Kase’s career day carries Johns Hopkins to 31-3 win over McDaniel in finale
WESTMINSTER, Md. – Andrew Kase rushed for a career-high 227 yards on 35 carries to lead Johns Hopkins to a 31-3 Centennial Conference (CC) football victory over McDaniel in the season finale for both teams on Saturday. The Blue Jays (4-6, 3-5 CC) scored 21 points in the game’s first 15:08 and cruised to their seventh consecutive victory over the Green Terror (1-9, 1-7 CC), who finish with its worst record since going 1-9 in 1988.
Kase, who had his sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season – tying a Johns Hopkins record – midway through the second quarter, became the third running back in as many weeks to rush for 200 yards on the McDaniel defense.
Returning a kickoff for the first time in his collegiate career, Richard Hill needed just 14 seconds to take the opening boot 90 yards and stake the Blue Jays to a 7-0 lead.
The Green Terror moved the ball into Johns Hopkins territory on the ensuing possession but the drive stalled after nine plays, forcing a Tom Wenrich (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) punt.
Wenrich dropped the ball inside the 10-yard line – the first of two times he did it in the game – but Kase keyed a 14-play, 92-yard march to double the advantage.
Eight of the plays on the drive were rushes by Kase that totaled 66 yards, including a six-yard run off tackle on fourth-and-3 from the McDaniel 37 to keep the drive alive. He also caught a seven-yard pass from Max Islinger.
Kase capped the march with a four-yard dive up the middle with 4:02 remaining in the quarter.
After an exchange of punts to close out the first quarter, Adam Winter returned an interception 12 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to push the lead to 21.
After a combined seven punts, three turnovers and two drives that ended on downs, the Blue Jays finally found the end zone again with 1:49 remaining in the third quarter.
Islinger put the finishing touches on a 7-play, 62-yard drive with an 18-yard pass to Tucker Michels.
An Alex Lachman 30-yard field goal on Johns Hopkins’ first possession of the fourth quarter stretched the lead to 31-0 before Jay Leonard (Westminster, Md./Westminster) responded with a 28-yard field goal of his own on the next McDaniel possession.
Wenrich, who was 22 of 49 for 141 as quarterback, also punted eight times for 298 yards to finish in first place on the career list for average yards per punt, averaging 38.26 yards on 121 boots.
Bryan Letourneau (Damascus, Md./Damascus) led the Green Terror defense with a career-high 15 tackles, including two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. Wes Battle (Denton, Md./North Caroline) added nine tackles, including two for loss and a sack to go with a fumble recovery.
Zach Rosswog and Colin Wixted added eight tackles apiece for the Blue Jays, who defeated McDaniel for the seventh consecutive season.
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