Sept. 6, 2003

Box Score

ROCHESTER, NY - Senior quarterback George Merrell threw for a career-high 220 yards and three touchdowns and junior wide receiver Brian Wolcott had seven receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns as the Johns Hopkins football team opened the 2003 season with a 27-9 win at Rochester. The win is the fifth straight for the Blue Jays dating back to last season and it is Hopkins' sixth win in a season-opener in the last seven years. Hopkins is also now 12-2 in its last 14 games dating back to the end of the 2001 season.

After a sluggish first half in which Rochester took a 3-0 lead, the Blue Jays took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 69 yards in five plays to take the lead for good, 7-3. Junior Adam Cook carried four straight times to move the Blue Jays from their own 31 to the Yellowjacket 35. Merrell then hit Wolcott with a 35-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring for the Blue Jays.

Hopkins pushed the lead to 13-3 with a special teams touchdown just over two minutes later. After forcing Rochester to punt, Mike Barrasso blocked Brad DiPietro's punt and sophomore Max Whitacre scooped up the ball at the Rochester 21-yard line and raced into the end zone. Chris Smolyn's extra point was blocked.

Hopkins carried the 13-3 lead into the fourth quarter before Merrell and Wolcott hooked up again. On second and seven from the Rochester 39, Wolcott turned his defender around on a beautiful fake and Merrell found him alone on the sideline. Wolcott raced in from the 10 to push the lead to 20-3.

The Blue Jays appeared to have the game in control at that point, but Rochester came up with a defensive touchdown just under two minutes after Wolcott had pushed the lead to 20-3. Nate Readal fumbled at the Hopkins 16-yard line and Rochester's Michael Dermody scooped up the ball and raced 16 yards untouched to cut the deficit to 20-9. Rochester's two-point attempt failed after the touchdown.

After the teams traded possessions, Hopkins put the game away with a quick, three-play, 33-yard drive that culminated with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Merrell to Wolcott, who made a nice adjustment while the ball was in the air. Rochester never seriously threatened late in the game.

This was the first time in Merrell's career that he has thrown for over 200 yards and he added 52 yards rushing as well. The three touchdowns are a career-high for Wolcott and he is the first Johns Hopkins receiver to have three touchdown receptions in a game since Zach Baylin had three in the final game of the 2001 season. Cook rushed for a game-high 80 yards on 14 carries and totaled 191 all-purpose yards in the victory.

Pat Manuel, who started 9-of-11 in the first half, finished 17-of-39 for 148 yards and threw a pair of interceptions, one of which led to a Johns Hopkins touchdown. He added a team-high 52 yard rushing. Dermody led the Rochester defense with 11 tackles and forced a pair of fumbles to go along with his touchdown.

The Johns Hopkins defense was led by sophomore Alan Cody, who had a career-high 10 tackles, including one sack. The Blue Jays held Rochester to just 271 yards and the Yellowjackets were just 3-for-20 on third-down conversions.

Johns Hopkins will host Washington & Lee next Saturday at noon. Rochester will play at St. John Fisher.