The 12th ranked Hopkins football team would enter the weekend boasting the third-ranked scoring offense and second-ranked overall offense in the nation with an astronomical pace of 47.6 points and 522 yards per game.
While the weather would not allow them to match their torrid season pace, the Jays beat the Ursinus Bears 37-9 on the strength of a stellar running game.
Blue Jays running backs rushed for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, with junior Jonathon Rigaud carrying the bulk of the load, rushing 12 times for 166 yards (a spectacular 13.8 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Hewitt Tomlin wouldn't top 700 yards passing again (as he had versus Gettysburg the week before), the third-ranked passing attack in the nation would chip in with 91 yards and a touchdown.
With the win, the Blue Jays clinched the Centennial Conference's bid for the approaching NCAA playoffs, as well as no worse than a share of the league title. The win marks Hopkins first ever 8-0 season start.
The Jays would get on the board first, midway through the first quarter, as junior fullback Scott Barletta would pound it in from one yard out to cap an impressive nine play, 80-yard drive to put Hopkins up 7-0. Ursinus would respond with a 48-yard drive ending in a Michael Bennet field goal with 9:38 left in the second quarter to make it 7-3 — this would be as close as the Bears would get.
The Jays would score two more touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to open up a comfortable 18-point lead. The first came on a 35-yard drive set up by a 21-yard punt return by sophomore Dan Wodicka.
A 22-yard rush by senior quarterback Tyler Porco prefaced a 16-yard touchdown scamper by Rigaud to put Hopkins up 14-3. Porco (who rushed for a career-high 85 yards) and Rigaud would combine effectively on the zone read option, accounting for over 60 percent of the Jays' total offense between the two of them.
Later, Ursinus would attempt to punt, but an errant snap would sail over punter Derek Giannetti, who would cover up the ball at the Bears' 30-yard line to give Hopkins a terrific field position once again with 23 seconds remaining in the half.
The Jays would capitalize on the short field, as Tomlin would find senior receiver Sam Wernick with a 14-yard touchdown strike to give Hopkins a 21-3 advantage. The away team would play well to begin the second half, forcing Hopkins into a three-and-out and needing only two plays to go 38 yards to cut the deficit to 21-9. However, a bizarre play on the ensuing extra point attempt would stymie the momentum, as Giannetti would take a low snap and attempt to throw it into the endzone for an impromptu two points. His throw, much to the chagrin of Ursinus fans, would be intercepted by junior safety P.J. Caufield and returned 100 yards for a defensive two-point conversion to make the score 23-9.
Hopkins' fourth ranked defense continued to be extraordinarily stingy, allowing only 27 yards on Ursinus' next three drives, and 132 total yards of offense overall.
Scott Barletta would then all but ice the game with another one-yard touchdown run following another botched snap by Giannetti, who was tackled at the Ursinus one-yard line. The score put the Jays up 30-9 six minutes into the fourth quarter.
Rigaud would cap his performance with an electrifying 69-yard touchdown dash, making the final score 37-9.
The Blue Jays will be facing off against Franklin & Marshall in their last regular season game of the year. The game will be on Homewood Field at 12 p.m. — come watch to see some excellent college football!
