Nov. 25, 2009

Johns Hopkins-Thomas More Football Notes in PDF Format

The Game: Johns Hopkins hits the road for its second straight NCAA Playoff game as the Blue Jays (9-2) travel to Thomas More (11-0) for a second round matchup with the Saints. Whiel not official, the Blue Jays are the number six seed in the South Region, while the Saints are seeded second.

How They Got Here: Johns Hopkins earned its way into the NCAA Playoffs by winning the Centennial Conference title and went on the road in the first round and stunned 14th-ranked and previously unbeaten Hampden-Sydney, 23-7.
Thomas More breezed through the Presidents' Athletic Conference to earn its second straight berth in the NCAA Playoffs. The Saints knocked off visiting DePauw, 49-39, in the first round of the NCAAs last week.

Where They'll Go From Here: The winner of the Johns Hopkins-Thomas More game will play the winner of the Wesley-Mississippi College game.

JHU One of Six Road Winners in First Round: Johns Hopkins was one of seven road teams to win a game in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs last weekend. The Blue Jays joined Albright, Mississippi College, Trine, St. Thomas (MN), Coe and Mary Hardin-Baylor as road winners in the first round.

It's Been a While: JHU's 23-7 win at Hampden-Sydney last week marked the first road victory in the NCAA Playoffs for a Centennial Conference team since 2000, when McDaniel knocked off Emory & Henry, 38-14. The win for the Blue Jays was also just the third all-time playoff road win for a CC team as Ursinus won at Bridgewater State, 43-38, in 1999.

The Coaches: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff `82, who is in his 20th season as the head coach at Homewood. Margraff is JHU's all-time leader in games won (128) and coached (205) and enters this week's game with a career record of 128-74-3 (.632). He has more than twice as many wins as any other coach in school history (Ray Van Orman is second with 60 wins) and stands alone with Morgan State's Eddie Hurt as the only college football coaches in Maryland state history to win 125 or more games. Hurt won 174 games from 1929-59.
Thomas More is coached by Jim Hilvert, who enters this week's game against Johns Hopkins with an all-time record of 23-9 (.719) in three seasons as the head coach of the Saints. As prelude to this season's unbeaten season to-date, Hilvert guided the Saints to an 8-3 record, a PAC Championship and a trip to the NCAA Playoffs last season.

Captain, My Captain: In a vote of the returning players on the 2009 team, seniors Andrew Kase, Tim Miller, Glenn Rocca and Colin Wixted were selected as captains for the season. Kase is in his second season as a captain, while this is the first year as a captain for Miller, Rocca and Wixted.

What They Have in Common: Not much. Johns Hopkins and Thomas More did not have any common opponents this season.

Against the PAC: Johns Hopkins has played just two all-time games against teams that are current members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference with both of those games coming in the post season. Hopkins defeated Waynesburg, 26-24, in the 2004 ECAC Southeast Championship game and fell to Thiel, 28-3, in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Playoffs.

Pulling Rank: Last week's win at #14 Hampden-Sydney was JHU's fifth against a team ranked in the AFCA Top 25 since 1999 (when rankings began). This Tigers are the third-highest ranked team JHU has ever beaten and improved the Blue Jays' record to 5-5 against top 25 teams. JHU has won five of its last seven games against top 25 teams.

Win Number 125 ...: The win against Juniata was the 125th victory for Jim Margraff as the head coach at Johns Hopkins. In just 20 seasons, Margraff has accounted for more than 27% of the all-time victories in school history (128 of 462/.277).

Road Warriors: The Blue Jays are 5-1 on the road this season and posted a 4-1 record on the road in 2008. JHU is 13-3 since the start of the 2007 season on the road and 35-12 on the road since the start of the 2001 season.

November Reign: Johns Hopkins is 3-0 this season in games played in the month of November and 22-4 in the month of November since 2001. Taking it back farther, the Blue Jays are 34-16-1 under head coach Jim Margraff in the month of November.

Blue Jays Break Scoring Record: Johns Hopkins enters this week's NCAA Playoff game at Thomas More having scored a school-record 357 points on the year. The previous record of 315 was set in 2003 and this is just the third time Johns Hopkins has ever scored 300 or more points in a season.
In addition, JHU's current scoring average of 32.5 points per game ranks as the third-highest single-season average in school history. Only twice (1967, 1968) has Johns Hopkins averaged 30 or more points in a season.

Running Game Rolling: Johns Hopkins pounded out a season-high 319 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns at Juniata (10-31) and followed that with 287 yards and five touchdowns in the win against Franklin & Marshall (11-7). JHU's totals against Juniata are seasons highs, as was JHU's 8.0 yards per rushing attempt. This was the 23rd time Johns Hopkins has rushed for 300 or more yards in a game since 1955 and the ninth time under head coach Jim Margraff. The 319 rushing yards are the most for the Blue Jays since November 6, 2004, when they totaled 330 in a 38-14 win against 11th-ranked Hampden-Sydney.

Noting the JHU Rushing Attack:
? JHU's top four rushers (Andrew Kase, Jonathan Rigaud, Tyler Porco and Lyndon O'Connor) are averaging a combined 4.9 yards per carry.

? The Blue Jays' 26 rushing touchdowns this season are the most in school history. The previous record of 25 was originally set in 1959 and matched in 1968.

200 and 200: Johns Hopkins totaled 216 rushing yards and 243 passing yards in a 41-23 win over Gettysburg on September 18 and 287 yards rushing and 220 yards passing against Franklin & Marshall. JHU has now totaled 200 or more yards rushing and passing in the same game 25 times since 1955. 13 of those 25 have come since Jim Margraff took over as the Blue Jays' coach in 1990. JHU is 11-2 when rushing and passing for 200 or more yards under Margraff and 23-2 overall in such games.

Rare Air: Johns Hopkins totaled 301 passing yards in the regular-season-ending win at McDaniel and followed that with 303 passing yards in last week's win at #14th-ranked Hampden-Sydney. Amazingly, this marks the first time in school history JHU has thrown for 300 or more yards in back-to-back games. In fact, this marks just the second time in school history that Johns Hopkins has totaled two, 300-yard passing games in one season (1991).

More Rare: Johns Hopkins rang up 431 yards of total offense in last week's win at Hampden-Sydney. The 431 yards are the second-most ever in a post-season game for the Blue Jays and also mark the fourth straight game JHU has totaled 400 or more yards of total offense. This is believed to be the first time in school history Johns Hopkins has ever had 400 or more yards of total offense in four straight games.

Streaking: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 62-24 (.721) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 68-27 (.716) since the start of the 2001 season and 73-32 (.695) since the beginning of the 2000 season. The 73 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. To put this in perspective, Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season prior to this decade. In this decade, the Blue Jays averaged more than seven wins per season (7.3).

Kase Named CC Offensive Player of the Year: Senior Andrew Kase was named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year when the All-Centennial Team was announced on November 16. Kase is the third Johns Hopkins player to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors and he also garnered First Team All-Centennial honors for the second straight year.
Kase currently leads the Centennial and ranks 12th nationally in rushing (125.5 ypg), leads the CC and ranks fourth nationally in scoring (12.1 ppg) and ranks third in the CC and 45th nationally in all-purpose yards (138.1 ypg.).
Kase, who holds virtually every Johns Hopkins rushing and scoring record, set the Centennial record for single-season rushing touchdowns in last week's win at Hampden-Sydney (20). He now has three of the five all-time 1,000-yard rushing seasons in school history and he is just the seventh player in Centennial Conference history to reach 4,000 career rushing yards (4,334).

Putting it in Perspective: When reviewing the Johns Hopkins record book, Andrew Kase's career numbers stand out in nearly every category. Here is a look at some of Kase's numbers:

Andrew Kase's ...
... 37 rushing touchdows in the last two years alone are 12 more than any other player in school history.
... 3,015 rushing yards in the last two years alone are more than any other player in school history.
... 24 career 100-yard games are more than the next two players in school history have combined.
... three 1,000-yard seasons are one more than every other running back in school hsitory has combined for.

Select Company: In addition to his exploits on the JHU and Centennial Conference record books, senior Andrew Kase also become just the fourth collegiate running back in Maryland state history to top 4,000 career rushing yards with his effort three weeks ago against Franklin & Marshall and he moved into second on the state's career rushing list in the regular season finale at McDaniel. Below is a look the top rushers in state history:

1. Eric Frees (McDaniel) - 1988-91 - 5,281
2. Andrew Kase (Johns Hopkins) - Active - 4,334
3. Napoleon McCallum (Navy) - 1981-85 - 4,179
4. Lamont Jordan (Maryland) - 1997-2000 - 4,147
5. Levi Shade (Salisbury) - 1973-76 - 3,649
6. Tony Ellis (Salisbury) - 1998-02 - 3,621
7. Jason Corle (Towson) - 1996-99 - 3,601

A Glimpse of the Future: Freshman Jonathan Rigaud and sophomores Lyndon O'Connor and Nick Fazio combined for 134 rushing yards and 183 all-purpose yards in the win at Juniata.
Rigaud had a career-high 78 yards rushing, 51 of which came on one play. The 51-yard run is the longest by a Johns Hopkins player since O'Connor had a 69-yard run against Dickinson last season. O'Connor totaled 19 yards on six carries and added two receptions for 49 yards, including a career-long 35-yard catch on second-and-24 from the Juniata 49.
Fazio added 37 yards rushing and one touchdown on eight carries as the trio gave a glimpse of what life without Andrew Kase will be like next season. For the year, the trio has 392 yards rushing and three touchdowns and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

Tomlin Rolling: Sophomore quarterback Hewitt Tomlin has put together one of the best seasons in school history by a quarterback as the Blue Jays move forward in the NCAA Playoffs.
Tomlin is currently 205-of-326 for 2,351 yards with 16 touchdowns against nine interceptions on the year. His 205 completions are a single-season school record, while his 326 attempts and 2,351 passing yards both rank second. His 16 TD passes are just two shy of the JHU single-season mark.
Tomlin matched his career high with 26 completions in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs at Hampden-Sydney as he was 26-of-39 for 265 yards with one TD against one INT.
Tomlin ranks fifth in school history in career completions (359) and passing yards (4,198), sixth in attempts (601) and ninth in touchdown passes (25). He is also tied for second with 13, 200-yard passing games to his credit and has a 16-4 record in his 20 career starts.

Choose Your Poison: A big part of the Johns Hopkins offense this season is a deep and talented receiving corps that counts three players with 40 or more receptions and seven different players with 11 catches or more. Most impressively, the top three pass-catchers and six of the top seven are all due to return next season.
Junior Dan Crowley turned in one of the great all-time receiving performances in school history in last week's win at Hampden-Sydney as he totaled career highs of 13 receptions for 178 yards. His 13 receptions are tied for the second-highest single-game total in school history, while his 178 receiving yards are the 12th-highest single-game total.
Crowley counts a team-high 61 receptions for 846 yards with four touchdowns to his credit. Both of those totals rank as the seventh-best single-season marks in school history. Crowley also cracked the 1,000 career receiving yards mark in last week's victory (1,038).
Sophomore Sam Wernick added six receptions for 77 yards in the playoff-opener and now has 46 catches for 416 yards with one score on the year, while junior Tucker Michels ranks third on the team in receiving with 40 catches for 593 yards and four scores. Michels (130 career receptions for 1,554 yards), Wernick (83-1,079) and Crowley (72-1,038) are the first trio of receivers to be on the team at the same time with more than 1,000 career receiving yards.

Lachman Breaks School Records: Junior place-kicker Alex Lachman continued his assault on the Johns Hopkins record book in last week's 23-7 win at Hampden-Sydney. Lachman hit 3-of-4 field goals in the victory and is now 15-of-20 on the year. His 15 field goals break the previous single-season record of 14 (Ben Scott-2004), while he already owns the single-season marks for points by a kicker (86), extra points made (41) and extra points attempted (44). He ranks fourth nationally in field goals per game (1.36) entering this week's game at Thomas More.

Leading the Way: Johns Hopkins is enjoying one of the finest offensive seasons in school history as the Blue Jays rank among the Centennial Conference leaders in scoring offense (32.5), rushing offense (175.0), passing offense (222.9) and total offense (397.9). While the players who carry, throw and catch the ball get most of the attention, the Blue Jay offense is led in large part by a seasoned offensive line.
Seniors Mike Stoffel, Tim Miller and Anthony Catanzano, junior Ryan Lino and sophomore Ed Rodger are the primary starters on the line, with senior John Fox and sophomore Doug Drummond also seeing regular action. The unit has allowed just five sacks on 345 pass attempts this season. The five sacks JHU has allowed are tied for the fourth-fewest in the nation.

Defense Rolling: The Blue Jay defense enters this week's game against Thomas More ranked first in the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (15.7), second in total defense (259.6), first in rushing defense (74.5), sacks (33), interceptions (26) and forced turnovers (34). Below are some notes about the recent performance of the Johns Hopkins defense.

? JHU has allowed a total of just 69 points in the last six games.
? The Blue Jays' last five opponents (Ursinus, Juniata, F&M, McDaniel & Hampden-Sydney) have combined for a total of 132 rushing yards against the Blue Jays. F&M was held to -20 rushing yards, while Juniata was held to 0. Hampden-Sydney managed just 29 yards on 13 carries in the playoff opener last week.
? The Blue Jays have totaled 22 sacks in their last five games with at least six in three of the five games.
? Johns Hopkins has forced two or more turnvoers in each of the last 12 games dating back to last season.

An Opportunistic Bunch: Johns Hopkins has forced 34 turnovers in 11 games this season and ranks first in the Centennial Conference and fifth in the nation in turnover margin (+1.64/game).
JHU's 26 INTs in 11 games are twice as many as the Blue Jays came up with last year in 11 games. JHU forced six turnovers (4 INTs, 2 FR) against Juniata, two against F&M (2 INTs), three against McDaniel (3 INTs) and four against Hampden-Sydney (4 INTs) and the Blue Jays have forced at least two turnovers in all 11 games this season. No other team in the Centennial Conference has forced at least two turnovers in every game this season. Dating back to last season, JHU has forced two or more turnovers in 12 straight games and at least one turnover in 14 straight games.

Sophomore Sensations: A quick glance at the JHU tackle charts reveals that the top three tacklers and four of the top six are sophomores. Sophomore Mike Milano currently leads the Blue Jays in tackles with 66 and is followed closely by classmates Tyler Brown (63) and Ryan Piatek (60), In addition, Sam Eagleson (45) and Kale Sweeney (36) rank sixth and eighth, respectively, in tackles.

Schweyer Makes His Mark: Freshman Adam Schweyer enjoyed a solid game at Juniata as he blocked a punt that he scooped up and returned 13 yards for a touchdown, intercepted a pass that he returned 46 yards to set up a fourth quarter touchdown and posted three tackles on special teams. His 46-yard interception return is the longest by a Johns Hopkins player since September 3, 2005, when Dan Requena took one back 53 yards against Rochester.

In the Zone: Johns Hopkins has scored on 47-of-52 trips to the red zone this season (.904) and 33 of those 47 scores are touchdowns.

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 53-16 when scoring more than seven points and 0-6 when they have been held to seven points or less.