BALTIMORE, Md. - In a game that featured 20 punts, 23 first downs between the two teams, and a wild last 38 seconds, Ursinus (3-3, 3-1 Centennial) survived and handed Johns Hopkins (5-2, 4-1 Centennial) its first Centennial loss as the Bears won 16-14 at a rainy Homewood Field Saturday afternoon.

The win puts Ursinus a half-game back of first place, and in a three-way tie with Dickinson and F&M for second-place.

The game came down to a strange sequence of events in the final 38 seconds. Johns Hopkins, driving for the win, lined up a 38-yard field goal by junior placekicker Alex Lachman. Following a timeout by Hopkins and Ursinus, the Bears were called for 12 men on the field, giving Hopkins a first down.

The Blue Jays ran a sneak, that actually put them two yards back, giving Lachman a shot at a 35-yard field goal with 33 seconds left. Right as the ball was snapped, Ursinus called timeout as the kick sailed through the uprights.

Following the timeout, Lachman pushed the next kick wide left, and Ursinus kneeled down to take the win.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to call the timeout," said Ursinus head coach Peter Gallagher afterwards. "I figured, I'm not taking it (the timeout) back to Collegeville."

"This was a great defensive effort by our team," Gallagher added. "It's great for our kids to get a win like this."

Ursinus forced five turnovers in the win, despite netting just 137 yards of total offense, nine of which came in the second half.

Freshman running back Teddy Conrad (Doylestown, Pa./C.B. West) had 34 yards on 14 carries, while senior quarterback Justin Decristofaro (Jenkintown, Pa./Father Judge) was 9-for-26 for 93 yards and two scores.

Sophomore wide out Kahlil Pittman (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) had three catches for 20 yards.

For Johns Hopkins, senior running back Andrew Kase had 122 yards and score on 30 carries. Sophomore quarterback Hewitt Tomlin was 11-for-27 for a score and 107 yards.

The key was the defense for Ursinus, as sophomore defensive back Joe Henry (Medford, N.J./Shawnee), senior defensive back Eikeem Barron (Philadelphia, Pa./Overbrook) and sophomore defensive back Mike Rissmiller (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) each had interceptions. Senior defensive end Chas Cathers (Fountainville, Pa./C.B. West) and junior linebacker Joe Galie (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) each had fumble recoveries.

Ursinus took the opening kickoff and went 15 plays in 52 yards, but, did not get any points as sophomore kicker Keith Baker (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) missed a 30-yard attempt.

On the next drive, Hopkins was forced to a three-and-out, but, the snap on the punt went over the head of junior punter Mike Isslinger and into the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 Bears' lead at 6:34 left.

After the two teams traded punts, Ursinus scored its lone touchdown on a 32-yard pass from Decristofaro to sophomore wide receiver Nick Giarratano (Wapwallopen, Pa./Crestwood) with 3:59 left for a 9-0 lead. The score was set up by a fumble recovery from Galie.

The Bears got their second takeaway on the Blue Jays next drive when Rissmiller intercepted Tomlin at the Ursinus 31-yard line with 2:05 left.

Hopkins scored its first touchdown on an Ursinus turnover when sophomore wide out Al Desiderio (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) fumbled on the punt return giving the Blue Jays the ball at the Hopkins 46.

From there, JHU scored on six plays as Tomlin threw a 14-yard pass to junior wide receiver Dan Crowley with 8:34 left, cutting the Ursinus lead to 9-7.

Ursinus' final score came off of a Blue Jays turnover when Cathers recovered a Blue Jays fumble at the JHU 13-yard line. From there, Decristofaro threw a 10-yard pass to sophomore running back Travis Evans (Dallas, Pa./Northwest Area) for a 16-7 Bears lead with 3:52 left.

The final score of the game came with 2:50 left in the third quarter when Kase ran for a 1-yard score for a 16-14 score.

Before Hopkins put together its final drive, Ursinus had the ball at the Hopkins 45 with 5:14 left in the game, but, went three-and-out.

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Greg Martell (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) had 11 tackles, while sophomore defensive end Sean Whelan (Doylestown, Pa./C.B. West) had two sackles, a sack, and two pass breakups.

Freshman punter Derek Giannetti (Dresher, Pa./Upper Dublin) had 12 punts for the Bears, averaging 37.2 yards per kick. He had a 66-yard punt before the end of the first half.

Ursinus heads to McDaniel on Saturday.