Nov. 20, 2004

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD -- Johns Hopkins rallied from a pair of 14-point deficits and sophomore place-kicker Ben Scott (Pittsburgh, PA/Shady Side Academy) drilled a game-winning 37-yard field goal with just over five minutes remaining as the Blue Jays knocked off visiting Waynesburg, 26-23 in the 2004 ECAC Division III Southeast Football Championship game. The win, Hopkins' fourth straight to close the season and 12th straight in the month of November, improves the Blue Jays' record to 9-2, while Waynesburg had a two-game winning streak snapped and ends the season at 7-4.

Johns Hopkins sophomore linebacker Matt Hagel (Lindwood, NJ/Mainland) was named the ECAC Southeast Championship Game's Most Outstanding Player as he registered a career-high 18 tackles, including 15 solos and one for a loss.

After falling behind, 21-7 the Blue Jays rallied to within 21-17 at the half with 10 points in the final six minutes of the second quarter. Scott nailed a 28-yard field goal with 5:55 remaining in the first half to make it 21-10 and the Blue Jay defense came up with a stop on fourth-and-five at their own 29-yard line with 2:34 remaining to give Hopkins a final chance to pull closer.

A holding penalty on the first play of the ensuing drive negated a 72-yard touchdown pass from junior Zach DiIonno (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) to senior Brian Wolcott (Harding, PA/Wyoming Area), but senior Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) scampered 41-yards on the next play to give the Blue Jays a first-and-10 from the Waynesburg 41. Cook became Hopkins' all-time leading rusher on the play as he surpassed Adam Gentile's (1996-99) previous record of 2,700 rushing yards. Back-to-back completions from DiIonno to junior T.J. Lyons (Paramus, NJ/Paramus) and Wolcott gave the Blue Jays a first-and-goal at the Waynesburg nine-yard line and DiIonno wasted little time finding sophomore Evan Earnest (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) on a slant at the goal-line to make it 21-17.

The defenses, which had allowed a combined 38 points and 489 yards of total offense in the first half, buckled down in the second half as neither team scored in the third quarter. The Blue Jays took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Cook capped a seven-play, 31-yard drive with an eight-yard scoring with 11:55 remaining. The routine extra point attempt turned out to be anything but that as Waynesburg's Nick Emley (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) blocked Scott's attempt and Andy Tenney (Pittsburgh, PA/Taylor Allderdice) caught it in the end zone and returned in 100 yards for a two-point defensive PAT to tie the game at 23-23.

Waynesburg moved the ball into Johns Hopkins' territory on its next possession, but was forced to punt from the Blue Jay 47-yard line. Wayne Roebuck's (Mt. Pleasant, PA/Mt. Pleasant) 38-yard punt gave the Blue Jays possession at their own nine-yard line with just under nine minutes remaining. DiIonno proceeded to move the Blue Jays 71 yards on 10 plays to setup Scott's game-winning 37-yard field goal. Earnest kept the drive alive with a spectacular 16-yard reception on a third-and-seven from the JHU 25-yard line and Cook rushed for 34 yards to fuel the drive.

Waynesburg had possession twice in the final six minutes, but senior quarterback Jeff Dumm (Charleroi, PA/Charleroi) misfired on a three straight passes from the JHU 46-yard line to end the first drive and his desperation pass on the final play of the game fell incomplete.

Early in the game it didn't appear that Scott would have a chance to kick a game-winning field goal as the Yellow Jackets jumped to a 14-0 lead less than 12 minutes into the game. Dumm directed an efficient six-play, 58-yard to open the game and capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Paul D'Imperio (Crofton, MD/Arundle) to stake WC to a 7-0 lead just three minutes into the first quarter. After the teams traded possessions the 'Jackets pushed the lead to 14-0 with a seven-play, 43-yard drive. On first-and-goal from the two-yard line Eric Daniels (Clinton, MD/Gwynn Park) fumbled into the end zone, where offensive lineman Matt Biddle (Belle Vernon, PA/Belle Vernon) fell on the ball for a touchdown.

The Blue Jays finally got on the board on the first play of the second quarter when senior fullback Nate Readal (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) bulled his way in from the one-yard line to polish off an 11-play, 55-yard drive to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Waynesburg maintained the 14-7 lead until the middle of the second quarter, when Dumm connected with Dominick Hunter (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park) on a quick-hitter, which Hunter caught and raced down the middle of the field for a 25-yard touchdown. Scott nailed his 28-yard field goal less than two minutes later to start JHU's comeback, which became routine this season for the Blue Jays. Three of JHU's final four wins of the season were of the come-from-behind variety and this marked the second time this season JHU has come back from a 14-point deficit to win.

Cook rushed for 110 yards and the one touchdown and ends his career as JHU's all-time leading rusher with 2,769 yards. DiIonno was 15-of-36 for 214 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while sophomore Anthony Triplin (Baltimore, MD/Gilman) had three receptions for 77 yards. Brian Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock), the younger brother of Adam Cook, also etched his name in the Johns Hopkins record book as he had one of Hopkins' three sacks in the win to run his season total to a school-record 11.5 sacks. The previous school record of 11 had originally been set by Jim Ryan in 1984 and matched by Jim Wilson in 1996.

Dumm was 27-of-42 for 263 yards with the two touchdowns to lead a Waynesburg offense that generated 390 yards. Daniels rushed for a game-high 126 yards on 30 carries, but he managed just 41 yards on 15 carries in the second half, when the Blue Jay defense stiffened. D'Imperio, who last week became Waynesburg's career receptions leader, had game-highs of 11 receptions for 110 yards and the one touchdown. Senior Mark Harnish (Curwensville, PA/Curwensville) finished with a team-high nine tackles and had one interception to lead the 'Jacket defense. His interception led to what proved to be Waynesburg's final touchdown of the game midway through the second quarter.

The ECAC Championship is the third in as many years for the Blue Jays, who previously won the 2002 ECAC Southwest Championship and the 2003 ECAC South Atlantic title. The nine wins for Hopkins this season were just one shy of the single-season record of 10 set last season when the Blue Jays posted a 10-1 record. Prior to 2002 Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season, but the Blue Jays have surpassed that total in each of the last three years and now sport a 28-5 record since the beginning of the 2002 season.

- 30 -