Sept. 4, 2004

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Johns Hopkins junior quarterback Zach DiIonno (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a touchdown to lead the Blue Jays to a 34-17 victory over visiting Rochester in the season-opener for both teams Saturday afternoon. The win is the fourth straight for Hopkins dating back to last season and is also the fourth straight for the Blue Jays over the Yellowjackets since the series began in 2001.

After spotting the 'Jackets an early 3-0 lead, the Blue Jays took control by scoring 34 unanswered points to take a commanding 34-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. A Ben Scott (Pittsburgh, PA/Shady Side Academy) 27-yard field goal with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter knotted the game at 3-3 and capped a nine-play, 46-yard drive that was setup when Alan Cody (North Bergen, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) recovered a UR fumble at the Hopkins 44 yard-line.

The Blue Jays then scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the second quarter to take control of the game. After Rochester's Rob Corey (Scranton, PA/Pitston) missed a 30-yard field goal attempt, the Blue Jays drove 80 yards in 11 plays and DiIonno capped the drive with a six-yard scoring pass to junior Steve Eno (El Segundo, CA/El Segundo) in the corner of the end zone. A 14-yard DiIonno to Evan Earnest (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) pass on third and 14 and a 27-yard run by junior T.J. Lyons (Paramus, NJ/Paramus) highlighted the drive.

DiIonno then capped a quick four-play, 57-yard drive with a 22-yard scoring run to give JHU a 17-3 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the half. A DiIonno to Anthony Triplin (Baltimore, MD/Gilman) pass covered 14 yards on the first play of the drive, while back-to-back rushes by senior Adam Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) netted 21 yards and setup the longest run of DiIonno's career.

After trading possessions to open the third quarter, the Blue Jays scored on three straight possessions to put the game away. A career-long 37-yard field goal by Scott and a one-yard touchdown run by Cook pushed the lead to 27-3 by the end of the third quarter. The Blue Jays outgained the 'Jackets, 149-9 in the period as the Hopkins defense stiffened after allowing 221 yards in the first half.

Senior Nate Readal (Allison Park, PA/Hampton) closed out the scoring for the Blue Jays early in the fourth quarter when he caught a three-yard touchdown pass from DiIonno in the corner of the end zone. The reception capped an eight-play, 62-yard drive.

Rochester made the final score respectable with a pair of late touchdowns. Junior quarterback Aaron Molisani (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) connected with Tom Shay (Spencer, NY/Candor) on a nine-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter, while he added an 18-yard scoring pass to Dave Sanok (Orchard Park, NY/St. Francis) with just 29 seconds remaining in the game to account for the final score.

DiIonno was 14-of-26 for 153 yards and the two touchdowns. Triplin had a team-high seven receptions for 87 yards, while Cook rushed for a game-high 107 yards and the one score. Cook's 107 rushing yards improve his career total to 2,155, which moves him past Paul Ferreri (1989-92) into fourth place on JHU's career rushing list. Lyons added 73 yards on 11 carries and became the 20th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards as he now has 1,011. Hopkins out-gained the 'Jackets, 423-363 and held a 252-79 advantage in rushing yards.

Molisani was 28-of-41 for 284 yards and the two late touchdowns. Dave Ferris (Hamburg, NY/St. Francis) had a team-high seven receptions for 51 yards, while Nate Gibbons (Batavia, NY/Batavia) added six receptions for 95 yards.

The Blue Jay defense was led by sophomore Matt Hagel (Linwood, NJ/Mainland) and junior Adam Luke (Teague, TX/Teague), who each had eight tackles. Hagel added two tackles for losses, including one sack, while Luke was in on a sack as well. In all the Blue Jays had five sacks on the day. Sophomore Brian Cook (New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) counted three of his five tackles on the day for losses, while senior Matt Campbell (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) had four tackles in the win, including the 200th of his career.

The win is the seventh in the last eight season-openers for the Blue Jays, who also improve to 22-3 in their last 25 games dating back to the final two games of the 2001 season. Hopkins is now 14-1 in its last 15 games in the month of September and has won nine straight games at home.

Johns Hopkins will next be in action next Saturday at Kean (NJ), while Rochester will host St. John Fisher next Saturday night.

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