The Blue Jay football team kept its regular season success rolling on Saturday, as they steamrolled Juniata 56-14, scoring touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions. Saturday’s game marked the 39th time Hopkins has emerged victorious in its last 40 regular season games.
Ranked ninth in the nation after the win, the Blue Jays had a 14-0 lead with 153 yards of total offense just 10 minutes into the game. Sophomore tailback Stuart Walters scored on a seven-yard run to cash in a nine-play, 61-yard drive, and the Hopkins defense forced a punt on the ensuing Juniata possession. Senior quarterback Braden Anderson then fired the first of his three touchdown passes on the afternoon to junior receiver Ryan Finkel to put the Jays up two scores.
Early in the second quarter, the Eagles put together their best drive of the afternoon in which their quarterback completed all six passes for 63 yards to cut their deficit to 14-7. Hopkins was not deterred, however, putting together a methodical 12-play, 4:45 drive capped by an eight-yard touchdown run by junior running back Brandon Cherry. The Blue Jay defense, virtually impenetrable all afternoon, forced a quick punt, and Hopkins took over at the 37-yard line.
Hopkins put the game nearly out of reach just three minutes after its last touchdown with a 46-yard run from sophomore running back Dionisio Roman, the longest of the season for any Blue Jay, to run the score up to 28-7. Juniata had one more chance to make it a two-possession game before the half, as they drove 80 yards to the Blue Jay 21-yard line, but sophomore Jack Toner killed the Eagle drive with an interception in the end zone with 1:18 remaining in the half.
“It was a crucial point in the game because Juniata was threatening to cut the lead in half and they were going to receive the ball to start the second half,” Toner said. “Our defense as a whole takes pride in keeping people out of the end zone. I was fortunate enough to be able to make a play to help our defense do that.”
Walters wasted no time opening the last Blue Jay drive of the half with two runs for 21 yards, and Anderson completed back-to-back 17-yard passes to junior Evan Adamo and sophomore Quinn Donaldson. The Jays finished the half with a four-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Bradley Munday to run their lead up to 28 points going into the half.
Second half touchdown runs from senior Alec Sinatro and freshman Ryan Cary added to the lead. Sinatro’s run came from just one yard out, while Cary’s was from 16.
On the day, Anderson finished 20 of 27 for 203 yards and three touchdowns, while receivers Finkel and Munday finished with identical stat lines of five catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
“The adjustment from [former quarterback] Robbie Matey to Braden Anderson has been very easy,” Munday said. “He has done an unbelievable job taking on the starting role and leading our offense, and he makes it so easy for everyone else on the field.”
Yet another regular season win built excitement in the Blue Jay locker room.
“Our ultimate goal is to win the conference, but we know we need to stay focused on each game one week at a time, or we won’t achieve that goal,” Munday said.
The Blue Jays will return to action at Dickinson on Friday, October 17, where they will look to run their regular-season win streak to 17 games.
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