GETTYSBURG, PA – The 10th-ranked Johns Hopkins football team jumped out to a 22-0 halftime lead, held off an early-second-half push by host Gettysburg and went on to post a 36-7 victory against the Bullets before a crowd of 3,127 at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays improve to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the Centennial Conference, while the Bullets slip to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Centennial.
The victory also improves Hopkins' regular season winning streak to 28 games, its Centennial Conference winning streak to 25 games and its October winning streak to 18 games.
The Blue Jays built their 22-0 lead on the strength of three short touchdown runs and a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Jamie Sullivan.
A three-yard run by junior quarterback Jonathan Germano opened the scoring less than six minutes into the game as he went in on a keeper up the middle to cap a seven-play, 70-yard drive. Germano opened the game with a 46-yard completion to junior Quinn Donaldson that jump-started the scoring drive.
The 7-0 lead held until late in the first quarter, when the Blue Jays again used a seven-play drive to find the end zone. Senior Brandon Cherry finished off the second Johns Hopkins scoring drive as he scored on a four-yard run to give the Blue Jays a 13-0 lead.
While the Blue Jays were scoring on two of their first three possessions, the Johns Hopkins defense was forcing three straight Gettysburg punts to open the game and then forced three consecutive turnovers, two of which were cashed into nine second-quarter points.
An interception by senior Keith Corliss set the Blue Jays up with great field position at the Bullet 32-yard line and Hopkins covered the 32 yards in five plays and 2:19 with Cherry capping the short drive with a one-yard run to push the lead to 19-0.
Gettysburg put together its best first-half drive after the Cherry touchdown as the Bullets methodically went 89 yards on 14 plays and were set up with a first-and-goal at the Blue Jay one-yard line, but a fumble into the end zone was recovered by Johns Hopkins to kill the scoring chance with just under five minutes remaining in the first half. Twelve plays and 72 yards later, the Blue Jays had their 22-0 lead as Sullivan's 25-yard field goal accounted for the final scoring of the first half.
Gettysburg made its push early in the second half as the Bullets forced a quick three-and-out by the Blue Jays and then went 54 yards on nine plays and senior quarterback Sam McDermott pushed his way in from a yard out on second-and-goal to make it 22-7.
Gettysburg had a chance to slice the further into the deficit as a Garrett Kelley interception on Hopkins' ensuing possession gave Gettysburg possession at its own 44. The Bullets moved inside Hopkins territory and had a third-and-one at the Blue Jay 36, but Kyle Wigley was stopped for no gain and a McDermott pass to Kevin McCarthy was incomplete to end the drive.
The Blue Jays then did what they needed to; put together a strong drive that ended with points. Starting at their own 36, the Blue Jays used 10 plays to go 64 yards, converted a pair of third downs and Germano found junior Bradley Munday seven yards deep in the end zone to extend the lead to 29-7 late in the third quarter.
Hopkins, which rolled up 430 yards of total offense, finished its scoring with an another long drive – this one covered 66 yards on nine plays midway through the fourth quarter – that junior Stuart Walters finished off with a 20-yard run to account for the 36-7 final score.
The 430 yards of total offense for Johns Hopkins included 250 on the ground as Cherry rushed for 119 yards and the two scores and Walters added 83 and the one touchdown. Germano was 21-of-33 for 180 yards one touchdown and also rushed for 44 yards and the one score. Munday finished with a game-high eight receptions for 85 yards and the one touchdown.
The Blue Jay defense held Gettysburg to just the seven points and 321 yards. The Bullets entered the game averaging nearly 35 points and just over 477 yards per game.
Jack Campbell paced the Blue Jay defense with a career-high 15 tackles, including 1.5 for losses and half a sack. He also recovered two of Gettysburg's three lost fumbles on the day and forced one as well. Corliss added 11 tackles to go along with his first-half interception and the Blue Jays registered eight tackles for losses, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Corliss went over the 200-tackle mark for his career as his 11 stops today give him 207 in his career.
Wigley rushed for a game-high 143 yards on 25 carries to lead a Gettysburg ground game that churned out 212 yards on the day. McDermott, who added 54 yards rushing and the one score, was 12-of-16 for 105 yards with one interception.
Notes: With the 22-0 lead at the half, Johns Hopkins has now outscored the opposition 202-36 in the first half this season • Germano's touchdown pass to Munday was his 20th of the season – he is just the third Johns Hopkins quarterback to throw 20 or more touchdown passes in a season • The Johns Hopkins defense has held three straight opponents to seven points or less and has allowed a total of just 19 points in those three games – the last time JHU held three straight opponents to seven points or less was the first three games of the 2005 season.
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