Sept. 19, 2007

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The Game: Johns Hopkins hosts Moravian in a key early-season Centennial Conference matchup. The Blue Jays are looing to snap a two-game losing streak after last Friday night's 41-10 loss to Gettysburg, while Moravian is looking for its first 4-0 start since 2004 as the Greyhounds moved to 3-0 with a 19-18 win against Lebanon Valley last Saturday.

About the Coaches: Jim Margraff is now in his 18th season as the head coach at Johns Hopkins and carries a 108-65-3 (.622) record into this week's game against Moravian. 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 69-43-2 (.614) record in league play.
Scott Dapp has led the Greyhounds to a 3-0 start and became Moravian's all-time winningest coach with a 43-13 win over McDaniel on September 8. Dapp now sports a 124-84-1 (.596) record since taking over at Moravian prior to the 1987 season. He guided the `Hounds to 11 consecutive winning seasons to open his tenure in Bethlehem and led Moravian to ECAC Championship games in 2002, 2004 and 2005 with a victory in the 2005 ECAC Southwest title game.

Second of Three Straight at Home: Today's game is the third of three straight games the Blue Jays will play at Homewood Field. The last time Hopkins played three straight regular-season games at home was early in the 2002 season, when JHU knocked off Rochester, Carnegie Mellon and Gettysburg in successive weeks. Prior to that, the last time JHU had played three straight at home was in 1979, when the Blue Jays ended the year with three straight at Homewood. The 1979 team was led by a sophomore quarterback named Jim Margraff.

September Reign: Despite the loss against Gettysburg last Friday, the Blue Jays still sport a 21-7 record in the month of September since the start of the 2000 season and a 32-12 mark since the start of the 1995 season.

Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season Johns Hopkins is 43-16 (.729) at home and has twice enjoyed 10-game winning streaks at Homewood Field during that time.

Streaking: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 42-15 (.737) record. Taking it back further the Blue Jays are 48-18 (.727) since the start of the 2001 season and 53-23 (.697) since the begininng of the 2000 season. The 53 wins the Blue Jays have amassed this decade are already just two shy of the school record for wins in a decade (55/1990s).

Holding On: The Blue Jays have not lost a fumble yet this seasona and have lost just one in the last six games dating back to last season.

Red Zone Success: Johns Hopkins has scored on five of its six possessions inside the red zone this season. The Blue Jays have scored four touchdowns and have one field goal to show for their six trips into the red zone.

First Quarter Streak Ends: Gettysburg scored touchdowns on two of its three first-quarter possessions last Friday night and snapped an impressive streak for the Blue Jay defense. The two touchdowns were the first surrendered in the first quarter by Johns Hopkins since the second game of the 2006 season, when Randolph-Macon scored a pair as well. The Blue Jays had gone 10 full games without allowing a touchdown in the first quarter and actually entered the 2007 season with a streak of eight straight games without allowing a point in the first quarter. Hampden-Sydney got a field goal in the first quarter to snap that streak.

Comeback Kids: The 17-16 win at Hampden-Sydney was the latest in a long line of comebacks for the Blue Jays. JHU has 10 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 in 2005. Randolph-Macon's 14-0 lead last season 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.

Block Party: Johns Hopkins blocked exactly three kicks in the first nine games of the 2006 season, but in the last four games (vs. McDaniel last season and the first three this season), the Blue Jays have come up with five blocked kicks. The latest of these came late in the second quarter against Randolph-Macon, when senior Chris DiForte slipped through the middle of the line and blocked an extra point. Senior co-captain Dan Requena scooped up the loose ball and raced 85 yards for a two-point defensive extra point that gave JHU a 9-8 lead at the half.

Shutouts: Johns Hopkins has posted 14 shutouts in 17+ seasons under head coach Jim Margraff and the two in 2005 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.

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 33-8 when scoring more than seven points and 0-5 when they have been held to seven points or less.

Keys to Success: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 64-4 (.941) under head coach Jim Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...the Blue Jays have won 51 of their last 53 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 78-10-2 (.878) when holding the opposition to 14 points or less under Margraff...the Blue Jays have won 45 of their last 47 games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.

It's All Academic: Johns Hopkins has earned 23 Academic All-District selections since 2003. JHU's 23 selections in that time are more than the other CC football-playing schools combined.

Individual Player Notes of Interest Included in PDF Version