Defending national champion Mount Union scored the final 21 points of the game to rally past sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins, 28-21, in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs at Homewood Field on Saturday afternoon. The win sent the Purple Raiders to the NCAA quarterfinals, where they will face Alfred.
Image caption: Johns Hopkins quarterback Jonathan Germano completed 30 of 49 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns against Mount Union.
The Blue Jays (11-1) grabbed its 14-point lead late in the second quarter when senior quarterback Jonathan Germano took the Blue Jays 66 yards in 10 plays, capping the drive with an 8-yard scoring pass to junior Brett Caggiano with 4:34 remaining in the first half.
Mount Union (11-1)—which has won the NCAA DIII national title 12 times since 1993 and played in 19 of the past 23 national championship games (including 11 in a row sine 2005)—responded by marching 63 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown to close to within 21-14 at halftime.
JHU's offense sputtered early in the second half as the Blue Jays totaled 33 yards on their first five possessions of the half, and the Purple Raiders took advantage, scoring a pair of touchdowns to take a 28-21 lead. Hopkins drove into Mount Union territory twice in final 10 minutes, but one drive ended on downs at the Raiders 36-yard line and the other ended with a fumble as time expired.
Germano completed 30 of 49 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way for Johns Hopkins. Bradley Munday and Ryan Cary both had 10 receptions and totaled 130 and 122 receiving yards, respectively. Junior Lance Hammond totaled a career-high 10 tackles for Johns Hopkins, which outgained Mount Union 410-381.
Mount Union advances to the NCAA quarterfinals for the 25th consecutive year.
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