Nov. 8, 2014
LANCASTER, PA - The eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins football team outscored host Franklin & Marshall 23-0 over the final 19 minutes of the game as the Blue Jays posted a 33-14 come-from-behind victory to secure at least a share of a sixth straight Centennial Conference title. With the victory, the Blue Jays also locked up the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs, which begin on November 22.
The Centennial Conference title for the Blue Jays is also the 10th in school history. Johns Hopkins is the first team in Centennial history to win 10 league titles; all 10 championships for Johns Hopkins have come since 2002.
The Diplomats (5-4, 4-4 Centennial) took their only lead of the game midway through the third quarter as senior Scott LaValva went in from one-yard out to cap a 12-play, 79-yard drive that took 7:04 off the clock and gave F&M a 14-10 lead. From there, it was all Johns Hopkins.
After the teams traded punts, the Blue Jays (9-0, 8-0 Centennial) took the lead for good on a three-play, 66-yard drive that took just 66 seconds and was capped by a 59-yard Braden Anderson-to-Bradley Munday touchdown pass that made it 17-14.
The Blue Jay defense forced a quick three-and-out on F&M's ensuing possession and Hopkins went to the hurry-up as the Blue Jays needed just 51 seconds this time to cover 72 yards. Anderson took it the final 54 yards on a quarterback keeper to extend the lead to 24-14 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
The Blue Jay defense took over from there as it forced consecutive turnovers on F&M's first two possessions of the fourth quarter. Senior Hani Annabi recovered a LaValva fumble inside Hopkins territory on the Diplomats' first possession of the period, then got an interception by junior Curtis Antrum near midfield one F&M series later.
Antrum's interception set up the Blue Jays' final score as Hopkins worked from its own 49 after the pick to the Diplomat 28, where sophomore Stuart Walters got free on the outside on a third-and-five play and raced to the pylon to push the lead to 31-14.
Senior Michael Rocca tackled F&M quarterback Matt Magarity in the end zone with just over two minutes remaining for a safety to close out the scoring. Rocca's tackle closed a strong fourth quarter for the Blue Jay defense, which recorded the two takeaways and the safety and allowed just 27 yards on 14 plays in the final 15 minutes.
A late-game rally didn't seem like it would be necessary early on as Munday returned the opening kickoff 80 yards to the F&M six-yard line and junior Brandon Cherry scored on a thee-yard run two plays later to give the Blue Jays a 7-0 lead just 54 seconds into the game.
But F&M turned a Brendan Daly interception into the tying score midway through the quarter as he set the Diplomats up at the Johns Hopkins 46-yard line with his pick and LaValva capped an 11-play, 46-yard drive with the first of his two touchdowns.
Neither team would score again until late in the second quarter, although both had chances. LaValva fumbled one away at the JHU 24-yard line early in the period and Aaron Fant intercepted Anderson at the Diplomat 14-yard line one series later.
The 7-7 tie held until late in the quarter, when Hopkins took over at the F&M 35-yard line with 50 seconds remaining in the half and moved to the F&M seven, where freshman Jamie Sullivan connected on a 24-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Blue Jays a 10-7 lead.
LaValva's second score gave the Diplomats the 14-10 lead, but Munday's 59-yard touchdown reception ignited the game-ending 23-0 run for Johns Hopkins, which beat F&M for the 16th time in 18 years.
Anderson was 15-of-30 for 165 yards with the one touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for a career-high 73 yards and the one touchdown. His 54-yard touchdown run is the longest rush by a Johns Hopkins quarterback since Hewitt Tomlin had a 53-yard run at Moravian in 2010.
Munday had a game-high seven receptions for 96 yards and the one score and a career-high 183 all-purpose yards. His 80-yard kickoff return is tied for the 10th-longest in school history and is the longest by a Johns Hopkins player since Richard Hill had a 90-yard return for a score at McDaniel on November 10, 2007.
Magarity was 9-of-18 for 105 yards and rushed 15 times for 90 yards for the Diplomats. LaValva added 71 rushing yards to go along with his two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Blue Jays held the Diplomats to just 266 yards of total offense and forced the three turnovers. Junior Keith Corliss paced the Blue Jays with 11 tackles (one shy of his career high), while sophomore Jack Toner added seven tackles, one forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Johns Hopkins, which ran its regular season winning streak to 20 games and improved to 43-1 in its last 44 regular season games dating back to 2010, can secure the outright Centennial Conference title with a win next week against McDaniel at Homewood Field.
Notes: The Johns Hopkins seniors improved to 39-4 in their career - the 39 wins are most by any class in school history • The Johns Hopkins defense held the opposition to 14 points or less for the fifth straight game and the seventh time in nine games this season • JHU is 9-0 for the third time in four years (2011, 2013).
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