BALTIMORE, Md. – Nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins secured the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on Saturday as the 12th-ranked Blue Jays (8-0, 7-0 CC) defeated Ursinus (5-3, 5-2 Centennial) 37-9 at a snowy Homewood Field.
Ursinus saw its five game winning streak come to an end in the loss.
The Bears were led by sophomore tailback Drae Lewis (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) who had 67 yards and the lone touchdown, on a 29-yard run early in the third quarter to cut the Ursinus deficit to 21-9. Sophomore running back Drae Lewis (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh School) had a team-best 69 yards.
Ursinus was hampered by miscues on special teams, as four team rushes (two on bad snaps) led to -62 yards rushing on the afternoon.
The only other score came on a 25-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Michael Bennett (Maple Glen, Pa./La Salle College HS) with 9:38 left in the first quarter, which cut the Hopkins lead to 7-3.
The Blue Jays scored on their first drive of the game junior running back Scott Barletta punched in a one-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 6:45 left in the first. Ursinus' field goal was set up by a defensive play as senior defensive back Sean Whelan (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) forced a fumble which was recovered by senior defensive tackle Tim Blaine (Alexandra, Va./Bishop Ireton) at the Ursinus 44. The Bears went 11 plays, 48 yards to set up the field goal.
After Ursinus' next drive stalled, a bad snap on the punt allowed the Blue Jays to set up shop the Ursinus 35-yard line. Four players later, a 16-yard run by junior running back Jonathan Rigaud gave the Blue Jays a 14-3 lead with 4:16 left.
Another special teams miscue, a high snap over the head of junior punter Derek Giannetti (Dresher, Pa./Upper Dublin) with 23 seconds left until halftime gave the Blue Jays the ball at the Ursinus 30. Four plays later, senior wide out Sam Wernick caught a 14-yard pass from senior quarter Hewitt Tomlin with three seconds left and a 21-3 halftime lead.
After Lewis' touchdown, junior strong safety P.J. Caufield returned a broken field goal attempt for a two-point PAT return and a 23-9 Hopkins lead with 13 minutes left.
Hopkins added two more scores, a 1-yard run from Barletta with 9:34 left in the third and a 69-yard run from Rigaud with 10:48 left in the fourth.
Sophomore quarterback Chris Curran (Oceanview, N.J./Ocean City) was 7-for-18 for 50 yards, with seven different receivers catching a pass.
Defensively, senior linebacker Greg Martell (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) had a team-high nine stops.
Ursinus hosts Muhlenberg next Saturday in the home finale.