Football stuns in playoffs

The Blue Jays hosted their second home playoff game in school history against Washington and Jefferson College and eventually collected their first ever home playoff win two weeks ago. Hopkins set the tone physically, knocking out both the number one and two ranked WJC quarterbacks en-route to a 42-10 victory.

Hopkins received the ball first and wasted no time getting the ball to their big play-makers.  First, a quick screen to junior receiver, Daniel Wodicka, then the next play called for a hand-off up the middle to senior running back Jonathan Rigaud who moved the ball almost to midfield.  “We wanted to get going early, and we started to click on all cylinders,” junior quarterback Robbie Matey said.  The Presidents would eventually stop the Blue Jays on downs, however this would prove an exception.

The Jays’ defense made a statement early, forcing the Presidents to a three and out on their first offensive possession.  Hopkins took the ball from their own 31 yard line and, in one of the most impressive drives of the season, Matey led the team down the field 69 yards, on 17 plays, to go ahead 7-0, on a seven yard rush by Matey.

On Washington and Jefferson’s ensuing drive, Hopkins forced the Presidents to turn the ball over on downs on just four plays.  The Blue Jays took over the ball in Washington and Jefferson territory. It took them just five plays to hit pay-dirt on a five yard pass from Matey to Wodicka, giving the Jays a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The true turning point in the game came late in the first quarter, when John Arena caught the President’s quarterback Matt Bliss from behind on a scramble.  Arena knocked Bliss off his course as a Hopkins defender came flying in, delivering a crushing blow to the quarterback, causing a fumble and knocking him out of the game with a concussion.  The backup quarterback was forced to come into the game, yet he also suffered an injury midway through the second quarter, causing the third string, freshman quarterback to enter the game.  Hopkins went into the half with a commanding 28-3 lead.

The same pattern stuck in the second half, as the Blue Jays defense stopped the Presidents’ opening drive of the half.  The Jays were aggressive and physical on defense and never allowed any big plays on the day.  With senior linebacker Taylor Maciow out for the game due to injury, freshman Keith Corliss stepped up huge in his first start, and led the team in tackles.

Hopkins would score two more times in the second half, to win the game 42-10.  Robbie Matey had a huge day completing 22 passes of 32 attempts for 302 yards.  Matey talked about his line’s performance saying, “Whenever I don’t get touched in the ball game, it helps things click.”  He also gave credit to his receivers for making big catches.  Junior tight end, Brendan Hartman, helped out with a grab of 52 yards.  Daniel Wodicka pulled in 11 passes for 98 yards on the day.  Senior star running back, Jonathan Rigaud rushed for 155 yards on 27 attempts and scored once.  Rigaud wasn’t surprised with the big win, saying, “we took practice seriously and came together as a group to make sure what happened last year didn’t happen again.”

With the win, Hopkins moved to the second round of playoffs to take on the number one team in the country, Mount Union.  Coach Jim Margraff referred to Mount Union as “the most historical place in football.” Incredibly, Mount Union has proved to be the soul hegemon of division III football, making the national championship game each of the last seven years.

However, coming off a big win, Hopkins was unable to match up against powerhouse Mount Union.

After two turnovers late in the first quarter, Mount Union scored on back to back possessions to jump to a 14-0 lead early.  The 20th ranked receiver in this year’s upcoming NFL draft, Jasper Collins, showed exactly why he will be drafted, as he scored explosively five times on the day.

Early in the second quarter with Hopkins down 21-0 , Jonathan Rigaud broke free for 75 yards to bring the Jays within 14 points. Shockingly, Riguad's run was the longest allowed by Mount Union since the 2010 season. Unfortunately less than four minutes later, Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke hooked up with Collins twice more, pushing the score to 34-7 at the half.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, Mount Union tacked on two more scores, putting the score at 48-7 and out of reach for Hopkins. Collins pulled in his fifth score of the day.  The game ended with a final score of 55-13.

Jonathan Rigaud did what he had done all year and tacked up 138 yards on the day, the highest total amount Mount Union has given up in two years.  "They have a very good defense; very fast and physical," Rigaud stated. "I tried to be patient and we did what we could, but they are a very good team."  Matey was 17 of 35 for 152 yards and a score on the day, with Wodicka pulling in seven passes.

The Jays tied a school record with ten wins on the season and finished ranked 15th in the country.  With almost all of the offensive line returning and most of the skill position players also coming back, look for Hopkins to have a potent offense yet again next season.  The defense will feature many of the same players as well. Next season should be full of promise.