Johns Hopkins senior defensive back Dan Requena has one goal this season: Make sure he ends his career the same way it started ? with a Centennial Conference title.
The Blue Jays went a combined 17-4 during Requena?s first two years before the team?s string of four consecutive conference titles ended with a 5-5 record and fourth-place finish last fall.
“I want to be conference champions,” he said.
For that to happen, Johns Hopkins (1-2 overall, 0-1 league) will likely have to defeat league-leading Moravian (3-0, 1-0) at Homewood Field.
“This is a big week for us to come back to where we used to be,” senior wide receiver and vocal leader Corey Sattler said.
Sattler and Requena are part of a senior class that fills just eight slots on Hopkins? first and second string. However, for their legacy to be ensured, it is imperative they avoid posting the team?s first losing season since 1999, when it finished 4-6.
This season, Johns Hopkins has been outscored, 59-19 in its past two games, both losses.
“I know a lot of guys are really focusing on this is our last go-round so they want to make it memorable, and worth all the time and effort we put in,” Sattler said. “This week is focusing on getting back to how we used to play.”
For Johns Hopkins? players, that started during the offeseason. Coach Jim Margraff put more emphasis on individual training this summer. He also changed his approach in team meetings, using more video and PowerPoint presentations and less scribbling on the chalkboard.
But mostly, Margraff said he has kept the same approach this season as he?s used throughout his 18 years on the Homewood campus.
“I?ve always felt very strongly that this has to be the player?s best two hours of the day,” Margraff said. “Football can?t be a grind at Johns Hopkins. Guys will come out to practice with chemicals or formaldehyde on them and formulas running through their head.”
Requena and Sattler acknowledge balancing football with the demanding studies at one of the nation?s toughest academic institutions is challenging.
This week has included a lot of extra time in the film room, as Moravian makes its first appearance on the Blue Jays schedule since 1982 ? a 17-7 Greyhounds win in Margraff?s first season as an assistant coach. The Greyhounds are in their inaugural season in the Centennial Conference after arriving from the Middle Atlantic Conference.
They?ll be hungry to make a statement in their second league game – the first was a 43-14 win over McDaniel.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will be hoping to get back into the race for the conferencetitle after going 3-3 in league play last year. Those three defeats matched the amount of conference losses the senior class suffered in its first two seasons on campus, when it went a combined 9-3 against Centennial Conference teams and made a pair of postseason appearances.
“Its really frustrating because that?s the norm when I came in. That?s what everybody expected,” Sattler said. “I really think this year is going to be a lot better than last year.”
