Sports

Local college football

By Dave Rosengrant drosengrant@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

EDWARDSVILLE – Throughout the entire season, Wilkes made a habit out of creating turnovers and capitalizing on other team’s miscues.

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Wilkes’ Zach Tivald gets past Moravian’s Travis King, No. 30, and Zach Szoke during Saturday’s ECAC Southeast Bowl Championship Game at the Ralston Athletic Complex in Edwardsville.

Niko J. Kallianiotis/For The Times Leader

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The Colonels entered Saturday’s ECAC Southeast Bowl Championship Game against Moravian with a plus-20 turnover margin.

But in one of the big postseason games for Division III, the Colonels did the opposite of what they have done the last two and a half months.

Wilkes turned the ball over five times and didn’t force the Greyhounds offense to make any miscues as the Colonels dropped a 26-14 decision at Ralston Athletic Complex. It was the second straight year Wilkes was in an ECAC game, but it’s also the Colonels’ second straight loss in such a game for the young team, which ends its season with a 6-5 record.

“Playing in this caliber game against a hot football team -- this is a tough way to (lose),” Wilkes coach Frank Sheptock said. “That’s how we’ve won all year so it’s challenging for us to overcome that.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Moravian (7-4) used a 19-point second quarter while using more than 11 minutes in the period to open a 19-0 lead at halftime. Wilkes had the ball for only 3 minutes, 37 seconds in the second quarter.

The Greyhounds’ first two scoring drives of the second quarter went for 80 and 90 yards, respectively. The final scoring drive of the quarter was set up by an interception thrown by Wilkes quarterback Alex George and was just one play for 12 yards.

All three Hounds’ scores in the period were on passes by quarterback Matt Johnson to receivers in the back of the end zone. A 5-yard toss to Ryan Onushco gave Moravian a 6-0 lead. That was followed by scoring throws of 2 and 12 yards to Shawn Sylvainus to open a 19-0 lead. Those scores were due to the athletic ability of Johnson, who passed for 184 yards and four touchdowns and kept many plays alive with his legs en route to claiming the game’s Most Outstanding Player award.

“We were so focused on the quarterback that when he was on the move, a lot of our second zone guys were keying in on him, which was creating some throwing lanes for him,” Sheptock noted. “Me, as a head coach, we have to put kids in better position to make plays in those instances. So I would take the responsibility for those (three touchdowns).”

The Colonels, who won five games by a touchdown or less this season, were down but not out of the game and gave a valiant effort to make the game interesting.

Tailback Zach Tivald capped a 12-play, 78-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run as Wilkes got on the board with six minutes left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 19-7. Moravian came right back to push the lead back to 19 points, 26-7 with 15 seconds remaining in the third.

Wilkes trimmed the deficit to 26-14 on a 24-yard scoring pass from George to Shawn Gregson early in the fourth quarter. The team was on the verge of getting closer late in the game, going 68 yards on nine plays in a little over a minute, but George, who threw three interceptions, was picked off by Michael Burke on the Moravian 7 with 1:16 left in the game.

Sophomore QB Tyler Bernsten also threw an interception and the Colonels’ other turnover was on a muffed punt late in the game.

“Today doesn’t define our season by any means,” Sheptock said. “Our program is on the right track. I’m very pleased with our football team and I think we have a tremendously bright future.”

Second Quarter

MOR – Onushco 5 pass from Johnson (kick failed) 11:29

MOR – Sylvainus 2 pass from Johnson (rush fumbled) :59

MOR – Sylvainus 12 pass from Johnson (Heck kick) :07

Third Quarter

WILKES – Tivald 2 run (Horn kick) 6:00

MOR – Bauer 4 pass from Johnson (Heck kick) :15

Fourth Quarter

WILKES – Gregson 24 pass from George (Horn kick) 11:33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – MORAVIAN: Tegan 16-45, Johnson 13-25, Hersch 1-14, Hildebrand 1-9, Del Priore 8-9, TEAM 2-(minus-2). WILKES: Tivald 12-58, George 12-49, Wogou 1-0, Bernsten 4-(minus-12).

PASSING – MORAVIAN: Johnson 19-26-0-184. WILKES: George 20-31-3-203, Bernsten 6-7-1-60, TEAM 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING – MORAVIAN: Del Priore 6-63, Sylvainus 5-53, Onushco 3-40, Hersch 3-27, Bauer 1-4, Tegan 1-(minus-3). WILKES: Tivald 9-61, D’Emilio 6-54, Eagles 3-38, Wogou 3-16, Kratzer 2-52, Gregson 1-24, Dorunda 1-13, Bousson 1-5.

INTERCEPTIONS – MORAVIAN: Bortz, Hartzell, Bauer, Sylvainus. WILKES: none

MISSED FIELD GOALS – MORAVIAN: Heck (40, WL), (33, short). WILKES: none