HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata football team hosts its final home game of the regular season this coming Saturday when Moravian comes to Knox Field. It is the Eagles' Senior Day with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m.
Juniata enters the game at 4-4 overall and 3-4 in the Centennial Conference. The team is coming off a 56-31 win over McDaniel last week. It was the first time since 1999 that Juniata had scored 50 or more points and the 675 total offense yards the team gained were the most since 2005.
Senior quarterback Ward Udinski (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) had a career day as he threw for 469 yards and five touchdowns. In the process, he also became the all-time leading passer in yards in Juniata football history. Fellow senior Isaiah Slutter (Hawley, PA/Wallenpaupack) compiled 284 all-purpose yards on the day as he caught seven passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns and had 149 yards in kick returns which included a 98-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff.
The defense also had a big game as it sacked Green Terror quarterback Matty Callahan six times with Jared Kronicz (York Haven, PA/Camp Hill) picking up 2.5 of them. Demetrius Floyd (Coraopolis, PA/West Allegheny) forced a fumble and had two pass breakups while Nick Bonavita (Sheffield, PA/Sheffield) took an interception back for 34 yards and a fumble recovery 41 yards.
Moravian is also 4-4 and 3-4 in the conference. The Hounds picked up their first road win of the season last weekend at Gettysburg College with a 34-14 victory over the Bullets. Running back Chris Negron carried the ball a team-high 24 times for 96 yards with one touchdown. Freshman running back Eli Redmond had his second 100-yard game of the season with 113 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Quarterback Mike Hayes ran for 28 yards on six carries and he also completed 20-of-30 passes for 205 yards and three scores. Hayes' 20 completions went to six different receivers with sophomore wideout Jalen Snyder-Scipio catching a career-high nine passes for 89 yards. Negron pulled in three passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns while junior wide receiver Will McLaughlin also grabbed three passes for 34 yards and freshman wide receiver Aaron Hudson had three receptions for 21 yards. Senior linebacker Ed Buoye added eight tackles while senior defensive lineman Andrew Richmond made seven stops including the Greyhounds' only sack of the game. Senior linebacker Richard Kugel had six stops with one and a half tackles for loss while senior defensive back Chris McGrath had four tackles.
Saturday's contest is the 60th time that the two schools have played each other with Moravian holding a 29-28-2 lead. The Eagles have won the last two meetings; 27-14 last season in Bethlehem and 14-6 in 2012 at Knox.
