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Over the course of the 2009 season it has been a given: The best way to stop Franklin & Marshall's prolific offense is to decapitate it at its source.
Quarterback John Harrison.
Given that F&M was 7-1 through eight games, and the one loss a 45-43 shootout with Dickinson, it is safe to assume that Harrison — 224-for-329 for 2652 yards and 28 touchdowns through eight games — skirted the malicious intent sent his way.
Saturday that all changed.
Sparked by a ferocious defensive effort and riding the legs of senior running back Andrew Kase, Johns Hopkins eliminated F&M from Centennial Conference title consideration, 51-13, at the Blue Jays' Homewood Field.
The Jay's defense held F&M to 259 yards total offense, a number nearly matched by Kase — a Wyomissing grad — who rushed 34 times for 198 yards and three touchdowns.
"We kind of knew, going in, we'd have our hands full," offered F&M coach John Troxell. "They're the best team we've played and they're going to do a good job in the NCAA playoffs."
With the win the Jays (6-1 CC, 7-2 overall), the preseason favorite to win the CC title, took a giant step toward that end, and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division Three tournament.
With one week left in the regular season Hopkins remains tied for first with Dickinson, (8-1 overall) but would get the postseason invite by virtue of a 23-12 victory over the Red Devils in week six.
Any thoughts F&M harbored of muscling a share of the CC pie, although not the NCAA berth because of the Dickinson loss, became moot in a third quarter that saw Hopkins expand its 20-6 halftime lead to 37-6.
Alex Lachman kicked his third field goal of the day on Hopkins' first possession of the second half.
An interception set up Kase's second TD and a botched punt try produced his third, and final, score of the day.
And while Jay Ridinger pulled in a 4-yard TD pass from Harrison (27-of-41, 275 yards, 2 TDS, 2 INTs) at the start of the fourth quarter, the Jays answered on scores by Jonathon Rigaud and Nick Fazio to go over 50 points for the second consecutive week.
Hopkins announced its evil defensive intentions on F&M's first offensive play of the day as nose guard Steve Levinson dropped Harrison for a 9-yard loss.
"We thought we could get a couple mismatches," said Jays' coach Jim Margraff.
"We actually brought some of our linebackers and secondary guys down as rushers, just to get more speed."
"It was just a great defensive game plan by [defensive] coach [Bob] Chesney," said nominal strong safety Devin Hewlett, who drilled Harrison twice, untouched, on blitzes off the corner.
"Our defensive line came out fired up and we had timely blitzes," Hewlett continued.
"F&M is the most explosive offense in our conference, maybe in the country, so we were trying to just contain them as much as possible."
Ultimately, the Jays would sack Harrison six times, for 38 yards, hit him that many times again, including two roughing-the-passer penalties, and generally harried him into hurried throws.
"If you can get to a quarterback's internal clock," said Margraff, "if you can disrupt that timing, that decision-making, that's important."
Despite the Jay's defensive heat, F&M was in the game at the outset.
The first roughing penalty negated an interception, and 18-yard return by Sam Eagleson, and the Diplomats (5-2, 7-2) moved to the Jays' 24.
But Harrison's fourth-and-2 pass to John Kaschak fell incomplete in the flat as Harrison led his running back too far.
With Kase carrying nine times for 45 yards, including the final yard, the Jays took the lead on an 11-play, 76-yard drive.
Then Glenn Rocca intercepted Harrison at the Dips' 39, with a facemask penalty tagged on, setting up Lachman's 35-yard field goal.
One other area the Jays dominated was special teams, refusing to kick to return specialist George Eager, even if it meant mortaring short kicks to up men.
Lachman got under the ensuing kickoff after his field goal and Sam Massaro covered at the Hopkins 45.
Finding a rhythm with tight end Michael Deutch (8 catches, 95 yards), Harrison hit the 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior on a skinny post for 18 yards and F&M's first touchdown. Mike Shinn's PAT kick went wide left, however.
Showing that the Jay offense wasn't all Kase, all the time, quarterback Hewitt Tomlin (12-for-17, 220) completed three passes to his favorite target, Dan Crowley (6-91), including a 34-yard deep out down the right sideline to the Dips' 28.
The drive bogged down at the 21 and Lachman's 38-yard field goal try doinked on the crossbar and over for a 13-6 lead.
Hewitt dropped Harrison twice on the ensuing possession, but Brian Prater's punt pinned the Jays at their own 1.
Five minutes later Tomlin located Brian Hopkins for a 25-yard score, capping an 11-play, 99 yard journey.
Down two scores, Harrison found Deutch for 25 and eight yards, then connected with Kaschak for four yards and a first-and-goal at the Hopkins 8.
With the clock under a minute, Kaschak got mugged, legally, and couldn't get to a drag pass at the 4.
Then Glenn Rocca sacked Harrison for a loss of three. A pass intended for Deutch in the endzone was tipped away by Eagleson on third down and Harrison's waggle pass for Eager went just off the senior wideouts fingers on fourth down.
Convert those two first-half, fourth-down opportunities — F&M was 0-for-4 on 4th down — and the Diplomats are in the game with a half to go.
Instead...
"It's disappointing," said Troxell. "Yes, we took a loss today. What happened doesn't diminish what the kids have done to this point.
"The bottom line is [we] still have a chance to finish the season 8-2. Anybody in this program, if you told us [at the beginning of the year] we'd have a shot to be 8-2 at the end, everybody would be smiling."
Dave Byrne is a Sunday News sports writer. E-mail him at dbyrne@lnpnews.com.
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