Despite a strong offensive performance and the return of senior captain running back Scott Martorana, the Hopkins football team was unable to come from Muhlenburg with a victory, losing 22-14. The loss to the Muhlenburg Mules was the Blue Jays' first Conference defeat of the season and drops them to 4-2 overall.
Though the Jays' offense amassed 390 yards on the day in total yardage, strong Mule punting and key turnovers helped to extinguish the offensive fire.
"Their punter was excellent," said Head Coach Jim Margraff. "We started within our 20 yard line and 30 yard line on most of the drives."
The Mules' strong offense was able to rack up three touchdowns on a Hopkins defense that had allowed only two touchdowns in its last two games combined. However, the Mules accumulated 120 fewer yards in total offense than the Jays.
From the very beginning, Muhlenburg attacked on offense, sending the Jays' defense staggering. The Mules scored two touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of the game.
"We had to keep them close early," said Margraff. "But they scored two touchdowns in the first ten minutes and took the momentum."
On Muhlenburg's first possession of the game, the Mules marched down the field on an 11-play, 273-yard drive for their first touchdown of the game. The Mules followed with another touchdown on the ground with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter.
The Jays responded in the second quarter with a 27- yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Rob Heleniak to freshman Brian Wolcott midway through the quarter, cutting the deficit to 7-14. Hopkins had two more possessions in the quarter but ended those drives with a missed field goal and a punt.
The second half of the game greeted the Jays with some improvement on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The defense, which had allowed 127 yards in the first quarter alone, tightened in the second half, allowing little over 100 yards in Mules offense. Martorana also stepped it up in the second half, amassing a total of 80 yards on 12 carries and 27 yards in receiving on the day.
"He just had to knock some of the rust off," said Margraff of Martorana, who had missed the last three games with an injury in practice. "He played great in the second half."
However, though Hopkins seemed to be making a comeback, it would soon be squelched. Midway through the third quarter, Heleniak was called for intentional grounding in his end zone, effectively giving Muhlenburg a safety and upping the lead to 16-7. Off the free kick, the Mules returned the ball to the Hopkins one yard-line. The Mules quickly knocked in their third touchdown on the day, making the score 22-7.
The Jays responded in the fourth quarter, once again scoring through the air on a 37-yard pass from Heleniak to sophomore fullback Kyle Miller, 22-14. However, the touchdown was too little too late as the Jays' final scoring drive to tie the game was broken up when Heleniak through an interception on the Muhlenburg four yard-line.
On offense, the Jays were simply unable to put the ball in the end zone. However, on that day the offense was able to amass 390 yards, 277 of which came from the hands of Heleniak who was 21-of-43.
Senior wide receiver Zach Baylin had seven receptions for 94 yards. His seven receptions move Baylin into a tie for fourth on the Centennial Conference career reception numbers with 169 career receptions.
The loss drops the Jays to third in the conference behind Muhlenburg and Western Maryland. They go on to play Dickinson College in two weeks, a team that has given the Jays a hard time in years past.
"Playing Dickinson is a huge challenge for us," said Margraff. "We haven't won there in a couple of years, and for some reason its always tough to win against them.
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