Dec. 7, 2004
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The Team: Johns Hopkins posted a 9-2 record in 2004, claimed a share of the Centennial Conference Championship and won the ECAC Southeast title.
Title-Town: Johns Hopkins earned a share of its third straight Centennial title with a 12-9 win over McDaniel in the regular-season finale. The Blue Jays followed that up with a 26-23 come-from-behind victory over Waynesburg in the ECAC Southeast Championship game. Johns Hopkins did not win a football championship of any type from 1969-2001, but the Blue Jays now have six overall titles to their credit in the last three years (three Centennial, three ECAC).
Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 28-5 since the beginning of the 2002 season, 30-5 in its last 35 games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 34-8 since the beginning of the 2001 season. These are all, by far, the best records over that number of games in school history.
November Reign: The win over Waynesburg in the ECAC Southeast Championship Game pushed the Blue Jays? winning streak to 12 games in the month of November. No current member of the Johns Hopkins football team has ever lost a game in the month of November (the seniors on the 2004 team went through their entire career without losing a game in the month of November). The last time JHU dropped a game in November was in 2000, when then Western Maryland defeated the Blue Jays in the season-finale.
Johns Hopkins is 12-0 in the month of November in the last four seasons and 13-1 in the month of November in the last five years.
Seniors Own Record: The seniors on the 2004 Johns Hopkins football team ended their career as the winningest class in school history. The Blue Jays posted a 34-8 (.810) record during the careers of the seniors on the 2004 football team. The previous record for wins by a class was held by last year?s seniors, who won 30 games (30-11) during their career.
Winningest Classes in JHU Football History
Class Record
2004 34-8 (.810)
2003 30-11 (.732)
1998 27-12-1 (.688)
The Coach: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff (JHU ?82), who recently completed his 15th 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 94-55-3 (.628). 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 then school-record-tying seven wins in 1996, 1997 and 1998 before leading the Blue Jays to their first-ever post-season appearance (and victory), first-ever Centennial Conference title and a school-record nine wins in 2002. He topped that last season as JHU posted a 10-1 record with Centennial and ECAC South Atlantic Championships before leading JHU to a 9-2 record with Centennial and ECAC Southeast titles this season. Margraff?s .628 winning percentage is second among JHU coaches who have coached 30 or more games and the Blue Jays are 70-31-1 (.691) since 1995.
Margraff?s Resurrection: Since taking over as the head coach prior to the 1990 season, Jim Margraff has guided JHU to 11 winning seasons and 94 wins. The 94 wins are five more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 22 years combined (1968-89). During that time, Hopkins posted 11 winning seasons and won 89 games.
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season Johns Hopkins is 36-10 (.783) at home and has twice enjoyed 10-game winning streaks at Homewood Field during that time. Currently, the Blue Jays have won 13 of their last 15 and 19 of their last 23 at home.
It?s All in the Speech: There must be something to what head coach Jim Margraff says in the locker room before the Blue Jays take the field. Hopkins outscored the opposition, 51-34 in the first quarter this season and 63-20 in the third quarter. Dating back to the beginning of last season (a span of 22 games) JHU has outscored the opposition, 104-51 in the first quarter and 147-34 in the third.
Sack Masters: In 11 games last season the Johns Hopkins defense came up with a total of 20 sacks. In 11 games this season the Blue Jays registered 35 sacks.
Comeback Kids: Johns Hopkins fell behind Ursinus, 14-0 before scoring 20 straight points in what turned out to be a 20-14 victory. The 14-point deficit was the largest Johns Hopkins had overcome to win a game since November 6, 1999, when the Blue Jays rallied from a 27-10 deficit to defeat Franklin & Marshall, 35-33. It took less than a month for the Blue Jays to match that effort as JHU erased a pair of 14-point deficits (14-0 & 21-7) in the 26-23 win over Waynesburg in the ECAC Southeast Championship. The Blue Jays came from behind to win six times this season.
Seven?s Heaven: For all the different numbers and statistics that can be applied to the Johns Hopkins football team, there has been one simple way to measure the success of the Blue Jays in the last three years. Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 19-0 when scoring more than seven points and 0-3 when they have been held to seven points or less.
In the Zone: Johns Hopkins excelled when it moved the ball into the red zone this season. The Blue Jays scored on 32-of-36 (.889) trips into the red zone with 22 touchdowns and 10 field goals. No other team in the Centennial Conference scored on more than 73% of its trips inside the red zone.
Keys to Success: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 58-4 (.935) under head coach Jim Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 45 of their last 47 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 63-10-2 (.853) when holding the opposition to 14 points or less since Margraff arrived for the 1990 season...the Blue Jays have won 28 of their last 30 games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.
Amazing, But True: The loss against Muhlenberg on October 23 snapped a 45-game winning streak in games when the Blue Jays held the opposition to less than 10 points. Prior to this loss the last time JHU lost a game when it held the opposition to less than 10 points was on October 18, 1986, when JHU dropped a 6-0 decision against ... Muhlenberg.
And They Shall Lead Us: The Blue Jays selected three players to serve as team captains for the 2004 season: senior DB Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), senior RB Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) and senior OL Matt Weeks (Landisville, PA/Hempfield).
Star Quality: Johns Hopkins placed a school-record 15 players on the 2004 All-Centennial Football Team and 10 of those players are expected to return for the 2005 season. The 15 All-CC selections breaks the previous record of 14, set last season. Below is a list of JHU?s 15 Centennial All-Stars for 2004:
Name Position Notes
Matt Campbell DB 1st Team - Sixth, three-time First All-Centennial selection in school history
Alan Cody DL 2nd Team - Moves up from honorable mention last season
Adam Colicchio DB 2nd Team - Second in CC in interceptions (5)
Adam Cook RB 1st Team - Only RB in school history to earn First Team All-CC twice
Brian Cook DL Hon. Mention - Led team and Centennial in TFLs (24) and sacks (11.5)
Marc DeGennaro C 2nd Team - Has earned 2nd Team All-CC in each of last two years
Zach DiIonno QB 2nd Team - Led CC in TD passes (14) and passing yards/game (181.2)
Evan Earnest KR Hon. Mention - 2nd in the Centennial in PR (11.1) and KOR (24.4)
Matt Hagel LB 2nd Team - Led team and finished 2nd in CC in tackles (106)
Ben Scott PK 2nd Team - Led CC in kick-scoring (71) and field goals (14)
Mike Speer OL Hon. Mention - First All-CC accolades of his career
Anthony Triplin WR 2nd Team - Led CC in receptions (56)
Matt Weeks OL 1st Team - Second year as a unanimous 1st team selection
Max Whitacre LB 2nd Team - Moves up from honorable mention last season
Brian Wolcott WR 1st Team - T1st in CC in receiving yards (773) and TD receptions (8)
Success on the Field and in the Classroom: The recent on-field success of the Johns Hopkins football team has been well documented, but the Blue Jays have been equally successful in the classroom.
Johns Hopkins placed six players on the 2004 CoSIDA District II Academic All-America team after earning a school-record seven selections last season.
Junior LB Max Whitacre earned First Team District II Academic All-America status this season, while senior FB Nate Readal, senior OL Ryan Sheare, junior rover Mike Aynardi, junior DB Jim Sanders and sophomore DL Brian Nickel all garnered second team honors.
No other school in the district had more than four players named to the District II team this year and JHU?s selections represented six of the eight for the Centennial Conference.
More Success in the Classroom: In addition to placing six players on the CoSIDA District II Academic All-America team, the Blue Jays also had a league-best eight players named to the 2004 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll. All-Centennial selections Max Whitacre (LB) and Evan Earnest (RS) led the eight-man contingent for the Blue Jays, who also placed Mike Aynardi (LB), Mike Barrasso (LB), Brian Nickel (DL), Nate Readal (FB), Jim Sanders (DB) and Ryan Sheare (OL) on the CC?s Academic Honor Roll. No other team in the league placed more than four players on the team.
Player Notes of Interest in PDF Version
