77-0. Yes, you read that right. It was a big day for the Hopkins football team as they recorded their largest-ever win against the Juniata College Eagles with 783 offensive yards and junior starting quarterback Ryan Stevens going for 358 yards and three touchdowns. The huge showing brings the Jays’ record to an undefeated 3-0 on the season.
It all started when senior wide receiver Harrison Wellmann came up big in the red zone and scored two touchdowns for Hopkins in the first quarter. The Jays kept the pedal to the metal and didn’t slow down, scoring 21 points in each subsequent quarter.
Wellmann wasn’t the only wide receiver who would finish the day with two touchdowns; he and graduate student Quinn Revere would both finish the day with two touchdowns apiece. Yet despite the big individual performances, the Jays also did a nice job spreading the ball around. In all, eight different players scored a touchdown!
Behind all of the offensive fireworks, the defense stood tall, delivering a dominating performance to the tune of allowing a grand total of just 12 first downs over the course of the entire game.
Sophomore standout and defensive lineman Luke Schuermann, who recorded two sacks and a fumble, gave credit to the team’s coaches in an interview with The News-Letter.
“It definitely starts with our coaches recognizing [Juniata’s] tendencies on film and putting the team in a great situation on every snap to make a play," Schuermann said.
He cited how the defense had been able to see a lot of the game based on plays made in practice.
“It really slowed down the game and made it a whole lot easier to go make plays and have fun just playing football," Schuermann said.
Fresh off the win, the Jays will confidently enter their next test when they play Moravian University Greyhounds in Bethlehem, Pa today. The Greyhounds come into the contest 1-2 on the season, fresh off a 44-0 thumping by the Susquehanna University River Hawks.
“It was awesome to get everyone on the field and have a full team win,” Schuermann said. “We’ve got a great group of guys and I’m excited to keep winning football games and hopefully win the boot.”
