Sept. 16, 2017
BALTIMORE, MD -- Host Johns Hopkins outscored visiting Moravian 27-0 over the final 35 minutes of the game to turn a 10-7 lead into a 37-7 victory at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays rolled up a season-high 576 yards and held the Greyhounds to just 273 in winning their 44th consecutive regular season game.
Johns Hopkins (3-0, 2-0 Centennial) led 10-0 early before the Greyhounds put together a 14-play, 78-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock and was polished off by a six-yard touchdown pass from Doug Erney to Aaron Brown with 5:50 left in the second quarter. By the time halftime hit six minutes later, the Blue Jays has pushed the 10-7 lead to 27-7 with three scoring drives that all took less than two minutes.
It took just 97 seconds for the Blue Jays to answer Brown's touchdown as they went 64 yards on five plays with sophomore David Tammaro hitting junior Luke McFadden down the middle from 16 yards out to push the margin to 17-7.
After the Blue Jay defense forced a quick three-and-out on Moravian's ensuing possession, Johns Hopkins took over at its own 34 and needed just seven plays and 1:42 to go 66 yards with a Ryan Cary two-yard touchdown run finishing off the scoring drive. Tammaro improvised the big play on the drive as he rolled to his right under pressure and hit Cary with a 42-yard pass that gave the Blue Jays a first-and-goal at the Moravian four-yard line.
Again it was the Blue Jay defense forcing a quick three-and-out and Tammaro moved the Blue Jays from their own 36 to the Moravian five with a 15-yard completion to Ryan Hubley and a 30-yarder to Brett Caggiano along with a pass interference call against the Greyhounds. Senior Jamie Sullivan then added a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to account for the 27-7 halftime score.
Moravian (0-3, 0-2 CC) had a golden opportunity to hop back in the game early in the third quarter as the `Hounds moved from their own 28 to the Johns Hopkins 14, where they were set up with a first down. However, after Erney scrambled to the Blue Jay one, he was hit by junior Robby Johnson, who forced a fumble that rolled through the end zone for a touchback.
That was the first of three straight turnovers in the game as Tammaro was sacked and fumbled on Hopkins' next possession to give Moravian the ball at the Blue Jay 16, but James Closser forced a Tavion George fumble that he recovered at the JHU 10-yard line to end the threat.
Taking over from their own 10, the Blue Jays put together their best drive of the second half as they mixed the run and pass effectively and went 90 yards in 13 plays with Cary's four-yard touchdown run polishing off the drive. A pair of 15-yard completions to Brett Caggiano and a 28-yard reception from junior Kyle Morris were the big plays on the drive.
A 20-yard field goal by Sullivan late in the game closed the scoring for Johns Hopkins, which had taken the early 10-0 lead on the strength of a three-yard touchdown run by Tammaro and a 39-yard field goal by Sullivan.
The seven points and 273 yards the Blue Jay defense allowed were season bests. Junior Ian Lodge led the Blue Jays with seven tackles, while Closser added six stops, the forced fumble and the fumble recovery.
Tammaro was 18-of-27 for 290 yards with one touchdown and added the first-quarter scoring run. Eleven different players had at least one reception for Johns Hopkins with McFadden (5-86-1), Cary (5-71-0) and Morris (4-79-0) leading the way. In all, three different Blue Jay quarterbacks went 26-of-41 for 401 yards.
Erney was an efficient 12-of-19 for 107 yards and also rushed for 57 yards on 14 carries. Senior Eli Redmond rushed for a game-high 72 yards and Ricky Tate had five receptions for 41 yards.
Four different Moravian players totaled 10 or more tackles with Justice Anderson punching up a game-high 12. Nick Zambelli added 10 stops, an interception and a pass breakup.
Notes: The 401 passing yards for Johns Hopkins is the 10th-highest total in school history • Johns Hopkins has now won 39 straight Centennial Conference games, 30 consecutive games in September and nine straight against Moravian • Johns Hopkins will not play at home again until October, which means its home winning streak in the month of September will extend to 10 full years as the Blue Jays last lost a home game in September on September 22, 2007 • Cary's two rushing touchdowns give him 21 in his career -- he is just the 12th player in school history with 20 or more rushing touchdowns • Sullivan's three field goals give him 26 in his career -- he is just the fourth player in school history with 25 or more career field goals • Senior Keonte Henson posted five tackles to move past 150 for his career (152).
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