Michael Hnatkowsky set a school record for freshmen with 371 passing yards and threw for three touchdowns, including two that tied the score in the second half, but 21st-ranked Johns Hopkins scored a late touchdown to defeat Muhlenberg, 31-24.
 
The winner of the Johns Hopkins-Muhlenberg game has gone on to represent the Centennial Conference in the NCAA Tournament every year but one since 2002.
 
Hnatkowsky completed 26 of 38 attempts in recording the ninth-highest single-game passing total in team history. The 371 yards broke the freshman record of 339 set by Nick Palladino four years ago.
 
Sophomore Ryan Curtiss caught 11 passes - tying a school record for a tight end - for 159 yards and two scores, and junior Josiah Wright hauled in six balls for a career-high 107 yards to give the Mules (5-3, 4-3) two 100-yard receivers for the first time this season.
 
Johns Hopkins (7-1, 6-1) led 17-3 midway through the second quarter, but a pair of Hnatkowsky-to-Curtiss touchdowns passes, one from 17 yards with two minutes left in the half and one from 19 yards early in the third quarter, brought Muhlenberg to a 17-all tie.
 
The Blue Jays returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the Muhlenberg 49 and needed only three plays to reclaim the lead.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, senior defensive end Thomas Cosgriff sacked the Hopkins quarterback on fourth down to give the Mules the ball at their own 43. Eleven plays later, on third-and-goal, Hnatkowsky hit sophomore Mason Kholi in the end zone with a 5-yard pass (pictured above). Kholi's first career reception tied the game at 24-24.
 
Again a long kickoff return set up the Blue Jays in good position, and a 1-yard touchdown run made it 31-24 with 4:39 left.
 
Muhlenberg was stopped on down on its next possession but got the ball back in the final minute after a Hopkins field goal try fell short. After a double-lateral play that advanced the ball 32 yards, and ended with senior offensive guard Brian Franzel handling the ball, the Mules attempted the spike the ball to set up one last play. But by rule, a team cannot spike the ball in the final three seconds, so the game was over.
 
The Mules had a 442-377 advantage in yards against a Johns Hopkins team that came in averaging more than 500 yards per game. Junior Nate Corvil led Muhlenberg with seven tackles, including two for loss, and senior Travis Crawford recorded back-to-back sacks in the second half.