The Hopkins football team continued their regular season winning streak with a dominant 41-7 win over the Susquehanna University River Hawks in this season’s Centennial Conference opener. Saturday’s game marked the Jays’ 33rd straight regular season victory, bringing them to 55-1 in their last 56 regular season games.
Both offensive and defensive lines were in control during the majority of the contest. The Jays had a 555-yard offensive performance led by 393 combined passing yards from senior quarterback Jonathan Germano and sophomore quarterback Zack Baker. Hopkins came a mere 56 seconds from their first shutout in four years.
The Jays came out of the gate strong, racking up 306 yards of total offense in the first half, which brought them up to 24-0 at halftime.
After a 45-yard return by senior wide receiver Bradley Munday on the opening kickoff of the second half, Germano finished a nine-play, 50-yard drive with a 9-yard TD run, giving Hopkins a 31-0 lead only three minutes into the quarter.
Baker, coming in during the second half of the game, covered 54 yards with a 10-yard touchdown pass and put the Jays up 38-0.
Defensively, the Jays sacked the Susquehanna QB three times throughout the night. Senior linebacker Jack Campbell had eight tackles, and senior defensive back Jack Toner had five tackles and his first interception of the season.
It wasn’t until the last minute of the fourth quarter when the River Hawks finally broke into the scoring column with a four-yard run by their quarterback. The River Hawks gained 338 yards during the game, with 80 of those yards coming in the final drive. Hopkins coasted to the victory.
“It’s always good to win a conference opener,” receiver Bradley Munday said. “We knew it was going to be a great environment with it being Susquehanna’s homecoming weekend, so in that regard, it was also nice to get an away victory. While we played well, we still have a lot of work to do and a lot of places where we can improve.”
The work that the Blue Jays have consistently put in has helped them not only prevail recently, but has also contributed to their back-to-back wins so far this season.
“Our practices have been very focused. They will continue to be as such,” Baker said. “Everyone on the team is prepared and ready to play. That includes the freshmen. All of them are hard workers and are a key aspect to the team.”
When asked to comment on the significance of Saturday’s game for the future of their season, Baker reflected on how Saturday’s game had an equal amount of gravity compared to the games already played and those coming up.
“The team’s goals start with going 1-0 each week,” Baker said. “You cannot win every game all at once, so we are taking it one game at a time. That goal will extend to every week of this season, both regular season and playoffs. Last week, the most important game was the Susquehanna game. This week, the most important game is Moravian.”
The Jays are in the midst of another promising season, with their past six back-to-back Centennial Conference championships fueling their drive.
“My outlook on the rest of the season is very positive,” Baker said. “We are a great team built up of great players. If we keep taking it one game at a time, which we will do, we will have a very successful season.”
Ranked 11th in the most recent D3football Poll, the Jays hold 2-0 overall and 1-0 Centennial Conference records. They will look to earn another victory when they return to Homewood Field on Saturday, Sept. 17.
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