Last weekend, the Hopkins football team left on a trip to central Virginia, hoping to pick up a big road win against Hampden-Sydney College. When they returned to Baltimore, they had clinched their first NCAA tournament appearance in school history.
Unfortunately, things weren't as simple as it sounds for the Jays.
The team finally accomplished their goal of making the NCAA playoffs, despite playing their worst game of the year, losing by 29 points. The Tigers and senior quarterback J.D. Ricca lit the Blue Jays defense up for 333 yards, scoring 49 points against a squad that only allowed an average of 8.13 points in their first eight games.
The Jays were able to clinch a playoff berth, as well as at least a share of the conference title, because Ursinus was upset 19-17 at home against Franklin & Marshall. The Jays have shared the conference title for four straight years but could win it outright this year with a victory next week at McDaniel.
Thus, the Jays made the tournament, but as senior running back T.J. Lyons said, the loss to Hampden-Sydney "made things bittersweet."
"They have a very good offense," Lyons said. "They didn't play that well last year and we won, and this year we didn't play that well and they won."
Lyons scored two touchdowns in the game and rushed for 56 yards, but Hopkins' offense wasn't able to capitalize on a Tigers defense that Blue Jays head coach Jim Margraff described as "solid, but nothing more than that."
But with an offense that has been fairly inconsistent the entire season, the real problem for the Jays was their defense lacking the utter invincibility that they possessed in the first seven games of the season. The loss to Hampden-Sydney marked the Jays' second consecutive defeat, as they fell to Ursinus the previous Saturday, 21-17.
"We didn't tackle as well as we normally do," said head coach Jim Margraff. "That is definitely something that will have to be addressed before next week."
Hampden-Sydney started the scoring off early, with running back Josh Simpson capping a 73-yard Tigers drive with a six-yard touchdown, just 3:10 into the game.
Simpson scored again just three minutes later off a 10-yard run, and then Ricca hooked up with senior wide receiver Brian Rolander for a one-yard touchdown, giving his squad a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Lyons responded with the first of his touchdowns just five seconds into the second quarter, but
Hampden-Sydney then rattled off three unanswered touchdowns to
lead 42-7 at halftime.
Lyons and senior wide receiver Steve Eno both scored in the second half, but it wasn't enough to make up for the huge deficit the team faced going into the intermission.
"It was tough to run the ball all game," Lyons said. "We were just playing catch up."
Perhaps the explanation for the Jays unusually poor play was the fact that their minds were elsewhere -- particularly on their upcoming season finale against their rival, McDaniel.
"It was hard not to look by the game," Margraff said regarding the game against Hampden-Sydney. "To play your rival with the outright championship on the line -- you can't ask for much more than that."
While McDaniel will have nothing at stake but their pride, the Jays will be in sole possession of the Centennial Conference Champion trophy for the entire year, a feat that Hopkins has never accomplished.
If the Jays lose the match, they will tie for the Centennial crown with the winner of this Saturday's match-up between Gettsyburg and Franklin & Marshall.
However, because Hopkins defeated both teams this season, they would still advance to the NCAA playoffs in the event of a conference tie.
Hopkins' first-round opponent and location in the NCAA tournament will be announced on the Division III selection show, which will air on ESPNews this Sunday at 1 p.m.
