BALTIMORE, MD - Senior Jonathan Rigaud rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns and the Johns Hopkins offense rang up a season-high 582 yards of total offense and a school-record 40 first downs as the Blue Jays rolled past visiting Moravian, 49-15, at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. The victory, JHU's 17th consecutive regular season win dating back to 2010, is the 150th for Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff, who improved his career mark to 150-79-3 (.653) in 23 seasons at Homewood.
Already the all-time winningest coach in Johns Hopkins history, Margraff also becomes just the second college football coach in Maryland state history to reach the 150-win mark as he joins former Morgan State head coach Eddie Hurt in this exclusive club. Hurt won 174 games at Morgan from 1929-59.
In addition to setting a school record with their 40 first downs, the Blue Jays also tied the NCAA Division III record for first downs in a game. The mark has been reached twice previously.
The Blue Jays' seven touchdowns included three long, methodical drives that covered 77 yards or more and four that covered between 40 and 48 yards.
A game-opening 15-play, 77-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock set the tone for the game and was capped by a nine-yard touchdown pass from junior Robbie Matey to classmate Daniel Wodicka. Matey completed 6-of-7 attempts on the drive, Rigaud rushed for 35 yards and only twice were the Blue Jays forced to convert on third down to keep the drive alive.
The Blue Jays (3-0, 2-0 Centennial) would push that early 7-0 lead to 28-7 at the half as they rolled up 387 yards of total offense before intermission.
A four-yard scoring run by Rigaud midway through the first quarter made it 14-0 and a one-yard run by junior JD Abbott pushed the margin to 21-0 midway through the second quarter. Abbott's run capped a stunning 15-play, 99-yard drive that ate nearly six minutes off the clock and came after Moravian's Tyler Thompson had pinned the Blue Jays inside their one yard line with a beautiful 39-yard punt.
The Greyhounds temporarily grabbed the momentum late in the second quarter when Travis King intercepted a Matey pass and raced 45-yards untouched into the end zone to make it 21-7. Moravian forced the Blue Jays to punt on their ensuing possession and took over deep in their own territory with a chance to run the two-minute offense, but Jimmy Lahue's deep out was overthrown and intercepted by freshman safety TJ Reeves with 54 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The 54 seconds on the clock after Reeves' interception were 22 more than the Blue Jays needed as Matey worked the Blue Jays from the Moravian 48 to the 13 with completions of 16 yards to Rigaud, 12 yards to Wodicka and seven yards to senior Scott Cremens. Rigaud took it from there as the scampered loose from the 13-yard line to give the Blue Jays the 28-7 halftime lead.
Any hopes for a Greyhound (1-2, 1-1 CC) comeback were dashed early in the third quarter when senior Adam Schweyer intercepted Lahue on Moravian's first possession and returned it to the Greyhound 45-yard line. Nine plays and 45 yards later Rigaud finished his work for the day with a one-yard run to match his career-high for rushing touchdowns in a game.
A four-yard scoring run by freshman Brandon Cherry midway through the third quarter gave the Blue Jays their biggest lead of the game at 42-7 before Moravian scored eight straight points on a 14-yard scoring pass from Lahue to Will McLaughlin late in the third quarter and a safety in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Jason Bladesclosed the scoring with a 10-yard scoring run that polished off an 11-play, 77-yard drive late in the game.
The Blue Jay defense turned in another solid performance as it held Moravian to just 18 yards rushing on 17 attempts, 189 yards of total offense and a 1-of-12 showing on third-down opportunities. Only three of the Greyounds' possessions lasted more than five plays as JHU held a 98-54 advantage in offensive plays run. Lahue was 19-of-37 for 171 yards with the one touchdown and two interceptions, while McLaughlin had four catches for 48 yards and the one score.
Senior Taylor Maciow paced the Blue Jay defense with a team-high seven tackles and had two of JHU's three sacks on the day. Johns Hopkins has now held each of its three opponents this season to less than 200 yards of total offense and the Blue Jays have collected 14 sacks in three games.
Rigaud's 114-yard, three-touchdown effort led the way for a ground game that generated 338 yards and six of JHU's seven touchdowns on the day. Blades rushed for a career-high 86 yards and the one score, while Abbott added 64 yards and a touchdown. Matey was 23-of-27 for 224 yards with the one touchdown and one interception and also rushed 10 times for 48 yards.
The victory sets up a crucial game next week for the Blue Jays as they will travel to Allentown, Pennsylvania to take on Muhlenberg, which also improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Centennial Conference with a 33-0 win at McDaniel.
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