Sept. 28, 2002

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Johns Hopkins junior quarterback George Merrell (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia) rushed for a touchdown and threw for another to lead the Blue Jays to a 28-7 victory over visiting Carnegie Mellon at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. The win is the fifth straight for Hopkins dating back to last season and the Blue Jays improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1967. Carnegie Mellon, which started the season with two straight wins, falls to 2-2.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead as they put together a pair of long scoring drives. Merrell got Hopkins on the board with a 12-yard scoring run with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter. Merrell's run, which capped a 13-play, 54-yard drive that ate 7:19 off the clock, covered nearly the entire width of the field as the Tartans defended a sprint out to the right very well, only to have Merrell reverse field and sprint into the far corner of the end zone, eluding several defenders along the way.

Hopkins pushed the lead to 14-0 with 3:08 remaining in the second quarter when sophomore running back Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) capped a seven-play, 70-yard drive with a 20-yard scoring run. Cook, who broke several tackles on the play, now has a team-high four rushing touchdowns in three games this season.

Carnegie Mellon pulled back into the game with a stunning 17-play, 77-yard drive that consumed 8:16 of the third quarter. Jarrod Highberger (Blairsville, PA/Blairsville), who replaced starting quarterback Robb Finkey (Kennesaw, GA/Harrison) in the second quarter, scampered two yards to account for the touchdown. On the drive, Carnegie Mellon converted a pair of third-down and longs and the touchdown run came on fourth-and-goal.

The Blue Jays wasted little time answering the Tartan touchdown as Merrell orchestrated an efficient nine-play, 72-yard drive that was finished with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Merrell to junior Jason Lehman (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) on a fourth-and-four play from the Carnegie Mellon 13-yard line.

After exchanging possessions for the first 14 minutes of the fourth quarter, Hopkins scored its final points in the last minute of the game. Highberger's pass on CMU's next-to-last possession was intercepted by Hopkins safety Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) at the Tartan 39-yard line. He returned the ball to the CMU two-yard line, where senior Kevin Johnson (Baltimore, MD/City) provided the final scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds remaining.

Cook led the way for the Blue Jays with 75 yards rushing and the one touchdown, while Johnson added 63 yards and the one score. Merrell was 9-of-19 for 79 yards with the one touchdown and also rushed for 31 yards and the one score. In all, JHU amassed 236 yards on the ground to just 73 for the Tartans, who entered the game averaging 226.3 yards per game rushing. Campbell led the Blue Jays with 10 tackles and added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go along with his interception. Senior Pat Doyle (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban) posted eight tackles, including three for losses.

Highberger was 11-of-29 for 131 yards with the one interception. He also rushed for 25 yards and the one score. Adam Urbanczyk (Sterling Heights, MI/DeLaSalle), who was averaging a team-high 88 yards per game coming in, was held to just 24 yards on 11 carries. The Tartans were held to just 253 yards of total offense, 77 of which came on their lone scoring drive of the day.

Johns Hopkins, which held its second consecutive opponent to less than 80 yards rushing and improved to 42-4 (.913) under head coach Jim Margraff when holding the opposition to 14 points or less, will next be in action next Friday night at home when the Blue Jays open Centennial Conference play against Gettysburg. Carnegie Mellon returns home after playing three straight on the road and will host Franklin & Marshall.

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