Oct. 10, 2008

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Host Johns Hopkins raced out to a 33-0 lead and then held off a furious rally by visiting Dickinson in the final 17 minutes to pull out a 36-34 victory at Homewood Field Friday night. The Blue Jays got 224 yards rushing and three touchdowns from junior Andrew Kase, while Dickinson's Pat O'Connor amassed 396 all-purpose yards and three touchdown receptions to fuel the Devils. Johns Hopkins improves to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Centennial Conference, while Dickinson slips to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Centennial.

In a game that featured more than 900 yards of total offense, a 19-point Johns Hopkins spree in a span of 15 minutes and a 27-point fourth-quarter by Dickinson, it was a career-long field goal by a sophomore place-kicker and a failed two-point attempt that proved to be the deciding plays in a game for the ages.

The Blue Jays built a 19-0 halftime lead as Kase scored from 12 yards out midway through the second quarter and added a one-yard run with 70 seconds remaining in the half. Johns Hopkins, which got field goals from 39 and 32 yards in the first half from sophomore Alex Lachman, amassed 244 yards of total offense in the first half against a Dickinson defense that entered the game allowing just 235 yards per game.

Another one-yard run by Kase with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter and a 69-yard touchdown run by freshman Lyndon O'Connor just over a minute later gave the Blue Jays what appeared to be a safe 33-0 lead. O'Connor's touchdown - the fourth-longest rushing play in school history - came on his first carry of the game.

The Devils started their comeback with back-to-back touchdown receptions by Pat O'Connor. The first covered 30 yards and made it 33-7 at the end of the third quarter and the second made it 33-14 with just over 10 minutes remaining. In a prelude of things to come, neither scoring drive took longer than 1:42. After Dickinson recovered a pooch kick at the Blue Jay eight-yard line, junior quarterback Ian Mitchell scampered in from two yards out to make it 33-21 with still more than nine minutes remaining on the clock. A crucial holding call on the Blue Jays ensuing possession negated a 15-yard run by Kase into Dickinson territory and Hopkins was forced to punt two plays later.

It took just 1:27 for Mitchell to move the Red Devils 71 yards in six plays with a 36-yard scoring pass to Gray Gish pulling Dickinson to within 33-28 before Lachman drilled a career-long 46-yard field goal with 2:59 remaining to make it 36-28. A 31-yard kickoff return has set the Blue Jays up at their own 44-yard line to start the drive and Kase gained 22 yards before the Blue Jays settled for Lachman's third field goal of the game.

The Devils needed just 1:26 to score again as O'Connor caught a pass in traffic on fourth-and-10, broke a tackle at the Blue Jay 35-yard line and raced into the end zone to pull Dickinson within two (36-34). Mitchell's two-point pass attempt into the back of the end zone was batted away by Sam Eagleson and Mike Todisco and Tucker Michels recovered the ensuing onsides kick attempt for the Blue Jays, who were able to kill the final 1:33 to complete one of the most improbable victories in school history.

Kase's 224 yards are the second-highest total of his career , the sixth-best total in school history and represent his fourth straight 100-yard rushing effort. His four straight 100-yard games ties the JHU record and improve his career total to 12 100-yard rushing games, which is just one shy of the school record. His 224 yards also pushed him past 2,000 for his career. His 2,122 career rushing yards are the most ever by a Johns Hopkins player as a junior and rank seventh overall in school history.

Freshman quarterback Hewitt Tomlin was 15-of-30 for 162 yards and also rushed three times for 18 yards. Lyndon O'Connor rushed for a career-high 72 yards on just three carries and added one reception for six yards. Michels had seven receptions for 67 yards and totaled a personal-best 145 all-purpose yards. Chris Baldwin posted a team-high nine tackles, including one for a loss, and added his fourth interception and one pass breakup for the Blue Jays. A.J. Albert picked up both of JHU's sacks in the game.

Pat O'Connor's 396 all-purpose yards are the most in Dickinson history, as are his 248 receiving yards. His 12 receptions tied the Dickinson single-game record. Mitchell was 18-of-40 for 323 yards with the four touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked twice, but stilled rushed for 55 yards and the one score. Ben Hargrave posted a game-high 19 tackles for Dickinson, while also got double-figure tackle totals from A.J. Reisig (14) and Michael Dalton (13).

Johns Hopkins rolled up 477 yards of total offense, including 315 on the ground. It is the first time Johns Hopkins has rushed for more than 300 yards in a game since November 6, 2004, when the Blue Jays totaled 330 in a 38-14 win over 11th-ranked Hampden Sydney The Blue Jays, who totaled a season-high 511 yards of total offense last Saturday against fifth-ranked Muhlenberg, have topped 400 yards in back-to-back games for the first time since early in the 2004 season.

Johns Hopkins, the first home team to win in the JHU-Dickinson series since a 17-10 Blue Jay win in 2002, will return to action next Saturday at Ursinus.

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