Johns Hopkins? and McDaniel?s football teams are both building towards the future, but the Blue Jays? underclassmen are a little bit ahead of the learning curve.
John Hopkins rode the physical pounding of sophomore running back Andrew Kase, who rushed for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries, to a 42-21 pasting of winless Juniata on Saturday.
In Westminster, McDaniel sophomore running back Eric Zwilsky rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, but the rest of the Green Terror couldn?t do quite enough in a 24-17 overtime loss to Franklin & Marshall.
“We aren?t that far away, and we are playing a ton of young guys and are thrilled the way they are coming around,” John Hopkins coach Jim Margraff said. “We haven?t played well at home yet and that will be a major focus.”
The Blue Jays (3-5 overall, 2-4 Centennial Conference) has a chance to pick up its first home victory of the season this Saturday at 1 at Homewood Field against Franklin & Marshall (2-6, 2-4). Hopkins is 0-4 at home this year, having been outscored by its opponents 120-70. The Blue Jays, who are looking to avoid going winless at home during a season for the first time since 1989, should be able to move the ball against the Diplomats, who allowed 327 yards to McDaniel (1-7, 1-5), which has one of league?s worst offenses.
Johns Hopkins scored a season-high 42 points in its win at Juniata (0-8, 0-7), and is getting improved play from sophomore quarterback Michael Murray, who completed 9-of-14 passes for 115 yards and 3 touchdowns. However, Margraff has committed himself to finding playing time for freshman Max Islinger, who completed 4-of-9 passes for 56 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“Mike?s our starter, but like any other position we have other guys that deserve to get a look,” Margraff said. “Max has done well enough to earn that.”
Meantime on Saturday afternoon at 1, McDaniel will play at Gettysburg (5-3, 4-2), which averages a conference-high 246.5 yards per game, and is led by running back Tom Sturges (1,207 yards, 12 TDs).
The Green Terror defense, paced by sophomore defensive lineman Brian Letourneu who leads the team in tackles (56), tackles-for-loss (12) and sacks (6), will need one of their best efforts of the season. However, McDaniel allows an average of 176.1 rushing yards per game, second-highest in the conference.
“I thought the defense played real well against F&M, but I think we can tackle better,” McDaniel coach Tim Keating said. “We have to start fast and we have to avoid the turnovers we had, that killed us.”
