It was a lousy cold and rainy day in Westminster, Maryland on Saturday. Not a perfect day for a football game. But, Moravian College controlled the afternoon and came away with a 14-9 win over the waterlogged host McDaniel Green Terrors. (We were not dry but the troops certainly were not going to let anything stand in the way of getting the job done on the field.)
*****I have to mention here…that my “roomdog” Nate who is the assistant equipment manager told me many times that there would be no rain during the game. He first told me that last nite as we watched Family Feud….. “my weather app is showing no rain after 10:00 – so our game in Maryland will be dry.”
The next morning it rained most of the way from Bethlehem to Westminster, Maryland.
Then as we stood on the field during pregame warmup (in the rain by the way)
he showed me the weather moving off on the aforementioned weather application. “Gonna be clearing around 11:30!” 11:45 – yup pretty much a cross between a downpour and steady shower.
As game started at 1:00 the rain heads into a drizzle stage. I swear Nate winked at me and said…”be clearing any minute.” Well the heavens remained open the whole game! After we won in the parking lot I swear there was an old bearded guy herding animals two by two (no unicorns though) up a wide ramp and into what seemed like a huge sailing vessel.
Needless to say Nate’s career as a weatherman (sorry weather person) is not looking too promising.
Alas….I digress – back to the game. *****
Although it isn’t the only reason that the score was close – the officiating left a lot to be desired. A very questionable face-mask call negated a turnover the Hounds secured and led directly to a McDaniel FG.
Unfortunately, the refereeing did not improve – and we were hurt much more than our hosts. But, that’s the way it goes in some games. There are some contests where you swear that everything is going against the good guys (us.)
Whenever there is poor weather it benefits the defense and it was no different today. The passing game was pretty much absent (combined 150 yards for both teams) – and it became increasingly difficult to run the ball as the game progressed. (Both teams averaged just over two yards per carry.)
Many people just play lip service to the kicking game – but, it was obvious that all the work the Hounds put into this phase of the game was paying off.
The tremendous effort in the punting game by Nick Petros (7) and the great coverage really kept McDaniel bottled up most of the day. Although he 
averaged just under 30 per punt…..he continually forced the Green Terrors to start deep in their territory.
McDaniel had a solid game plan both on offense and defense. The defensive design coupled with the wet weather kept the Hounds offense hamstrung throughout the game. But, when it counted the entire Moravian team worked together to get the job done.
Petros (7) punted McDaniel into a deep hole with a 30-yard punt with a very short return. The Hound defense stiffened and on 2ndand 7 from the 9-yard line Shane Mastro (92) stripped the ball carrier and Jackson Buskirk (21) scooped it up and ran it into the end zone untouched.
The icing score by Moravian in the third quarter was set up by another McDaniel fumble. Nick Tone (51) – who was dominant the entire game – found a loose ball on the Green Terror 32 yard line. Following a 21-yard scramble by Doug Erney (2) – he continued his success by running in a 9 yard TD to put the Hounds ahead for good.
Moravian’s stifling defense held the McDaniel running game to just 70 yards with hard tackling and physical play throughout. Brady Hornbaker (20) had 7 tackles with 2 sacks, three and a half tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Shane Mastro (92), Jackson Buskirk (21) and Nick Tone (51) among others really stood out.
Although frustrated by the tough run defense thrown at them – the offense maintained their composure and fought the entire game. The numbers weren’t exciting…..they were effective and timely. Both Berto Diaz (5) and Eli Redmond (1) kept pounding away with clock eating runs.
Eli (1) nearly broke loose on a cutback….had he been able to do this it might have been an easier win for the Hounds.
We are certainly a much better team than we were a week ago. The goal for Hounds is to get better each week.. It was a hard hitting game – we will be sore tomorrow. But, it is better to be sore and win than sore and lose.
Again – Nate as a weatherman….not so much!
The Hounds 2-0!
One more shot of praise at the Special Forces. Both offensively and defensively those guys on
the look squad are extremely important to our squad. We need every one of our guys on the team to contribute – and they do!