Johns Hopkins-Gettysburg Football Notes

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The Game: Johns Hopkins (6-0, 5-0 Centennial) plays its second consecutive Friday night game as the Blue Jays welcome Gettysburg (3-3, 3-2 CC) to Homewood Field.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins improved to 6-0 on the year and ran its regular season winning streak to 17 games as the Blue Jays topped Dickinson, 42-7, last Friday night in Carlisle. Gettysburg had a three-game winning streak snapped as the Bullets dropped a 47-6 decision at Muhlenberg.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins is ranked ninth in this week's AFCA Division III Poll and ninth in this week's D3football.com Poll. The number nine ranking in the D3football.com Poll is the highest in school history (in that poll), while this is the 14th time Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top 10 by the AFCA.

Ranking Streaks: Johns Hopkins is ranked in the top 20 of the AFCA Poll for the 34th consecutive week dating back to early in the 2011 season and in the top 25 for the 35th consecutive week.

Flipping the Calendar: While September has certainly been kind to the Blue Jays of late (19 straight wins for JHU in September), October has seen virtually the same level of success for JHU. Johns Hopkins enters this week's game against Gettysburg riding a 14-game October winning streak that began with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010.

Can't Get More Even: The success of the Johns Hopkins football team since the start of the 2001 season has been well documented. Amazingly, that success has been nearly identical on the road and at home. Dating back to the start of the 2001 season, Johns Hopkins has played 74 home games and is 56-18 in those games. Remarkably, head coach Jim Margraff's team has been just as successful on the road as the Blue Jays are 57-17 in 74 games away from Homewood Field during that time.

Quick Starts: Johns Hopkins is 6-0 for the fourth straight year and the sixth time since 2003. Prior to 2003, Johns Hopkins hadn't started a season with six straight wins since 1931!

Friday Night Lights: This week's game against Gettysburg will be the 51st Johns Hopkins has played on Friday night since 1982. Since then, the Blue Jays have compiled a 33-16-1 (.670) record in Friday night games, including a 29-11-1 (.720) mark under head coach Jim Margraff.

More Friday Night Lights: While the Blue Jays have played 50 Friday night games since 1982, only five of those 50 have been away from Homewood Field. Last week's game at Dickinson was the first Friday night road game for Johns Hopkins since 1996, when the Blue Jays dropped a 12-7 decision at FDU-Madison.

Off the Bye: JHU did not have an in-season bye week during head coach Jim Margraff's first 11 seasons (1990-2000). Since then - and including last week's game at Dickinson - JHU has had a bye week 12 times and has posted an 9-3 record in its first game after the bye. Including the win at Dickinson, the Blue Jays have won seven straight games coming off a bye week and have outscored the opposition 292-58 in those seven victories.

Two of 10: This week's JHU-Gettysburg game features two of the 10 winningest active NCAA Division III head coaches. Gettysburg's Barry Streeter is seventh among active coaches with 181 wins, while Johns Hopkins' Jim Margraff is 10th with 173 victories.

Margraff One Shy of State Record: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff sports a career record of 173-82-3 (.676) entering this week's game against Gettysburg. With one more win, he will tie Morgan State's Eddie Hurt, who won 174 games from 1929-59, as the winningest college football coach in Maryland state history.

Margraff 10th on Division III Victories List: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff picked up career victory number 173 with the win last week at Dickinson. In addition to ranking as the winningest coach in school history, Margraff also ranks 10th among active NCAA Division III coaches in career victories.

Balanced Ground Game Leading Offense: Three players are leading the Johns Hopkins ground game this season as sophomore Stuart Walters, junior Brandon Cherry and sophomore Dionisio Roman have combined for 1,042 yards and 13 touchdowns in six games. This doesn't even include the efforts of senior quarterback Braden Anderson, who has rushed for 202 yards and a team-high seven TDs.
With this trio leading the way, Johns Hopkins is averaging 246.7 yards per game on the ground and has 23 rushing touchdowns on the year. JHU leads the Centennial in rushing yards per game and also leads the CC in rushing TDs. Below is look at JHU's three top running backs:

Stuart Walters - Leads the Blue Jays in rushing with 480 yards and also has three touchdowns • Ranks seventh in the Centennial in rushing yards per game (80.0), second in kickoff return average (24.8) and10th in all-purpose yards per game (105.5) • Ranks 22nd in school history in rushing yards (1,143) • Averaging 5.7 yards per rush this season and in his career.

Brandon Cherry - Ranks second on the team in rushing yards with 354 and has four touchdowns as well • Also has nine receptions for 75 yards and one TD • Ranks eighth in the Centennial in rushing yards per game (70.8) and 13th in all-purpose yards per game (85.8) • Ranks 16th in school history in rushing yards (1,592), tied for 14th in rushing TDs (15) • Has averaged 6.1 yards per carry in his career.

Dionisio Roman - Ranks third on the team in rushing yards with 208 and second with six rushing TDs to his credit • Has the longest run on the team this season (46T vs. Juniata) • Has nine rushing TDs on 70 career carries (one every 7.8 carries).

Anderson Breaks Out: Senior Braden Anderson has quietly jumped up among the Centennial Conference leaders in several statistical categories with his recent efforts against Muhlenberg, Juniata and Dickinson.
On the year, Anderson is 103-of-155 (.665) for 1,217 yards with 10 touchdowns against four INTs. He has also rushed for 202 yards and a team-high seven TDs. Anderson has had a hand in 17 (10 passing • 7 rushing) of JHU's 34 touchdowns on the year.
Anderson currently ranks second in the CC in pass efficiency (148.53) and third in pass yards per game (202.8) and total offense (236.8). He also leads the league in completion percentage.
Anderson has been at his best in JHU's last three wins against Mulenberg, Juniata and Dickinson as he combined to go 58-of-83 (.699) for 733 yards with nine TDs against just one intercpetion. In the win against Dickinson he also rushed for a career-high 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Deep Receiving Corps Excels: Senior quarterback Braden Anderson has done a good job spreading the ball around thus far this season as 15 different players have at least one reception and six players have seven or more catches on the year. Like the rushing attack, there are several players fueling a passing attack that is accounting for 213.0 yards per game:

Quinn Donaldson - Leads the team with 25 receptions, which have gone for 417 yards and three TDs • Ranks fourth in the Centennial in receiving yards per game (69.5) and tied for ninth in receptions per game (4.2) • 16.7 yards per reception is second-best in the CC among players with 20 or more receptions • Had four receptions for 93 yards and two scores at Muhlenberg and four receptions for 86 yards at Dickinson.

Bradley Munday - Ranks second on the team with 23 receptions, which have gone for 292 yards and three scores • Tied for sixth in the Centennial in receptions per game (4.6) and eighth in receiving yards per game (58.4) • Enjoyed the best day of his career at Muhlenberg as he had 13 receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown - 13 receptions and 150 yards are both career highs, while his 56-yard TD reception with just over two minutes remaining in regulation sealed the victory. Added two receptions for 73 yards, including a 66-yard TD reception, at Dickinson ... 66-yard reception was the longest of his career.
Munday's 13 receptions against Muhlenberg are the most by a Johns Hopkins player since Dan Wodicka had 13 at McDaniel in 2011, while his 150 receiving yards are the most since Wodicka had 159 in that same game against McDaniel in 2011.

Ryan Finkel - Ranks third on the team in receptions (15) and receiving yards (157) • Had five receptions for 49 yards and one TD vs. Juniata and notched the 50th reception of his career in the win over the Eagles.

In Case You Didn't Notice: Johns Hopkins has 109 completed passes through six games. Of those, 108 of the 109 have been caught by players who will return next season.

Defense Among Centennial's Best: While the Blue Jay offense grabs a lot of the headlines, the Johns Hopkins defense is enjoying a strong year as well. Through six games the Blue Jays are allowing just 14.0 points and 317.8 yards per game. The opposition is averaging just 3.6 yards per rushing attempt and has converted just 29-of-91 (.319) third down opportunities.

More Defense: In addition to allowing just 14.0 points per game, the Blue Jay defense has forced 16 turnovers and generated 13 sacks in six games. Hopkins' 16 caused turnovers rank second in the Centennial, while the 13 sacks rank fifth.

Still More Defense: Johns Hopkins' 16 forced turnovers is six games this season are already two more than the Blue Jays caused in 11 games last season.

Good Hands Team: The Johns Hopkins defense came up with just eight interceptions in 11 games during the 2013 season. Through six games this season, the Blue Jays already have 11 to their credit with three against Randolph-Macon, Moravian and Juniata and one against Susquehanna and Dickinson.
Sophomore Jack Toner leads the way with three INTs on the year, while classmate Garrett Spek has a pair of intercpetions to his credit. Brady Watts, Ryan Rice, Sebastian Edwards, Keith Corliss and Lance Hammand all have one thus far.

Hammond First DL in Five Years With an INT: Freshman defensive lineman Lance Hammond came up with the first interception of his career in the 42-7 win at Dickinson. His INT killed a Red Devil scoring threat at the Johns Hopkins 14-yard line. Hammond is the first Johns Hopkins defensive lineman to record an interception since Glenn Rocca had one in a 23-7 win at Hampden-Sydney in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Playoffs. Amazingly, Rocca had three interceptions that season.

Hitting the Century Mark: Johns Hopkins had two players reach the 100-tackle mark for their career vs. Moravian and another reach the mark in the win against Juniata.

• Junior linebacker Keith Corliss is Johns Hopkins' career active leader in tackles with 123 in 26 career games played. He also counts 5.0 TFLs, three PBUs, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery to his credit. He posted 10 tackles in last week's win at Dickinson and has a team-high 41 tackles on the year.

• Senior defensive end Michael Longo leads all defensive linemen with 26 tackles this season and also leads the team with 6.0 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. He now has 116 tackles, 26.0 TFLs and 16.0 sacks in his career.

• Senior safety Ryan Rice became the latest JHU player to eclipse the 100-tackle mark when he got there against Juniata. Rice now has 105 tackles in his career, including 18 this season. In addition, his 16 career PBUs and five career INTs are the most among all active Johns Hopkins players.

JHU Ties Victory Record: Johns Hopkins posted a 10-1 record in 2013 and tied the school record for victories in a season. Only four times previously - 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2012 - 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 10 times in the last 12 years.

Centennial Conference Champions: Johns Hopkins claimed its ninth Centennial Conference title last season with all nine championships coming since 2002. JHU's nine CC titles are tied for the most in league history with Dickinson and Muhlenberg.

Centennial Favorites: For the sixth consecutive year and the ninth time in the last 11 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 158 points to out-distance Muhlenberg, which checked in at number two in the poll with six first-place votes and 147 points.

A Return to the NCAAs: Johns Hopkins made its third straight and fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Playoffs last season. The Blue Jays are 3-5 all-time in NCAA action with a trip to the 2009 NCAA Quarterfinals and an appearance in the second round in 2012 highlighting their playoff history.

On a Roll: Johns Hopkins is 39-1 in its last 40 regular season games dating back to late in the 2010 season. The only team to top the Blue Jays duirng that run? Franklin & Marshall, which topped the Blue Jays, 14-12, in 2012. JHU's 40-game regular season run began with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010.

On A Roll, Part II: Johns Hopkins is 41-4 in its last 45 games overall since late in the 2010 season. Three of the Blue Jays' four losses during that time have come in the NCAA Playoffs.

At Home at Homewood: Johns Hopkins has parlayed its home field advantage into victories in recent years. In fact, the Blue Jays are 23-3 (.885) in the home blacks since the start of the 2010 season.

Sustained Success: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 107-32 (.770) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 113-35 (.764) since the start of the 2001 season and 118-40 (.747) since the beginning of the 2000 season.

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 98-23 (.810) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.

- Pride and Poise -