The Hopkins football team travelled to historic Gettysburg, Pa. this past weekend to take on the Bullets of Gettysburg College on their Homecoming day. The Jays came in riding an 11 game win streak dating back to the 2010 season, and marched right through the Bullets on their home field, triumphing by a score of 83-21.
The 83 points were the most in Centennial Conference history, and the second most ever in school history, while the offense racked up a program-record 731 total yards of offense. Leading the way for the Jays on offense once again was quarterback, senior Hewitt Tomlin.
The senior signal-caller notched five school records in passing yards (501), total yards (505), completions (39), passing yards in a half (304), and touchdown passes (seven). For his efforts, Tomlin was named Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week after missing three weeks with a concussion.
Not to be outdone, Tomlin's trio of talented receivers, consisting of senior Sam Wernick, junior Scott Cremens, and sophomore Daniel Wodicka, all turned in outstanding performances.
Wodicka tied a single game Hopkins record for most receptions (15) and his 217 receiving yards are a career high for the emerging star wide receiver to go along with a touchdown. "Coach Swanstrom (offensive coordinator) has a great game plan going in," the sophomore from West Lafayette, IN said. "He put us in great situations to make plays. Combine that with Hewitt (Tomlin) being on the mark every play allowed the offense to have a great game."
Cremens added to his team leading amount of touchdown receptions by setting a career high with three scores to go along with his 92 yards of receiving.
Wernick, the reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year, continued to add onto his solid numbers this season which have come through double teams and safety help by racking up 13 receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown.
"We had a lot of good film study on them throughout the week. They ran a lot of things we were prepared for," Tomlin said.
It showed — as the offense moved the ball up and down the field at will, and the quarterback showed no lingering signs from a concussion that kept him out for two weeks before the bye week.
"The time off gave my arm a lot of rest and it also gave me this sort of boost," the senior from Jackson, TN said. "I was excited to come back and ready to play in the middle of the season which can tend to be sort of a grind."
Going into the game, Coach Jim Margraff's defense had their hands full with one of the top ranked offenses in the country in Gettysburg College.
The Jays, however, held the high scoring bullets to half of their season average for points per game (42.2), and two thirds of their yards per game (525), and stifled the high flying attack with sound tackling and tight coverage in the secondary.
Leading the way for the Jays on defense once again was junior linebacker Adam Schweyer as he led the team in tackles with 12 which included 1.5 sacks. Right behind him were junior Taylor Maciow (eight tackles) and senior Kale Sweeney (six tackles, 1.5 sacks).
The Blue Jays'(7-0, 6-0 Centennial Conference) winning streak, which was extended to 12 games over the course of the past two seasons, is beginning to take on some historical perspective. The 12-game streak now ranks only behind two time defending National Champion Wisconsin-Whitewater's 37-game streak as tops in active winning streaks in Division III College Football.
In all divisions, Hopkins' streak is tied for third following UWW, Stanford (15 games), and tied with Colorado State Pueblo (Division II). The Jays have also climbed to their highest ever ranking in the AFCA poll during the regular season since the poll's inception in 1999.
The Blue Jays are now ranked 12th, the highest they've been since their magical 2009 season when the team's run ended in the NCAA Elite 8.
The Hopkins football team expects this success to continue as they put their winning streak on the line and welcome the bears of Ursinus College to Homewood Field this weekend.
The matchup will pin the top two teams in the Centennial Conference, and with a win, the Jays can secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Football tournament and at least a share in the Conference Championship.
"We won't do anything special," Tomlin said regarding preparations for the Bears this week. "We prepare the same way every week for ever team, it's just the way we do it, and it has worked for us so far."
So come out to historic Homewood Field this Saturday afternoon to see the Centennial Conference game of the year with conference title on the line.
Kickoff is set for one o'clock, so be there - who knows what records these Jays will break this week.
