Oct. 2, 2002

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The Game: Johns Hopkins (3-0, 0-0 CC) hosts Gettysburg (2-2, 0-1 CC) in the third of three straight home games for the Blue Jays. This is JHU's only Friday night game of the season and the Blue Jays are the last Centennial team to play a league game.

The Teams: Johns Hopkins improved to 3-0 with a 28-7 win at home last Saturday against Carnegie Mellon. Gettysburg snapped a two-game losing streak with a convincing 45-10 win over visiting Averett.

For Openers: Johns Hopkins has won 11 straight Centennial Conference openers. The Blue Jays are 11-1 in Centennial openers under head coach Jim Margraff. A win over GC would give JHU the Centennial record for most consecutive wins in league openers. Dickinson won 11 straight CC openers from 1988-98.

It's Been a While-I: With the win over Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins is 3-0 for the first time since 1967.

It's Been a While-II: With the win over CMU, Hopkins is undefeated after three games for the first time since 1991, when JHU started the season 2-0-1.

It's Been a While-III: A win over Gettysburg would give JHU a 4-0 record for the first time since 1932.

Streaking: Hopkins' 3-0 start this season has extended the Blue Jays' winning streak to five games dating back to last season. This is JHU's longest winning streak since a six-game winning streak in 1995.

More Streaking: JHU's five-game winning streak is the longest active winning streak by any team in the Centennial Conference.

A Final Streak: JHU's five-game winning streak is the longest active winning streak by any college football team (NCAA sponsored) in the state of Maryland.

Milestone-Part II: Johns Hopkins enters the game against Gettysburg needing just two wins to reach 400 all-time. The Blue Jays are 398-446-57 in their history.

The Votes Are In: Johns Hopkins picked up 24 points in this week's AFCA Division III Coaches Poll. The Blue Jays are one of three Centennial teams represented in the poll (McDaniel, Muhlenberg and F&M) and check in at number 41 overall.

The Coach: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff (JHU `82), who is now in his 13th season as the head coach at Homewood. With the season-opening win over Washington & Lee in 2001, Margraff became the all-time winningest coach in school history and he now sports an overall record of 69-50-3 (.578). The previous record for wins by a Johns Hopkins football coach was 60 by Ray Van Orman (1920-35).

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 .578 winning percentage is second among JHU coaches who have coached 30 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 (48-33-2) and seventh on the all-time winning percentage list among Centennial coaches (CC games only) (.590).

Cradle of Coaches: Jim Margraff is one of eight active Johns Hopkins head coaches who rank as the all-time winningest coach in school history in their respective sport.

In addition to Margraff, Bob Babb (baseball), Nancy Funk (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) all rank as the winningest coach in their sport's history at JHU.

Margraff's Resurrection: Since taking over as the head coach prior to the 1990 season, Jim Margraff has guided JHU to eight winning seasons and 69 wins. The 69 wins are three more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 18 years combined (1972-89). During that time, Hopkins posted six winning seasons and won 66 games.

Sweet September: With the win over Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins is 20-7 (.741) in games played in the month of September since 1995.

And They Shall Lead Us: The Blue Jays selected three players to serve as team captains for the 2002 season. Senior DL Pat Doyle (Wilkes Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban), senior OL Kevin Kostibos (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) and senior LB Mike Little (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South).

Star Quality: Hopkins returns three players who earned All-Centennial honors last season. Senior center Kevin Kostibos (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) garnered First Team All-CC status, while senior DL Pat Doyle (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban) earned Second Team All-CC honors. In addition, senior OL Leif Glynn (Croton, NY/Croton-Harmon) was named an Honorable Mention All-CC performer.

It's All Academic: Senior OL Brian Williams (Katy, TX/Strake Jesuit) and junior DL Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta) were both named to the 2001 Verizon District II Academic All-America Team.

More Pass Protection: Johns Hopkins became the first NCAA Division III team since 1980 to not allow a touchdown pass in an entire season when the Blue Jays turned the trick last season.

Streak Snapper: Washington & Lee's Peter Dean threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Callaham with 9:43 remaining in the third quarter in the season-opener vs. JHU. The TD pass was the first allowed by Johns Hopkins since the final game of the 2000 season. JHU had gone 207 consecutive pass attempts without allowing a touchdown pass.

Role Reversal: One year after leading the nation in pass efficiency defense, Johns Hopkins has become one of the more difficult teams to run against. Currently, JHU is allowing just 76.3 yards per game on the ground, tops in the Centennial Conference. The Blue Jays allowed just 24 yards rushing on 26 attempts against Rochester and 73 yards on 38 attempts against Carnegie Mellon.

Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season, Hopkins is 23-8 (.742) at home and won 10 straight at Homewood from 1996-97. Currently, JHU has won four straight and five of its last six at home.

The Road Most Traveled: Johns Hopkins is 4-2 in its last six road games.

Don't Leave Early: Four of Johns Hopkins' five road games last season were decided by eight points or less with the Blue Jays winning two and losing two. Dating back to the 2000 season and including the overtime win at W&L, six of JHU's last seven road games have been decided by eight points or less.

Point Production: Johns Hopkins scored 206 points last season, marking the fifth 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 five straight seasons.

Something Clicked: After being held scoreless on their first 12 possessions, the Blue Jays found their grove late in the game at W&L as they scored touchdowns on each of their last three possessions. In fact, their three TDs came in a span of just nine offensive plays.

More Clicked: JHU has scored a touchdown on 13 of its last 29 possessions.

Taking the Long Road: JHU has put together several impressive scoring drives in three games. Five of the six drives that resulted in touchdowns against UR covered at least 57 yards. Against CMU, 3-of-4 touchdown drives covered 54 or more yards and two of those three took more than seven minutes off the clock. Against W&L, 2-of-3 covered 60 or more yards and the one that didn't was in overtime, when JHU got the ball at the W&L 25-yard line.

Merrell Returns: After missing most of the first game and the entire second game with injuries, junior quarterback George Merrell (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia) returned to the lineup and started against Carnegie Mellon. He was 9-of-19 for 79 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 31 yards and another score. For his efforts, he was named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll.

Pressure Cooked: Sophomore RB Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) enjoyed another solid outing in the win over Carnegie Mellon. He rushed 16 times for a game-high 75 yards and one touchdown and added a pair of receptions for 10 yards. Through three games, he leads the Blue Jays in rushing with 230 yards and has a team-high four rushing touchdowns as well. He has rushed for at least 70 yards and one touchdown in each game this season.

More Pressure Cooked: Adam Cook's 176 all-purpose yards against Rochester were a career-high. His previous career-high was 172 yards against third-ranked Bridgewater last season.

Another Pressure Cooked: Adam Cook ranks second in the Centennial Conference in all-purpose yards per game (120.0), fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg.), fifth in rushing yards per game (76.7), and is tied for fifth in receptions per game (3.67).

Johnson Jumps, Again: For the second consecutive week, senior running back Kevin Johnson (Baltimore, MD/City) moved up in the Johns Hopkins record book. Against Carnegie Mellon he rushed for 63 yards and one touchdown to run his season totals to 194 yards rushing and three touchdowns in three games. His 63-yard effort improved his career rushing total to 1,201 yards, which moved him into 14th-place on JHU's career rushing list. In addition, the rushing touchdown was the 10th of his career, tying him for 12th on the career list at JHU. This season, he has rushed for at least 63 yards in every game.

Johnson Among the Leaders: Kevin Johnson ranks sixth in the Centennial Conference in rushing yards per game (64.7) and is tied for fifth in scoring (6.0 points per game).

Readal Breaks Out: With much of the focus on Adam Cook and Kevin Johnson, sophomore fullback Nate Readal (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) enjoyed the finest game of his career against Rochester. He rushed 13 times for a career-high 85 yards against the Yellowjackets. He added 38 yards on just six carries against CMU and is now averaging 43.3 yards per game. He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

Lehman Among CC Leaders: Junior Jason Lehman (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) grabbed the second touchdown reception of his career in the win over Carnegie Mellon. His 13-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-down play late in the third quarter gave Hopkins a 21-7 lead and answered the Tartans' lone scoring drive of the game. Lehman, who is tied for the team-lead with 11 receptions for 141 yards and the one touchdown, has at least two receptions in every game this season. He is tied for fifth in the Centennial Conference in receptions per game (3.67) and ranks seventh in receiving yards per game (47.0).

Wolcott Displays Versatility: Sophomore Brian Wolcott (Harding, PA/Wyoming Area) had a team-high three receptions for 29 yards and had one rush for 27 yards in the win over Carnegie Mellon. Through three games, Wolcott has eight receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown and has rushed twice this season for 37 yards.

More Wolcott: Brian Wolcott's 34-yard touchdown reception with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter forced overtime against W&L. He then caught a 24-yard pass down to the W&L one-yard-line on JHU's first play of overtime to set up the game-winning touchdown.

Eno Excels: Freshman wide receiver Steve Eno (El Segundo, CA/El Segundo) caught three passes for 41 yards in the season-opener. His 25-yard reception midway through the fourth quarter set up JHU's first touchdown. He added one reception for 39 yards against Rochester.

Scouting the Offensive Line: The Johns Hopkins offensive line has lived up to its advance billing through three games as JHU ranks among the Centennial leaders in every offensive category (see JHU in the Centennial stats in box to left).

Senior center Kevin Kostibos (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park), senior guards Brian Williams (Katy, TX/Strake Jesuit) and Ben Kail (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) and tackles Leif Glynn (Croton, NY/Croton-Harmon) and Zack Kail (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) saw a majority of the action in the first three games, although senior guard John Tiberi (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/Chadwick) also saw action in all three games.

Senior Ben Kail tore his ACL in the game against Rochester and Tiberi took over as the starter at that spot. Tiberi started at left tackle last season when Zack Kail missed most of the season with an injury.

There's Another-Part I: In addition to Zack and Ben Kail, younger brother Jake Kail (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) is also a member of the Johns Hopkins football team. A sophomore, Jake Kail is a backup tight end and Hopkins' long-snapper.

There's Another-Part II: Adam Cook's younger brother, Brian Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock), is a freshman defensive end for the Blue Jays. Brian Cook posted two tackles, including one for a 14-yard loss, and returned a pair of kickoffs for 12 yards in the season-opener against W&L. He set the tone early in JHU's win over Rochester as his sack and fumble recovery on the first play of the game led to JHU's first touchdown two plays later. He added two tackles and a forced fumble in the win over Carnegie Mellon.

Through three games, Brian Cook has eight tackles, including three for losses and the one sack, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Positive Returns: Junior Ben Stopper (Reinholds, PA/Conrad Weiser) finished fourth in the Centennial Conference in kickoff returns as he averaged 21.8 yards per return last season. Stopper also averaged 6.9 yards on seven punt returns as the "up" man in Hopkins' return scheme. Through three games, Stopper has three kickoff returns for 59 yards (19.7 ypr.).

More Returns: Ben Stopper moved into ninth-place on Hopkins' career kickoff return yardage list with his two returns for 43 yards against Rochester. He now has 485 kickoff return yards in his career and needs 37 more return yards to move into eighth place.

May Day: Senior Ben May (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) entered the game against Rochester with one career reception for 17 yards. Against UR, he had two receptions for 27 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown reception early in the third quarter that gave JHU a 26-14 lead.

He's perfect: Junior wide receiver Chris Moriarty (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South) completed the first pass of his career on an end-around against Rochester. His 39-yard completion to freshman Steve Eno on second-and-13 from the Hopkins 40-yard line led to the touchdown that gave the Blue Jays the lead for good at 20-14 early in the second quarter.

Rare Looks: Hopkins has not utilized the tight end in the passing game that significantly in recent years, but that changed against Rochester. Senior Mike Spears (Shamokin, PA/Shamokin) picked up two receptions for 16 yards and senior Mark Gengaro (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) added one for seven yards. Spears entered the game with one career reception, while the catch was the first of Gengaro's career.

Longo Rolls On: Junior linebacker Paul Longo (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) posted five tackles, including a sack for a loss of 10 yards, and had two pass breakups in the win over Carnegie Mellon. Longo leads all JHU linebackers with 15 tackles and has a team-high four pass breakups through three games. His 15 tackles ties him for second on the team.

Leading the Pack: Senior Mike Little (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South) returns for his final season after tying for the team-lead in tackles last season with 59. He posted two tackles and had one pass breakup against CMU and now has 162 career tackles to his credit. His 162 career tackles are the most of any active player. On the year, he has 10 tackles, including three for losses, and one pass breakup.

Anchoring the Middle: Senior Pat Doyle (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban), a Second Team All-Centennial selection last season, enjoyed a solid game against Carnegie Mellon. Doyle posted eight tackles, including three solos and three for losses in the win over the Tartans. Through three games, Doyle has 15 tackles, including five tackles for losses. He ranks second on the team in both tackles and tackles for losses. In his career, he now has 88 career tackles, including 18 for losses.

Meet You in the Backfield-I: Junior Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta), posted seven tackles, including two for losses and one sack, against Carnegie Mellon. He also forced a fumble in the win.

Meet You in the Backfield-II: Through three games, seven of Paul Smith's 15 tackles have been for losses. The seven TFL's are the most of any player on the team, while his 15 total tackles are tied for second.

Meet You in the Backfield-III: Including last season, 21 of Paul Smith's last 55 tackles have been for losses.

Stepping Up: Senior defensive end Nick Loiacono (Tappan, NY/Tappan Zee) was one of three defensive ends who shared a majority of the playing time last season. He is the only returnee among the three and has gotten off to a quick start this season. He posted four tackles, including two solos and one for a loss against Rochester after registering five stops against W&L. He added a pair of tackles against CMU.

Campbell Honored: Sophomore safety Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the win over Carnegie Mellon. Campbell posted a team-high 10 tackles, including five solos and one for a loss, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had one interception in the victory. His 37-yard interception return to the CMU two-yard line led to Hopkins' last touchdown. He added two punt returns for 19 yards and is the first Johns Hopkins defensive player to earn CC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season.

Topping the Charts: Through three games, Matt Campbell leads the team in tackles with 22, including 12 solos and one for a loss. In addition, he has one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two pass breakups to his credit. He also ranks fifth in the Centennial Conference in punt returns as he is averaging 6.3 yards per return.

Slemenda Fills Big Shoes: Junior Colin Slemenda (Beaver, PA/Beaver) took over as a starter at middle linebacker for now-graduated Marc Della Pia, who had held the job for three years. Slemenda, who had seen extensive playing time in his first two years, was up to the task in the season-opener as he had six tackles, including five solos and one for loss. He added a pair of tackles against Rochester and three more, including a sack, against Carnegie Mellon. He now has 11 tackles in three games.

The "Old Man" Comes Up Big: Senior Mark Robinson (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) is the only senior listed on the Johns Hopkins depth chart in the secondary. Robinson's experience paid off in the win over W&L as he had four tackles, including three solos, and a team-high three pass breakups. His PBU in the end zone on the last play of the game in overtime preserved the win for the Blue Jays. Robinson had six tackles, including one for a loss, against CMU and now has 11 tackles on the year.

Whitacre Shines in Debut: One of two freshmen to start on defense in the opener, linebacker Max Whitacre (Sugarloaf, PA/Bishop Hafey) posted five tackles, including four solos and one for a loss, and one pass breakup in his collegiate debut against W&L. He added three tackles against Rochester and Carnegie Mellon and now has 11 tackles on the year.

One to Remember-I: Junior Joe Deluzio (Jeannette, PA/Jeannette) sealed Hopkins' win over Rochester with his first career interception at the JHU 33-yard line with just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Deluzio, who starts at cornerback, had two pass breakups and one tackle against UR and has 10 tackles in three games. He had a season-high five tackles against Carnegie Mellon.

One to Remember-II: Junior Rich Lamour (Spring Valley, NY/Don Bosco), who starts at cornerback, picked up the first interception of his career at the JHU 44-yard line early in the third quarter against Rochester. Through three games, he has five tackles to his credit, including a season-high three against Carnegie Mellon.

Taking Advantage: Junior linebacker Peter Botsolas (Nutley, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) has taken advantage of the most extensive playing time of his career as he has seen extensive action this season. Through three games, Botsolas has nine tackles, including two for losses and 0.5 sacks. He also recovered a fumble in the win over Carnegie Mellon.

Working Overtime: Junior Chris Smolyn (Randolph, NJ/Lenape Valley) has handled the JHU punting chores since he arrived as a freshman and has added the place-kicking duties this season. He has averaged 34.1 yards per punt through three games and he had a season-long punt of 58 yards against W&L. In addition, three of his 11 punts have been downed inside the opposition's 20-yard line. As JHU's primary place-kicker, he has converted 10-of-12 extra points in three games.

Team Notes of Interest: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 42-4 (.913) under Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 30 of their last 32 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 48-8-2 (.845) 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 15 straight games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.