Johns Hopkins Post-Game Presser | Union Post-Game Presser
BALTIMORE, MD – Host and seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins outscored visiting Union 17-0 in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game as the Blue Jays topped the Garnet Chargers, 39-17, at Homewood Field in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Playoffs Saturday afternoon. With the win, Johns Hopkins advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in program history.
The Blue Jays, who improve to 12-0 for the first time in program history, will take on Randolph-Macon, a 46-0 winner in its second round game against Ithaca, in next Saturday's quarterfinals. The game will take place on Saturday, December 2 at 12 pm; the location of the game will be announced on Sunday.
Johns Hopkins led early by scores of 13-0 and 16-7, but carried just a 22-17 lead into the fourth quarter after a 24-yard field goal by Union's Max Gluck with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter made it a five-point game.
The Blue Jays answered Gluck's field goal with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that ate just over four minutes off the clock and was capped by a one-yard touchdown run by senior Spencer Uggla that extended the lead to 29-17. Uggla's touchdown run was set up by a 20-yard Bay Harvey-to-Burke Griffin completion that converted a fourth-and-four one play before the touchdown.
The Johns Hopkins defense then created turnovers on back-to-back Union possessions to help put the game away as senior Luca Lutzel and sophomore Jack Schondelmayer came up with interceptions that led to 10 Blue Jay points in a span of less than two minutes midway through the period.
On the drive after Uggla scored, Lutzel intercepted Union quarterback Donovan Pacatte at the Blue Jay 36-yard line and the Blue Jay offense proceeded to milk nearly six minutes off the clock with a 12-play drive that Joe Zahner capped with a 24-yard field goal to push the lead to 32-17.
Schondelmayer then ended any hopes of a Garnet Charger comeback as he picked off Pacatte at the Blue Jay 42-yard line on fourth-and five and returned the ball to the Union seven-yard line. Two plays later, Uggla polished off his three-touchdown performance with a two-yard run up the middle to close out the scoring. Union took its final possession down to the Blue Jay two-yard line, but the Hopkins defense held the Chargers out the end zone to lock down the victory.
A two-yard Uggla touchdown run had given Hopkins a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter and Harvey scampered in from 11 yards out late in the period to give the Blue Jays a 13-0 lead. Hopkins nearly pushed the margin to 20-0 on the next-to-last play of the first quarter as Harvey just missed senior Will Leger down the middle of the field on a fourth-and-one from the Union 47.
The Garnet Chargers responded to the defensive stop and went 53 yards in six plays with Pacatte hitting Isaiah Russell in the corner of the end zone to trim the deficit to 13-7.
A Zahner 21-yard field goal midway through the second quarter pushed the lead to 16-7 before the teams traded touchdowns in the final minute of the first half to account for a 22-14 Blue Jay lead at the break.
Pacatte hit Michael Fiore with a seven-yard touchdown pass just one play after James Gillespie returned a Blue Jay fumble 64 yards to the Hopkins seven-yard line. Fiore's touchdown made it 16-14 with under a minute on the first-half clock.
Taking over with 46 seconds showing after Fiore's touchdown, the Blue Jays went 73 yards in six plays with Harvey capping the momentum-swinging drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to EJ Talarico, who outleaped a Union defender for the ball and came down in the end zone for a touchdown that gave Hopkins the 22-14 halftime lead.
The eight -point lead held until Gluck's field goal late in the third quarter, which ultimately set the stage for the Blue Jays' decisive fourth-quarter run.
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Schondelmayer posted a career-high eight tackles and had two of Hopkins' three interceptions on the day.
• The Blue Jay defense registered four takeaways (3 INTs/1 FR) and four sacks and allowed just three points in the second half.
• Harvey was 26-of-35 for 282 yards with one touchdown and rushed for 52 yards and the one score.
• Josh Polce had a game-high eight receptions for 100 yards, while Cole Crotty (7-74-0) and Griffin (4-37-0) combined for 11 receptions for 111 yards.
• Uggla rushed for a team-high 68 yards and a career-high three touchdowns; the three rushing TDs are one shy of JHU's NCAA Playoff record (Tyler Messinger-4 (Frostburg St./2018)).
• The 39 points the Blue Jays scored were more than four times the average that Union was allowing entering the game (8.9) and the Blue Jays' 409 yards of total offense was more than 200 better than the Garnet Chargers were allowing (207.7).
Inside the Box Score – Union
• Pacatte was 19-of-38 for 169 yards with the two touchdowns and three interceptions.
• Jonathan Anderson rushed for a game-high 79 yards. However, including the sack yardage lost, Union managed just 25 additional rushing yards on the day.
• Cole DaSilva and Spencer Goldstien each posted a game-high 13 tackles and DaSilva added a forced fumble on the day.
Notes of Interest
• Johns Hopkins extends its overall winning streak to 15 games, which ties the school record for the longest winning streak in school history (2010-11).
• Today's win is the 19th consecutive win at Homewood Field for the Blue Jays.
• The Blue Jays advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in program history (2009, 2018, 2023).
• Crotty broke Bill Stromberg's Johns Hopkins single-season record for receptions by a freshman as he now has 69; his 1,012 yards receiving are just 15 shy of the JHU freshman record of 1,027 (Stromberg).
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