Johns Hopkins-McDaniel Football Notes

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The Game: Seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins (9-0, 8-0 Centennial) welcomes McDaniel (1-8, 0-8 CC) to Homewood Field for the final regular season game of the year for both teams. Kickoff is set for noon.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins improved to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the Centennial Conference with a 33-14 win at Franklin & Marshall last Saturday. McDaniel dropped its eighth straight as the Green Terror fell to Susquehanna 24-16.

We've Got Our Ticket: Johns Hopkins punched its ticket to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs with last week's win at Franklin & Marshall. The Blue Jays, who secured no worse than a share of the Centennial Conference title with the victory, will be making their fourth straight appearance in the NCAAs and the sixth in program history.
Johns Hopkins is assured of the league's automatic bid as the only team that can tie the Blue Jays in the league standings is Muhlenberg and JHU topped the Mules earlier this season.
The bracket for the 2014 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs will be announced on Sunday, November 16 at 6 pm on www.ncaa.com.

Centennial Conference Champions: Johns Hopkins secured no worse than a share of the 2014 Centennial Conference title with last week's win at F&M. The Blue Jays will win the title outright with a win against McDaniel or a Muhlenberg loss to Moravian.

A Perfect 10: Johns Hopkins became the first Centennial Conference team to win 10 league titles with this year's championship. Johns Hopkins had been tied with Muhlenberg and Dickinson atop the championship roll with nine titles. All 10 Johns Hopkins titles have come since 2002.

Odd, But True: Johns Hopkins was the last team in Centennial Conference history to win a league title as Hopkins didn't win its first title until 2002. Despite that, JHU is the first to get to 10 league titles.

Another Perfect 10: While many were focused on Johns Hopkins' 10th league title, head coach Jim Margraff's team posted another impressive 10 last week as 10 Blue Jays were named to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District Team. Johns Hopkins' 10 selections were the most of any team in the district, represented 10 of 14 selections from the Centennial Conference and were the most in school history. To be eligible for the award, players must be a starter or significant reserve, at least a sophomore and carry at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. Players named to the Academic All-District Team go on the ballot for national Academic All-America honors; that team will be announced on December 2.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins moved up one spot to seventh in the AFCA Division III Poll and the D3football.com Poll. The #7 ranking in both polls is the highest in school history.
In addition to the identical number seven national rankings, Johns Hopkins also checks in at #3 in this week's Lambert Meadowlands ranking of teams in the East.

Ranking Streaks: Johns Hopkins is ranked in the top 20 of the AFCA Poll for the 37th consecutive week dating back to early in the 2011 season and in the top 25 for the 38th consecutive week.

Honoring Our Seniors: This week's game against McDaniel will be the final regular season game in the careers of the 18 seniors (and one senior who has served as a student-coach for the last two seasons) on the Johns Hopkins football team. The current seniors have spearheaded one of the great four-year runs in program history. Below are a few of the accomplishments since this group arrived in 2011:

• Four Centennial Conference Championships
• Four NCAA Playoff appearances
• A cumulative record of 39-4 entering this week's game against McDaniel.
• A regular season record of 38-1 entering this week's game against McDaniel.

Seniors Set School Record: The seniors on the 2014 Johns Hopkins football team set a school record for most wins by one class with last week's 33-14 win at Franklin & Marshall. The Blue Jays are now 39-4 since this year's seniors arrived in 2011 and moved past the seniors on the 2012 and 2013 teams (38 wins). The 39 victories also rank as the second-most by one class in Centennial Conference history.

November Reign: Entering this week's game against McDaniel, Johns Hopkins is 15-1 in its last 16 regular season games in the month of November dating back to 2008. Including the post-season, the Blue Jays are 18-5 in their last 23 games in November (also dating to 2008).

More November: Johns Hopkins is 15-1 in its last 16 regular season home games in the month of November. Since the start of the 2001 season, JHU's only loss at home in the regular season in November came in 2007, when F&M took a 19-11 decision.

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 75 home games and is 57-18 in those games. Remarkably, head coach Jim Margraff's team has been just as successful on the road as the Blue Jays are 59-17 in 76 games away from Homewood Field during that time.

Quick Starts: Johns Hopkins is 9-0 for the third time in four years (2011, 2013). These represent the only three 9-0 starts in school history.

Quick Starts - Part II: Johns Hopkins has jumped out to some quick starts of late as the Blue Jays have led at least 14-0 at the end of the first quarter five of their last six games. Cumulatively, JHU has outscored the opposition 98-7 in the first quarter of the last six games and holds a 149-27 first-half scoring margin in those games.

Margraff Sets State Record: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff became the winningest college football coach in Maryland state history with the 42-14 win at Ursinus (November 1) as that gave him 175 career victories, a mark he upped to 176 with last week's win at Franklin & Marshall.
Margraff now sports a career record of 176-82-3 (.680) entering this week's game against McDaniel. Margraff had been tied with legendary Morgan State head coach Eddie Hurt, who won 174 games from 1929-59.

Margraff Ninth on Division III Victories List: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff picked up career victory number 176 with the win last week at F&M. In addition to ranking as the winningest coach in school and Maryland state history, Margraff is also tied for ninth among active NCAA Division III coaches in career victories; below is a look at the top 10: Rk. Name - School (Career Victories) 1. Rick Giancola - Montclair St. (225)
2. Michael DeLong - Springfield (197)
3. Mike Drass - Wesley (195)
4. Steve Johnson - Bethel (192)
5. Larry Kindbom - Washington U. (188)
6. Rich Lackner - Carnegie Mellon (187)
7. Barry Streeter - Gettysburg (182)
8. Vic Wallace - Rockford (179)
9T. Jim Margraff - Johns Hopkins (176)
9T. Norm Eash - Illinois Wesleyan (176)

Balanced Ground Game Leading Offense: Four players are leading the Johns Hopkins ground game this season as sophomore Stuart Walters, junior Brandon Cherry, sophomore Dionisio Roman and senior Braden Anderson have combined for 1,694 yards and 27 touchdowns in nine games.
With this group leading the way, Johns Hopkins is averaging 218.4 yards per game on the ground and has 30 rushing touchdowns on the year. JHU ranks second in the Centennial in rushing yards per game and 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 651 yards and also has seven touchdowns • Ranks eighth in the Centennial in rushing yards per game (72.3), sixth in kickoff return average (24.3) and 11th in all-purpose yards per game (97.7) • Ranks 20th in school history in rushing yards (1,314) • Averaging 5.6 yards per rush this season and in his career.

Brandon Cherry - Ranks second on the team in rushing yards with 438 and has five touchdowns as well • Also has 12 receptions for 102 yards and one TD • Ranks13th in the Centennial in rushing yards per game (54.8) • Ranks 15th in school history in rushing yards (1,676) and 14th in rushing TDs (16) • Has averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his career.

Dionisio Roman - Ranks fourth on the team in rushing yards with 262 and tied for second with seven rushing TDs to his credit • Has the 2nd longest run on the team this season (46T vs. Juniata) • Has 10 rushing TDs on 85 career carries (one every 8.5 carries).

Anderson Breaks Out: Senior Braden Anderson enters this week's game against McDaniel ranked among the Centennial Conference leaders in every passing category. On the year, Anderson is 152-of-232 (.655) for 1,953 yards with 18 touchdowns against six INTs. He has also rushed for 343 yards and a team-high eight TDs. Anderson has had a hand in 26 (18 passing • 8 rushing) of JHU's 49 touchdowns on the year.
Anderson currently leads the CC in pass efficiency (156.66) and ranks fourth in pass yards per game (217.0) and third in total offense (255.1). He also ranks second in the league in completion percentage and touchdown passes.
Anderson was at his best in JHU's five wins against Mulenberg, Juniata, Dickinson, Gettysburg and Ursinus as he combined to go 92-of-130 (.708) for 1,304 yards with 16 TDs against just one intercpetion in those victories.
In addition to his statistical exploits, Anderson also became the seventh straight Johns Hopkins quarterback to win the first start of his career when JHU topped Randolph-Macon, 42-3, in the season-opener.

Deep Receiving Corps Excels: Senior quarterback Braden Anderson has done a good job spreading the ball around thus far this season as 16 different players have at least one reception and six players have 10 or more catches on the year. Like the rushing attack, there are several players fueling a passing attack that is accounting for 226.3 yards per game. The leaders include ...

Quinn Donaldson - Ranks second on the team with 36 receptions, which have gone for a team-high 606 yards and five TDs • Ranks eighth in the Centennial in receiving yards per game (67.3) and 14th in receptions per game (4.00) • 16.8 yards per reception is second-best in the CC among players with 25 or more receptions • Had four receptions for 93 yards and two scores at Muhlenberg, four receptions for 86 yards at Dickinson and five receptions for a career-high 142 yards and two scores at Ursinus.

Bradley Munday - Leads the team with 40 receptions, which have gone for 589 yards and six scores • Ranks fifth in the Centennial in receptions per game (5.0) and receiving yards per game (73.6) • 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 ... and six receptions for 124 yards and a 50-yard TD reception vs. Gettysburg • Totaled four receptions for 77 yards and one TD at Ursinus and had seven receptions for 96 yards and one score and one kickoff return for 80 yards at Franklin & Marshall - the 80-yard KOR at F&M is tied for the 10th longest in school history and is the longest by a JHU player since Richard Hill had a 90-yard return at McDaniel in 2007.
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 (17) and receiving yards (173) • 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 168 completed passes through nine games. Of those, 167 of the 168 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 nine games the Blue Jays are allowing just 14.0 points and 300.3 yards per game. The opposition is averaging just 3.5 yards per rushing attempt and has converted just 45-of-143 (.315) third down opportunities. JHU leads the Centennial Conference in scoring defense and ranks second in total defense and pass defense (168.6) and third in rushing defense (131.8).

More Defense: In addition to allowing just 14.0 points per game, the Blue Jay defense has forced 22 turnovers and generated 22 sacks in nine games. Hopkins' 22 caused turnovers are tied for the most in the Centennial, while the 22 sacks rank third.

Still More Defense: Johns Hopkins' 22 forced turnovers is nine games this season are already eight 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 nine games this season, the Blue Jays already have 13 to their credit with three against Randolph-Macon, Moravian and Juniata and one against Susquehanna, Dickinson, Gettysburg and F&M.
Sophomore Jack Toner leads the way with three INTs on the year, while classmate Garrett Spek and senior Ryan Rice have a pair of intercpetions to their credit. Brady Watts, Sebastian Edwards, Keith Corliss, Curtis Antrum 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.
Hammond is quietly enjoying a strong freshman year in the middle of the Blue Jay defensive line as he counts 23 tackles, including two for losses and one sack, to go along with his one interception.

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. Current players with 100+ tackles ...

• Junior linebacker Keith Corliss has 149 career tackles in 29 career games played. He also counts 6.5 TFLs, four PBUs, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery to his credit. He posted 10 tackles at Dickinson, six against Gettysburg, nine at Ursinus and 11 at F&M to run his team-high total to 67 tackles on the year.

• Senior defensive end Michael Longo leads all defensive linemen with 39 tackles this season and also leads the team with 10.5 TFLs and 7.0 sacks. He now has 129 tackles, 30.5 TFLs and 19.5 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 110 tackles in his career, including 23 this season. In addition, his 16 career PBUs and six career INTs are the most among all active Johns Hopkins players.

• Senior Hani Annabi has 148 career tackles to his credit. He missed the first five games of the season, but has seen action in the last four games and has eight tackles on the year.

Super Sophs: Two of Johns Hopkins' top three tacklers and five of the 13 players on the team with 20 or more tackles on the season are all members of the sophomore class. Defensive back Jack Toner (48 tackles) and linebacker Jack Campbell (39) lead the way among the second-year players, while Pat Runger (25), Jesse Poore (24) and Garrett Spek (23) are also members of the 20-tackle club.

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.

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 42-1 in its last 43 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 43-game regular season run began with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010.

On A Roll, Part II: Johns Hopkins is 44-4 in its last 48 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 24-3 (.889) 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 110-32 (.775) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 116-35 (.768) since the start of the 2001 season and 121-40 (.752) since the beginning of the 2000 season.

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 101-23 (.815) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.

- Pride and Poise -