Nov. 20, 2008
Johns Hopkins-Catholic Football Notes 
The Game: Johns Hopkins (8-2) hosts Catholic (8-2) in the 2008 ECAC Southeast Bowl Game. This is the first meeting between the two schools since 1990.
A Look Back: Johns Hopkins ran its winning streak to five games with a 27-10 victory against McDaniel last Saturday.
Catholic had its hopes for an NCAA Playoff bid dashed as the Cardinals dropped a 37-26 decision to Bridgwater last week.
The Coaches: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff `82, who is in his 19th season as the head coach at Homewood. Margraff is JHU's all-time leader in games won (119) and coached (193) and he enters this week's game with a career record of 119-71-3 (.624).
David Dunn is in his third season as the head coach at Catholic. He sports a 16-14 record as the head coach of the Cardinals and has improved CU's reord from 3-7 to 5-5 to 8-2 in his three-year tenure.
Margraff Now Second in CC Victories: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff notched his 78th career Centennial Conference victory with last week's win against McDaniel (78-49-2). The victory moved him into sole possession of second place on the league's career coaching victories list as he eased past former F&M coach Tom Gilburg. Only Barry Streeter, who has won 85 league games at Gettysburg, ranks ahead of Margraff on the CC's all-time victory list.
Double Your Pleasure: A win this week against Catholic would improve Jim Margraff's career victory total to 120 - or exactly double the number of wins the next winningest coach in school history has (Ray Van Orman - 60 (1920-35)).
Captain, My Captain: In a vote of his teammates, junior running back Andrew Kase was selected to serve as the team captain for the Blue Jays this season. According to records in the Johns Hopkins Sports Information Office, he is the first player to serve as a solo captain for the Blue Jay football team since 1983 (Francis Mullan).
ECAC Bowl History: Johns Hopkins is making its fourth appearance in an ECAC Championship game and all four have come since 2002. Below is a look at JHU's previous ECAC Bowl Game appearances:
2002 - Frostburg (ECAC SW) - W/24-21
2003 - King's (ECAC SA) - W/41-13
2004 - Waynesburg (ECAC SE) - W/26-23
Post-Season History: Johns Hopkins had never played a post-season game prior to 2002, but made the three straight ECAC appearances and topped off the greatest four-year run in school history with a trip to the 2005 NCAA Playoffs. The Blue Jays dropped a first round game at Thiel in the NCAAs that year to bring their all-time post-season record to 3-1.
More Post-Season: While the 2002 ECAC Southwest Championship game appearance was the first post-season game in school history, it was not the first invitation Johns Hopkins ever received. The 1948 team posted a 7-1 record and was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl on New Year's Day. However, the invitation was declined as Hopkins did not believe in the commercialism of athletics. The trip to the bowl game could only be financed by accepting the guarantee that accompanied the invitation and the University administration declined. As it turned out, 54 years would pass before the Blue Jays received another post-season invitation.
A Star-Studded Group: Johns Hopkins placed eight players on the 2008 All-Centennial Football Team, which was announced on Monday. The Blue Jays had three first team selections, four second team selections and one honorable mention pick. Seven of the eight players who earned All-CC honors are due to return next season, including A.J. Albert, who was the only sophomore in the the league to grab first team honors. Below is a list of the eight JHU players who earned All-Centennial honors:
Andrew Kase (Jr. ? RB) - 1st Team
Mike Stoffel (Jr. ? OL) - 1st Team
A.J. Albert (So. ? LB) - 1st Team
Steve Levinson (Jr. ? DL) - 2nd Team
Tim Miller (Jr. ? OL) - 2nd Team
Colin Wixted (Jr. ? LB) - 2nd Team
Tucker Michels (So. ? WR) - 2nd Team
Chris Baldwin (Sr. ? DB) - HM
On This Date: This week's game against Catholic wil be the 10th the Blue Jays have played on November 22. Johns Hopkins currently boasts a 4-3-2 all-time record in games played on November 22 and has won its last two games played on this date. Included among the games are Johns Hopkins' 41-13 win over King's in the 2003 ECAC South Atlantic Atlantic Championship Game.
Road Warriors: With the 26-25 win at Franklin & Marshall on November 8 the Blue Jays improved to 4-1 this season and 8-2 since the start of the 2007 season on the road. JHU is 30-11 on the road since the start of the 2001 season and 18-7 in away league games since the start of the `01 season.
Noting the Recent Shutouts: The 14-0 shutout victory at Ursinus was JHU's first shutout since October 14, 2005, when the Blue Jays knocked off Gettysburg, 14-0. It was also JHU's first shutout on the road since a 30-0 victory at Dickinson on October 4, 2003 ? The Blue Jays' 12-0 shutout against Juniata in their next game marked the first time since 2003 that Hopkins has posted back-to-back shutouts as the blanking of the Eagles followed the shutout of Ursinus. JHU actually posted three straight shutouts in 2003.
A Program First: The 14-0 win at Ursinus and the 12-0 win against Juniata mark the first time in school history that Johns Hopkins has posted back-to-back shutouts against Centennial Conference opponents (league formed in 1983).
Margraff's Shutouts: The 12-0 win against Juniata was the Blue Jays' 17th shutout since head coach Jim Margraff took over in 1990.
That's a Blue Jay First Down: In rolling up 497 yards of total offense against Gettysburg the Blue Jays also set a school record for first downs in a game. JHU's 31 first downs against the Bullets topped the previous record of 30 set against then third-ranked Bridgetwater in 2001.
Offense Rolls Past 400 - Again: Johns Hopkins rolled up 481 yards in the win against Juniata. This marked the fourth time this season the Blue Jays have topped the 400-yard mark as they previously turned the trick against Gettysburg (497), Muhlenberg (511) and Dickinson (477).
The Blue Jays are averaging 413.3 yards per game in their last nine games and currently rank fourth in the Centennial Conference in total offense (383.3), fifth in rushing offense (182.4) and third in passing offense (200.9).
Scoring Surge: Johns Hopkins ranks fourth in the Centennial Conference in scoring offense (27.0) with 270 points scored. Johns Hopkins has averaged 30 or more points per game just twice in school history (1967 ? 36.4 / 1968 ? 34.0). The school record for total points scored in a season is 315 (2003).
November Reign: Johns Hopkins has played some of its best football of the Jim Margraff era in the month of November. Dating back to 2001 the Blue Jays are 19-3 in games played in the month of November. Johns Hopkins did not lose a game in the month of November from 2001 through 2004 and last season's 19-11 loss to Franklin & Marshall was the Blue Jays' first home loss in the month of November since the final game of the 2000 season. Johns Hopkins is 31-15-1 under Margraff's guidance in games played in November.
Streaking: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 53-21 (.716) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 59-24 (.711) since the start of the 2001 season and 64-29 (.688) since the beginning of the 2000 season. The 64 wins the Blue Jays have amassed this decade are already the most wins in a decade in school history. The previous record of 55 wins came in the 1990s.
Must be the Speech: Johns Hopkins has played some of its best football in the third quarter of its games this season as the Blue Jays have outscored the opposition 69-24 in the third period. Prior to Muhlenberg and Dickinson both scoring touchdowns in the third period, the Blue Jays had gone eight games without allowing a touchdown in the third quarter. In the last 13 games dating back to last season, the Blue Jays have outscored the opposition 100-24 in the third quarter.
Working Overtime: The 39-31 triple overtime win at Randolph-Macon was JHU's first overtime game since a 21-14 win at Washington & Lee in the 2002 season-opener (one overtime period). The Blue Jays are now 2-2 all-time in overtime and all four extra-session games the Blue Jays have played in their history have been on the road.
In the Zone: Johns Hopkins has converted on 28-of-36 (.778) chances in the red zone this season. The Blue Jays currently rank second in the Centennial Conference in red zone offense.
The success in the red zone for the Blue Jays extends back to last season, when Hopkins finished the year 25-of-27 (92.6%) on the year with 17 touchdowns and eight field goals to its credit. Since the start of the 2007 season Johns Hopkins has 40 touchdowns and 13 field goals on 63 trips to the `zone.
Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 44-14 when scoring more than seven points and 0-5 when they have been held to seven points or less.
Statistical Youth: Through 10 games the Blue Jays have rushed the ball 396 times (does not include kneel-downs) and have 166 receptions. Of the 562 offensive touches, exactly two (a three-yard reception in the season-opener and a 27-yard completion on a fake punt last week vs. McDaniel) have been by seniors. In other words, 99.2% of JHUs total offense (3,803 of 3,833 yards) has been accumulated by players who will return next season.
Note of the Day: Johns Hopkins totaled 228 yards rushing and 253 yards passing in the win over Juniata. This marked the second time this season the Blue Jays have totaled more than 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game (Gettysburg). This was also the 10th time the Blue Jays have turned the trick under head coach Jim Margraff (the Blue Jays have won eight of the 10 games).
It's All Academic: Johns Hopkins had three players named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team last week. Junior defensive lineman Steve Levinson was named to the first team, while classmates Mike Stoffel and Anthony Catanzano garnered second team honors. Johns Hopkins has earned 29 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections since 2003. JHU's 29 selections in that time are the same number the other CC football-playing schools have combined for (29). Taking it back even farther, Johns Hopkins has earned 55 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections since 1991. During that time the other CC football-playing schools have combined for 59 selections. Johns Hopkins has had at least three players earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors every year since 2001.
Player Notes of Interest Included in PDF Version
