Spring Break
Football tops McDaniel to earn bowl game
Issue date: 11/20/08
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Hopkins scored all the points they would need to win the game in the first quarter, taking a 14-0 lead into the second quarter. Both touchdowns were scored on the ground. In the opening drive of the game, the Jays only needed about two minutes to get on the board and take a lead which they never lost. The seven-play, 55-yard drive was made possible by the efforts of Kase, who gained 45 yards on the ground on five carries and found the end zone from eight yards out for his 15th touchdown of the season.
Hopkins's defense was tough, forcing two first quarter punts. Their next scoring drive began deep in their own territory with 7:02 left in the first quarter. From their 14-yard line, Hopkins strung together 15 plays for 86 yards, capped off by a touchdown run by freshman quarterback Hewitt Tomlin from 13 yards out. However, the most exciting play of the drive came on a fourth down from the 45-yard line. Hopkins lined up to punt, but instead sophomore A.J. Albert received the ball and hit senior Greg Chimera with a shovel pass. Chimera picked up 27 yards and reached McDaniel's 28-yard line.
McDaniel was unable to move the ball against the astute Hopkins defense. The Green Terror's only touchdown came through special teams. After forcing Hopkins to punt from their own 25-yard line, Matt Cahill collected the ball at McDaniel's 30, broke a few arm tackles and was gone for a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown. Soon afterwards McDaniel had a chance to get back into the game when a poor snap on a punt set up McDaniel with first and 10 from the Jays' 30, but Hopkins's defense continued to punish McDaniel, allowing just four yards and stopping the Green Terror on fourth down.
The Jays' defense continued to wreak havoc on McDaniel's offense. After pinning McDaniel deep in their own territory, senior Austin Ehrhart sacked Vinny Corona at the McDaniel 10, who proceeded to cough the ball up. Colin Wixted jumped on the ball for the Jays at McDaniel's 13-yard line. Three straight carries later by Kase and Hopkins found itself up 21-7 with a little under a quarter left to play in the game.
On its next drive McDaniel moved the ball 54 yards on 12 plays before settling for a 28-yard field goal, cutting Hopkins's lead to 21-10. After another mishandled snap on a punt, McDaniel found himself an opportunity to get back in the game, with first and 10 from the Hopkins 11. Hopkins's defense came up big once again, allowing only a three-yard rush and forcing three incomplete passes.
With just over four minutes to go, Hopkins had the ball on its own eight-yard line. From there, Kase only needed four carries to move the ball 66 yards to McDaniel's 29. Freshman Nick Fazio came in to relieve Kase and did not disappoint, carrying the ball five times for 26 yards, including a four-yard touchdown run with only 29 seconds to go. The Jays walked off the field with a 28-10 victory.
"We always love beating McDaniel," sophomore Tim Dotzler said. "They're our all-time rivals."
With his 211 yards, Kase is only four yards away from breaking Hopkins's career rushing record, currently held by Adam Cook, who rushed for 2,769 yards from 2001 to 2004. Kase finished the game with 2,766.
Hopkins will host Catholic University on Saturday in the ECAC Southeast Bowl Game. The Jays earned this honor with an impressive 8-2 record and a second-place finish in the Centennial Conference. Catholic also finished 8-2 and finished with a 4-2 record in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. This is Hopkins's fourth bowl appearance since 2002. Catholic will be a tough opponent, but Hopkins is up to the challenge.
"Catholic's got a great quarterback, but our defense is playing really well right now," sophomore Alex Sargeaunt said. "If our defensive line gets there we'll be fine," sophomore Adam Kasprzak added.
The game will be at Homewood Field and is scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
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