It was a record setting day for the Hopkins football team, which has ranked consistently high over the past three seasons. The 42-7 victory over the Ursinus Bears moved the Jays to 8-0 on the season and 7-0 in Centennial Conference play.
The Jays’ last loss in the regular season was as far back as November 2012, when they were defeated 14-12 in a tight contest against Franklin & Marshall. Since then, the Jays have won 39 consecutive regular season contests and remain undefeated in the conference over that same stretch. None of the current players have lost a regular season game in their Hopkins careers.
The Jays exerted their prowess on both sides of the ball, and they played suffocating defense while utilizing their potent air attack to move down the field at will. Standout senior quarterback, Jonathan Germano, was the star for the Jays, setting career highs in both passing yards and touchdowns. Germano’s 443 yards is tied for the fourth highest mark in school history, while his six touchdowns fell just one shy of the school record.
When asked to discuss why the offense was able to be so dominant, Germano attributed it to the fact that the Jays had prepared for both man and zone coverages.
“Ursinus has been running a lot of man-to-man coverage all year, so we expected that from them,” Germano said. “Last year, they did the same thing but came out in strictly zone so we were able to game plan for both throughout the week. Our line was able to pick up mostly all of their blitzes which gave me plenty of time to throw.”
The Blue Jays raced out to an early 21-0 lead on the strength of three scoring strikes from Germano in the first quarter. Hopkins opened the contest with an 80-yard scoring drive, as Germano connected with senior wide receiver Boone Lewis, Jr. to put the Jays on the board.
An Ursinus turnover on the very next play of the game would give the ball back to the Blue Jay offense, which they were quickly able to capitalize off of to make it a 14-0 game. Germano hit senior wide receiver Quinn Donaldson streaking down the sideline for a 32-yard score. A scoring toss to junior Brett Caggiano just six minutes later would give the Jays a three possession lead heading into the second quarter.
To open the second, the Jays would offense would deliver yet another quick scoring strike. Donaldson was able to get free along the sideline once again, corralling the pass from Germano and racing 75 yards to the end zone. Hopkins would carry a 28-0 margin into the locker room.
Germano described the thrilling connection to Donaldson, while attributing much of the offensive success to the play of his teammates surrounding him.
“Our receivers did an outstanding job of getting open and making big plays once they made the catch,” Germano said. “Quinn Donaldson made a great catch up the sideline and then stiff-armed the defender to the ground before he ran it all the way back for a touchdown.”
The Jays eased into the second half, using scoring drives of 85 and 99 yards to expand their margin to 42-0 midway through the third. Senior Bradley Munday would be the recipient of Germano’s fifth scoring pass, while Caggiano would find the endzone a second time for the Jays’ final score.
Defensively, the Jays were paced by seniors Garrett Spek, Jack Campbell and Pat Runger, who combined for 21 tackles in the contest. The Jays forced one fumble, while holding the usually potent Bears offense to just seven points.
It was not until midway through the fourth that the Bears would get on the board, when their running back Stacey Gardner took a handoff and rolled six yards into the endzone in what would be their only score on the day.
Germano managed to hit 10 different Blue Jays receivers in the game, becoming the sixth player in program history to reach the 5,000 career passing yard milestone. His 55 career touchdown passes rank second in school history. The senior captain believes that the sky’s the limit for the Jays this season.
“We still have the same goal — to go 1-0 every week and earn our way into the playoffs and continue to win from there,” Germano said. “I truly believe we have a special team that is able to do something special this year.”
In his final campaign for the Jays, Germano is especially appreciative of the amazing teammates and coaches he has grown and bonded with during his career as a Blue Jay.
“I couldn’t be happier about my teammates and the coaching staff I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by,” Germano said. “Coach Margraff is an amazing coach and the staff always keeps us going with high energy and competitive drive. Most of all, I’ll miss my teammates. I know I’ll stay in touch with them the rest of my life, but I will miss getting to go to work and see them every day.”
The Jays will take the field next on Saturday Nov. 5, when they hit the road to take on Franklin & Marshall College.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.