Visiting Johns Hopkins got a game-high 168 yards rushing and one touchdown from Andrew Kase and the Blue Jays' defense held host Ursinus to 196 yards of offense as Hopkins picked up a 14-0 Centennial Conference victory yesterday. The win was the second straight for the Blue Jays, who improved to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference. The Bears slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Centennial.
After a scoreless first half, the Blue Jays got all the offense they would need in a span of less than two minutes midway through the third quarter. After a bad snap on an Ursinus punt set the Blue Jays up at the Bears' 18-yard line, Hopkins needed just five plays to move in for what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown. Kase carried the ball on all five plays and out-raced a defensive back to the corner of the end zone on second-and-goal from the 5-yard line to give the Blue Jays a 7-0 lead with 7:59 remaining in the quarter. The touchdown was Kase's 11th rushing score of the season, which ties the Johns Hopkins record.
The Blue Jays' defense allowed just 2 yards on the Bears' ensuing drive, and Hopkins needed just two plays to go 71 yards to push the lead to 14-0. After an 11-yard run by Kase on first down, the Blue Jays pulled out a trick play to cover the final 60 yards. Quarterback Hewitt Tomlin handed off to Kase on a sweep to the left, but Kase pitched the ball to sophomore Dan Crowley on a reverse and Crowley hit freshman wide receiver Sam Wernick a step behind the secondary and Wernick sprinted into the end zone with his third touchdown reception of 60 or more yards this season.
Ursinus threatened just once in the final 22 minutes as the Bears moved from their own 18 to the Blue Jays 12 midway through the fourth quarter, but quarterback Nick Dye was sacked by sophomore A.J. Albert on fourth-and-seven from the 12-yard line and Hopkins ran out the final 4:17 to seal the victory.
Both teams had chances to get on the scoreboard in the first half, but Alex Lachman missed a 36-yard field goal for the Blue Jays midway through the first quarter and Greg Zara misfired from 30 yards out early in the second for Ursinus. The Bears threatened again late in the second quarter as Mark Jaskowski rushed for 43 of his 150 yards to help move Ursinus from its own 20 to the Johns Hopkins 15 with just more than a minute to play in the first half, but Dye's pass into the end zone on third-and-10 was intercepted by Jon Salem to kill the threat. The scoreless halftime tie held until Kase's touchdown midway through the third quarter.
