Mike Zanoni paces Moravian College football team past Juniata

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Moravian coach Jeff Pukszyn tells his quarterbacks not to neglect the tight end.

"We stress that sometimes the tight end can be your best friend," Pukszyn said.

Senior Mike Zanoni, a Freedom High School graduate, certainly was a good buddy for both Robbie Moyer and Matt Johnson this afternoon in Bethlehem.


He caught a career-high seven passes for 78 yards and scored his first collegiate touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter as Moravian (2-7) added to winless Juniata's misery with a 28-7 victory on Senior Day at Rocco Calvo Field.

"My first TD as a Greyhound," Zanoni said after he made the grab over the middle and bulled his way across the goal line. "We knew they'd give us Cover 2. I was open and Matt made a great throw.

"I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. If I hadn't made it in, I'd never have heard the end of it."

Zanoni's score gave the Greyhounds a 21-7 lead as Moravian overcame a sluggish start in an error-filled first half.

"Our first three possessions, we kept shooting ourselves in the foot," Pukszyn said, noting that the Greyhounds fumbled, then threw two interceptions.

That was with Robbie Moyer at quarterback and the second pick with 4:28 left in the first quarter was run back 30 yards by Juniata's Nicholas Stubbs for a score.

But if Moravian's offense was floundering, the defense made sure the Eagles were really lost.

Moravian finished with seven sacks and forced five turnovers, four of them interceptions. The one fumble came midway in the second quarter after a Tyler Thompson punt rolled out of bounds at the Juniata 1-yard-line.

On the next play, quarterback Walt Udinski fumbled the snap, the ball went forward and was recovered at the Eagles' 4 by Moravian free safety D.J. Wacker.

Two plays later, Moyer scored on a sneak and the first of Ian Heck's four extra points tied the game.

Moravian went to Johnson at quarterback in the second half and the move paid immediate dividends. After Juniata went three-and-out, Johnson led a seven-play, 72-yard drive, completing three straight passes along the way.

Two of the grabs were by Zanoni, the second of which brought the ball to the Juniata 7. Junior running back C.J. Billera out of Emmaus then powered his way up the middle to the end zone.

"The second half, the offense came alive and did a great job," Pukszyn said. "Just like last week, we knew we were going to get Johnson in there at some point and we thought at half time we'd make the change. Matt's arm strength helps us spread things out and it gives us a different look."

"We got clicking. It was a team effort," Johnson said after completing 9 of 10 for 122 yards. "The defense played well and the receivers did a great job. Our coaches called plays that kept working for us."

Moravian limited Juniata to 83 yards of total offense. Senior linebacker Evan Bauer of Liberty had five tackles, two sacks for 15 yards and forced a fumble. Junior inside linebacker Ryan Hartzell of Easton had six tackles and senior defensive end Allen Petros of Liberty had five tackles and 1½ sacks.

"We have three seniors up front and they've played at a high level," Pukszyn said of Petros, Patrick Gordon (Notre Dame H.S.) and nose tackle Seth Payne. "And we use Evan Bauer as both a defensive end or linebacker. And it helps you have a good pass rush when you stuff the run."

"It's been hard with the coaching changes we've had but I think we're coming around," Zanoni said. "I think the program is in good hands."

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