Dec. 16, 2008
2008 Johns Hopkins Season-Ending Football Notebook Additional Information Available in This Format 
The Team: Johns Hopkins posted its biggest one-season turnaround in nearly 20 years (+4.5 games) as the Blue Jays posted an 8-3 record, tied for second place in the Centennial Conference and played in the ECAC Southeast Bowl. The Blue Jays posted a 6-2 record in the Centennial Conference and tied with Moravian for second place.
The Coach: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff `82, who recently completed his 19th season as the head coach at Homewood. Margraff is JHU's all-time leader in games won (119) and coached (194) and concluded the season with a career record of 119-72-3 (.621).
Margraff Now Second in CC Victories: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff notched his 78th career Centennial Conference victory with regular-season-ending 27-10 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.
ECAC Bowl History: Johns Hopkins made its fourth appearance in an ECAC Championship game this season and all four have come since 2002. Below is a look at JHU's all-time ECAC Bowl Game results:
2002 ? Frostburg (ECAC SW) ? W/24-21
2003 ? King's (ECAC SA) ?W/41-13
2004 ? Waynesburg (ECAC SE) ?W/26-23
2008 ? Catholic (ECAC SE) ? L/17-18
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 and now stand at 3-2 all-time in the post-season.
Blue Jays Reach Eight Wins for Fifth Time in Seven Years: Johns Hopkins played football from 1882 until 2001 and never won more than seven games in a season. Since then, the Blue Jays have one 10-win season (2003), two nine-win seasons (2002, 2004) and two eight-win seasons (2005, 2008) to their credit. Need more perspective? JHU never won more than seven games in a season prior to 2002. Since then the Blue Jays have averaged 7.1 wins per season.
Streaking: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 53-22 (.707) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 59-25 (.702) since the start of the 2001 season and 64-30 (.681) 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.
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 ? Jumps up from 2nd Team in `07
Mike Stoffel (Jr. ? OL) ?1st Team ? Jumps up from 2nd Team in `07
A.J. Albert (So. ? LB) ? 1st Team ?Only sophomore on 1st Team
Steve Levinson (Jr. ? DL) ? 2nd Team ?1st All-CC nod
Tim Miller (Jr. ? OL) ? 2nd Team ? 1st All-CC nod
Colin Wixted (Jr. ? LB) ? 2nd Team ? Repeat 2nd Team selection
Tucker Michels (So. ? WR) ? 2nd Team ? Only sophomore WR to earn All-CC
Chris Baldwin (Sr. ? DB) ? HM ?Led JHU in tackles (81) and INTs (4)
It's All Academic: Johns Hopkins had three players named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team. 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.
Home Sweet Home: Johns Hopkins posted a 4-2 record at home this season to improve to 29-14 at Homewood Field since 2001. The Blue Jays are now 67-29-2 at home under head coach Jim Margraff.
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 19-7 in away league games since the start of the `01 season.
An Offensive Group: Johns Hopkins improved its offensive production in all four major categories this season as the Blue Jays averaged 26.1 points and 378 yards of total offense (compared to 21.2 points and 309.3 yards a year ago). In addition, Hopkins bettered its season averages in rushing offense (184.8 to 145.1) and passing offense (193.2 to 164.2), scored 17 or more points eight times in 11 games and topped 400 yards of total offense four times. Amazingly, in just one more game played this year, the Blue Jays had exactly 1,000 more all-purpose yards than they did in 2007 (5,125 to 4,125).
Not to Be Outdone: With much of the attention focused on the Blue Jay offense this season, the defense quietly turned in its fair share of solid performances. 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. 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.
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 19-4 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 31-16-1 under Margraff's guidance in games played in November.
Must be the Speech: Johns Hopkins played some of its best football in the third quarter of its games this season as the Blue Jays outscored the opposition 72-24 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 14 games dating back to last season, the Blue Jays have outscored the opposition 103-24 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 converted on 29-of-37 (.784) chances in the red zone this season. The Blue Jays finished second in the Centennial Conference in red zone offense this season.
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 41 touchdowns and 13 field goals on 64 trips to the `zone.
Again, Not to be Outdone: Again, with much of the focus on JHU's offensive production in the red zone it was easy to miss the fact that Hopkins led the Centennial Conference in red zone defense. The Blue Jays allowed just 22 scores on 37 opponent trips to the red zone (.595) and also produced a league-high seven turnovers (4 FR/3 INTs) in the red zone.
Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 44-15 when scoring more than seven points and 0-5 when they have been held to seven points or less.
Statistical Youth: The Blue Jays rushed the ball 456 times this season (does not include kneel-downs) and had 178 completed passes. Of the 634 offensive touches, exactly three (a three-yard reception in the season-opener, a 27-yard completion on a fake punt vs. McDaniel and a six-yard reception against Catholic) were by seniors. In other words, 99.1% of JHUs total offense (4,122 of 4,158 yards) was accumulated by players who will return next season.
Player Notes of Interest Included in PDF Version
