Nov. 17, 2003

BALTIMORE, Md. --- Johns Hopkins junior DB Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and six Blue Jays earned First Team All-Centennial honors as the 2003 All-Centennial Football Team was announced today by Steve Ulrich, Executive Secretary of the league. The six first team selections ties the school record (1991, 1995), while a total of 13 players earned 14 spots on the squad.

Campbell is the first Johns Hopkins player to earn Centennial Defensive Player of the Year honors since Harrison Bernstein in 1997. Also a unanimous First Team All-Centennial selection, Campbell ranks fourth on the team in tackles with 54 and leads the team and the Centennial Conference in interceptions with eight. He also has a team-high 11 pass breakups to his credit. Campbell's eight interceptions ties the JHU single-season record and he spearheaded a unit which has ranked among the top five in the nation throughout the season in scoring defense and pass efficiency defense. The Blue Jays have allowed a total of just 64 points in 10 games and have intercepted 24 passes on the year while allowing just two touchdown passes. Campbell was also a First Team All-Centennial selection last season.

Joining Campbell on the first team defense are senior NG Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta) and senior LB Paul Longo (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase). Smith and Longo were also the team's two captains this season as well.

Longo earned Second Team All-Centennial honors last season before moving up to the top squad this year. He currently ranks second on the team with 59 tackles and has eight tackles for losses, three interceptions and two forced fumbles to his credit. A two-time First Team CoSIDA District II Academic All-American, Longo is one of the leaders on a Johns Hopkins defense that leads the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (6.4), total defense (225.8) and pass efficiency defense (63.11 rating).

Smith has been one of the most underrated players in the league throughout his career and this marks the first time he has been honored by the league. He currently has 44 tackles on the year and is tied for the team-lead with 11 tackles for losses. He also has 2.5 sacks to his credit this season and ranks among Hopkins' all-time leaders with 46.5 career tackles for losses. He is a three-time CoSIDA District II Academic All-American and teams with Campbell and Longo as the leaders of a defense that leads the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (6.4), total defense (225.8) and pass efficiency defense (63.11 rating).

The Blue Jays had three unanimous First Team All-Centennial selections on offense in senior QB George Merrell (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia), junior RB Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) and junior OL Matt Weeks (Landisville, PA/Hempfield).

Merrell finished the regular season as the top-rated quarterback in the Centennial Conference with an efficiency rating of 134.11. He is 103-of-193 for 1,347 yards and 16 touchdowns against just five interceptions and leads the CC in total offense as well (192.9). He has also rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns and accumulated all of these totals despite missing two full games with an injury. He is the first Johns Hopkins quarterback to earn First Team All-Centennial honors since John Guglielmo in 1991.

Cook leads the Blue Jays in rushing with 984 yards and has already set a school record with 1,607 all-purpose yards on the year. He has rushed for over 100 yards four times this season and has had at least 110 all-purpose yards in every game this season. His 984 yards are the second-highest single-season total in school history and he added 19 receptions for 134 yards, 31 punt returns for 226 yards and 11 kickoff returns for 263 yards. He is the first Johns Hopkins running back since Scott Martorana in 2000 to earn First Team All-Centennial honors.

?

Weeks is the sixth different Johns Hopkins offensive lineman to earn First Team All-Centennial honors since 1995 and the Blue Jays have featured at least one First Team All-CC offensive lineman in eight of the last nine years. Weeks is in his first season as a full-time starter for the Blue Jays and has been the leader of a line that features no senior starters. The Blue Jays lead the Centennial Conference in scoring offense (27.4) and total offense (377.7) and Hopkins is the only team in the Centennial Conference averaging more than 175 yards rushing (198.8) and passing (178.9).

The Blue Jays had two players earn Second Team All-Centennial honors on offense in junior wide receiver Brian Wolcott (Harding, PA/Wyoming Area) and sophomore center Marc DeGennaro (Secaucus, NJ/St. Peter's Prep).

Wolcott earned Second Team All-Centennial honors last season and was one half of the second most productive wide receiver tandem in the Centennial Conference this season. He currently leads the team in receptions (41), receiving yards (675) and touchdown receptions (8). He ranks eighth on Hopkins' career receptions list (90), sixth on the career receiving yards list (1,518) and fifth on the career touchdown receptions list (17).

DeGennaro took over as the starter at center this season and is the latest in a long line of all-conference centers for the Blue Jays. After playing in four games with one start as a freshman last season, DeGennaro has started all 10 games this season and anchors an offensive line that has helped the Blue Jays lead the league in scoring offense (27.4) and total offense (377.7) and Hopkins is the only team in the Centennial Conference averaging more than 175 yards rushing (198.8) and passing (178.9).

Hopkins' nationally-ranked defense had two players named Second Team Centennial All-Stars in sophomore LB Adam Luke (Teague, TX/Teague) and senior DB Joe Deluzio (Jeannette, PA/Jeannette).

Luke has played in all 10 games with three starts and currently leads the team with 62 tackles on the year. He also has seven tackles for losses, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery. Deluzio has played in all 10 games with nine starts on the year and has 30 tackles, including one for a loss, and two interceptions on the year from his cornerback position.

Hopkins did not feature any Honorable Mention All-Centennial selections on offense, but sophomore DL Alan Cody (North Bergen, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) and sophomore LB Max Whitacre (Sugarloaf, PA/Bishop Hafey) did garner honorable mention status on defense.

Cody leads all Johns Hopkins defensive linemen in tackles (45) and counts nine tackles for losses and a team-high 3.5 sacks among his 45 tackles. He also has three pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble to his credit. Whitacre ranks third on the team in tackles (57) and is tied for the team-lead with 11 tackles for losses. He also has two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one interception and returned a blocked punt 21 yards for touchdown in Hopkins' season-opening victory over Rochester.

Rounding out JHU's All-Centennial selections was senior Chris Smolyn (Randolph, NJ/Lenape Valley), who earned Second Team All-CC honors as a punter and a place-kicker. Smolyn, who earned Second Team All-Centennial honors as a place-kicker last season, averaged 36.6 yards per punt this season and had a school-record 14 of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He also hit 29-of-34 extra points and 4-of-7 field goals on the year to rank second on the team in scoring with 41 points.

Johns Hopkins grabbed a share of a second straight Centennial Conference Championship and tied the school record for wins in a season as the Blue Jays will carry a 9-1 record into Saturday's ECAC South Atlantic Championship game against King's (PA). Game time at Hopkins' Homewood Field is set for noon.

Johns Hopkins' 2003 All-Centennial Football Selections:

Defensive Player of the Year:

Matt Campbell (DB)

First Team All-Centennial:

Matt Campbell (DB), Paul Smith (DL), Paul Longo (LB), George Merrell (QB), Adam Cook (RB), Matt Weeks (OL)

Second Team All-Centennial:

Brian Wolcott (WR), Marc DeGennaro (OL), Adam Luke (LB), Joe Deluzio (DB), Chris Smolyn (P & PK)

Honorable Mention All-Centennial:

Max Whitacre (LB), Alan Cody (DL)

- 30 -