Sept. 8, 2005
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The Game: The Johns Hopkins football team returns home after last week's 9-7 win at Rochester in the season-opener. The Blue Jays host Randolph-Macon, which dropped a 16-13 decision against Chowan in its season-opener last Saturday.
The Teams: Johns Hopkins posted a 9-2 record, claimed a share of a third straight Centennial Conference Championship and won the ECAC Southeast title in 2004. Randolph-Macon posted a 3-7 record in 2004, but the final ledger was very misleading. The Yellow Jackets dropped three games by five points or less, including two against teams that advanced to the NCAA Playoffs.
Series History: This week's game will be the 28th in the all-time series between Johns Hopkins and Randolph-Macon, including the third since the series resumed in 2002. The teams have split the last two meetings with RMC taking a 17-12 decision in 2002 and JHU returning the favor in 2003 (24-0). The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 14-12-1, although the meeting in 2002 was the first between the two teams since 1968. Of note, the shutout for the Blue Jays in the 2003 game was the first of three straigth shutouts for the Johns Hopkins defense, while the victory also snapped a six-game wining streak for RMC in the series.
For Openers: The win over Rochester was JHU's eighth in its last nine season-openers under head coach Jim Margraff.
Title Time: From 1969-2001 the Johns Hopkins football team did not win a title of any kind. In the last three years the Blue Jays have grabbed a share of three straight Centennial Conference titles and won three ECAC Championships (ECAC Southwest-2002, ECAC South Atlantic-2003, ECAC Southeast-2004).
Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 20-3 in its last 23 games (since the beginning of the 2003 season), 29-5 in its last 34 games (since the beginning of the 2002 season) and 35-8 in its last 43 games (since the beginning of the 2001 season). These records represent the most victories ever by a JHU football team over those number of games.
September Reign: The 9-7 win over Rochester last week extended JHU's winning streak in the month of September to 12 games. The Blue Jays last dropped a game in the opening month of the season on September 21, 2001 when eventual national finalist Bridgewater picked up a 50-27 victory at Homewood Field.
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.
Road Warriors: With six of their 10 regular season games scheduled for the road this season, the Blue Jays will need to count on their experience to carry them through. The win over Rochester was JHU's sixth straight win away from Homewood Field and 14th win in its last 16 road games.
Sack Masters: In 11 games last season the Blue Jays registered 35 sacks. Players who accounted for 24.5 of the 35 sacks return this season, including junior Brian Cook, who set a school record with 11.5 sacks in 2004. The Blue Jays registered two sacks in last week's win over Rochester.
Comeback Kids: Last week's come-from-behind win over Rochester was dramatic in that it ended with Ben Scott's 37-yard field goal with just one second remaining in the fourth quarter, but Jim Margraff-coached teams have excelled in this situation throughout his career. The Blue Jays came from behind to win six times last season, erasing 14-point deficits in wins against Ursinus and Waynesburg (twice). The last time the Blue Jays came from behind to win in the final minute was in 1997, when Adam Gentile scored on an eight-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining to beat Muhlenberg, 24-21.
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 recently. Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 20-0 when scoring more than seven points and 0-3 when they have been held to seven points or less.
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 64-10-2 (.855) 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.
Defense Solid in Opener: A trademark of the Johns Hopkins football team is a solid defense. The Blue Jays continued that trend in last week's season-opening victory over Rochester as they allowed just 208 yards (80 of which came on Rochester's final drive) and the seven points. The effort marked the 18th time in the last 23 games the Blue Jays have held the opposition to 14 points or less and, more amazingly, the offensive touchdown Rochester scored in the final quarter was the first offensive TD the `Jackets have scored against JHU in three meetings at Rochester.
Star Quality: Johns Hopkins placed a school-record 15 players on the 2004 All-Centennial Football Team and nine of those players return for the 2005 season. The 15 All-CC selections breaks the previous record of 14 set in 2003.
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 in 2003. Senior LB Max Whitacre earned First Team District II Academic All-America status last season, while senior rover Mike Aynardi, senior DB Jim Sanders and junior DL Brian Nickel all garnered second team honors (two graudated players also earned second team honors). No other school in the district had more than four players named to the District II team in 2004 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. Of the eight Blue Jays only Readal and Sheare were seniors last season.
And They Shall Lead Us: The Blue Jays selected three players to serve as captains for the 2005 season. Senior quarterback Zach DiIonno (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) and senior linebackers Adam Luke (Teague, TX/Teague) and Max Whitacre (Sugarloaf, PA/Bishop Hafey) will lead the team as captains this season.
Player Notes of Interest (Included in PDF Version)
