On a breezy Saturday evening, the Hopkins football team played their third Conference match of the season against the Dickinson Red Devils. Dickinson started with the first possession, but the Jays had flown into Homewood Field ready to compete.
The Jays wasted no time getting the ball back from the Devils, forcing a three and out on their very first set of downs. They immediately took advantage of this opportunity to score a touchdown on their opening drive of the game.
At the 27-yard line, Hopkins suffered a holding penalty and had to start at first and 17. Overcoming this setback proved to be no challenge at all, as junior quarterback David Tammaro slung the ball to an open wide receiver, freshman Harrison Wellmann, completing a 25-yard pass.
Senior running back Stuart Walters took it from there, rushing for a first down at the one-yard line and then again for a Hopkins touchdown. Junior kicker Mike Eberle kicked the extra point, bringing Hopkins up 7-0.
The rest of the quarter was marked by more back-and-forth action until another scoring drive by Hopkins at 6:24. This drive was marked by long passes by Tammaro, two for 23 yards and one for 25 to Wellmann, senior running back Tyler Messinger and sophomore wide receiver Colten Fisher. Messinger’s reception ended in the Jays’ second touchdown of the game.
With the score at 13-0, the Jays glided past the Devils into the second quarter. Just two minutes passed before Walters rushed for 12 yards into the end zone. The Devils could not respond, as Dickinson’s quarterback Billy Burger threw two incomplete passes, marking another three and out for the Devils.
Seizing this chance, Hopkins scored yet another touchdown. Moving down the field with Tammaro’s passes to Wellmann and sophomore wide receiver Ryan Hubley, junior running back Hogan Irwin capitalized on the effort by rushing for 14 yards to the one-yard line before rushing it again into the end zone.
Sealing the scoring drive with an extra point kick from Eberle, Hopkins brought the score up to 26-0 just five minutes into the second quarter.
Dickinson struggled during their next possession, with two incomplete passes and a fumble picked up by the Jays’ freshman linebacker Robert Fletcher, who carried it all the way to the end zone for another six points for Hopkins. After a good kick from Eberle, the Jays found themselves up 33-0.
The Devil’s offensive difficulties persisted in their next possession. Burger passed the ball right into the eager hands of Hopkins senior defensive back Michael Curry who returned it for 16 yards.
The Blue Jays quickly made their way to the end zone after two first downs thanks to a two-yard rush from Messinger, finished off by another kick by Eberle.
Sophomore defensive back Devin Ramsden reflected on the team’s success.
“For this game we really just tried to understand their tendencies and design defensive schemes that put us in the best position to be dominate,” Ramsden said.
Now 40-0, Dickinson tried to score again but could not get the ball far down the field before they were forced to punt on fourth and five.
Once again, Hopkins converted their possession with a touchdown, this time with more rushes from Irwin and passes to junior wide receiver Jacob Yohr and senior wide receiver Austin Hartman. A catch from senior tight end Patrick Maloney sealed yet another Hopkins touchdown. The half ended quickly after with Hopkins up 46-0, the widest halftime margin in Hopkins football history.
In the third quarter, the Devils inched down the field with the exception of a 23-yard pass from Burger. A later six-yard pass took the Devils on their first visit to the end zone this game. With a good kick, Dickinson put themselves on the board, putting the score at 46-7.
The next Dickinson drive was not so successful. Burger threw another interception, this time picked off by senior defensive back Grant Mosser, who returned it 50 yards to the six-yard line. Senior punter Brandon Hong-Dominguez kicked a field goal to put the Jays up 49-7.
Once again, Dickinson gave up their next opportunity to score. Wide receiver Daniel Salamone fumbled on the punt return and Mosser recovered it. The Jays also converted this into a touchdown, moving down the field and scoring again with a one-yard rush by sophomore running back Luke Yakely.
The fourth quarter was slightly better for the Devils. Burger moved the ball down the field with long passes, closing the score gap just slightly to 55-14.
The Jays, however, were not finished scoring. The next Hopkins drive was marked by multiple rushes by Yakely and strong passes, one for 29 yards, by sophomore quarterback Trevor Hill. Yakely would take the ball all the way home yet again to put the Blue Jays up 62-14 after a made kick from Hong-Dominguez.
Strong efforts would continue, but no more points would be scored, ending the game at 62-12.
The Blue Jays racked up 507 yards of total offense on the day, including 313 in the passing game and 194 on the ground. Six of the Blue Jays eight touchdowns came from the running game, and they were contributed by four different rushers. Overall, six different Blue Jays scored touchdowns to propel the Jays to the win.
The defense also performed well, forcing the Devils into four turnovers, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Dickinson only got 16 first downs for the entire game, and their punter had a busy day, punting seven times on the day.
It is not always easy to make a strong competitive effort against a less challenging opponent. However, this clearly was not an issue for Hopkins football this weekend.
“When we are playing anyone, regardless of how good we think they’ll be, we want to be able to understand our base responsibilities perfectly and be able to communicate changes quickly,” Ramsden said.
Hopkins extends their streak against Dickinson to 12 consecutive victories and improves their Conference record to 2-1.
The Blue Jays circle back to Homewood Field on Sept. 29 to face-off against the Ursinus College Bears at 1 p.m.
