Sept. 11, 2014 Johns Hopkins-Susquehanna Football Notes 
JHU-Susquehanna TV Info.
The Game: Johns Hopkins (1-0, 0-0 Centennial) hits the road for the first time in the 2014 season as the Blue Jays make the trip north to Susquehanna (0-1, 0-0 Centennial).
A Look Back: Johns Hopkins got the season started on the right foot as the Blue Jays opened with a 42-3 win against Randolph-Macon last Saturday at Homewood Field. Susquehanna dropped its first game of the season, 42-13, at Lycoming.
Poll Position: Johns Hopkins inched up one spot to number 13 in this week's d3football.com poll. The Blue Jays earned top 20 preseason rankings in three polls. The Blue Jays were ranked 16th by the Sporting News, 8th by Lindy's College Football and 14th by D3football.com.
The first AFCA Poll of the 2014 season will be released in late September.
A Little Perspective: Johns Hopkins' 39-point margin of victory last week vs. Randolph-Macon was the largest by a Blue Jay football team in a season-opener since 1959, when JHU topped F&M, 42-0.
For Openers: Johns Hopkins improved to 15-9-1 in season-openers under head coach Jim Margraff and the Blue Jays have currently won 12 of their last 16 openers.
Centennial Openers: This week's game against Susquehanna is the first of nine straight Centennial Conference games the Blue Jays will play. Johns Hopkins is a league-best 21-10 all-time in Centennial openers since the league was formed in 1983. Currently, the Blue Jays have won their last six league openers.
Road Openers: Johns Hopkins is 14-10 under head coach Jim Margraff in its first road game of the year.
That Took Some Digging: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff is in his 25th season at the helm of the Blue Jay football program. In the previous 24 years, the Blue Jays have posted a 22-2 record in their second game of the season.
Sweet September: Johns Hopkins enters this week's game having won 16 straight and 19 of its last 20 games in the month of September. The only team to beat JHU in the month of September in its last 20 games? Randolph-Macon, which posted a 41-37 win over JHU on September 11, 2010.
More September: Johns Hopkins has not lost a home game in the month of September since September 22, 2007, when Moravian escaped Homewood with a 44-41 victory. Since then the Blue Jays have won 12 straight at home in September.
Cherry, Walters Pace Rushing Attack: Quite simply, there may not be a more talented returning running back tandem in the region than the one the Blue Jays boast in junior Brandon Cherry and sophomore Stuart Walters. Last season, the pair combined to rush for 1,649 yards and 13 touchdowns while also totaling 17 receptions for 231 yards and another score. Cherry earned First Team All-Centennial honors as he rushed for 986 yards and eight scores, while Walters added 663 yards and five touchdowns. Walters' total is the most by a freshman at JHU since Hari Lymon rushed for a rookie-record 753 in 1992.
The duo was at the heart of last week's 261-yard rushing effort for Johns Hopkins as they combined for 163 yards and two TDs. Walters led the way with 87 yards and one score, while Cherry added 76 yards and another TD.
Walters' electrifying 22-yard scoring run in the second quarter was selected as the D3football.com Play of the Week.
Anderson Takes Over: Senior Braden Anderson made his first career start a successful one as he was 12-of-23 for 190 yards with one touchdown and also rushed for a pair of scores in last week's 42-3 win over Randolph-Macon. Anderson, who is now 74-of-116 (.638) for 865 yards with five TDs against just one INT in his career, is the seventh straight Johns Hopkins quarterback to win the first start of his career.
Donaldson Breaks Out: With the loss of career receptions leader Dan Wodicka to graduation, the Blue Jay offense was in need of at least one young receiver to emerge. Hopkins may have found its man in sophomore Quinn Donaldson, who led the Blue Jays with five receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown in the season-opening victory against Randolph-Macon. The five receptions and 111 yards are both career hights for Donaldson, who had seven receptions for 89 yards and no TDs last season as a freshman.
Defensive Starts Strong: The Johns Hopkins defense got the season off to a good start as the Blue Jays allowed just three points, surrendered only 277 yards, notched a pair of sacks and came up with three interceptions in the win against Randolph-Macon last week.
Under 300 Again: JHU limited Randolph-Macon to just 277 yards of total offense. Since the start of the 2013 season, the Blue Jays have held the opposition to less than 300 yards of total offense six times in 12 games.
Good Hands Team: Junior Brady Watts and sophomores Jack Toner and Garrett Spek all registered interceptions for the Blue Jays in last week's win against Randolph-Macon. The three INTs are the most for Johns Hopkins since October 13, 2012, when the Blue Jays had three against Dickinson.
Margraff 10th on Division III Victories List: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff picked up career victory number 168 with last week's season-opening victory against Randolph-Macon. In addition to ranking as the winningest coach in school history, Margraff also ranks 10th 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. - 218
2. Michael DeLong - Springfield - 192
3. Mike Drass - Wesley - 186
4. Steve Johnson - Bethel - 185
5T. Larry Kindbom - Washington U. - 184
5T. Rich Lackner - Carnegie Mellon - 184
7. Vic Wallace - Rockford - 179
8. Barry Streeter - Gettysburg - 178
9. Norm Eash - Illinois Wesleyan - 174
10. Jim Margraff - Johns Hopkins - 168
Margraff Ranks Second on State Victory Chart: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff sports a career record of 168-82-3 (.670) entering this week's game against Susquehanna. 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.
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 34-1 in its last 35 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 35-game regular season run began with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010.
On A Roll, Part II: Johns Hopkins is 36-4 in its last 40 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 21-3 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 102-32 (.761) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 108-35 (.755) since the start of the 2001 season and 113-40 (.739) since the beginning of the 2000 season.
Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 93-22 (.809) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.
- Pride and Poise -
