Oct. 9, 2012

Johns Hopkins-Dickinson Football Notes

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The Game: Johns Hopkins (5-0, 4-0 Centennial) opens the second half of the season and hits the road for the third time this year as the Blue Jays travel to Carlisle, PA to take on Dickinson (2-3, 2-2 CC).

On This Date: Brad McLam (113) and Mark Campbell (106) both topped the 100-yard rushing mark to fuel a 13-3 win against Muhlenberg in 1984. This marked the first time JHU had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since 1976.

The Teams: Johns Hopkins improved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Centennial Conference with a 40-20 victory against Juniata on September 29. Dickinson slipped to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the CC with a 36-28 loss to Franklin & Marshall on the same day. Both teams had a bye last week.

Series History: Johns Hopkins has won five straight against Dickinson and leads the all-time series 34-27-4. JHU has also won four straigth at DC.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins is ranked 11th in this week's AFCA Division III Coaches Poll and 18th in the d3football.com Poll. Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top 25 of the AFCA Poll for 14 consecutive weeks dating back to the first poll of the 2011 season The Johns Hopkins office of Athletic Communications uses the AFCA Poll to reflect JHU's official ranking at the time of a game.

Margraff Earns Career Win Number 150: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff improved his career record to 152-79-3 (.656) with the 40-20 win against Juniata on September 29. He is just the second college football coach in Maryland state history to win 150 career games. Only Morgan State's Eddie Hurt, who won 174 games from 1929-59, has won more games as the head football coach at a college or university in the state of Maryland than Margraff.

About the 5-0 Start: The Blue Jays improved to 5-0 with the 40-20 win over Juniata on September 29. This marks the fifth time since 2002 that Johns Hopkins has won its first five games of a season and the seventh time in school history that JHU stands at 5-0 (2012, 2011, 2005, 2003, 2002, 1931, 1892).

Sweet September: Johns Hopkins closed out the September part of its schedule with a perfect 5-0 record. The Blue Jays have won 11 straight and 14 of their last 15 games in the month of September.

Six Straight in October: Johns Hopkins will carry a six-game winning streak in the month of October into this week's game at Dickinson. The Blue Jays last dropped a game in October on October 16, 2010, when they fell at Ursinus (26-17).

Regular Season Roll: The Blue Jays will put a 19-game regular-season winning streak on the line this week at Dickinson. The streak, the longest such run in school history and the third-longest in Centennial Conference history, began with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010. The Blue Jays have outscored the opposition 773-240 during the 19-game run.

More Regular Season Rolls: In addition to boasting the longest regular season winning streak in school history and the third longest in CC history, JHU's current 19-game regular season winning streak is also the sixth-longest active streak in the nation (all divisions). Mount Union has currently won 68 straight regular season games to lead the way.
There are only eight active regular season winning streaks of 15 games or more among the 651 schools playing football under the NCAA banner.

Centennial Roll: The Blue Jays will put a 17-game Centennial Conference winning streak on the line this week at Dickinson. The streak, the longest such run in school history and the second-longest in Centennial Conference history, began with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010.

Road Warriors: Johns Hopkins ran its road winning streak to nine games with the 33-21 win at Muhlenberg. The nine-game run ties the JHU record for most consecutive road victories (2003-05).
The Blue Jays last dropped a road game on October 16, 2010, when Ursinus took a 26-17 decision. The nine-game streak is the third-longest active road winning streak in the nation.

Best-Ever 20-Game Run: Dating back to late in the 2010 season, Johns Hopkins is 19-1 in its last 20 games. This is the best 20-game run in school history. JHU had posted an 18-2 record over a 20-game span on four different occassions.

Quick Starts: The Blue Jays have outscored the opposition 101-17 in the first and second quarters combined through five games with a 35-10 mark in the first quarter and a 66-7 bulge in the second.

Move Those Chains: Johns Hopkins is 40-of-68 (.588) on third-down attempts through five games. JHU currently leads the nation in third-down efficiency and is one of just three Division III teams that has converted better than 55% of its third-down opportunities.
Taking it one step farther, of the 651 schools in the NCAA that play football at the FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III levels, Johns Hopkins currently ranks third in third-down efficiency.

That's a Record: Johns Hopkins tied an NCAA Division III record and set school and Centennial Conference records with 40 first downs in the win over Moravian on September 15. This is the third time in Division III history that a team has accumulated 40 first downs in a game.

That's a First: Johns Hopkins scored 40 points in the win over Juniata and has scored at least 33 in each of its five games thus far. This is just the second time in school history that JHU has scored 33+ in five straight games and the first time its happened in one season (previous five-game run bridged the 2010 and 2011 seasons).
The Blue Jays rank second in the Centennial Conference and 21st in the nation in scoring offense (38.4).

On Par: Johns Hopkins averaged a school-record 492.7 yards per game last season and is running virtually even with that mark at 492.6 yards per game thus far this year. The Blue Jays currently rank second in the Centennial Conference and 12th nationally in total offense (492.6). JHU has topped the 500-yard mark three times in five games and only once, at Susquehanna (389), have the Blue Jays been held under 400 yards.

Balancing Act: Johns Hopkins is one of the most balanced teams in the nation as the Blue Jays are currently averaging 245.8 rushing yards and 246.8 passing yards per game. JHU is currently one of just three Division III teams in the nation and one of just six in all divisions averaging better than 245 yards rushing and passing per game.

It's Been a While: JHU rushed for 338 yards and passed for 244 in the recent win vs. Moravian. This marked just the third time in school history that JHU has totaled more than 300 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in the same game. The two previous instances took place more than 40 years ago.

Two Jays 2K: Having a running back reach 2,000 career rushing yards or a receiver top 2,000 career receiving yards is quite an accomplishment. To have them both turn the trick in the same game is as rare as it is impressive, but that's what happened for the Blue Jays in the recent win at Muhlenberg.
Senior running back Jonathan Rigaud rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown vs. the Mules and pushed his career rushing total to 2,061 yards with 58 against Juniata. He is the eighth running back in school history to reach the 2,000-yard mark and his TD run vs. Juniata was the 23rd of his career, which ties him for fourth place in school history.
Not to be outdone, junior Dan Wodicka had six receptions for 42 yards against the Mules and seven more catches for 57 yards vs. Juniata to boost his career totals to 158 receptions for 2,093 yards. He is the ninth receiver in school history to reach 2,000 receiving yards and the seventh to top 150 career receptions.

A Solid One-Two Punch: Senior Jonathan Rigaud currently ranks second in the Centennial Conference in rushing yards per game (96.2) and is averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Making the Blue Jays tougher to defend are the exploits of junior JD Abbott, who currently ranks seventh in the league in rushing yards per game (69.0) and is averaging 5.6 yards per attempt. The duo is the top rushing tandem in the Centennial Conference as they are averaging a combined 165.2 yards per game.

Wodicka Among National Leaders: In addition to recently topping 2,000 career receiving yards, junior wide receiver Dan Wodicka's 158 career receptions are the most by any active Division III junior in the nation and his total is the seventh-highest total among all junior receivers in the nation (all divisions)

Cremens Has Breakout Day: Senior WR Scott Cremens entered the game vs. Juniata with nine receptions on the year (he missed the first game of the season). He matched that with nine catches for 178 yards and three TDs against the Eagles to earn Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. He now has 18 receptions for 242 yards and three TDs on the year.
Cremens continued his climb in the JHU record book with his performance against Juniata. He now ranks ninth in TD receptions (15), 10th in receptions (113), 14th in receiving yards (1,356).

D'Orazio Emerging: Junior Bob D'Orazio entered the game at Susquehanna with career totals of seven receptions for 116 yards in 14 career games played. Against the Crusaders he had a then career-high five receptions for a personal-best 122 yards and one touchdown. He came back at Muhlenberg with another solid performance as he had seven receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown before totaling four receptions for 75 yards and a score vs. Juniata. He ranks second on the team in receiving with 19 receptions for 312 yards and three TDs.

Matey Notches First 300-Yard Game: Junior Robbie Matey threw for a career-high 386 yards and a personal-best four touchdowns in JHU's 40-20 win over Juniata. The 386-yard effort tops his previous career high of 251 yards in a 27-17 win over Muhlenberg last season.
Matey's effort vs. Juniata made it four straight 200-yard passing games and five overall for his career. He is completing a Centennial-high 73.8% of his pass attempts (104-of-141) for 1,214 yards with eight TDs against eight INTs. He also ranks second in the CC in total offense (271.8).

Defense Continues Run: With all the talk about the Johns Hopkins offense, the Blue Jay defense continues to excel. Johns Hopkins currently ranks first in the Centennial Conference in total defense (220.8), first in rushing defense (53.0), third in scoring defense (15.2) and fourth in pass defense (167.8). JHU ranks fifth in the nation in total defense and sixth in rushing defense. The Blue Jays also rank fifth in the nation in sacks per game (4.20).
Other notes of interest about the Johns Hopkins defense ...
• Two of the 10 touchdowns JHU has allowed on the year have not been scored by the opposition's offense against the Blue Jay defense. They were scored by the opposition's defense or special teams.
• The opposition is averaging just 1.7 yards per rushing attempt and 3.5 yards per play.
• The longest rushing play Johns Hopkins has allowed this season is 15 yards.
• JHU has surrendered exactly two offensive touchdowns in the first half this season.
• JHU has accumulated 21 sacks in five games. Eleven different players have been in on at least one sack thus far.

Schweyer, Maciow Closing on 200: The two most experienced players on the Blue Jay defense - seniors Adam Schweyer and Taylor Maciow - both recently topped the 150 tackle mark and are closing quickly on 200 career tackles.
Schweyer rang up 10 tackles, including two for losses and one sack, in the win at Susquehanna and had six tackles in his last outing vs. Juniata. He now has 176 career tackles to his credit and notched his third career touchdown with an 18-yard interception return against Juniata. All three of his career TDs have come against the Eagles.
Maciow punched up seven tackles against Moravian and Muhlenberg and a season-high 11 against Juniata to push his career total to 183. He currently leads the team with 38 tackles, including 4.0 for losses and 3.0 sacks, on the year.

Youth Shall Be Served: While seniors Taylor Maciow (38) and Adam Schweyer (34 tackles) rank as the team's top two tacklers, the defense as a whole is one of the youngest in the Centennial Conference. In fact, there is only one senior among JHU's eight-man rotation on the defensive line and just one senior among JHU's top six defensive backs. Three of the top six players in the secondary are freshmen and three of the four starters on the defensive line are sophomores.
Consider also that of the 13 players with 10 or more tackles on the year, only three are seniors; four are juniors, four are sophomores and two are freshmen.

Defensive Line Applies the Pressure: Junior Joe DiTrolio and sophomores Matthew Connery and Michael Longo have started all five games on the defensive line and have combined for 55 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks thus far.
DiTrolio's 23 tackles lead all JHU defensive linemen, while he ranks second on the team with 3.0 sacks and third in tackles for losses (4.0).
Connery counts a team-high 8.0 tackles for losses among his 14 stops on the year and he is tied for the team-lead with 3.5 sacks, while Longo has 18 tackles, including 2.5 for losses and one sack to his credit.
Other key contributors on the defensive line include juniors Mike Zikoski (11 tackles, one sack), Andy Laychur (10 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Wesley Shoap (five tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2.0 sacks), senior Jordan Randolph (eight tackles) and sophomore Michael Rocca (six tackles, 1.5 TFLs and one sack).

Carbone Honored: Junior kicker Richie Carbone entered the game at Muhlenberg with exactly two career field goals to his credit. He matched that total in a 10-minute span in the second quarter that turned a 7-7 tie into a 13-7 lead that the Blue Jays would never relinquish. He was good from 23 yards and a career-best 42 yards and hit all three of his extra point attempts to earn Centennial Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. This is the first time in his career he has earned the honor. For the year, Carbone is 22-of-25 on extra points and 2-for-2 on field goals. He is also averaging 36.1 yards per punt.

Centennial Favorites: For the fourth consecutive year and the seventh time in the last nine years Johns Hopkins was selected as the favorite in the league's preseason poll of coaches and SIDs. The Blue Jays received 14 of 20 first-place votes and totaled 153 points to easily out-distance Ursinus, which checked in at number two in the poll with four first-place votes and 137 points.

JHU Ties Victory Record: Johns Hopkins posted a 10-1 record in 2011 and tied the school record for victories in a season. Only twice previously - 2003 & 2009 - had Hopkins won 10 games in a season. Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season prior to 2002, but the Blue Jays have posted eight or more wins eight times in the last 10 years.

Centennial Conference Champions: Johns Hopkins claimed its seventh Centennial Conference title last season with all seven championships coming since 2002. JHU ranks third in league history with its seven titles. Only Dickinson (9) and Muhlenberg (8) have more titles than the Blue Jays, who are tied for third on the list with McDaniel.

Post-Season Regulars: JHU's appearance in the NCAAs last season was the third in school history and also the eighth time Johns Hopkins has advanced to the post-season as JHU has played in five ECAC Bowl Games since 2002. Including the 2-3 record in NCAA action, Johns Hopkins sports a 6-4 all-time post-season record as the Blue Jays are 4-1 all-time in ECAC Bowl Games. Included is a 44-14 win over Lebanon Valley in the 2010 ECAC South Atlantic Bowl. Including ECAC games, Johns Hopkins has advanced to the post-season in each of the last four years.

Sustained Success: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport an 86-29 (.748) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 92-32 (.742) since the start of the 2001 season and 97-37 (.724) since the beginning of the 2000 season. The 74 wins the Blue Jays amassed from 2000-09 are the most wins in a decade in school history. Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season prior to this decade. In the decade completed in 2009, the Blue Jays averaged more than seven wins per season (7.4).

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 77-20 (.794) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.

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