Nov. 20, 2002
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The Game: Johns Hopkins (8-2) travels to Frostburg State (6-4) to play for the ECAC Southwest Championship. Game time is set for noon on Saturday, November 23. The game will be played at Greenway Avenue Stadium in nearby Cumberland, Maryland.
The Teams: Johns Hopkins claimed a share of its first-ever Centennial Conference Championship with a 27-7 victory over 15th-ranked McDaniel last Saturday. Frostburg defeated 14th-ranked Salisbury State, 37-7 to win the ACFC Championship.
It's a First: This week's ECAC Southwest Championship Game will be the first-ever playoff game for the Johns Hopkins football program. Only once before has a Johns Hopkins football team been invited to a post-season game. In 1948, the 7-1 Blue Jays were extended an invitation to play in the Tangerine Bowl on New Year's Day. However, the bid was turned down by the University as accepting it would have meant the abandonment of the noncommerical athletic program that Hopkins emphasized.
State Championship: Johns Hopkins and Frostburg State will play this week for the unofficial Division III Maryland State Championship. In last week's "semifinals", Hopkins defeated McDaniel and Frostburg defeated Salisbury. Johns Hopkins, Frostburg, McDaniel and Salisbury are the only four NCAA Division III football teams in the state of Maryland.
Milestone: Johns Hopkins picked up its 400th all-time victory with the win over Ursinus on October 12. The Blue Jays are 403-448-57 (.475) in their history.
Record-Breaking Victory: Johns Hopkins broke the school record for wins in a season with its eighth of the year with the win over McDaniel. The previous school record of seven had been set eight times previously (1998, 1997, 1996, 1981, 1968, 1959, 1948, 1891). Jim Margraff coached the Blue Jays to three of the seven-win seasons before breaking the record this season.
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 74-52-3 (.585). 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 then-school-record-tying seven wins in 1996, 1997,1998 before leading the Blue Jays to their first-ever playoff game and a school-record eight wins this season. Margraff's .585 winning percentage is second among JHU coaches who have coached 30 or more games.
With the win over Ursinus earlier this year, Margraff also became just the third coach in the history of the Centennial Conference to amass 50 league victories. He ranks third all-time in CC wins (53-34-2) and sixth in all-time CC winning % (.607).
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 nine winning seasons (including this year) and 74 wins. The 74 wins are two more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 19 years combined (1971-89). During that time, Hopkins posted eight winning seasons and won 72 games.
Series Notes:
* This will be the first-ever meeting between Johns Hopkins and Frostburg State.
* Johns Hopkins and Frostburg had just one common opponent this season as both teams defeated Ursinus. Hopkins picked up a 27-9 win at UC, while FSU knocked off UC, 35-14 at home.
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).
It's All Academic-I: Senior OL Brian Williams (Katy, TX/Strake Jesuit), junior DL Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta), senior OL John Tiberi (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/Chadwick) and junior LB Paul Longo (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) were all named to the 2002 Verizon District II Academic All-America Team. Johns Hopkins' four selections were one more than the rest of the Centennial Conference teams had combined and no other school had more than two players named to the team.
It All Academic-II: Johns Hopkins placed a league-high five players on the 2002 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll. Those honored included junior LB Paul Longo (Kenginton, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase), junior DB Jonas Nelson (York, PA/Spring Grove), junior LB Matt Taylor (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich), senior OL Brian Williams (Katy, TX/Strake Jesuit) and senior OL John Tiberi (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/Chadwick).
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 99.9 yards per game on the ground, which ranks second in the Centennial Conference.
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season, Hopkins is 26-9 (.743) at home and won 10 straight at Homewood from 1996-97. Currently, JHU has won eight of its last 10 at home.
The Road Most Traveled: Johns Hopkins is 7-3 in its last 10 road games.
Don't Leave Early: Four of Johns Hopkins' five road games last season and two of the four this season were decided by eight points or less. Dating back to the end of the 2000 season, seven of JHU's last 10 road games have been decided by eight points or less.
Point Production: Johns Hopkins has scored 246 points this season, marking the sixth 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 six straight seasons.
The 246 points the Blue Jays have scored this season are tied for the 6th-highest single-season total in school history. In all, Johns Hopkins has scored 200 or more points in 15 seasons with seven of the 15 coming during the Margraff era.
Taking the Long Road: JHU has put together numerous impressive scoring drives in 10 games. In fact, JHU had at least two scoring drives that covered 51 or more yards in each of its first nine games this season.
In addition to drives that have covered at least half the field, the Blue Jays have also held onto the ball for extended periods of time on scoring drives as well. Currently, the Blue Jays have had 15 scoring drives that have taken at least 4:00 off the clock.
Not Surprisingly: For drives such as those listed above to take place, a team must excel on third down. Through 10 games, JHU ranks second in the Centennial Conference in third-down conversions as the Blue Jays are 65-of-156 (.417) on the year. Against F&M the Blue Jays converted 15-of-23 third-down opportunities, including 9-of-13 in the first half.
More Surprising: On the third-down attempts the Blue Jays have failed on, they have gone for it on fourth down 20 times, converting 11 (.550).
The Numbers Don't Lie: In Hopkins' eight wins this season, the Blue Jays are 61-of-131 (.466) on third-down conversions. In their two losses, the Blue Jays are 4-of-25 (.160).
Team Notes of Interest: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 45-4 (.918) under Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 32 of their last 34 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 51-8-2 (.852) 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 17 straight games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.
