Sept. 19, 2006
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The Game: Johns Hopkins (1-1) returns to action after a week off looking to build on the momentum of a 21-14 come-from-behind win at Randolph-Macon on September 9. St. Lawrence (1-1) is looking to bounce back from a 17-14 loss at home against Alfred last Saturday.
A Quick Refresher: Johns Hopkins posted an 8-3 record, won its fourth straight Centennial Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time in school history last season. St. Lawrence already has half as many wins this season as it did all of last year as the Saints posted a 2-7 record, including a 1-6 mark in the Liberty League, in 2005.
Title Time: From 1969-2001 the Johns Hopkins football team did not win a title of any kind. In the last four years the Blue Jays have grabbed four straight Centennial Conference titles and won three ECAC Championships (ECAC Southwest-2002, ECAC South Atlantic-2003, ECAC Southeast-2004).
Series History: This week's game between Johns Hopkins and St. Lawrence will be the first between the two schools. This is the first of two games currently contracted between the two schools with the second game scheduled to take place during the 2008 season.
About the Coaches: Jim Margraff is now in his 17th season as the head coach at Johns Hopkins and carries a 103-59-3 (.633) record into this week's game against St. Lawrence. The all-time winningest coach in school history, Margraff has guided the Blue Jays to four Centennial Conference Championships, three ECAC titles and one appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.
In addition to his overall totals, he also ranks among the all-time winningest coaches in the history of the Centennial Conference as he sports a 66-39-2 (.626) record in league play.
Chris Phelps is in his seventh season as a head coach at the college level, including his sixth at St. Lawrence. A 1991 St. Lawrence graduate, Phelps sports an overall record of 13-48, which includes a 9-42 mark at St. Lawrence.
September Reign: The win over Randolph-Macon improved the Blue Jays' record to 20-3 in the month of September since the start of the 2000 season and 31-8 in the opening month since the start of the 1995 season. The Blue Jays are also 40-15-1 in September under head coach Jim Margraff.
More September: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game at St. Lawrence riding the crest of a 10-game road winning streak in the month of September. The last time the Blue Jays lost a road game in September was in 2000, when Washington & Lee posted a 32-19 win over JHU in the season-opener for both teams.
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season Johns Hopkins is 39-12 (.765) at home and has twice enjoyed 10-game winning streaks at Homewood Field during that time. Currently, the Blue Jays have won 16 of their last 20 and 22 of their last 28 at home.
Road Warriors: The Blue Jays posted a 5-2 record away from home last season, when they played a school-record seven road games. Hopkins has currently won 11 of its last 13 and 16 of its last 19 road games since late in the 2002 season.
Streaking: The last four years have been the most successful in the history of the Johns Hopkins football program. Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 37-9 (.804) record. Taking it back further the Blue Jays are 43-12 (.782) since the start of the 2001 season and 48-17 (.738) since the begininng of the 2000 season.
Comeback Kids: The 21-14 win at Randolph-Macon was the latest in a long line of comebacks for the Blue Jays. JHU has nine come-from-behind wins to its credit since the start of the 2004 season. The Blue Jays posted an amazing six come-from-behind wins in 2004 and two more last year. Randolph-Macon's 14-0 lead was the largest overcome by the Blue Jays since JHU came back from a 14-0 deficit to knock off Ursinus, 20-14, on October 30, 2004.
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 28-3 when scoring more than seven points and 0-4 when they have been held to seven points or less.
Keys to Success: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 62-4 (.939) under head coach Jim Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 49 of their last 51 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 74-10-2 (.872) when holding the opposition to 14 points or less since Margraff arrived for the 1990 season...the Blue Jays have won 41 of their last 43 games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.
Shutouts: Johns Hopkins has posted 14 shutouts in 16 seasons under head coach Jim Margraff and the two last season mark the fourth time in the Margraff era that JHU has posted two or more shutouts in one year (1992 (2), 1996 (2), 2003 (3), 2005 (2)). The Blue Jays posted 11 shutouts in the 20 seasons prior to Margraff's arrival in 1990.
Starting Streaks: Senior tackle Phil Dixon is scheduled to make his 33rd consecutive start in the game against St. Lawrence. Only senior wide receiver Anthony Triplin (35) has started more consecutive games than Dixon. Triplin is on pace to break Matt Campbell's (2001-04) school record for consecutive starts (40), a mark Dixon could match with 10 straight starts this season. Other returning players with active streaks of 20 or more consecutive starts include Matt Hagel (24) and Alan Cody (24).
Blue Jays Picked to Win Centennial Conference: For the third straight year the Johns Hopkins football team topped the Centennial Conference Preseason Coaches and SIDs poll as the Blue Jays grabbed 12 first-place votes and amassed 72 points to easily outdistance McDaniel (51 points) for the top spot.
It's All Academic: Senior DL Brian Nickel returns after earning First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors last season. The Johns Hopkins football team produced six players who earned Academic All-District honors a year ago, the most of any school in the district for the third consecutive year. In addition, the Blue Jays have earned 19 Academic All-District selections since 2003, the most of any team in the nation at any level over that period.
Player Notes of Interest (Included in PDF Version)
