Hopkins outlasts Bullets, 49-35 in shootout

As the final buzzer sounded on a wet, stormy and cold Friday night at Homewood Field, the Hopkins football team charged onto the field to celebrate an as yet undefeated season and a 49-35 victory over Gettysburg College. The Blue Jays victory over the Bullets pushed them to 7-0, with a 6-0 record in the Centennial Conference and an overall ranking of 10th in the country. There were two weather delays that caused the game to start an hour later than scheduled and to be stopped with 6:28 remaining in the 2nd quarter as thunderstorms passed through the Baltimore area.

Under the leadership and composure of junior quarterback Robbie Matey, the Jays were able to outlast the Bullets despite being down by a touchdown in the middle stages of the 4th quarter. Matey finished the game with 22 of 33 passes completed for a total 127 yards and added three rushing touchdowns. The rushing attack of the Blue Jays was led by senior Jonathan Rigaud who finished the game with 21 carries for 210 yards and a touchdown and junior J.D. Abbott who had 20 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns. With a combined six touchdowns, the rushing attack of the Blue Jays overpowered Gettysburg throughout the entire course of the game.

As the game kicked off, the Bullets were able to take advantage of an early possession midway through the first quarter by intercepting the Blue Jays and returning the ball to the Hopkins 28 yard line where they would score five plays later on a two yard rushing touchdown to claim an early 7-0. However, the Blue Jays refused to be down for very long as Abbott was able to convert a 1 yard rushing touchdown to complete a 10-play, 58-yard drive by the Blue Jays to knot it up at 7-7. As the closing seconds of the first quarter came winding down, Matey led the Jays down to the Bullets five yard line and converted a touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to give the Blue Jays a 14-7 lead.

However, Gettysburg erased the deficit rather quickly as they answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a nine yard run for a touchdown. The Bullets looked to have a lot of momentum on the drive as they were able to convert all three of their third-down opportunities on the drive while also having success running and passing the ball. With the game deadlocked at 14-14, the Blue Jays reclaimed possession of the ball midway through the second quarter. Matey led a relentless attack down deep into Bullet territory at the Gettysburg seven yard line. However, with 6:28 left in the quarter, thunder boomed for a second time that night and the game was delayed for approximately 30 minutes as both teams and spectators waited for the storm to pass.

After the rain subsided, both teams returned to the field and warmed up. Play resumed on the Gettysburg seven yard line where it only took Hopkins two plays to take a 21-14 lead after Matey scored on a rushing touchdown from five yards out. However, the lead was short-lived as the Bullets went on an impressive 75-yard drive of their own finished off by a three yard rushing touchdown to once again tie the game up 21-21 as the teams headed into the locker room for halftime.

Gettysburg started off with possession to open up the beginning moments of the second half but was forced to punt shortly thereafter as the Blue Jay defense came up big on a third down stop. Unfortunately, Hopkins wasn’t able to make anything of the advantageous field position as they turned the ball over on downs at the Gettysburg 11 yard line and the Bullets took the ball back. The Bullet made a big statement on the following drive going 89 yards on 13 plays, capped off by a three yard rushing touchdown.

Facing another deficit in the game, Hopkins responded over the course of a 72-yard drive that Abbott finished off with a two yard rushing touchdown to tie the game up at 28-28. However, neither team could maintain the momentum after they had a scoring drive as Gettysburg battled back down into Hopkins territory and converted another score off of a one yard rushing touchdown to take a 35-28 lead early in the 4th quarter. It was the fourth scoring drive by Gettysburg where they covered over 75 yards of ground and appeared to have all the momentum with a nice lead in the fourth.

It was the first time all season long when the Blue Jays were not leading in the 4th quarter and it appeared as if the team's undefeated season would be in jeopardy as time continued to tick away. And yet, it was during those final 12 minutes of the game that Hopkins' true heart, grit and determination showed up greater than it ever had before. It didn’t take long for the Jays to respond to the score by Gettysburg as Rigaud erupted for a beastly 63-yard run up the middle on the Blue Jay’s second play of a 38-second drive. The lead was snatched away from the Bullets as the two teams found themselves in an all too familiar place: tied 35-35.

With the pressure on, the Gettysburg offense took the field as mist was reflected under the lights on Homewood Field. The offense was only able to travel a few yards thanks to an unbelievably strong effort by the defensive line and secondary on the Jays defensive unit. The Bullets were forced to punt and Hopkins took over at their own 28 yard line looking for a scoring drive to take a significant lead in the game with time winding down.

Rigaud led the Jays down the field with stellar rushing, complemented by Matey who had some very important completions to get into Gettysburg territory. A few minutes later, Matey bulldozed his way into the end-zone behind the strength of the offensive line, spiking the ball in celebration as the Hopkins crowd jumped up in applause. Matey had rushed for his third touchdown of the day and had given the Jays a 42-35 lead with a little over 8 minutes left in the game.

With little time left, the Bullets offense took the field one more time to try to tie it up again starting from their own 15 yard line. After a pair of successful completions, the Bullet’s quarterback Kody Smith appeared to slip on a quarterback scramble and fumbled the ball. The ball popped right into the hands of senior linebacker Taylor Maciow who sprinted down the sideline 42 yards untouched into the end-zone as the Jays claimed a 49-35 lead. The defensive touchdown sealed the deal on a very offensively-driven game as the Blue Jays have now won 21 consecutive games dating back to last season and 18 in a row in the Centennial Conference.

Hopkins rushed for over 370 yards on the game and the two teams together combined for 11 rushing touchdowns, nearly 600 rushing yards and more than 900 yards of total offense. The win helped secure Hopkin’s 10th placed ranking in the Division III Football standings and it certainly proved that the team can overcome any obstacle that stands in their way. With another impressive win under their belt, a perfect record in the Centennial Conference and an undefeated season thus far, the Jays appear ready to take down all opponents who try to step in their way. The team will travel to Ursinus for their next game on Oct. 27. They look to continue their surge of excellence and claim an undefeated season for the second year in a row.