoff will be at 12 p.m.
The Eagles enter the game 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the Centennial. The team last played on October 4th when they lost to #10 Johns Hopkins 56-14. Quarterback Ward Udinski passed for 220 yards on 30-of-40 attempts with one touchdown throw but he also had two interceptions. He was the team's leading rusher with 38 yards on 12 carries. On the receiving end, Isaiah Slutter and Kirby Breault both caught five passes for 93 yards. Breault had a touchdown reception. Deonte Alston had JC's only other score with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter on a one-yard run. Alston finished with 20 yards on four carries. Defensively, Ethan Wilt was in on 12 tackles to lead JC. Jake Diviney had eight tackles. Demetrius Floyd had six tackles and a forced fumble.
Udinski leads the conference in total passing yards with 1,218 and in passing yards per game with an average of 243.6. In total offense (passing and rushing), Udinski is averaging 305.6 yards a contest. Slutter's 74.8 receiving yards is third overall. On the defensive side, Wilt's 11.6 tackles a game is second.
Ursinus is 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Centennial and is tied with the Blue Jays for first place. The Bears blanked Moravian in its last game, 24-0. Running back Taylor Paul accounted for two touchdowns, scoring on runs of seven and 23 yards while fullback Nick Pustizzi scored on a one-yard dive in the first half. Paul finished with 94 yards on 21 carries. Quarterback Kevin Monahan threw for 220 yards on 23-for-37 passing with six throws going to wide receiver Matthew Raymond and Paul. The defense had seven sacks, and 11 tackles for losses of 35 yards on the day, with linebacker James Roccograndi and defensive back Matt Glowacki each having eight tackles. Junior defensive back Kyle Adkins and junior defensive end Steve Ambs each had two sacks. Adkins also had an interception, while linebacker Tim Rafter picked up one as the Bears pushed their turnover margin to +14 which leads the conference.
Ursinus' defense has yielded the fewest points per game in the Centennial with an average of 11.6. Overall, the defense is second in yards given up per contest with 295. It has a total of 19 sacks and opponents have only been successful 50% of the time in the red zone, which is also the best. Bears' opponents have converted less than 26% of their third down opportunities.
Juniata upset Ursinus College 28-7 at the Bears' homecoming game last season and handed Ursinus its first loss of the year. Udinski had a career-high 421 total yards. The quarterback threw for three touchdowns and carried a career-long 49-yard touchdown run. He has six rushing and 14 passing touchdowns this season. Defensively, the Eagles second line was led by senior Kevin Gorman and Wilt. The pair tied for a team-high eight tackles. Wilt grabbed his second career interception in the win and ran it back for a career-long 16 yards. Brandon Felus continued his dominance at the line of scrimmage. The defensive lineman grabbed seven tackles, four for a loss of 18 yards, and two sacks.
At halftime of the game, there will be recognition of the Juniata Hall of Fame Class of 2014, which includes former Juniata football players Bernie McQuown '58 and Bob Crossey '87. In addition, the jersey of Bob Sill '59 will be retired
