By The Daily Item

BETHLEHEM -- Junior running back Dave Paveletz ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns, but his three lost fumbles handcuffed visiting Susquehanna in a 27-14 loss to Moravian on Saturday at Rocco Calvo Field.

Senior running back Tyler deRouen ran for a game-high 131 yards for Moravian (1-0), and senior quarterback Marc Braxmeier completed 12-of-19 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown and ran for 22 yards and a TD as the Greyhounds gained 370 total yards to 257 for Susquehanna (0-1).

Tyler McCambridge ran for 64 yards and a touchdown to help the ground game for Moravian. Sophomore wide receiver Alex Hersch caught a game-high four passes for 58 yards, and fullback Morgan deRouen contributed two receptions for 16 yards and a touchdown.

Crusaders senior quarterback Derek Pope, a graduate of Selinsgrove High School, completed 13 of 30 passes for 146 yards, but his two interceptions and one lost fumble contributed to six turnovers by the Crusaders. Pope's favorite targets were junior split ends Justin Young and J.J. Moran. Young and Moran caught three passes each for 50 and 40 yards, respectively.

Moravian scored early and often in the first half. Senior kicker Brian Reckenbeil capped a 10-play, 43-yard opening drive with a school-record 47-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

Moravian scored again on its next possession as McCambridge scampered 22 yards to finish an eight-play, 84-yard drive for a 10-0 lead at the end of the first.

A Paveletz fumble on the next SU possession gave the ball back to Moravian in great field position at the Crusaders' 36. The Susquehanna defense held, but Reckenbeil made a 35-yard field goal to put the Greyhounds ahead 13-0.

Another fumble by Susquehanna on the following drive -- this time by Pope -- gave Moravian the ball at the Crusaders' 11. The Greyhounds capitalized on the short field when Braxmeier hit Morgan deRouen for a nine-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Moravian staged a 10-play, 89-yard drive late in the first half that led to Braxmeier's one-yard touchdown plunge for a 27-0 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Moravian fumbled on a bad snap at its own 29 to give Susquehanna a short field. Pope completed a 24-yard pass to senior split end Matt Koziol, a graduate of Southern Columbia, to start the drive, and Paveletz raan in from a yard out to put the Crusaders on the board.

Moravian was held off of the board for the rest of the game by a stingy Susquehanna defense that gave the Crusaders a chance. SU outgained Moravian 158-65 in the second half.

Paveletz scored on a one-yard touchdown dive with 2:53 left in the third to make it 27-14.

The Susquehanna defense forced Moravian to turn the ball over on downs with 12:32 left, but another Paveletz fumble at the Crusaders' 41 gave the ball right back. The SU defense got another stop on a fourth down on the ensuing drive, but Pope's interception gave Moravian the ball again.

Susquehanna later put together a 12-play drive that ended on fourth-and-goal from the Moravian 6. Pope scrambled to his right but was intercepted by Daniel Burley to seal the outcome.