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More news about: Johns Hopkins | Wesley

Nov 24, 2015

Keith Corliss and the Blue Jays are focused on avenging 2013's loss to the Wolverines.
Johns Hopkins athletics photo

By Jason Bowen
D3sports.com

Two years ago Johns Hopkins and Wesley played one of the most exciting games of the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Both teams scored during the final minute but the Wolverines were able to come away with a 29-24 victory.

And while both rosters have seen the usual turnover since that thriller two seasons ago, two key cogs return in units that will play a huge role in determining the outcome of Saturday's second round match up at Homewood Field in Baltimore.

For Wesley, it is senior quarterback Joe Callahan, whose 33-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left capped an 82-yard drive in 37 seconds that gave the Wolverines the victory in that game. It was a coming out party of sorts for this year's New Jersey Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

"Just the way it ended, that was probably one of the most memorable games I've played in," Callahan said.

"He made some throws at the end of that game that were good at any level," remembered Johns Hopkins coach Jim Margraff. "He was throwing into a pretty stiff wind."

Two weeks later, he tied the D-III playoff record with 633 passing yards and a record eight touchdowns passes in a wild 62-59 loss to Mount Union. The native of Abescon, New Jersey followed that by being named a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy while leading Wesley to the semifinals in 2014.

This season, he has been even better, perhaps the best. He leads D-III in many categories: passing efficiency (195.3), passing touchdowns (47), passing yards (4,220), points responsible for per game (29.6) and total offense (411.7 ypg.)

For Johns Hopkins, it's senior linebacker Keith Corliss, who led the Blue Jays in tackles (8) in that 2013 contest. Corliss, a senior from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, was selected the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He recorded 64 tackles, four interceptions, and two sacks for a defense that spent a lot of time on the sidelines during the second half of games this season due to the team's success.

Both seniors are the epitome of the D-III philosophy. Each earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and are among the best student-athletes in the nation this year. Callahan has been selected as a Gagliard semifinalist again, while Corliss will graduate a semester early in a few weeks. The linebacker, an Economics and Finance major, already has a job lined up as an investment analyst in Nashville. Callahan plans to pursue a career in physical therapy.

Both were somewhat overlooked after their senior seasons by "higher" level programs. Corliss, being pursued by Ivy League schools, broke his sternum two games into his senior season at Germantown Academy.

"It was a tough experience, but I think I'm better for it," Corliss said. "It was something I learned from, being able to deal with that adversity.

"It ultimately led me to Johns Hopkins. I was thinking about playing Division I, and when that happened that kind of went out the door. The school and football program speak for themselves. It was an awesome fit for me. It's lived up to every expectation."

Despite leading Holy Spirit to an undefeated record and New Jersey State Championship, D-I offers weren't exactly rolling in for Callahan either. With a pair of D-I caliber running backs and a great defense, he only threw the ball about ten times a game and was often done playing by halftime. Ultimately, the coaching staff and winning tradition at Wesley was the right fit for him.

Both players excelled at other sports in high school that they have applied to their college football success. Corliss is a two-time state champion in wrestling, while Callahan was an excellent point guard on the basketball court.

"Wrestling helped me tremendously with football," Corliss said. "Quickness, hand-eye coordination, using your hands and moving quickly in a tight space are some of the things I learned. The toughness factor and the ability to push through bumps and bruises, I was able to have success on the mat and bring it to the football field."

Meanwhile, Callahan is directing an offense averaging 600 yards a game and distributes the ball much like a point guard to a variety of weapons.

"It takes a great deal of discipline and concentration to be consistently good in our offense," said Wesley offense coordinator Chip Knapp. "In the heat of the game you have to make snap decisions. Joe is as good as you can possibly be at what we're asking him to do."

According to Knapp, Callahan has the perfect mixture of the ability to execute the offense but also keep his cool when a play breaks down.

"He has a natural ability to keep his eyes down field and the confidence in his ability to escape and the poise to look downfield and find somebody open. That's the difference between a good quarterback and a great quarterback---making plays in those situations. There's no one that I've seen (on the Division III level) that can throw the ball better than Joe. His accuracy and ability to throw from awkward positions are things that you almost take for granted."

Former Wesley All-American Shane McSweeny was somebody that Callahan looked up to during his freshman year as his backup. And he seems to have added some of the dual-threat signal callers qualities into his game with a career best 309 rushing yards this year. The pair often goes shark fishing off the Jersey coast during the summer.

"He played the game the right way," Callahan said. "I've tried to emulate my game after his. I was able to see how he prepared for games.

"He will tease me if I slide. It's a toughness thing that we have with the quarterback position at Wesley. We try not to slide even though Coach Drass and Coach Knapp push for it. He never slid, I try not to. I'm not as much of a runner as he was. I am more of a scrambler and play extender."

Another inspiration for Callahan has been the death of his grandfather, who passed away during the week before Wesley's final regular season game against William Paterson. The senior Joe Callahan had been able to travel from Florida earlier in the season to watch his namesake toss his 100th career touchdown pass against Kean and tie the school record of Chris Warrick.

"It's been tough losing my grand-pop," he said. "It's weird how things work out like that sometimes. We were able to find a flight up for him. He talked about how he loved that experience. It was a dream day for him. He was always a huge supporter of mine when I was growing up. I would talk to him after every game. He was the first one to tell me how far I was away from records and where I stood against other D-III quarterbacks. I'm just making sure I win these games for him."

Meanwhile, for Corliss and his class another shot at Wesley represents the opportunity to move the program to among the elite. The current crop of seniors has won four straight conference titles and lost just four games. In fact, the Blue Jays have won or shared the Centennial title every year since 2009. In 2009, the Blue Jays advanced the farthest before dropping a quarterfinal game 12-0 to Wesley.

"I don't think of it in those terms," said Margraff. "The type of school we are -- the way we're built -- we're trying to win the Centennial Conference. That's our goal each year. When we get to the postseason, then we'll figure that out. We have to get the best scholar-athletes we can find. We lost to Mount Union and Wesley a couple of times. There's no shame in that. Our guys will compete but we don't start the season saying we're going to win a national championship."

The Blue Jays have advanced to at least the second round two of the last three seasons.

"We preach every week is the biggest game and really take that to heart," Corliss said. "But I'd be lying if I told you I don't think about the Wesley game often. We've been fortunate enough, in my class, to have four years with tons of success. We haven't lost a lot of football games, so when we do that sticks with you.

"To lose the way we did two years ago against Wesley on our home field, that's tough. It's definitely something you remember. It does add a little bit of inspiration. It's in the past. We don't harp on it. We're not upset about it anymore but it would be nice to get our revenge in a sense.

"This could be a really good win for our class. We have a bunch of really talented players and coaches. This is the kind of team that could really make a statement with a big win against a tough opponent."

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