Nov. 21, 2015
BALTIMORE, MD -- Sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins took all the drama out of Saturday's NCAA Division III Football playoff game against 19th-ranked Western New England early as the Blue Jays scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions, led 38-0 at the half and cruised to a 52-20 victory at Homewood Field.
The win sets up a second round game between Johns Hopkins (11-0) and 12th-ranked Wesley (10-1), which advanced with a 42-22 victory against Framingham St. earlier today. The Johns Hopkins-Wesley game will take place on Saturday, November 28 at noon with the location due to be announced on Sunday, November 22.
With the victory, Johns Hopkins tied the school record with its 11th win of the season, set a school record with its 12th consecutive home victory and snapped Western New England's 12-game winning streak.
The Blue Jay defense forced quick punts by Western New England on its first two drives and the Hopkins offense answered with scoring drives of 65 and 51 yards to grab a 14-0 lead less than nine minutes into the game. A one-yard run by sophomore Ryan Carey capped the first drive and a 13-yard touchdown pass from junior Jonathan Germano to classmate Bradley Munday polished off the second.
Johns Hopkins effectively put the game out of reach in the second quarter as the opportunistic Blue Jay defense forced three turnovers in a five possession span from late in the first quarter through the end of the second; 17 of Hopkins' 24 second-quarter points came as a result of the turnovers.
It took less than six minutes of second-quarter play for the 14-point lead to double as an interception by junior Marcus Spearman led to a three-yard Stuart Walters touchdown run just 90 seconds into the period. When Spearman recovered a Tyler Ward fumble on Western New England's next possession, the Blue Jays quickly went 54 yards on five plays with Germano firing a 43-yard strike to freshman Luke McFadden to cap the drive and make it 28-0.
After a 27-yard Nick Campbell field goal pushed the lead to 31-0, the Golden Bears had a chance to get on the board late in the half as Ward moved Western New England to the Blue Jay 27 with less than a minute remaining before halftime.
But, on first-and-10 from the 27, Ward was intercepted by senior Charlie Kassis at the Hopkins 10 and he returned it to the Western New England 33. Two plays -- both completions to Munday -- and 33 yards later the Blue Jays had their 38-0 halftime lead.
The Blue Jays led by as many as 46 at 52-6 midway through the fourth quarter. A seven-yard touchdown pass from Ward to Mohamed Camara got the Bears on the board early in the third quarter, but Hopkins answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Germano to Walters and a two-yard touchdown run by Zack Baker to take the 46-point lead with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Bears closed the scoring with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Ward to Terrence N'Dabian and a three-yard scoring run by Ward in the final 6:23 to account for the final scoring.
Germano was 17-of-26 for 293 yards with four touchdowns and eight of those completions for 132 yards and two scores went to Munday. Hopkins rolled up 535 yards of total offense with 359 through the air and 176 on the ground.
Michael Munday, Jack Campbell and Lance Hammond tied for the team lead with six tackles each for Johns Hopkins, which added five caused turnovers on the day to run its season total to 34.
Ward was 13-of-21 for 197 yards with the two second-half touchdowns and added 54 yards rushing and the one score. Nick Connell rushed 22 times for 103 yards and N'Dabian had four receptions for 62 yards and the one score.
Sam Olsson (13 tackles) and Dean Soucie (12 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR) paced the defense for Western New England, but the five turnovers and early surge by Johns Hopkins were more than the Bears could overcome.
Johns Hopkins and Wesley will be meeting for the third time in seven years in the NCAA Playoffs. The Wolverines grabbed a 12-0 decision in the 2009 NCAA Quarterfinals and topped the Blue Jays 29-24 in the first round two years ago.
- Pride and Poise -