For the second week in a row, senior running back Jonathan Rigaud rushed for over 200 yards to lead the 10th ranked Blue Jays past Centennial Conference opponent, Ursinus, 35-17.
Rigaud earned the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week title for the second time in the last three weeks. He rushed for a career-high 238 yards and tied the Hopkins’ record once again with four touchdowns. Rigaud is the first running back in school history with back-to-back 200 yard games, and his impressive 238 yards against Ursinus ranks him fourth in a single game total.
Another major team goal Hopkins accomplished this week, was clinching their fourth straight Centennial Conference title. After 2nd place Franklin & Marshall lost 24-17 to Susquehanna, Hopkins guaranteed themselves at least a share of the title.
With a win against either Franklin & Marshall or McDaniel, the Blue Jays will clinch sole possession of the title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Playoffs.
The Ursinus Bears entered Saturday leading the nation in turnover margin, but the Blue Jays didn’t think twice about the statistic. On the Bears first offensive possession, freshman safety Joe Trumbetti recovered a fumble by Ursinus’ running back.
Hopkins quickly drove the ball 42 yards on seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. Riguad started his career day when he took a sweep around the left side five yards for his first score of the day.
Hopkins held Ursinus to a field goal in the first quarter as Ursinus trimmed the lead to 7-3. The Blue Jays made a huge stand as they forced a fumble in the end zone when the Bears’ quarterback tried to take a keeper up the middle.
Hopkins took over and on the third play of the drive Rigaud broke around the right side and took the ball 70 yards to the house. A career long for Rigaud and the longest run in 20 years for Hopkins gave the Jays a 14-3 lead at the half.
Ursinus had no answer for Rigaud as he broke loose again midway through the third quarter from 29 yards out to extend the lead to 21-3 and tally his third score of the day.
Hopkins’ other senior running back, Scott Barletta diversified the scoring routine as he raced into the end zone from 25 yards out to push the lead to 28-17. “It’s great knowing that we can produce in big games," Junior offensive lineman and pre-season All-American Armand Jenifer said. "I’m looking forward to overcoming any challenges we face in the upcoming games.”
The Bears were able to keep their deficit at 11 points until midway through the fourth quarter. Not surprisingly, Jonathan Rigaud found space on the outside and took the ball 18 yards into the end zone to close out his career day. Riguad led an offensive explosion for the Blue Jays that produced 354 yards on the ground with 5 rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Robbie Matey had a very efficient day through the air that featured him passing for 130 yards and controlling the high powered offense. In addition, Junior placekicker Richie Carbone was 5 for 5 on extra point kicks this week.
The Blue Jays defense stood strong again this week, as they only allowed 78 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
On the season, the Blue Jays improved to 8-0 overall and 7-0 in the Centennial Conference while outscoring opponents 276-128. The explosive offense and stout defense have reminded many of last year’s undefeated regular season when the team went 10-0.
With their 22nd straight regular season win, the Blue Jays moved up one spot in the AFCA poll to 9th, and jumped two spots into 13th in the D3football.com poll. Jenifer spoke about their upcoming two games. “We’re going to approach these games like every game this season, with the intent to win,” he said.
Next up on the schedule, the Blue Jays will take on Franklin & Marshall (6-2) next Saturday for the first time this season as they attempt to move to 9-0 and clinch a seed in the NCAA Playoffs.
