Fall 2024 Issue:

Why I Play

Dark Side Defender

Why I Play

Dark Side Defender

Dark Side Defender

By Claire Kowalchik ’P22, Photography by Carlo Acerra, Fall 2024

Truthfully, there isn’t a dark side to senior Jeremiah Espinosa, linebacker for Moravian’s football team. “He is a fantastic young man,” says Head Coach Jeff Long. “He leads with his work ethic and positive attitude, and he motivates others because his passion and positivity are infectious.”

So . . . the dark side?

“ ‘Dark side defense’ is our motto,” says Espinosa. “The offense has the ball, but the play ends on our terms and on the dark side, making the offense scared to come back on the field.”

Espinosa is all in with Long’s dark side defense. “There’s something about holding a team, imposing your will upon them, and not letting them do what they want to do.”

At 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, Espinosa might not seem an imposing linebacker, but freshman year, he showed coaches and fans he deserved the position.

I am fearless when I’ve got my guys around me. It’s a sort of uplifting spirit to know that the guy next to me—I can trust him—blood, sweat, and tears.”

—Jeremiah Espinosa ’25

“I give it my all,” says Espinosa, who then brings it all back to the team—to the brotherhood, the reason he enjoys football above all other sports. “I am fearless when I’ve got my guys around me. It’s a sort of uplifting spirit to know that the guy next to me—I can trust him—blood, sweat, and tears—because we put in the same work, we went through the same hardships. When you all stand for one thing, everything else becomes easier.”

And the Greyhounds all follow one philosophy. “We have three pillars that we all play by—pride, poise, and toughness,” Espinosa adds. “You take everything you do with pride, you handle every situation with poise, and you’ve got to be the toughest. With those three things, we feel like we are invincible.”

Dark Side Defender

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