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Tiberi, McPhee power Red Devils past Blue Jays |
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by Ernie Larossa, Sports Information Director, Johns Hopkins |
| BALTIMORE, MD --- Sophomore tailback Anthony Tiberi (Hockessin, DE/Archmere Academy)
rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns and junior fullback Ryan McPhee (Leonardo, NJ/Mater Dei) added 106 yards
and one score as Dickinson pounded out 391 yards on the ground and held off Johns Hopkins, 30-22 at Homewood Field
Saturday afternoon. The win is the second straight for the Red Devils, who improve to 4-4, 3-2 in the Centennial
Conference, while Johns Hopkins dropped its second straight and falls to 4-4, 3-2. Dickinson used a pair of rushing touchdowns less than two minutes apart late in the fourth quarter to turn a 17-14 lead into a 30-14 advantage. Senior quarterback Jeff Sturgeon (Saxonburg, PA/Knock) raced 49 yards off left tackle on third and three to extend the lead to 23-14 with 6:11 remaining. Hopkins then went three and out and lost 28 yards on a bad snap on the punt attempt, setting the Devils up with first down at the Blue Jay 13-yard line. Tiberi wasted no time making Hopkins pay as he scored from 13 yards out on first down to extend the lead to 30-14 with just 4:25 to play. The Blue Jays cut the lead to 30-22 as freshman quarterback George Merrell (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia) capped an eight-play, 68-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run of his own and added a two-point run as well. Hopkins then stopped Dickinson after a failed onsides kick attempt and got the ball back at their own 20-yard line with 2:26 remaining. Merrell drove the Blue Jays 25 yards and Hopkins had a first down with 1:45 to play at its own 45-yard line before senior defensive back Jay Howanitz (Jessup, PA/Valley View) made a spectacular diving interception of a Merrell pass at the Dickinson 40-yard line with 1:36 remaining to kill the Blue Jays' last chance. The game started well for Hopkins as sophomore quarterback Rob Fernand (Wayne, NJ/DePaul) capped a short six-play, 22-yard drive with a 19-yard scoring run less than five minutes into the game. Hopkins had forced a Dickinson turnover on the Devils' first possession and quickly jumped to the 6-0 lead. The Blue Jays held that lead until late in the second quarter when Tiberi finished an eight-play, 79-yard drive for the Devils with a two-yard run to make it 7-6. A 15-yard touchdown run by McPhee less than four minutes into the second half pushed the lead to 14-6 and Rob Antanitis (Benton, PA/Benton) pushed the lead to 17-6 with a 39-yard field goal with 5:20 left in the third quarter. Antanitis' field goal was the last scoring until Merrell's one-yard touchdown run with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter made it 17-14 (he converted the two-point play with a pass to junior wide receiver Zach Baylin (Wilmington, DE/Tatnall). That set the stage for the wild finish. Merrell, who replaced Fernand after the opening drive when Fernand was hurt on his touchdown run, threw for 178 yards and rushed for 68 yards and the two touchdowns. Sophomore Harrell Lightfoot (Mitchelleville, MD/Largo) led the JHU running backs as he rushed 12 times for 63 yards and had three receptions for 84 yards on the day. Baylin led the Blue Jay receivers with four receptions for 46 yards, but failed to catch a touchdown pass for the first time this season. In addition to to Tiberi and McPhee, Sturgeon added 88 yards and the one touchdown on just nine carries. The Devils ran the ball on 68 of their 72 offensive plays and completed just one pass on four attempts in the game. Johns Hopkins will next be in action next Saturday when the Blue Jays travel to Franklin & Marshall, while Dickinson will host Gettysburg. |
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