Box Score
BALTIMORE – Gettysburg raced out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back, defeating Johns Hopkins University 41-10 in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams Friday evening at Homewood Field.
Senior tailback Tom Sturges (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) rushed for 148 yards on 31 carries while sophomore quarterback Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) ran for a career-high 119 yards and two touchdowns on just eight attempts, marking the first time a Gettysburg quarterback rushed for 100 yards since Joe Gossweiler '05 ran for 108 against Waynesburg on Sept. 20, 2003. Flynn also completed 7 of 14 passes for 128 yards and an additional touchdown.
Gettysburg (2-1, 1-0 CC) held a 461-224 advantage in total yards and held the Blue Jays to 74 yards on the ground. Running back Phil Roberts led Johns Hopkins (1-2, 0-1 CC) with 64 yards on 14 carries.
The Bullets' win marked its most lopsided victory in a Centennial Conference opener since its 62-20 win over McDaniel College in 1989. It was also Gettysburg's first win at Johns Hopkins since 1994 and their biggest win over the Blue Jays since their 45-13 triumph in 1983.
Gettysburg's offense was in high gear in the early going. After a missed field goal on their opening drive, the Bullets scored a touchdown on their next four possessions to build a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Overall, Gettysburg scored on six consecutive possessions after their opening drive.
After forcing the Blue Jays to go three-and-out on the game's opening possession, Sturges put the Bullets in excellent field position with a 24-yard burst down the right sideline. Gettysburg appeared to have scored three plays later when, on third-and-1, Sturges broke free for a 21-yard touchdown run. However, the Bullets were called for holding, and after an incomplete pass, junior kicker Jeff Huson (McLean, Va./McLean) came up short on a 48-yard field goal attempt, which would have tied his own school record.
Gettysburg's defense held Hopkins to 13 yards on the ensuing possession, and after a short punt, the Bullets embarked on a seven-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. For the second drive in a row, Gettysburg came up big on third down, as Flynn hit sophomore halfback Ricky Manigat (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) over the middle for a 37-yard scoring strike, giving the Bullets a 7-0 lead with 6:45 on the clock.
The Bullet defense also did its part in the early going, forcing the Blue Jays to go three-and-out on consecutive possessions. After another defensive stop, Gettysburg needed eight plays to go 48 yards, capped by a 14-yard touchdown run by Flynn on a quarterback keeper, making it 14-0 with 1:53 left in the opening quarter.
On the second play of the next drive, senior cornerback Jason Taylor (North East, Md./Rising Sun) snared a tipped pass by freshman safety Nick Duerr (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) at the Hopkins-24. The Blue Jays appeared to have stopped the Bullets after a Huson 36-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, but Hopkins was whistled for a personal foul penalty and an automatic first down that goes with it. Two plays later, freshman Charles Curcio (Hammonton, N.J./St. Joseph) made a nice open-field spin on a pitchout left and ran it in from six yards out. Huson's third extra point made it 21-0 with 14:03 showing.
Following a Hopkins punt, the Bullets went 78 yards on nine plays, highlighted by a 39-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline by junior receiver Alex Penta (Swampscott, Mass./Williston Northampton) that gave the Bullets the ball at the Blue Jay-1. Sturges plowed up the middle on the next play, as Gettysburg's advantage ballooned to 28-0 with 7:05 on the clock.
The Blue Jays capitalized on Gettysburg's first turnover, scooping up a dropped punt at the Bullet-19 before Alex Lachman booted a 32-yard field goal with 2:54 to go in the half.
Huson answered with a 42-yard field goal for the Bullets, his second career field goal over 40 yards, to make it 31-3 just before the half.
Gettysburg started the second half by scoring on its sixth straight possession, as Huson drilled through a 21-yard field goal. After the Bullets stopped Johns Hopkins on three straight possessions, the last coming on a senior cornerback Adam Fulmer's (Halifax, Pa./Halifax) eighth career interception, Flynn provided the exclamation point on the very next play, outrunning several defenders down the middle of the field for a 50-yard touchdown. Huson knocked through his fifth and final PAT with 11:17 left.
Senior safety Kyle Luciano (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by-the-sea) came up with Gettysburg's third interception late in the game, making his fifth career pick with 8:19 left.
Senior linebacker Harold Barton (Somerdale, N.J./Sterling) led the Bullet defense with 11 tackles to move into Gettysburg's career top-10 list. He now has 253 career tackles, good for 10th on the school's career list.
Gettysburg returns to Centennial Conference action next Saturday, when it hosts Muhlenberg College at 1 p.m.
