From the looks of things, neither team wanted the ball or the lead.
A back and forth game that included 12 fumbles, seven turnovers and six lead changes, ended with Moravian defeating Johns Hopkins, 44-41 at historic Homewood Field.
Moravian (4-0 overall, 2-0 Centennial Conference) escaped North Baltimore with it?s second Centennial Conference win as kicker Brian Reckenbeil?s 34-yard field goal snuck just inside the left upright with 0.3 seconds remaining on the scoreboard clock.
“It was just a swing of emotions all day long,” sophomore running back Andrew Kase said. “It was a shame to come out on the bottom side of it.”
It marked the first time in program history bothHopkins (1-3, 0-2) and its opponent had amassed 40 points in a game.
To many Hopkins players, it felt as if the game would go to whichever team had the final possession.
“You like to come out on top of those,” coach Jim Margraff said. “That was tough.”
Moravian overcame four turnovers and found success through the air ? as Marc Braxmeier tied a school record with four touchdown passes to go along with 279 yards on 18-of-29 passing.
Johns Hopkins was without starting tailback Phil Roberts, who injured his knee during practice this week. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior will miss the remainder of the season with his second career knee injury ? he tore his ACL during his freshman season as a defensive back.
In his place, the Blue Jays rushed 43 times for 261 yards ? led by Kase?s 170 yards and one touchdown. Kase also had four catches for 67 yards and a score.
Chris Baldwin, who began the season as a defensive back, rushed 14 times for 76 yards.
Senior receiver Corey Sattler had eight catches for 98 yards, and now needs just 74 yards to become the 15th player in program history to amass 1,000 yards receiving.
Brian Hopkins had his first career catch ? a three-yard touchdown grab, while Tucker Michels had two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown.
“We haven?t done much offensively all year,” sophomore quarterback Michael Murray said. “Today was the first day we got our offense going. It felt good for the offense to get going. It was an exciting game. It just didn?t end our way.”
Murray finished 21-of-37 for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Freshman place kicker Alex Lachman, in just his fourth game, tied a Hopkins record with four field goals, set by All-American Ben Scott in 2006. On his first kick, Lachman was good from 43 yards ? with significant room to spare ? tying his career-best, set in a season-opening, 17-16 win against Hampton-Sydney.
Hopkins now turns its focus to Muhlenberg (3-0, 1-0), which defeated Gettysburg Saturday, 14-13, on a blocked field goal in the final minute. Hopkins visits Muhlenberg Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.
