Johns Hopkins-McDaniel Football Notes

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The Game: Sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins (9-0, 8-0 Centennial) closes out the 2015 regular season as the Blue Jays make the short trip to Westminster, Maryland to take on rival McDaniel (0-9, 0-8 CC).

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins locked up the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs and no worse than a share of the CC title as the Blue Jays topped Franklin & Marshall, 45-24, last Saturday. McDaniel slipped to 0-9 with a 44-15 loss at Susquehanna.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins is ranked sixth in this week's AFCA Division III Poll and eighth in the D3football.com Poll. The number six ranking from the AFCA is tied for the best in school history. McDaniel is not ranked in either poll.

State of Affairs: The 2015 Johns Hopkins football roster consists of 88 players from 23 different states. The McDaniel roster counts 107 players from five states and Washington, DC.

Road Warriors: With the recent 36-7 victory at Gettysburg, the Blue Jays extended their regular season road winning streak to 14 games. The Blue Jays last dropped a regular season road game at F&M late in the 2012 season.

At Home at Homewood: Johns Hopkins has parlayed its home field advantage into victories in recent years. In fact, the Blue Jays are 31-3 in the home blacks since the start of the 2010 season.

Centennial Conference Champions: Johns Hopkins earned no worse than a share of its record-tying seventh straight Centennial Conference title with last week's 45-24 victory against Franklin & Marshall. The Blue Jays also secured the league's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs with the victory. With just one regular season game remaining, below is a look at what can happen this week at the top of the Centennial Conference standings:

Johns Hopkins: The Blue Jays earn the outright Centennial Conference title for the fifth straight year and the seventh time overall with a win at McDaniel.

Moravian: The Greyhounds can earn a share of the Centennial title with a win against Muhlenberg and a loss by Johns Hopkins at McDaniel.

NCAA Selection Show: The bracket for the 2015 NCAA Division III Football Playoffs will be announced on Sunday, November 15 at 6 pm. The official announcement will be made live on ncaa.com.

Other NCAA Details: While the location of Johns Hopkins' first round NCAA Playoff game and opponent will not be announced until Sunday, November 15, the game itself will be played on Saturday, November 21 at noon local time.

It's All Academic: Johns Hopkins placed 10 players on the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, which was announced on November 5. The 10 selections tie the school record set last season. Below is a list of Johns Hopkins' 10 selections, which now go on the ballot for national Academic All-America honors. The Division III CoSIDA Academic All-America football team will be announced on December 1.

Evan Adamo (WR)
Rowan Cade (OL)
Jack Campbell (LB)
Branon Cherry (RB)
Keith Corliss (LB)
Colin Egan (OL)
John Hardin (DL)
Charlie Kassis (DB)
Tory Prati (DL)
Jack Toner (DB)

It's All Academic-II: The Blue Jays' 10 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections this season not only tied the school record, but were also the most of any program in the nation at any level of college football. Below is a look at the schools in all divisions with seven or more CoSIDA Academic All-District picks:

Johns Hopkins (Division III) - 10
Carnegie Mellon (III) - 8
Taylor (College Division) - 8
RPI (III) - 7
Washington University (MO) (III) - 7
Eastern Oregon (College Division) - 7

Seniors Playing Final Regular Season Game: This week's game at McDaniel will be the final regular season game in the careers of the seniors on the Johns Hopkins football team. The current seniors have spearheaded one of the great four-year runs in program history and will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
Below are a few of the accomplishments since this group arrived in 2012:

• Four Centennial Conference Championships.
• Four NCAA Playoff appearances.
• A cumulative record of 40-4 entering this week's game against McDaniel.
• A regular season record of 38-1 entering this week's game against McDaniel.
• A regular season home record of 20-0.

In the Centennial Record Book: With the win last week against Franklin & Marshall, Johns Hopkins continued its assault on the Centennial Conference record book. Consider ...

... The 30 straight regular season victories for JHU are now tied for the league record. McDaniel won 30 consecutive regular season games from 1997-99.

... The 27 straight Centennial Conference victories for JHU rank as the second-longest streak in league history. McDaniel won 33 straight CC games from 1997-2001.

... The 40 wins Johns Hopkins has accumulated since the start of the 2012 season are just one shy of the CC record for most in a four-year span. McDaniel won 41 games from 1997-2000 - a mark Johns Hopkins tied from 2011-14.

Looking for 10-0: A win this week would give Johns Hopkins the fourth 10-0 regular season record in school history. JHU first went 10-0 in the regular season in 2011 and matched that in 2013 and 2014.

November Reign: Entering this week's game at McDaniel, Johns Hopkins is 17-1 in its last 18 regular season games in the month of November dating back to 2008. Including the post-season, the Blue Jays are 22-6 in their last 28 games in November (also dating to 2008).

More November: Johns Hopkins is 13-2 in its last 15 regular season road games in the month of November (dating back to the 2000 season).

A Final November: Johns Hopkins is 17-1 in its last 18 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.

Successful at Home and Away: Since the start of the 2001 season, Johns Hopkins has played exactly 163 games and has posted a remarkable 127-36 record. Even more remarkable? Those 163 games are split almost exactly in half with 82 home games and 81 road games. Still more remarkable? Johns Hopkins is 64-18 (.780) at home and 63-18 (.778) on the road during that time.

Offense Rolling: Johns Hopkins scored 40 or more points in each of the first five games this season (52 @ RMC, 59 vs. Susquehanna, 45 @ Moravian, 49 vs. Muhlenberg, 41 @ Juniata) and has scored at least 34 points in all nine games on the year. The five-game season-opening run of scoring 40+ is the longest in school history, as is the nine-game streak of scoring at least 34 points.

Among the National Leaders: Entering this week's game against McDaniel, Johns Hopkins ranks in the top 35 in the nation in scoring offense (11th • 45.6 ppg), total offense (15th • 506.7 ypg), rushing offense (27th • 242.2), third-down percentage (6th • .526) and first downs (7th • 242 (26.9/game)).

Quick Starts: Johns Hopkins has had 60 combined possessions in the first half of its nine games thus far. Of those 60, 37 have ended with touchdowns and three others with a field goal. In other words, Hopkins has scored on 66.7% of its first-half possessions this season.

More Quick Starts: Johns Hopkins has outscored the opposition 265-52 in the first half of its nine games this season. Included in that first-half breakdown is a 117-13 margin in the first quarter and a 148-39 margin in the second quarter.

To Put it in Perspective: Johns Hopkins has scored 410 points in nine games, or an average of 45.6 points per game. The 410 points the Blue Jays have scored are already the fifth-highest single-season total in school history, while the 45.6 points per game is just over five points per game higher than the JHU school record (40.1 in 2013).

Cherry Tops 2,500: Senior running back Brandon Cherry rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries last week and continues to lead the Blue Jays in rushing (79.2 yards/game) this season. He is also second on the team in rushing touchdowns (8) and overall touchdowns (11) and third in all-purpose yards (94.4/game).
With his 64-yard effort last week against F&M, Cherry became the seventh player in school history to top 2,500 career rushing yards (2,502); he is tied for third in career rushing TDs (25), fourth in overall touchdowns (31) and 12th in all-purpose yards (3,238).
Earlier this season, Cherry added his name in the record book in another spot as he tied the Johns Hopkins record for touchdowns in a game (4) as he scored on runs of 73, 14 and six yards and added a 34-yard TD reception in a 45-23 win at Moravian.

Walters Tops 2,000: Junior Stuart Walters rushed for a career-high 146 yards and three TDs and totaled a personal-best 197 all-purpose yards in last week's win against Franklin & Marshall. Entering this week's game against McDaniel, he ranks second on the team in rushing (77.2), leads the team in rushing touchdowns (12) and overall touchdowns (15) and ranks second in all-purpose yards (116.1).
With his effort against F&M, Walters became the 10th player in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards (2,087). In addition to ranking 10th in career rushing yards, he is also now tied for third in career rushing TDs (25), tied for fifth in overall touchdowns (30) and 19th in all-purpose yards (2,803).

Germano Among National Leaders: Junior quarterback Jonathan Germano has gotten off to a quick start this season as he has guided the Blue Jays to nine victories in his first nine career starts.
Through nine games, Germano is 168-of-234 (.718) for 2,215 yards with 25 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. In addition, he has rushed for 362 yards and four more scores.
Germano currently ranks first in the nation in completion percentage (.718), sixth in the nation in pass efficiency (179.73) and 15th in touchdown passes (25). Germano's 25 touchdown passes this season ties the JHU single-season record, while his 2,215 passing yards rank eighth.
In the 59-7 victory against Susquehanna earlier this season, Germano became the first Johns Hopkins quarterback since 1989 to rush for 100 yards in a game as he rushed 15 times for 105 yards and one TD.

Balanced Rushing Attack: With an average of 242.2 yards per game on the ground, Johns Hopkins ranks 27th in the nation in rushing offense.
Unlike many of the top rushing teams in the nation, Johns Hopkins doesn't have an individual ranked among the top 100 in the nation in rushing yards per game.
What the Blue Jays do have is five players who have rushed for 130 or more yards in nine games. Senior RB Brandon Cherry (79.2), junior RB Stuart Walters (77.2) and junior QB Jonathan Germano (40.2) all account for at least 40 yards per game. In addition, Ryan Cary (21.3) and Tyler Messinger (15.9) are also contributing to a ground game that ranks among the nation's best.
The five players above have combined for 27 of Johns Hopkins' 29 rushing touchdowns thus far and fuel a rushing game that is averaging 5.2 yards per attempt.

Picking Up Where He Left Off: Junior wide receiver Bradley Munday picked up right where he left off last season as he had 10 receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns and totaled 229 all-purpose yards in the season-opening win at Randolph-Macon. The 155 receiving yards and 229 all-purpose yards are both career highs. Through nine games, Munday leads the team in receptions (63), receiving yards (816) and all-purpose yards (1,089). He ranks first in the Centennial in receptions per game (7.00), first in receiving yards per game (90.7) and fourth in all-purpose yards per game (121.0).
Munday now has career totals of 161 receptions for 1,974 yards and 16 touchdowns. He ranks eighth in school history in receptions and 10th in receiving yards.

Donaldson Tops 1,000: Junior Quinn Donaldson recently became the 23rd player in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards and now has career totals of 77 receptions for 1,248 yards and 15 TDs. He ranks 21st in Johns Hopkins history in receptions, tied for 18th in receiving yards and tied for 11th in TD receptions.
On the year, Donaldson ranks second on the team in receptions (19), receiving yards (334) and TD receptions (5) and his 17.6 yards per reception leads the team.

Spreading the Wealth: Through nine games, Johns Hopkins has 17 different players who have at least one reception on the year. Perhaps the most exciting part for Blue Jay fans is the top of the receiving chart, which shows three juniors (Bradley Munday, Quinn Donaldson, Boone Lewis, Jr.) and one sophomore (David Brookhart) among the top five. Those four have combined for 110 receptions for 1,500 yards (13.6 yards/reception) and 18 touchdowns.

Fresh Troops: The Johns Hopkins defense has long been known for playing deep into its bench and this season has been no different thus far. Through nine games, 13 different players have 20 or more tackles; with that depth and the ability to keep players fresh, only one JHU player ranks among the top 25 in the Centennial Conference in tackles per game, yet the Blue Jays rank among the CC leaders in virtually every statistical category.
Junior Jack Campbell leads the team in tackles with a career-high 63, while senior Keith Corliss (54), junior Dan Johnson (50) and sophomore Keonte Henson (48) all count 40 or more tackles to their credit. Rounding out Johns Hopkins' top five tacklers is freshman Addison Quinones (34).

Stingy After the Bye: The Johns Hopkins defense has allowed a total of just 56 points in the last five games as the Blue Jays have topped Juniata (41-5), Dickinson (34-7), Gettysburg (36-7), Ursinus (49-13) and F&M (45-24) in their last five outings. The JHU defense wasn't responsible for one of the TDs scored by Ursinus as the Bear defense recovered a fumble by the Blue Jay offense in the end zone for one of its touchdowns.

Cashing In: The Johns Hopkins defense has forced 26 turnovers on the year and the Blue Jays have turned those 26 turnovers into 102 points. On the flip side, the Blue Jay offense has turned the ball over 15 times and those 15 have led to just 30 points for the opposition.

Fantasy Numbers: The Johns Hopkins defense counts 65 tackles for losses, 24 sacks, 18 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries to its credit through nine games. The number of players involved in those momentum type plays is remarkable. In all, 24 different players have been in on at least one tackle for loss, 16 have at least half a sack, nine different players have an interception and six players have recovered a fumble.

Defense Among Centennial's Best: While offense may sell tickets, the Blue Jays have always preached defense first. Through nine games it's been more of the same for defensive coordinator Mickey Rehring's troops.
Johns Hopkins currently ranks first in the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (14.6), second in total defense (302.2) and rushing defense (121.9) and third in sacks (24).
Nationally, Johns Hopkins ranks 20th in scoring defense, sixth in interceptions (18), 18th in pass efficiency defense (97.13) and 14th in caused turnovers (26).

Campbell, Sullivan Handle Kicking Chores: Junior Nick Campbell and sophomore Jamie Sullivan are sharing the place-kicking duties for JHU this fall. While Sullivan handles all the kickoff chores, the two have alternated virtually every place-kick through nine games.
Campbell is 28-for-30 on extra points and 4-for-6 on field goals (22, 33, 37, 22), while Sullivan is 25-for-26 on extra points and 3-for-4 on field goals (20, 25, 20).
For their careers, Campbell is 108-of-112 on extra points and 15-of-21 on field goals and Sullivan is 57-of-59 on extra points and 9-of-11 on field goals.
Campbell ranks fourth in school history in career points by a kicker (153) and sixth in career field goals, while Sullivan is 11th in career points by a kicker (84) and 10th in FGs (9).

Margraff Holds State Record: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff became the winningest college football coach in Maryland state history with a 42-14 win at Ursinus last season (November 1, 2014) as that gave him 175 career victories, a mark he upped to 187 with last week's win against Franklin & Marshall.
Margraff now sports a career record of 187-83-3 (.690) entering this week's game against McDaniel.

JHU Sets Victory Record: Johns Hopkins posted an 11-1 record in 2014 to break the school record for victories in a season. Only five times previously - 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 - 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 12 times in the last 14 years.

On a Roll: Johns Hopkins is 52-1 in its last 53 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.

On A Roll, Part II: Johns Hopkins is 55-5 in its last 60 games overall since late in the 2010 season.

Sustained Success: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 121-33 (.786) record. Taking it back farther, the Blue Jays are 127-36 (.779) since the start of the 2001 season and 132-41 (.763) since the beginning of the 2000 season.

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 112-24 (.824) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.

- Pride and Poise -