BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins junior quarterback Bay Harvey threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 63 yards and another score in his first career start as the Blue Jays topped visiting Ithaca, 27-17, at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. Johns Hopkins, which entered the game ranked 18th by D3football.com, set a program record with its 13th consecutive home victory, while Ithaca, which carried a number nine ranking from D3ootball.com into the game, drops its first regular season game since the 2021 season.
Johns Hopkins trailed 10-7 early in the second quarter before scoring back-to-back touchdowns to grab a 21-10 lead that it would never surrender. After forcing a Bomber punt with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the Blue Jays needed just 41 seconds to go 72 yards with Harvey connecting with freshman Cole Crotty from 54 yards out to make it 14-10. A 15-yard Harvey-to-Burke Griffin completion got the drive started and Crotty's first career touchdown – on his first career reception – came one play after a short Spencer Uggla run.
Ithaca threatened on its ensuring possession as the Bombers used a 47-yard kickoff return after Crotty's score to start at the Blue Jay 41-yard line and they had first-and-10 at the Blue Jay 31 a short time later, but a false start penalty and three short runs led to a failed fourth-down attempt that gave the Blue Jays possession at their own 27.
After consecutive pass interference penalties against the Bombers, Harvey went to the ground as he scampered for 21 and 11 yards in a five-play sequence to set the Blue Jays up with first-and-goal at the one and he went in from there to push the lead to 21-10.
Neither team did much in the opening 10 minutes of the third quarter before the Bombers moved to the Blue Jay 32 late in the period. However, a pair of incompletions by A.J. Wingfield and a great open-field tackle by Blue Jay cornerback PJ Penders on fourth-and-13 ended the threat.
The Blue Jays needed just two plays and 30 seconds to go 72 yards as Harvey opened the drive with a 45-yard pass down the sideline that junior EJ Talarico hauled in under pressure and Harvey then hit Crotty down the middle in the back of the endzone to push the lead to 27-10.
3Q | 2:41
— Johns Hopkins Football (@JHU_Football) September 2, 2023
Hopkins 26-10 Ithaca
Crotty again!! The freshman gets his second touchdown of the day. Harvey connects with Ej Talarico and Cole Crotty to move the Blue Jays up 72 yards and 6 pts����#GoHop #PrideandPoise #ccfb #d3fb pic.twitter.com/wxsjTncUuO
Ithaca made things interesting with a Wingfield-to-Sam Kline 48-yard touchdown pass just over four minutes into the fourth quarter. After forcing a Blue Jay punt, the Bombers then moved to the Hopkins 33-yard line looking to make it a one-score game, but four consecutive Wingfield incompletions ended the drive and the Blue Jays were able to run out the final 5:29 of the game to seal the victory.
Harvey connected with Josh Polce for a five-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring midway through the first quarter, but the Bombers answered with a 12-yard Wingfield-to-Julien Deumaga strike to pull even and grabbed the 10-7 lead early in the second period on a 25-yard Derek Baldin field goal.
Crotty's first touchdown reception came four minutes later and the Blue Jays never trailed again.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• A balanced offensive attack rolled up 419 yards with 162 on the ground and 257 through the air.
• Uggala rushed for 80 yards on 19 carries and Harvey added the 63 and one score to the ground game.
• Six different players had at least two receptions with Polce (4-57-1), Crotty (3-83-2) and Talarico (3-55-0) leading the way.
• Junior Oliver Craddock made the first start of his career and led the Blue Jays with a career-best 13 tackles.
• The Blue Jay defense held Ithaca to just 4-of-14 on third down chances and stopped the Bombers on all four of their fourth-down attempts.
Inside the Box Score – Ithaca
• Wingfield was 11-of-30 for 151 yards and two scores and rushed 10 times for 53 yards.
• Jake Williams led Ithaca with 85 yards on 14 carries as the Bombers rushed for 175 yards on the day.
• Kline had three receptions for 75 yards and the one score, while Jalen Leonard-Osbourne had four receptions for 53 yards.
• Ben Stola led the Ithaca defense with 10 tackles and an interception.
Notes of Interest
• The 13 straight home wins for the Blue Jays breaks the previous record of 12 straight (2014-15 & 2017-18).
• JHU is now 46-4 in its last 50 games in the month of September.
• The Blue Jays have now won their last 12 season openers. Today's game marked the first time Hopkins has opened a season at home since 2018.
• Johns Hopkins has scored at least 24 points in 18 consecutive games dating back to 2021.
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, September 9 when the Blue Jays welcome Christopher Newport to Homewood Field (6 pm).
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