Nov. 9, 2002

LANCASTER, Pa. --Junior quarterback George Merrell (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia) threw for 141 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards and another touchdown to lead Johns Hopkins to a 40-21 victory over Franklin & Marshall Saturday afternoon. The win is the second straight for the Blue Jays, who improve to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Centennial Conference. F&M dropped its sixth straight and slips to 3-6, 1-4. The seven wins for the Blue Jays this season ties the school record for most in a season. Hopkins has now won seven games in a season eight times in its history, including four times in the last seven years.

Hopkins jumped out to a 20-0 first half lead and the Diplomats would get no closer than 13 the rest of the way. Senior FB Steve Stache (Charleroi, PA/Charleroi) capped a 13-play, 51-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run with 6:08 remaining in the first quarter to open the scoring. Merrell would have a hand in the next three Hopkins touchdowns. After Joe Nuni (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Catholic) set he Blue Jays up at the F&M 30 with a blocked punt, Merrell took the team 30 yards in eight plays and finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Brian Wolcott (Hardin, PA/Wyoming Area) to make it 14-0. After forcing a three-and-out on the Diplomats' next possession, the Blue Jays needed just 1:06 to push the lead to 20-0. On third-and-eight from the F&M 33, Merrell sprinted out to the left looking to pass, but circled all the way back across the field and sprinted into the corner of the end zone for the touchdown.

F&M drew to within 20-7 just before halftime as senior Dave Makson (Wilton, CT/Wilton) hit Matt Wagaman (Lititz, PA/Warwick) from eight yards out after the F&M defense came up with a turnover with just over a minute to play in the second quarter. The drive covered 40 yards in six plays and the Diplomats needed just 37 seconds to score.

Hopkins put the game away with 17 unanswered points in the third quarter. Merrell engineered a 17-play, 77-yard drive that took 5:47 off the clock on the Blue Jays' first possession of the third quarter and capped the drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to freshman Steve Eno (El Segundo, CA/El Segundo) to push the lead to 27-7. After forcing a quick F&M punt on its ensuing possession, the Blue Jays needed just one play to go 51 yards as freshman T.J. Lyons (Paramus, NJ/Paramus) took one in from the Blue Jay 49-yard line on first down to make it 34-7 with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Hopkins pushed the lead to 40-7 with a pair of Chris Smolyn (Randolph, NJ/Lenape Valley) field goals before F&M made the final score respectable with a pair of late touchdowns. Backup quarterback Doug Hiltner (Margate, NJ/Atlantic City) connected with senior Justin Salton (Gillette, NJ/Watchung Hills) on a 75-yard touchdown pass with 6:54 remaining in the fourth quarter and Chad Strothers (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) capped a seven-play, 43-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run with 4:37 remaining to account for the final scoring.

In addition to Merrell's passing exploits, the Blue Jays outrushed F&M, 276-63. Merrell's 62 yards were second on the team to sophomore Adam Cook's (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) game-high 70 yards, while Lyons added 53 yards and the one score. As a team the Blue Jays averaged 5.1 yards per rush.

Makson, who entered the game with a Centennial-high 1,509 yards passing, was 10-of-31 for 118 yards and the one touchdown. Scott Stephen (Glen Rock, NJ/Glen Rock) rushed for a team-high 31 yards on six carries. Salton had a game-high five receptions for 141 yards and the one score.

Johns Hopkins will host McDaniel next Saturday at 1:00 pm with a chance to share the Centennial Championship. A Blue Jay victory would force a three-way tie with McDaniel and Muhlenberg. Franklin & Marshall will close out its season at Gettysburg next Saturday.

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