Complete Game Notes

THE GAME
Looking to pick up their first victory of the season after a pair of close losses, the Bullets visit Johns Hopkins University in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams.

GAME COVERAGE
Fans unable to attend the game can follow along through both livestats and a live video feed. Livestats are available at http://www.hopkinssports.com/gametracker/launch/intro_mfootbl.html?event=784273&school=jhop&sport=mfootbl&camefrom=&startschool=& while live video can be accessed by going to www.hopkinssports.com, then then entering the "All Access" area on the right side of the front page of JHU's web site. You will need to have the media player "Silverlight" downloaded on your computer to view the game (this is a free download).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Gettysburg leads Johns Hopkins 20-14-2 in the all-time series that dates back to 1911. The Blue Jays have had the upper hand in recent years, winning 12 of the last 14 meetings. However, prior to Hopkins' win last season, the Bullets had won two in a row.

CONFERENCE OPENERS
The Bullets are 14-12 all-time in Centennial Conference openers since the league was formed as a football-only league in 1983. The Blue Jays have the second-best record among all conference schools with their 16-10 record in CC openers. This season marks the third year in a row that Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins have met in their conference lid-lifters, with the two teams splitting the two meetings. Each team has won on the road over the last two years, with Johns Hopkins winning 49-37 last year at the Battlefield and Gettysburg claiming a 41-10 decision in Baltimore in 2007.

LAST MEETING
Andrew Kase rushed for 173 yards and tied a school record with four touchdown runs as Johns Hopkins spoiled Gettysburg's homecoming, topping the Bullets 49-37 in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams last season. Matt Flynn threw for a then career-high 337 yards and four touchdowns on 26-of-39 passing to lead the Bullets. Wing Ricky Manigat caught eight passes for 96 yards, both career-highs, while receiver Brian Betley had a career-high five receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. Wing Charles Curcio added four catches for a career-high 86 yards and two TDs and finished with 178 all-purpose yards. Tailback Jamel Mutunga recorded his second-straight 100-yard rushing game for the Bullets, racking up a career-high 119 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. Hewitt Tomlin completed 18 of 31 passes for 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Johns Hopkins passing attack while Tucker Michels caught seven passes for 96 yards. The Blue Jays led by as much as 42-24 early in the fourth quarter before the Bullets rallied with a pair of late touchdowns to pull to within five points. However, Hopkins sealed its win when Tomlin found Michels for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 5:22 left

LAST TIME OUT
Despite another prolific offensive performance, the Bullets were unable to pull out a win last week, falling 46-43 in overtime at Hampden-Sydney College last Saturday. The Bullets led 35-21 at halftime after a 21-0 run, only to see the Tigers rally with a 22-0 run of their own to take a 43-35 lead with 4:59 left. However, senior wing Ricky Manigat broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown catch-and-run before senior quarterback Matt Flynn hit junior wing Charles Curcio with a two-point conversion pass to eventually send the game to overtime. But after the Tigers ended the Bullets offensive series with an interception, Hampden-Sydney's David Prizzia kicked a game-winning 21-yard field goal. Flynn finished with 376 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-37 passing while senior tight end #A.J. Perrotti# caught an 80-yard touchdown pass on the Bullets first play from scrimmage en route to a four-catch, 135-yard game. Manigat caught four passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, and junior receiver Brian Betley grabbed seven receptions for 71 yards. Junior tailback Jamel Mutunga rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.

Senior tailback Andrew Kase scored the game-winning touchdown with 49 seconds left to send Johns Hopkins past Randolph-Macon in the Blue Jays home opener last week. With his team trailing 31-28, Kase bulled in from the 1-yard line for his second touchdown of the game. He finished with 111 yards on 24 carries. Sophomore quarterback Hewitt Tomlin went 17-for-23 for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns while junior receiver Tucker Michels and sophomore Sam Wernick each hauled in six passes and one touchdown grab while finishing with 55 and 52 yards, respectively. The Blue Jays held a 37:49-22:11 advantage in time of possession.

THE GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg's offense has produced a pair of outstanding performances to start the season, totaling well over 500 yards of offense in each game. The Bullets average of 566.0 yards of total offense per game ranks fourth in Division III, and Gettysburg is sixth in the nation in passing offense (381.0) and 17th in scoring offense (42.5). The team has achieved outstanding balance in the early going, passing and rushing for the same amount of touchdowns (six each). Senior quarterback Matt Flynn has led the way, passing for 762 yards and six touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions. Flynn, who has also rushed for 67 yards, ranks fifth in Division III in total offense. The team's top receiver has been junior Brian Betley, who is tied for 38th in Division III in receptions (14) while racking up 160 yards. Senior wing Ricky Manigat and junior wing Charles Curcio have each caught 10 passes, with Manigat scoring on two of them, while senior tight end #A.J. Perrotti# has made five grabs for 139 yards and a pair of TDs. Junior tailback Jamel Mutunga has carried the ball 50 times for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Four other players have also scored a rushing touchdown, including Manigat, who has rushed for 81 yards on 14 carries while scoring once.

THE GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
The Bullet defense is coming off a game in which it posted six takeaways against Hampden-Sydney. Included in that number were five interceptions - tying for the team's most picks since their 61-6 win over Averett in 2001. Five different players made the team's five INT's, with sophomore safety Joe Delaney, senior linebacker Tim Widdoes, junior cornerback Tairi Mobley, junior cornerback John Dickerson, and junior safety Bryan DiSabato all making picks. Delaney leads the team with 19 tackles while junior defensive tackle Sebastian Sullivan has made 14 stops, including 2.0 for loss. Widdoes and senior linebacker Taylor Byrne have totaled 13 hits apiece.

THE GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
A pair of Bullets have performed well for Gettysburg's special teams unit in the early going. Curcio has accumulated a conference-leading 168.5 all-purpose yards per game, a mark that also ranks 38th in Division III, partly by returning 13 kickoffs for 227 yards. Betley is the conference's top punter, averaging 41.9 yards per game, which ranks 13th in the nation. Junior Mike Barrett has handled the team's kicking duties and has made 9-of-10 extra points.

THE JOHNS HOPKINS OFFENSE
Any discussion of the Johns Hopkins offense starts with senior running back Andrew Kase, a First Team All-Centennial Conference performer last season who has rushed for over 3,000 yards for his career. This season, he has averaged 87.0 rushing yards per game and scored three touchdowns. The team has also received strong play from sophomore quarterback Hewitt Tomlin, who has thrown for 369 yards, three interceptions, and no interceptions. Hopkins' top receiver is junior Tucker Michels, a second-team all-conference selection last season who has caught 10 passes for 72 yards and one touchdown this year. The Blue Jays return a pair of all-conference offensive linemen in senior left tackle Michael Stoffel (first team) and senior right guard Tim Miller (second team).

THE JOHNS HOPKINS DEFENSE
Johns Hopkins brings back a pair of second-team all-conference defensive performers in senior nose guard Steve Levinson senior linebacker Colin Wixted. Sophomore linebackers Ryan Piatek and Tyler Brown are tied for the team lead in tackles with 17 apiece while sophomore safety Mike Milano has recorded 16 stops.

THE JOHNS HOPKINS SPECIAL TEAMS
The Blue Jays top return threat thus far has been junior D.J. Hartigan, who has averaged 21.6 yards on five kick returns. Junior punter Max Islinger has averaged 30.9 yards per attempt while junior kicker Alex Lachman has converted all six of his extra points.

THE COACHES
Gettysburg is coached by Barry Streeter, now in his 31st year at the helm of the Bullets. With 152 career victories, Streeter ranks 11th among active Division III coaches in wins. He is also 32nd on the all-time Division III coaches wins list. Streeter is Gettysburg's longest tenured and all-time winningest football coach.

Jim Margraff is in his 20th year as head coach of Johns Hopkins. He holds a career record of 120-73-3 and is the Blue Jays all-time winningest coach.

FLYNN CLIMBS CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE CHARTS
While setting career Gettysburg records in every major passing category over the last two years, senior quarterback Matt Flynn has also been ascending the Centennial Conference all-time charts as well. With his performance against Hampden-Sydney last week, he moved into a tie for fourth on the conference's all-time touchdown passes list (43), fifth on the CC's career passing yards chart (5,969), and sixth on its career completions list (435).

STRONG DEBUT
Junior safety Bryan DiSabato enjoyed a productive day in his first collegiate start against Hampden-Sydney. DiSabato not only made six tackles, but he also returned an interception 22 yards, broke up another pass, and forced a fumble. DiSabato competed as a tailback over the last two years before moving to defense this year.

PROTECTING THE PIGSKIN
Friday's game will feature the two teams who sit at the top of the Centennial Conference charts for turnover margin this season. Gettysburg leads the conference with +3 mark while the Blue Jays are tied for second at +2.