Oct. 26, 2011

Johns Hopkins-Ursinus Football Notes
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The Game: Johns Hopkins (7-0, 6-0 Centennial) welcomes Ursinus (5-2, 5-1 CC) to Homewood Field for a crucial Centennial Conference game. This is the first of two straight home games for the Blue Jays.

The Teams: Johns Hopkins improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the Centennial Conference as the Blue Jays rolled past Gettysburg, 83-21, last Saturday. Ursinus set up this week’s showdown with Johns Hopkins with a 49-19 victory at Susquehanna.

What’s at Stake: Quite simply, this week’s Johns Hopkins-Ursinus game is the game of the year in the Centennial Conference. A Johns Hopkins win secures no worse than a share of the league title and gives the Blue Jays the CC’s automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs. A win by Ursinus puts the Bears in the driver’s seat in the race for the automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs, but does not secure the bid or a share of the title.

The Coaches: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff, who is now in his 22nd year as the head coach at JHU and sports a 144-78-3 (.647) record. He is the all-time winningest coach in school history and is also the all-time winningest coach in Centennial Conference history as he moved past Gettysburg’s Barry Streeter with his 98th all-time league victory last week. Ursinus is coached by Peter Gallagher, who is now in his 11th season as the head coach at UC and enters this week’s game against Johns Hopkins with a record of 53-56 (.486).

Offense Rolls in Victory at Gettysburg: The Johns Hopkins offense was nearly unstoppable in last Saturday’s 83-21 victory at Gettysburg. The Blue Jays set school records for total offense (731), passing yards (545), plays from scrimmage (100), pass attempts (56), completions (43), touchdown passes (7) and first downs (39). The 39 first downs are one shy of the NCAA Division III single-game record.

Where The Points Rank: The 83 points Johns Hopkins scored last Saturday are the most ever by a Centennial Conference team (since league was formed in 1983) and the second most in school history. Only an 87-point showing against Loyola in 1924 sits ahead of the 83 points JHU hung on Gettysburg.

Defense Shines at GC as Well: While the eye-popping numbers Johns Hopkins posted at Gettysburg are sure to jump out at people, the Blue Jay defense was nearly as effective against one of the top offensive units in the nation. The 21 points Gettysburg scored were half of the Bullets’ season average entering the game (42.2), while GC’s 335 yards of total offense were nearly 200 less than the Bullets had been averaging (525.3). Of note, Gettysburg totaled just 77 rushing yards after averaging 253.8 through the first six games.
The Blue Jays also forced three turnovers at Gettysburg and have now forced at least two in all seven games this season. Taking it back farther, Johns Hopkins has forced two or more turnovers in 28 of its last 32 games.

These are the Facts: The win against Gettysburg improved JHU’s all-time record to 478-473-58 (.502). Johns Hopkins moved its all-time record over .500 for the first time since 1912 with the 41-0 victory at Moravian on September 17.

About the 7-0 Start: Johns Hopkins is 7-0 for the first time since 2005 and just the fourth time in school history. Previously, JHU won its first seven games in 1892, 2003 and 2005. Johns Hopkins has never started a football season with eight straight wins.

Streaking: Johns Hopkins closed the 2010 season with five straight wins and has run that streak to 12 with seven wins to open the 2011 season. The 12-game streak is the longest in school history, surpassing 11-game streaks that bridged the 2002-03 and 2004-05 seasons. JHU has outscored the opposition 532-122 during the winning streak. The 12-game winning streak is also tied for the second-longest in Centennial Conference history. Dickinson won 14 straight games from 1987-88, while Muhleberg bridged the 2006 and 2007 seasons with a 12-game run of its own.

More Steaking: JHU’s 12-game winning streak is the second-longest active Division III streak in the nation. Two-time defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater has currently won 37 straight games.

A Final Streak: In addition to boasting the second-longest active Division III winning streak in the nation, the Blue Jays also boast the third-longest active overall winning streak in college football (NCAA). Wisconsin-Whitewater’s 37-game run is the longest, while Stanford currently has a 15-game run. Johns Hopkins is one of two teams (Colorado State Pueblo - Division II) that has an active 12-game winning streak.

Ok, One More: Johns Hopkins’ current 10-game winning streak in Cenntennial Conference games is the longest in school history and is tied for the fifth-longest in league history.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins is ranked 12th in this week’s AFCA Poll and has been ranked in the top 25 in each of the six weeks since the poll debuted for the 2011 season. The Blue Jays opened at #23 on September 19 before moving up to 20th, 16th, 15th and then 14th last week.
Johns Hopkins is also ranked 14th in this week’s d3football.com poll. JHU was among the teams listed as receiving votes for the first four weeks of the d3football.com poll before moving into the top 25 on September 25.
The Johns Hopkins Office of Athletic Communications uses the AFCA Poll to reflect JHU’s official ranking at the time of a game. The AFCA Top 25 can be found on page five (5) of this release.

More Poll Position: Johns Hopkins checked in at number eight (8) in the first Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll, jumped to sixth last week and fifth this week. The poll ranks teams in the East in all four Divisions of NCAA Football (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) and the team at the top of the poll at the end of the season is awarded the prestigious Lambert Cup. Johns Hopkins’ highest finish in the Lambert Poll came in 2009, when the Blue Jays finished second. The Lambert Meadowlands Poll for this week can be found on page five (5) of this release.

JHU Rolls Up 1,363 Yards vs. Dickinson & Gettysburg: Johns Hopkins rolled up a then season-high 632 yards of total offense against Dickinson (10-14) only to follow that with a school-record 731-yard performance at Gettysburg. Those two totals rank among the top four single-game totals in school history.
In addition, the 443 yards passing by the Blue Jays against the Red Devils ranked third in JHU history for one week until it was bumped to fourth by a school-record 545-yard effort at Gettysburg.

Offense Rolling: The Blue Jays rank either first or second in the Centennial Conference in every major statistical category. Entering this week’s game vs. Ursinus, JHU ranks first in passing offense (342.6), scoring offense (47.6) and total offense (521.9). The Blue Jays also rank second in rushing offense (179.3).

More Offense: In addition to ranking first or second in the Centennial in every major statistical category, the Blue Jays also rank second in the nation in total offense (521.9) and third in scoring offense (47.6) and passing offense (342.6).

Offense Rolls During Win Streak: Johns Hopkins has been consistent on both sides of the ball during the current 12-game winning streak. The Blue Jays have scored 24 or more points in all 12 games and have rolled up at least 381 yards in each of the wins as well. On the flip side, JHU has held 10 of those 12 opponets to less than 17 points and 285 yards of total offense.

A Program First: Johns Hopkins rushed for 269 yards and passed for 290 yards in the win against Susquehanna (9-10-11). This marked the first time in school history that JHU has rushed and passed for more than 250 yards in a game. JHU has gone over 200 yards passing and rushing 29 times, but the game against Susquehanna was the first time the Blue Jays went for 250-250 in a game.

Another First: One week after generating 290 yards rushing and 269 passing vs. Susquehanna, the Blue Jays got 269 yards passing and 202 rushing at Moravian. This marks the first time in school history JHU has ever had consecutive games with 200 or more rushing and passing yards.

Rigaud, Fazio Fuel Ground Attack: Junior Jonathan Rigaud and senior Nick Fazio are leading a ground game that is averaging 179.3 yards and just over three touchdowns per game.
Rigaud has rushed for a career-high 508 yards on 91 carries (5.6 yards/rush) and ranks fifh in the CC at 72.6 yards per game. He also counts eight rushing TDs to his credit and recently became the 22nd player in school history to top 1,000 career rushing yards (1,183). Rigaud became the first player in school history with two 60+ yard rushing touchdowns in a game as he scored on runs of 68 and 69 yards in the third quarter of the game vs. Susquehanna.
Fazio has rushed for 207 yards on 56 carries with six touchdowns. His two scoring runs against Dickinson give him 18 in his career, which ties him for ninth on JHU’s career rushing touchdowns list.

Balanced Receiving Tough to Contain: There are currently five players in the Centennial Conference with 34 or more receptions on the year and three of those five wear the Columbia Blue and Black.
While 2010 Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year Sam Wernick will draw most of the attention from defenses throughout the season, the Blue Jay receiving corps is deep and talented and trying to take away Wernick only leaves more space for others to operate.
Wernick ranks second on the team with 51 receptions for 459 yards and six scores and currently ranks third in school history in receptions (208), receiving yards (2,838) and career 100-yard receiving games (10). He also moved into sole possession of second place on JHU’s career TD receptions list (28) with his two scoring catches against Gettysburg. He also ranks fourth in school history in career all-purpose yards (3,882).
Sophomore Dan Wodicka counts a team-high 54 receptions on the year with his going for 870 yards and five scores. He ranks second in the league in receiving yards per game (124.3) and first in receptions per game (7.3). He enjoyed one of the finest games of his career against Dickinson as he tied his career-high with 11 receptions for a personal-best 202 yards and a career-best 246 all-purpose yards. He did himself one better last week vs. Gettysburg as he tied the Johns Hopkins single-game record for recpetions (15) and totaled 217 receiving yards and one touchdown. The 217 receiving yards rank fourth all-time at JHU and he is the first player in school history with consecutive 200-yard receiving games.
Rounding out JHU’s three primary receivers is junior Scott Cremens, who counts 34 receptions for 462 yards and a team-high eight TDs. He ranks seventh in the Centennial in receptions per game (4.86) and eighth in receiving yards per game (66.0). He had a career-high three TD receptions on six catches for 92 yards last week vs. Gettysburg.
In all, 16 different players have at least one reception for the Blue Jays thus far and 10 of those 16 players have at least five receptions to their credit.

Tomlin Continues Assault on JHU, Centennial Record Books: Senior Hewitt Tomlin returned to action last week vs. Dickinson after missing two games and picked up right where he left off - assaulting the Johns Hopkins and Centennial Conference record books with his performance against the Red Devils. He took that effort up a notch in last week’s 83-21 win at Gettysburg.
One week after throwing for 390 yards vs. Dickinson, Tomlin was 39-of-52 for 501 yards and seven touchdowns against the Bullets. His marks for completions, yards, TD passes and total offense (505) are all school records. His seven TD passes also tied the Centennial Conference reccord. He was selected as the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season for his efforts. Tomlin is 129-of-188 for 1,664 yards with 18 TDs against just two INTs on the year. He currently leads the Centennial in passing yards per game (332.8), total offense (333.4) and pass efficiency (172.4).
For his career, Tomlin is 755-of-1,229 for 9,462 yards and 68 TDs. All of those marks are school records, as are his 28 career 200-yard games, 11 career 300-yard games and 9,659 yards of total offense.

Matey Leads JHU Past Muhlenberg, Juniata: With senior Hewitt Tomlin held out against Muhlenberg and Juniata with an injury, the quarterbacking duties fell to sophomore Robbie Matey, who took full advantage of his opportunity.
Matey was 25-of-31 for 251 yards with one touchdown to lead JHU to a crucial 27-17 victory over Muhlenberg on September 24. He followed that with a 17-of-31 showing for 161 yards and two touchdowns at Juniata.
His efforts continued his strong play on the year as he is now 61-of-84 (.726) for 598 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Piatek Reaches 200: Senior LB Ryan Piatek was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the win over Susquehanna. Piatek had a career-high two interceptions, including one in the first quarter that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown to give JHU a 7-0 lead. He added four tackles vs. the Crusaders, seven at Moravian and four vs. Muhlenberg. He topped the 200-tackle mark vs. Susquehanna and now has 219 to his credit. He is JHU’s career active leader in tackles.

Eagleson Among Career Leaders: Senior CB Sam Eagleson’s fourth quarter interception vs. Muhlenberg moved him into sole possession of fourth place on JHU’s career interceptions list with 14. The Johns Hopkins career record for interceptions is held by Brian Hepting (20), while Matt Campbell (16) and Chad Van Den Berg (15) also sit ahead of Eagleson.

Maciow, Schweyer, Sweeney, Brown Top Tackle Chart: Juniors Taylor Maciow and Adam Schweyer and seniors Kale Sweeney and Tyler Brown currently sit at the top of the tackle charts for the Blue Jays.
Maciow, who has been named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll three times this season, counts a team-high 44 tackles, 3.5 sacks and four pass breakups to his credit to lead the way, while Schweyer moved into second with a 12-tackle effort vs. Gettysburg that pushed his season total to 41. Sweeney is tied for the team-lead in sacks (3.5), leads the team in tackles for loss (7.0) and ranks third in overall tackles (40). Brown ranks fouth in the team in tackles (29) and counts 3.5 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, four pass breakups and two fumble recoveries to his credit.

Defense Fuels Victories: While the Johns Hopkins offense has grabbed attention with the points and yards it has put up, the Blue Jay defense is also enjoying a solid season as well. Consider:

• JHU currently leads the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (9.3), total defense (206.1), passing defense (114.7) and rushing defense (91.4).
• In addition to sitting at or near the top of the Centennial Conference in all categories, JHU also ranks third in the nation in pass yards allowed per game (114.7), fourth in pass efficiency defense (76.60 rating) and total defense (206.1) and sixth in scoring defense (9.3).
• The Blue Jays’ first seven opponents have had 100 combined possessions against JHU - only six have resulted in touchdowns. Two of the eight overall TDs JHU has allowed have been scored by the opposition’s defense/special teams.
• The Blue Jays forced two turnovers vs. USMMA and three vs. Susquehanna, Moravian and Muhlenberg before coming back with two more vs. Juniata and Dickinson and three vs. Gettysburg. Hopkins has forced two or more turnovers in 28 of its last 32 games.
• JHU has forced at least one turnover in 33 of its last 34 games.
• JHU has at least one interception in 28 of the last 33 games.
• JHU is allowing an average of 3.3 yards per play. Muhlenberg ranks second in the CC in yards allowed per play (4.4).
• Hopkins held Susquehanna to 179 yards of total offense and Moravian to just 194. This is the first time since late in the 2009 season that JHU has held consecutive opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense. The 268 yards Muhlenberg generated (Sept. 24) are the most JHU has allowed this season.

Road Warriors: JHU is 22-6 on the road since the start of the 2007 season and 44-15 on the road since the start of the 2001 season.

Sustained Success: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 78-28 (.736) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 84-31 (.730) since the start of the 2001 season and 89-36 (.712) since the beginning of the 2000 season. The 74 wins the Blue Jays amassed from 2000-09 are the most wins in a decade in school history. Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season prior to this decade. In the decade completed in 2009, the Blue Jays averaged more than seven wins per season (7.4).

Seven’s Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 69-19 (.784) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.

Centennial Conference Champions: Johns Hopkins earned a share of its sixth Centennial Conference title since 2002 last season as JHU posted a 7-2 CC mark and shared the title with Muhlenberg and Ursinus.

ECAC South Atlantic Champions: The Blue Jays grabbed their fourth ECAC title since 2002 with a 44-14 victory over Lebanon Valley in the 2010 South Atlantic Bowl. JHU has won four of the five ECAC Bowls its has played in since 2002 (these are the only ECAC Bowls JHU has ever played).

A Grand Victory: In addition to keeping themselves alive in the race for a share of the Centennial Conference title, JHU’s win at Franklin & Marshall on November 6, 2010 will also go down in the record books as a victory in the 1,000th game in school history. JHU closed the 2010 season with an all-time record of 471-473-58 (.499).

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