For the second time in four years, Muhlenberg and Johns Hopkins played a football game that came down to the final seconds tied at 28-28, with the Blue Jays scoring on an unusual play to pull out the win.
In 2023, Hopkins returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown as time expired, and this time, it was the Blue Jays making a free-kick field goal for a 31-28 victory.
The loss spoiled a tremendous comeback effort for the Mules (4-4, 2-3) and a milestone day for senior
Amari Dunn, who went over 2000 rushing yards for his career.
Muhlenberg trailed 28-13 entering the fourth quarter and took possession with 8:40 remaining after making a fourth-down stop. Eleven plays later, junior
Luke Spang connected with junior
Logan Nordeck on a 23-yard touchdown pass over the middle, bringing the Mules to within eight points.
After forcing a punt, Muhlenberg got the ball back on its own 20 with 3:16 left and converted a fourth-and-1 on its own 39 just after the two-minute timeout to keep the drive alive. On the next play, however, the Blue Jays (3-5, 2-3) intercepted a deep pass.
The Mule defense gave the ball right back to the offense, however, as on the next play, junior
Thomas Cerruti forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore
Luke Foley on the Johns Hopkins 29.
On the next play after that, Spang hit Dunn with a short pass that turned into a 29-yard touchdown play, cutting the deficit to two.
Junior tight end
Shawn Goode caught the two-point conversion pass to tie the game on a play reminiscent of the Mules' tying two-point conversion late against Franklin & Marshall.
The defense forced a punt on the ensuing Hopkins possession, but the Mules could not get a first down and had to punt from deep in their territory. The Blue Jay returner fair caught the short punt at the 29, allowing Hopkins a free kick for a field goal at the spot of the catch.
The 39-yard field goal try was good - barely - with 2 seconds remaining, and Muhlenberg could not make any headway on the kickoff, ending the game.
Dunn finished with 114 rushing yards on 23 carries for his fourth 100-yard game of the season, and the first 100-yard game by a Mule back against Johns Hopkins since 2016. He now has 2097 career rushing yards, making him the eighth back in program history to top 2K.
Dunn also caught a pair of touchdowns for the first time in his career - half of the career-high-tying four TD passes thrown by Spang. Dunn caight an 11-yard scoring pass late in the first quarter to open the scoring, and junior
JR Walley caught a 32-yard TD pass late in the first half.
Cerruti, who went over 200 tackles for his career, tied with senior
CJ Newman and sophomore
Maximus Nuzzi for the team high with 7 tackles apiece.
pictured above: Cerruti (40) and freshman Dorian Dabney (93) combined to bring down a Hopkins ball carrier as Nuzzi (25) and junior Ben Girard (13) assist
