Matey Powers 23rd-Ranked Hopkins Past Muhlenberg, 27-17
After the team's traded punts, junior Adam Schweyer picked off a Deighan pass that was tipped by senior Tyler Brown at the line. Schweyer's interception set the Blue Jays up at the Muhlenberg 22 and Hopkins used seven plays to cover those 22 yards with junior Jonathan Rigaud pushing the lead to 27-10 with a a two-yard run.
The Mules closed the scoring late in the game as Deighan directed a 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive that he polished off with a six-yard touchdown pass to Toomey that sliced the deficit to 27-17. Muhlenberg touched the ensuing onsides kick before it went 10 yards and the Blue Jays were able to run out the final three minutes of the game.
Hopkins had taken a 7-0 lead with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter when senior Nick Fazio scored on a two-yard run to finish a 14-play, 56-yard drive. The Mules sliced the deficit to 7-3 late in the period on a 23-yard field goal by Greg Mercogliano with a 44-yard pass from Deighan to J.T. Merklinger highlighting the 61-yard drive.
The 7-3 score held until Deighan's touchdown pass to Toomey early in the third quarter, which was answered quickly by Barletta's scoring run that jump-started the 20-0 run for the Blue Jays.
Matey, starting in place of senior Hewitt Tomlin who missed the game with an injury, directed a Johns Hopkins offense that generated 388 yards on a school record 93 offensive plays. The Blue Jays converted 11 third downs and were 4-of-4 on fourth down conversion attempts. The riskiest of those fourth down attempts came in the third quarter when senior Tyler Porco rushed for three yards on a fourth-and-one at the JHU 29. Nine plays later Matey hit Wodicka with the 12-yard touchdown pass that gave JHU the 20-10 lead.
Deighan was 12-of-25 for 208 yards with the two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Mules were held to 60 yards rushing and lost the turnover battle for the first time on the year as they were minus three on the day. Terrence Dandridge, who entered the game averaging better than 89 yards per game on the ground, was held to 37 yards on 15 carries as the Mules had just one drive that lasted more than 2:56. As a result Johns Hopkins held a decided advantage in time of possession (37:49 – 22:11).
Taylor Maciow posted a team-high eight tackles to lead the Blue Jays defensively. In addition to the interceptions by Arena and Schweyer, Hopkins also got a pick from senior Sam Eagleson, who moved into sole possession of fourth place on JHU's career interception list (14) with his pick midway through the fourth quarter.
Johns Hopkins, which is the only unbeaten team remaining in the Centennial Conference (overall and in league play) will put its nine-game winning streak on the line next Saturday when the Blue Jays travel to Juniata.
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