Sept. 13, 2001

The Game: Johns Hopkins (1-0) hits the road for the first time this season as the Blue Jays make their first-ever trip to Rochester (1-0).

The Teams: Johns Hopkins is coming off a 34-3 season-opening victory at home against Washington & Lee. Rochester is coming off a 44-6 dismantling of St. John Fisher in which the Yellowjackets set a school record for total yards.

Note of the Day: This week's game at Rochester will mark the first time Johns Hopkins has played a football game in upstate New York since October 29, 1966, when the Blue Jays lost at Hobart (41-6).

The Coaches: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff (Johns Hopkins `82), who is now in his 12th season as the head coach at Homewood. With last week's win over Washington & Lee, Margraff became the all-time winningest coach inn school history as he now sports an overall record of 61-47-3 (.563). He had been tied with Dr. Ray Van Orman (60-64-7) as the winningest football coaches in school history.

Margraff guided the Blue Jays to a school-record-tying seven wins in 1996, 1997, and 1998 to record the winningest three-year period in school history. Margraff's .563 winning percentage ranks third among JHU coaches who have coached 20 or more games.

In addition to ranking as the all-time winningest coach in school history, Margraff also ranks third on the all-time Centennial Conference (CC games only) victory list (43-31-2) and seventh on the all-time winning percentage list among Centennial coaches (CC games only) (.579).

All-Time Centennial Coaching Victories List

(CC Games Only)

1. Tom Gilburg (FM) 75-50-1/.599

2. Barry Streeter (G) 65-58-3/..528

3. Jim Margraff (JHU) 43-32-2/..571

4. Tim Keating (WM) 40-14-2/.732

5. Darwin Breaux (D) 39-16-1/.705

All-Time Centennial Winning Percentage

(CC Games Only)

1. Tom Lapinski (S) 11-3-0/.786

2. Tim Keating (WM) 40-14-2/.732

3. Ralph Kirchenheiter (M) 35-13-1/.724

4. Darwin Breaux (D) 39-16-1/.705

5. Ed Sweeney (D) 38-16-2/.696

6. Tom Gilburg (FM) 75-50-1/.599

7. Jim Margraff (JHU) 43-32-2/.571

Mark Kreydt is now in his fourth season as the head coach at Rochester and enters this week's game with a record of 10-18 (.357). A Rochester 1988 graduate, Kreydt has turned the Yellowjackets program around as they were 6-4 last season after winning just three of 17 games during his first two seasons.

Series Information:

Scouting Rochester: Rochester enters this week's game fresh off a 44-6 victory at home against St. John Fisher last Saturday night. The Yellowjackets rolled up a school-record 595 yards of total offense (315 rushing/280 passing) and held Fisher to just 59 yards rushing in the rout.

Offensively, everything starts with senior quarterback Jeff Piscitelli, who threw for over 1,700 yards last season and got off to a quick start in the opener. Piscitelli was 22-of-35 for 280 yards and three touchdowns through the air and rushed for a game-high 86 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

While stopping Piscitelli has to be a concern for the opposition, it's not as if he is a one-man show (although he does already rank as UR's all-time leader in total offense while ranking second in career passing yardage). The `Jackets have an abundance of weapons, both through the air and on the ground.

Junior Greg Lozeau, who rushed for 630 yards and seven touchdowns last season, added 69 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving in the opener, while sophomore Gerard Hopkins (62 yards rushing) and junior John Breedy (50) also topped the 50-yard rushing mark.

Sophomore Patrick Roman led a deep and talented receiving corps in the season-opening win with a game-high six receptions for 69 yards and hauled in two of Piscitelli's three scoring tosses. Senior Anthony Yandek (4 receptions-57 yards) and junior Justin Davis (4-42) also helped contribute to the record-setting performance.

Senior linebacker Brian Kowalski paced the Yellowjackets with 93 tackles last season, including 15 for losses. A two-time Verizon Academic All-American (First Team in 2000/Second Team in 1999) he was once again in the middle of the action against St. John Fisher as he was in on a team-high six tackles.

How dominant was the defensive effort in the season-opener? St. John Fisher held the ball for more than four plays just three times, went three-and-out six times, and was held to nine yards or less on eight of its 12 possessions.

The win against St. John Fisher was just what the `Jackets needed. Rochester's schedule will see the team play three straight at home to open the season before hitting the road five times in the last seven weeks. A good homestand to open the season could propel Rochester to its most successful season in recent memory.

Margraff's Resurrection: Putting head coach Jim Margraff's resurrection of the Johns Hopkins football program in perspective takes only a quick look at the Hopkins record book. Since taking over as the head coach prior to the 1990 season, Margraff has guided JHU to seven winning seasons and 61 wins. The 60 wins are one more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 17 years combined (1973-89). During that time, Hopkins posted six winning seasons and won 60 games.

The Big Picture: Jim Margraff has been associated with Johns Hopkins football as a player (1978-81), assistant coach (1982), and head coach (1990-present). During his 16 plus years at Hopkins, the Blue Jays have won a total of 80 games. This represents over 20 percent of the all-time wins in program history (390).

Lucky Number Seven: Johns Hopkins has won a school-record seven games in a season eight times. Jim Margraff has been involved in a total of four of those eight seasons. As a senior quarterback in 1981, he led the Blue Jays to a 7-2 record, while he coached JHU to back-to-back-to-back 7-3 records from 1996-98.

Cradle of Coaches: When Johns Hopkins defeated Washington & Lee (34-3) in the season-opener, Jim Margraff joined a rather large fraternity at JHU. With the win, Margraff became the eighth active Johns Hopkins coach to stand as the winningest coach in their sport's history. He joins Bob Babb (baseball), Nancy Blank (women's basketball), George Kennedy (women's swimming), Bill Nelson (men's basketball), Dick Oles (men's fencing), Matt Smith (men's soccer), and Leo Weil (women's soccer). Margraff, Babb, and Oles are all graduates of Johns Hopkins University.

Staff Additions: Margraff hired two new assistant football coaches during the off-season, as Frank Colaprete and Russell Wrenn both joined the staff. Colaprete will coach the defensive backs, while Wrenn will coach the outside linebackers.

In addition, fourth-year assistant coach Keith Emery takes over as the defensive coordinator in place of Dan Rattay, who left Hopkins after six years to become the defensive coordinator at Georgetown.

Captain, My Captain: The Blue Jays selected two captains for the 2001 season. Senior RB Scott Martorana (Long Valley, NJ/W. Morris Central) and senior LB Marc Della Pia (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) were selected as team captains at the conclusion of two-a-day practices. Both are in their second years as captains as they shared the honor with now-graduated Greg Gorla last season.

You Look Familiar, Part I: Jim Margraff spent one season (1988) as the offensive line coach at the University of Rochester. While he was there, current Rochester coach Mark Kreydt coached the wide receivers. After the 1988 season, Margraff and Kreydt moved to Columbia, where Rochester head coach Ray Tellier had been hired after the 1988 season. Margraff and Kreydt worked together during the 1989 season at Columbia before Margraff returned to Homewood for the 1990 season.

It's All Academic: Senior RB Scott Martorana (Long Valley, NJ/W. Morris Central) and senior WR Zach Baylin (Wilmington, DE/Tatnall) return after earning First Team Verizon District II Academic All-America honors last season.

Point Production: Johns Hopkins scored 257 points last season, marking the fourth straight season the Blue Jays have scored 200 or more points. This marks the first time in school history JHU has scored 200 or more points in four straight seasons.

In addition, the 257 points rank as the fourth-highest single-season total in school history. Below is a list of the top scoring seasons in school history.

Single-Season JHU Scoring Records

1. 306 points 1968

2. 288 points 1998

3. 268 points 1997

4. 257 points 2001

5. 248 points 1999

6. 246 points 1967

Star Quality: Johns Hopkins placed six players on the 2000 All-Centennial Conference football team, and all six return this season.

On offense, the Blue Jays boast returning First Team All-CC picks in senior RB Scott Martorana (Long Valley, NJ/W. Morris Central) and senior WR Zach Baylin (Wilmington, DE/Tatnall). In addition, Second Team All-CC center Kevin Kostibos (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) is back to anchor the Blue Jay offensive line, while senior QB Rob Heleniak (Philadelphia, PA/Germantown Academy) returns after earning Honorable Mention All-Centennial honors last season.

Defensively, Second Team All-CC defensive end Erich Hellmold (Sayville, NY/Sayville) joins fellow second team honoree Craig Reinert (LB) (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan).

Add in transfer Nick Loiacono (Tappan, NY/Tappan Zee), who earned Second Team All-CC status as a defensive end at Swarthmore last season, and senior LB Marc Della Pia (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell), who earned Honorable Mention All-Centennial honors as a sophomore, and the Blue Jays boast eight players who have earned all-conference honors during their career.

It's Been a While: Johns Hopkins' 34-3 victory over Washington & Lee in the season-opener represented the largest margin of victory for Johns Hopkins in a season-opener since 1959, when the Blue Jays knocked off Franklin & Marshall, 42-0. To put that in perspective, 1959 was the year before Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff was born.

It's Been a While, Part II: The three points the Blue Jays allowed against W&L were the fewest JHU has allowed in a season-opener since 1974, when the Blue Jays defeated Muhlenberg, 9-0.

Baylin Continues Climb: Senior wide receiver Zach Baylin (Wilmington, DE/Tatnall) caught six passes for 72 yards in the win over Washington & Lee and continued his assault on the Johns Hopkins and Centennial Conference record books in the process.

Baylin's six receptions improve his career total to 139, good for eighth place on the all-time Centennial Conference receptions list.

In addition, his 72 receiving yards push his career total to 1,465, which moves him into fourth place on the career receiving yardage list at Johns Hopkins.

Baylin also ranks third on the career receptions list at Johns Hopkins, while his 14 career TD receptions ties him for fifth all-time at JHU.

Martorana, Johnson Provide Solid One-Two Punch: In the season-opener against Washington & Lee, senior Scott Martorana (Long Valley, NJ/W. Morris Central) and junior Kevin Johnson (Baltimore, MD/City) showed why they may be the top running back tandem in the Centennial Conference.

Johnson led all rushers in the game with 59 yards on just 12 carries, while Martorana added 53 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries and added three receptions for 15 yards as well.

Martorana, who ranks 13th on the career rushing list at Johns Hopkins, moved past 1,200 career rushing yards as he now has 1,215, while the rushing touchdown was the 20th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth-place on the all-time list at Johns Hopkins.

Reserve Running Backs Shine: The Blue Jays got three of their four touchdowns from reserve running backs in the 34-3 win over W&L, demonstrating depth at both the tailback and fullback positions.

Freshman Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock), currently listed third on the depth chart at tailback, rushed four times for 21 yards and one touchdown and added two receptions for 15 yards in the first game of his career. Cook's three-yard touchdown run in the last two minutes of the first half gave Hopkins a 10-0 lead at halftime and was the first touchdown of season for the Blue Jays.

Sophomore fullback Kyle Miller (Hanover, PA/South Western) scored the first touchdown of his career in the season-opening win over W&L as his 28-yard touchdown reception with 7:11 remaining in the fourth quarter extended Hopkins' lead to 27-3. Miller rushed five times for 15 yards and added three receptions for 44 yards and the one touchdown in the win.

Junior Harrell Lightfoot (Mitchellville, MD/Largo) made the most of his lone rushing attempt in the game as he closed out the scoring in the win over W&L with a six-yard touchdown run with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter.

Heleniak Moves Up: Senior QB Rob Heleniak (Philadelphia, PA/Germantown Academy) was 15-of-27 for 150 yards and one touchdown against two interceptions against W&L. The 150 yards improve his career total to 2,440, which moves him past Mike Bopp into seventh place on the all-time passing yardage list at JHU.

Halas Picks Off a Pair: Senior DB Mike Halas (White Plains, NY/Hackley) posted the first two interceptions of this career against W&L with both coming in the second half. Halas stopped a W&L drive inside Johns Hopkins territory with an interception at the Hopkins seven yard line with 3:32 remaining in he third quarter. At the time, JHU held a 13-3 lead. After Hopkins extended the lead to 20-3 early in the fourth quarter, Halas added his second interception at the Washington & Lee 47-yard line. In addition to his two interceptions, he added three solos tackles on the day.

Seidman Earns Defensive Player of the Week Honors: After playing his first three seasons as an outside linebacker, senior Adam Seidman (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey) made the move to defensive end this season and wasted little time making an impact. Seidman led a Johns Hopkins defense which limited W&L to just 164 yards of total offense and 27 yards rushing. He posted six solos tackles, including one sack.

Nelson Excels: With Hopkins' switch to a 4-4 defense this season, the play of sophomore safety Jonas Nelson (East Berlin, PA/Spring Grove) will be key to any success the Blue Jays enjoy this season. In the season-opener against W&L, Nelson posted three solo tackles and one pass breakup and forced a pair of fumbles as well. The Blue Jays recovered both fumbles, which led to 10 second-half points.

In the Right Place at the Right Time: Senior linebacker Nick Quercetti (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy (DE)) certainly took advantage of his playing time against W&L after starter Craig Reinert got hurt early in the game. Quercetti posted three solo tackles, including one for a loss, and recovered a pair of fumbles, which led to 10 second-half points for the Blue Jays.

We Want (La)mour: Sophomore DB Rich Lamour (Spring Valley, NY/Don Bosco) made the most of what was easily the most extensive playing time of his career in the season-opener against Washington & Lee. Lamour posted a pair of tackles, was in on one tackle for loss, and posted a team-high two pass breakups from his cornerback position.

Loiacono Solid in JHU Debut: Junior DE Nick Loiacono (Tappan, NY/tappan Zee), who transferred to Johns Hopkins after playing his first two years at Swarthmore, made an immediate impact in his first game with the Blue Jays. Loiacono posted three tackles, including two solos and one for a loss, and added a pass breakup as well. While statistics for "hurries" are not kept, Loiacono spent a good deal of the game in the W&L backfield, forcing General quarterback Peter Dean to roll out and move the pocket.

Longo Solid in First Career Start: Sophomore linebacker Paul Longo (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) made the most of his first career start as the he posted four tackles, including two solos and one for a loss. His four tackles were second most on the team.

Andrade Moves Into Second on Career Kick-Scoring List: Senior place kicker Matt Andrade (Wyoming, DE/Caesar Rodney) was 2-3 on field goal attempts and converted all four of his extra point attempts to account for 10 of Johns Hopkins' 34 points against Washington & Lee. The effort helped Andrade jumped from fourth to second on Hopkins' career kick-scoring list as he now has 91 career points to his credit.

A Secret No More: Sophomore punter Chris Smolyn (Randolph, NJ/Lenape Valley) averaged 34.6 yards on 46 punts as a freshman last season with 10 of his punts downed inside the opposition's 20-yard line. With a year under his belt and an extensive off-season workout program, he figured to increase his average this season. He more than lived up to any advance expectations as he averaged 44.6 yards on three punts against Washington & Lee with a long punt of 49 yards.

Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season, Hopkins is 19-7 at home and won 10 straight at Homewood from 1996-97.

Team Notes of Interest: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 38-3 (.927) under Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 26 of their last 27 when scoring 24 or more...prior to the 37-24 loss against Bridgewater in 1999, the Blue Jays had won 20 straight games when scoring 24 or more points with the previous loss a 27-24 setback against Gettysburg in 1994...at the same time, Hopkins is 41-8-2 (.824) when holding the opposition to 14 points or less since Margraff arrived for the 1990 season...the last time JHU lost a game when it held the opposition to 14 points or less was on October 31, 1997, when the Blue Jays dropped a 13-7 triple-overtime decision against Dickinson... currently, the Blue Jays have won 10 straight games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.

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