Sept. 22, 2007

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Junior Brian Reckenbeil (Branchburg, NJ/Somerville) drilled a 34-yard field goal with one second remaining to lift visiting Moravian to a wild 44-41 victory over host Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. In a game that featured five lead changes, three ties, seven lost fumbles and 24 or more points scored in each of the final three quarters, it was Moravian that polished off a seven-play, 39-yard drive in 1:19 to seal the win with Reckenbeil's field goal. The win is the fourth straight for the Greyhounds, who improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Centennial Conference, while the Blue Jays dropped their third straight and slip to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Centennial. The game is the first in the history of the Johns Hopkins football program where both teams scored 40 or more points.

The `Hounds appeared to take control of the game with back-to-back touchdowns in a span of four minutes bridging the second and third quarters. Junior quarterback Marc Braxmeier's (Center Valley, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) 22-yard touchdown pass to Sean Hill (West Reading, PA/Wyomissing) with two seconds remaining in the first half capped a nifty seven-play, 64-yard drive that took just 58 seconds and gave Moravian a 21-16 lead at the half. Braxmeier, who tied a Moravian record with four touchdown passes in the game, then scored on a one-yard run on the opening possession of the second half to give the Greyhounds what appeared was a comfortable 11-point lead (27-16). Oddly, Moravian went for two points after Braxmeier's run and the failed conversion left the door open for the Blue Jays, who needed less than eight minutes to tie the game for the first of three times in the final 18 minutes.

Freshman Alex Lachman (Livingston, NJ/Livingston) answered Braxmeier's touchdown run with a 37-yard field goal on JHU's ensuing possession, a drive that was fueled by 40 yards on the ground from sophomore Andrew Kase (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing). Lachman's field goal was his fourth of the game, tying Ben Scott's school record for field goals in a game. Hopkins got the ball back less than 90 seconds later when senior Dan Requena (Fairlawn, NJ/Fairlawn) forced a fumble that was recovered by Devin Hewlett (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) and returned to the Blue Jay 40-yard line. A 33-yard pass from sophomore Michael Murray (Ijamsville, MD/Urbana) to senior Corey Sattler (Monroeville, PA/Gateway) and 27 more yards by Kase covered the 60 yards in just five plays with Kase sprinting the final 11 for the touchdown to pull the Blue Jays even at 27.

Again it would take Moravian just 58 seconds to score as Braxmeier found Hill behind the defense on first-and-10 from the Blue Jay 40-yard line to give the `Hounds a seven-point bulge (34-27) late in the third quarter, but the Blue Jays quickly answered. A steady diet of rushing plays and two Murray completions that covered a total of 25 yards moved the ball to the Moravian three-yard line, where Murray found freshman Brian Hopkins (Rocky River, OH/St. Ignatius) in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 34-34.

Obvious now that the winner would likely be the last team with the ball, both teams pieced together touchdown drives in the final eight minutes. The `Hounds took over at the Blue Jay 44-yard line with 10:54 remaining and Ricky Allen (Pocono Summit, PA/Pocono Mt. West) and Morgan deRouen (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) alternated carries to move the ball to the JHU seven-yard line. Braxmeier then hit an uncovered Alex Hersch (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) with a seven-yard scoring toss to give Moravian a 41-34 lead. Moravian actually forced a Blue Jay punt on their ensuing possession and Allen broke through for a long gain on Moravian's second play after the punt, but senior Richard Hill (Huntington Station, NY/St. Anthony's) forced a fumble that Requena recovered at the Blue Jay 27-yard line with 5:05 remaining to give the Blue Jays life.

Murray orchestrated an 11-play, 73-yard drive to perfection as he was 7-of-9 on the drive and JHU converted a pair of third downs and one fourth down to keep the drive alive. A 23-yard run by Kase on fourth-and-two from the Moravian 36-yard line set the Blue Jays up at the Moravian 10-yard line and Murray hit freshman Tucker Michels (Allendale, NJ/Northern Highlands) over two defenders in the corner of the end zone with 1:27 remaining to pull Hopkins even for the final time at 41-41.

Hersch returned the ensuing kickoff to the Moravian 44-yard line and Braxmeier went to work with 1:20 remaining. A pass interference penalty and a 16-yard completion to Shawn Sylvanius (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) quickly moved the ball to the Hopkins 25-yard line. The Greyhounds moved the ball down to the Hopkins 12-yard line before a holding penalty and a short run set them up at the 17-yard line with 5.5 seconds remaining. Reckenbeil then drilled the 34-yard game-winner to give Moravian its first 4-0 start since 2004.

The Blue Jays got off to a good start as Lachman hit first-quarter field goals from 43 and 28 yards, but Moravian took a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter when Zach Santiago (Bethlehem, PA/Bethleham Catholic) forced a fumble in the end zone and Doug Bocchino (Madison, NJ/Madison) fell on the loose ball for a touchdown with 12:27 remaining in the first half. Murray and Kase hooked up for a 59-yard touchdown pass three plays later to give JHU a 13-7 lead and the Hopkins defense came up with a stop on Moravian's next possession, but Hewlett mishandled the ensuing punt and Hersch recovered at the Hopkins 15. Braxmeier hit Kris Bisci (Easton, PA/Easton) two plays later to give Moravian a 14-13 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. Lachman's third field goal of the game - from 30 yards out - gave the Blue Jays a 16-14 lead, but Braxmeier hit Hill just before halftime to set the stage for the wild second half.

Braxmeier was 18-of-29 for 279 yards with the four touchdown passes and Allen paced a ground game that generated 176 yards as he rushed for 72 yards on seven carries. The Greyhounds rolled up 455 yards of total offense and Hill was on the back end of five Braxmeier completions for 127 yards and the two touchdowns.

Kase rushed for a career-high 163 yards and junior Chris Baldwin (Southampton, NJ/Bishop Eustace) added 75 yards on 14 carries to lead a ground game that turned out a season-high 213 yards for the Blue Jays. Murray was 21-of-37 for 233 yards and career-high three touchdowns passes with Sattler matching his career high with eight receptions for 98 yards. Kase added four receptions for 67 yards and the one score and his 230 all-purpose yards are a career-high. JHU's 446 yards of total offense are also a season-high and this is the first time Hopkins has produced over 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game since September 10, 2005 against Randolph-Macon.

Johns Hopkins will return to action next Saturday at Muhlenberg, while Moravian will host Dickinson next week.

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