Oct. 26, 2013
GETTYSBURG, PA - Sophomore running back Brandon Cherry rushed for a career-high 176 yards and one touchdown and freshman Stuart Walters added a personal-best 130 yards and a score of his own as the 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins football team rolled up 574 yards of total offense in a 34-16 win at Gettysburg Saturday afternoon. The win improves the Blue Jays' record to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the Centennial Conference, while the Bullets slip to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the Centennial. Hopkins has now won 12 straight games in the month of October.
The Blue Jays (7-0, 6-0 Centennial) led 7-3 late in the second quarter before a blocked field goal and a long touchdown drive pushed the momentum to Hopkins' side of the field.
Gettysburg drove from its own 25 to the Blue Jay three with just over five minutes remaining in the first half, only to have Johns Hopkins junior cornerback Jimmy Holder get around the end and block a 20-yard field goal attempt by Matt Perkins.
The Blue Jays took over at their own five-yard line and promptly went 95 yards in 12 plays and capped the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run by Cherry with just 47 seconds on the clock. Cherry rushed five times for 47 yards on the drive and also caught a 19-yard pass from senior quarterback Robbie Matey as the 7-3 lead swelled to 14-3 at the half.
The Blue Jays still led 14-3 midway through the third quarter when Walters went to work. After Matey sandwiched completions to senior Dan Wodicka around a Cherry rush to move the ball to the Blue Jay 46, Walters got loose on the outside and raced 54 yards for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 21-3.
The Bullets answered with a nifty eight-play, 70-yard drive that took just 2:26 and was capped by an eight-yard touchdown run by Eddie Hutchins to make it 21-10 with still more than four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Gettysburg forced a Johns Hopkins punt on its ensuing possession, but senior John Arena intercepted a Zach Miller pass on Gettysburg's next possession and freshman Nick Campbell hit a 21-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 24-10.
Campbell's field goal was the first of three consecutive scores for the Blue Jays, who added a 28-yard field goal by Campbell on its next possession and a one-yard touchdown run by senior JD Abbott one drive later to push the lead to 34-10 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Miller quickly drove the Bullets down the field after the Abbott touchdown as the Bullets needed just six plays and 84 seconds to go 69 yards and he hit Alec Pacelli from 10 yards out to make it 34-16. The two-point attempt failed and JHU's Ryan Finkel recovered the ensuing onsides kick to close out the game.
After a scoreless first quarter, Perkins gave Gettysburg a 3-0 lead early in the second as he hit a 38-yard field goal into a gusty win, but the Blue Jays answered with an 11-play, 77-yard drive that Matey finished with a two-yard scoring run on quarterback keeper around left end.
That 7-3 lead held until Holder blocked Perkins' next field goal attempt and the Blue Jays' ensuing 95-yard touchdown drive that Cherry ended with his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
Cherry and Walters' 296 combined rushing yards fueled a 362-yard rushing performance for the Blue Jays, who averaged 6.2 yards on their 58 rushing attempts. The 362 yards are the ninth-highest single-game total in school history.
Matey was 23-of-30 for 206 yards and also rushed eight times for 24 yards and the one score. Senior Jared Beekman had a career-high nine receptions for 82 yards and Wodicka added eight catches for 76 yards. Wodicka also became the Centennial Conference's career receptions leader with his eight catches on the day as he now has 242. The previous record of 241 was held by Franklin & Marshall's Justin Salton.
Miller was 23-of-38 for 302 yards with the one touchdown pass to Pacelli. He connected with 10 different receivers on the day with Aden Twer leading the way with five catches for 65 yards.
Hani Annabi led the Blue Jay defense with a career-high 11 tackles, while Arena added six tackles, a sack and the one interception that set up the first of Campbell's two field goals.
Chris Miller and Kodie McNamara led the Bullet defense with 18 tackles each, but the Blue Jays rolled up 34 first downs and the 574 yards and controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes in winning for the sixth straight time in the series.
Notes: JHU has rushed for at least 360 yards in two straight games for the first time in school history • Hopkins has punched up 500 or more yards on offense in a school record five straight games • The 34 first downs for the Blue Jays today are the third-highest single-game total in school history • The Blue Jay defense totaled four sacks to raise its season total to 30 • JHU is now 15-1 in its last 16 regular season road games and 30-1 in its last 31 regular season games overall • The Blue Jays are 7-0 for the third straight year and the fifth time under head coach Jim Margraff • JHU moved to within two victories of 500 (498-476-58).
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