Nov. 11, 2006

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins jumped to a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, increased the lead to 34-0 at the half and cruised to a 48-7 victory over visiting McDaniel at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays (5-5, 3-3 Centennial), whose previous season-high for points this year was 24, held the Green Terror to negative 35 rushing yards, blocked two punts and scored one defensive touchdown in their most lopsided win over the Terror (4-6, 2-4 Centennial) since a 44-0 win in 1921.

A 25-yard field goal by senior Ben Scott opened the scoring less than six minutes into the game and senior Brian Cook set the Blue Jays up with great field position less than four minutes later when he blocked a Tom Weinrich punt deep inside McDaniel territory. Five plays later senior quarterback Shane Kibbe hit senior wide receiver Anthony Triplin on a backside screen and Triplin weaved his way through traffic all the way across the field and raced into the corner of the end zone to make it 10-0.

McDaniel had a chance to get out of the first quarter down just 10 points, but the first defensive touchdown of the year for the Blue Jays on the final play of the period pushed the JHU advantage to 17-0. With the Green Terror operating from its own 10-yard line, Johns Hopkins' freshman Peter Giordano forced a fumble on a sweep by Brett Gibson and classmate Colin Wixted caught the ball in the air and raced untouched into the end zone to give the Blue Jays a three-score lead that was never in jeopardy.

The big plays continued in the second quarter as sophomore Paul Fields blocked another McDaniel punt early in the second quarter and Kibbe hit sophomore Greg Chimera with a three-yard touchdown pass one play later to make it 24-0. Kibbe later found senior Evan Earnest behind the secondary for a 44-yard touchdown pass midway through the period. A 23-yard field goal by Scott as time expired made it 34-0 at the half. The 34 first-half points were the most for the Blue Jays since they sprinted out to a 34-7 halftime lead against King's in the 2003 ECAC South Atlantic Championship game.

McDaniel put together a pair of 15-play drives in the third quarter, but managed just seven points. Their first long drive started at their own 20 and actually moved all the way to the Blue Jay 10, before three straight incompletions made it fourth and goal. Giordano sacked McDaniel quarterback Brad Baer for a 24-yard loss on fourth down to end the threat. After forcing a Blue Jay punt, the Terror finally broke through on their next possession as Baer orchestrated a 15-play, 87-yard drive that ate 4:57 off the clock. He was 11-of-13 on the drive and converted a trio of third-downs before hitting Christian Turner with a three-yard touchdown pass with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Blue Jays answered Baer's touchdown pass just 41 seconds later as junior Phil Roberts broke outside on second-and-four from the Blue Jay 41 and race untouched down the sideline for a 59-yard scoring run to make it 41-7. Senior Zach Rupert closed the scoring midway through the fourth quarter when he capped a five-play, 19-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run after junior Dan Requena intercepted Baer deep in McDaniel territory.

Kibbe enjoyed the finest game of his career as he was 13-of-22 for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Triplin had a team-high five receptions for 56 yards and the one score, while Earnest added three receptions for a personal-best 90 yards and the one score. Roberts needed just two carries to account for his game-high 62 yards rushing, but it was the Blue Jay defense that stole the show. Giordano recorded a career-high eight tackles, including the one sack, and forced the fumble that Wixted scored on in the second quarter. Senior Brian Cook had four tackles, including 3.5 for losses and 2.5 sacks. He also had the blocked punt in the first quarter and he accounted for 2.5 of Hopkins' season-high seven sacks, which resulted in 71 yards in losses. The -35 rushing yards allowed are a school-record.

Baer hung in under heavy pressure throughout the game and was 26-of-49 for 225 yards with the one touchdown and two interceptions. He officially rushed 16 times for negative 60 yards when counting the seven sacks. Turner had a game-high eight receptions for 85 yards and the one touchdown. Senior Drew Abbamonte posted a game-high 14 tackles for the Terror and became McDaniel's career leader in solo tackles with 174.

Scott's two field goals improve his career total to 43, which ties him for third place in the NCAA Division III history. His 13 field goals this season are tied for the second-highest single-season total in school history (he owns the top three single-season totals).

- 30 -