It took more than year, but Moravian junior quarterback Marc Braxmeier finally found it: consistency. After being shaky throughout last year when he guided the Greyhounds to a record of 4-6, Braxmeier opened season with the best game of his career.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pounder completed 12-of-19 passes for 215 yards and 4 touchdowns?both career highs?to lift his team to a 34-27 nonleague victory over Susquehanna last week.
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“Last year, he got some experience and he was a little inconsistent,” Moravian coach Scot Dapp said. “Coming into camp, of the quarterbacks going for the starting job, he had shown the most consistency, and that?s how he played against Susquehanna.”
Braxmeier started by throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Sean Hill on the game?s first drive, and found Shawn Sylvainus for a four-yard strike with 43 seconds left in the first quarter to put Moravian ahead, 14-6.
“He threw the ball well, especially the deep ball,” McDaniel defensive coordinator Eric VanHeusen said. “They had a couple of long balls last week, and he put them in good spots. They?ve got some speedy wide-outs, who could give us some trouble.”
Braxmeier and Hill hooked up for a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and Alex Hersch?s nine-yard grab gave the Greyhounds a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter.
After Moravian tied the game at 27 midway through the fourth quarter, Braxmeier proved why he won the starting job. He orchestrated an eight-play, 88-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run with two minutes, 28 seconds remaining that proved to be the difference.
As a sophomore, Braxmeier split time with Ryan Rempe and Brad Swartz, and he ended the season with 579 yards on 43-of-88 passing with 5 touchdowns against 4 interceptions.
A strong outing against the Green Terror could be all Braxmeier needs to surpass last year?s totals.
“That?s something that we hope he does all year,” Dapp said. “We hope that he continues to learn. He?s done a good job at coming into the film sessions, and he was able to take everything with him last week.”
