The Hopkins football team stormed back to Homewood Saturday, knocking of conference opponent, Ursinus, 13-7, and improving to 4-1 overall, 2-0 in conference. The defense of the Blue Jays, once again stifling their opponent, allowed the Bears only a single touchdown and only 154 yards in total offense.
Senior linebacker Marc Della Pia, who led the Blue Jays along with junior linebacker Mike Little with nine tackles, was named Centennial Conference Defensive Player- of-the-Week following his performance Saturday. Della Pia becomes the third defensive player to earn the title this year.
When asked what makes the Jays defense so strong this year, Coach Jim Margraff said, "We've got good players and good coaching, but most of the offenses haven't been very balanced. It should be a tough game for the defense next week though, because Muhlenburg has a tough offense."
Indeed, Ursinus did not have a very balanced offense as Bears' senior back Shearrod Duncan accounted for all but 17 of the Bears' yards and their only touchdown. The Jays never trailed Ursinus, moving ahead in the first half with two field goals from senior kicker Matt Andrade from 42 and 20 yards out.
The Jays' only touchdown also came in the first half when senior quarterback Rob Heleniak connected with sophomore fullback Kyle Miller in the end-zone with just over two minutes in the second quarter.
The score remained the same until Duncan ran nine yards for a touchdown with 3:17 left in the game. After being stopped on offense, the Jays found themselves in another last minute stand on defense. This time, the Jays were able to stop the Bears inside their own ten-yard line.
Freshman safety Matt Campbell ended any hope of a Bears comeback when he picked off a pass at the Ursinus 48-yard line.
The Jays passing game was the offensive catalyst for the Jays. Heleniak was 21-of-29 for 210 yards while senior Zach Baylin caught six passes for 101 yards. The catches moved Baylin past 3000 career all-purpose yards with 3051 yards.
Though the Jays have not scored a rushing touchdown since playing Bridgewater, Margraff said that this does not reflect a shift away from the running game.
"We just try to play to the defense in games. We saw a lot of man-to-man so we threw the ball more," said Margraff.
The Jays' rushing offense was able to put up only 78 yards on the ground but was matched against the number one rushing defense in the conference in Ursinus. Coach Margraff also said that senior running back and captain Scott Martorana may be coming back this week against Muhlenburg.
Martorana, who had been sidelined with an ankle injury since before the Bridgewater game, is second in career rushing touchdowns for Hopkins with 23.
The Jays defense, who once again held an opponent to only one touchdown, held Ursinus to only 128 yards in total rushing and held Ursinus runners other than Duncan to negative nine yards rushing. The Jays' pass defense, which entered the game ranked first in the conference, limited the Bears to 5-of-19 passing for only 27 yards and one interception.
Sophomore nose guard Paul Smith added six tackles and two sacks along with Little and Della Pia who each had nine tackles.
The win holds the Jays at second in the conference behind Western
Maryland. Though Ursinus won the last meeting between the two teams, they now drop to 2-3 overall.
The Jays head to Muhlenburg this week to take on a team with a strong offense in what should be a test for the Jays' defense.
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