Sept. 25, 2002

Complete Release in PDF Format - Additional Information Available in this Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The Game: Johns Hopkins (2-0) hosts Carnegie Mellon (2-1) in the second of three straight games at home for the Blue Jays. This is the third of three straight on the road for CMU.

The Teams: Johns Hopkins improved to 2-0 with a 41-28 win over Rochester at home last Saturday. CMU slipped to 2-1 with a 17-14 loss on the road at Randolph-Macon.

Milestone-Part I: The game against Rochester was the 900th in the history of Johns Hopkins football.

Milestone-Part II: Johns Hopkins enters the game against Carnegie Mellon needing just three wins to reach 400 all-time. The Blue Jays are 397-446-57 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 four Centennial teams represented in the poll (McDaniel, Muhlenberg and F&M) and check in at number 38 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 68-50-3 (.574). 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 .574 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 68 wins. The 68 wins are two 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 Rochester, Johns Hopkins is 19-7 (.731) in games played in the month of September since 1995.

Quick Starts: With the win over Rochester, Johns Hopkins is 2-0 for the fifth time in the last six years.

More Quick Starts: JHU will be looking to remain undefeated after three games for the first time since 1991, when JHU started 2-0-1.

A Final Quick Start: JHU will be looking for its first 3-0 start since 1967. That year, JHU won its first three games en route to a 6-1 record and an MAC South Championship.

It's Been a While: The game against CMU is the second of three straight at home for JHU. This is the first time Hopkins has played three straight games at home in the same season since the final three games of the 1979 season.

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. 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 78.0 yards per game on the ground, tops in the Centennial Conference. The Blue Jays allowed just 24 yards rushing on 26 attempts against Rochester.

Quarterly Report: Through two games, Hopkins has been outscored by the opposition, 28-26 in the first three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter and overtime, the Blue Jays hold a commanding 36-14 advantage.

Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season, Hopkins is 22-8 (.733) at home and won 10 straight at Homewood from 1996-97. Currently, JHU has won three straight and four of its last five 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: Dating back to the last three possessions of the W&L game, JHU has scored a touchdown on nine of its last 17 possessions.

Taking the Long Road: JHU has put together several impressive scoring drives in two games. Five of the six drives that resulted in touchdowns against UR covered at least 57 yards. 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.

Fernand Rallies Blue Jays: Senior quarterback Rob Fernand (Wayne, NJ/Depaul) rallied the Blue Jays to the win over W&L with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brian Wolcott with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. He then scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run on Hopkins' first possession of overtime.

More Fernand: Rob Fernand's 239 passing yards were the sixth-highest total by a Johns Hopkins quarterback in a season-opener and a career-high for Fernand. Overall, he was 19-of-34 for 239 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Against Rochester, he was 13-of-24 for 145 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions.

Another Fernand: Rob Fernand was 5-for-7 for 108 yards and one touchdown on JHU's last drive in regulation and the one possession in overtime against W&L.

A Final Fernand: Rob Fernand ranks third in the Centennial Conference in passing yards per game (192.0) and third in total offense per game (190.0).

Pressure Cooked: Sophomore RB Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) followed his impressive season-opener with another strong effort against Rochester. He rushed 20 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns, had four receptions for 27 yards, returned one punt 19 yards and had three kickoff returns for 45 yards.

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 first in the Centennial Conference in all-purpose yards per game (147.5), tied for second in scoring (10.0 ppg.), fourth in rushing yards per game (77.5), and tied for fourth in receptions per game (4.5).

I'm Honored: For his efforts against Rochester, Adam Cook was named to the Centennial Honor Roll.

Johnson Jumps: Senior running back Kevin Johnson (Baltimore, MD/City) rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries against Rochester moved into 15th place on JHU's all-time rushing list as he now has 1,138 yards in his career. In addition, his two rushing touchdowns give him nine in his career, one shy of tying him for 12th on the all-time list at JHU.

Johnson Among the Leaders: Kevin Johnson ranks eighth in the Centennial Conference in rushing yards per game (65.5) and is tied for sixth 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. Last season, as a freshman, he rushed 20 times for 83 yards.

Lehman Among CC Leaders: Junior Jason Lehman (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) enjoyed the most productive game of his career against W&L as he had a career-high six receptions for 73 yards. His 15-yard reception jump-started JHU's game-tying drive in the final minute of regulation. He followed that with three receptions for a team-high 48 yards against Rochester. He is tied for fourth in the Centennial in receptions per game (4.5) and is sixth in receiving yards per game (60.5).

Wolcott Honored: Sophomore Brian Wolcott (Harding, PA/Wyoming Area) was named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll after grabbing a career-high four receptions for a personal-best 75 yards and one TD in the opener vs. W&L. He had one reception for 20 yards against Rochester and one rush (on a lateral) for 10 yards against Rochester. Through two games, he has five receptions for 95 yards and one TD and ranks seventh in the Centennial Conference with 47.5 receiving yards per game.

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 and ranks eighth in the Centennial Conference in receiving yards per game (40.0).

Scouting the Offensive Line: The Johns Hopkins offensive line has lived up to its advance billing through two 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 two games, although senior guard John Tiberi (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/Chadwick) also saw action in both games.

Senior Ben Kail tore his ACL in the game against Rochester and Tiberi will take 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.

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

Positive Returns: Junior Ben Stopper (Reinholds, PA/Conrad Weiser) returns after finishing fourth in the Centennial Conference in kickoff returns as he averaged 21.8 yards per return. Stopper also averaged 6.9 yards on seven punt returns as the "up" man in Hopkins' return scheme. Through two 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 Honored: Junior linebacker Paul Longo (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) registered a team-high seven tackles and had the first interception of his career in the win over W&L. For his efforts, he was named to the Centennial honor roll. He added three solo tackles and a pass breakup against Rochester and ranks second on the team with 10 tackles through two games.

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 five tackles, including one for a loss, against Rochester and now has 160 career tackles to his credit. His 160 career tackles are the most of any active player.

Anchoring the Middle: Senior Pat Doyle (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban) returns to anchor the middle of the defensive line from his tackle position after garnering Second Team All-Centennial honors as a junior. A year ago, Doyle finished sixth on the team with 32 tackles, including eight for losses and a pair of sacks. He picked up a pair of solo tackles in the win over W&L and added five tackles, including two for losses, against Rochester. For his efforts, he was named to the Centennial Conference Honor Roll.

Meet You in the Backfield-I: Junior Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta), posted four tackles against Rochester, three of which went for losses totaling seven yards.

Meet You in the Backfield-II: Through two games, five of Paul Smith's eight tackles have been for losses. The five TFL's are the most of any player on the team.

Meet You in the Backfield-III: Including last season, 19 of Paul Smith's last 48 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. His nine tackles through two games rank second on the team and are the most among defensive linemen.

Topping the Charts: Sophomore safety Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) leads the team in tackles through two games with 12, including seven solos, to his credit. He posted a team-high seven tackles against Rochester after opening the season with five against W&L. Campbell has also taken over as JHU's primary punt returner and he had six for 35 yards against the Generals and one for three yards against Rochester.

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 is tied for fourth on the team with eight tackles through two 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.

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 is tied for fourth on the team with eight tackles.

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 five tackles in two games.

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.

Working Overtime: Junior Chris Smolyn (Randolph, NJ/Lenape Valley) has handled the JHU punting chores since he arrived as a freshman and has add the place-kicking duties this season. He has averaged 32.9 yards per punt through two games and he had a season-long punt of 58 yards against W&L. In addition, he has converted six of eight extra points in two games.

Team Notes of Interest: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 41-4 (.911) under Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 29 of their last 31 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 47-8-2 (.842) 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 14 straight games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.