Box Score

 Making his first collegiate start, Blue Jay freshman T.J. Lyons carried 18 times for 174 yards and scored on a 60-yard run with 2:54 remaining to seal a 23-21 victory over Gettysburg in Centennial Conference (CC) football action on Friday.

 Bullet quarterback Joe Gossweiler (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) fired a five-yard touchdown pass to Tom McEvoy (Laurel, MD/St. John's College) to pull his squad within two in the final 1:24, but Lyons covered the ensuing onsides kick to halt the Gettysburg comeback.

 Joe DeLuzio returned a blocked punt 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to help Johns Hopkins improve to 4-0 (1-0 CC) for the first time since 1932. Rob Fernand completed only 5 of 12 passes for 17 yards, but tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Brian Wolcott on the Blue Jays' first drive of the game.

 Gossweiler completed 22 of 43 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown in his first collegiate start as the Bullets (2-3, 0-2 CC) rolled up all 21 points and 281 of their 361 total yards in the second half. In his hometown return, junior Nick Nocar (Baltimore, MD/Gilman) scored on runs of 9 and 3 for his team-leading fourth and fifth touchdowns of the season.
 
 Despite the late-game drama, Johns Hopkins never trailed after using 17 plays to drive 78 yards on its first possession of the game.
 
 Behind 36 of Kevin Johnson's 65 rushing yards, the Blue Jays moved to the Gettysburg 7 before Fernand found Wolcott on a fade in the right corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead just 7:43 into the game.

 Johns Hopkins used special teams to double its advantage early in the second quarter. Colin Slemenda blocked Sam Shipley's (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) punt at the Bullet 35, allowing Deluzio to scoop up the loose ball and race to the end zone for a 14-0 advantage with 12:38 left before halftime.

 Held to 80 total yards in the first half, Gettysburg nearly matched that total while scoring on its opening drive of the second half.

 Gossweiler moved the Bullets into Johns Hopkins territory with a 26-yard pass to Darnell Jenkins (Washington, DC/Crossland) and, two plays later, Mike Schwalb (Bernardsville, NJ/Pingry School) rushed for nine yards to set Gettysburg up with first-and-10 at the Blue Jay 21.

Gossweiler found Schwalb on a 12-yard pass to the 9 and Nocar followed by scoring on a sweep around the right end to pull the Bullets within 14-6 with 12:18 left in the third quarter.

 The Blue Jays closed the third quarter with a 17-6 edge thanks to Chris Smolyn's 21-yard field goal before the Bullets made it interesting in the final 10 minutes.

 Starting from the Johns Hopkins 46 with 9:39, Gettysburg drove 46 yards on seven plays and pulled within 17-14 when Nocar scored from three yards out and Gossweiler converted a two-point conversion with 7:43 left.

  Following a Blue Jay three-and-out, the Bullets got the ball back at their own 44, but could get no further than the JHU 40 before Rob Lamour broke up Gossweiler's fourth-and-7 attempt to Jenkins with 3:04 remaining.

 On the next play from scrimmage, Lyons blasted through a hole and outraced the Gettysburg defense to give the Blue Jays a nine-point lead with just under three minutes to play.

 Gettysburg need only 1 minute, 22 seconds and nine plays to march 78 yards and pull within 23-21 when McEvoy hauled in his first collegiate touchdown reception from five yards out.

 In addition to his career-high passing total, Gossweiler also led the Bullets with 45 rushing yards on 13 carries. Jenkins set career best with six receptions for 80 yards while Nocar caught a team-best seven passes for 56 yards.

 Chris Jordan (Bethesda, MD/Gonzaga) paced Gettysburg with 13 tackles (5 solo) while Matt Pinkney (Bowie, MD/Bowie) recorded two sacks, giving him a team-best 5.5 for the season.

 With the win, Johns Hopkins has now won the last eight meetings in the all-time series between the two teams.

 The Bullets return to action on Saturday, Oct. 19 at home against Ursinus. Game time is 1 p.m.