Washington & Lee Knocks off JHU, 32-19

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LEXINGTON, Va. -- Washington & Lee outscored Johns Hopkins 17-0 in the third quarter to break open a tie game and the Generals snapped a three-game losing streak against the Blue Jays with a 32-19 victory. The victory is the first in a season-opener for the Generals since 1984, while the Blue Jays suffered their first season-opening loss since 1996.

After spotting W&L an early 6-0 lead on a pair of Andy Vendig field goals, Hopkins took a 13-6 lead with back-to-back scoring passes from junior Rob Heleniak to junior Zach Baylin. Baylin's first TD reception gave JHU a 7-6 lead with 10:12 remaining in the first half, while he snatched an 11-yard scoring pass with 58 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Blue Jays what appeared would be a 13-6 lead going into halftime.

But Washington & Lee decided not to run out the final minute of the first half and gained the momentum heading into halftime. The Generals put together a five-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by a 31-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Bobby Littlehale to sophomore Davis White that knotted the game at 13 with just nine seconds left in the second quarter and set the stage for the pivotal third period.

The Generals opened the second half with a 17-play, 69-yard drive that was capped by a 29-yard field goal by Vendig. The drive appeared to stall at the JHU 49 yard line, but Justin Holton rambled 20 yards on a fake punt and Vendig gave the Generals the lead for good seven plays later.

White added a 17-yard scoring pass from Littlehale and Marc Watson scored on a 29-yard run to close out the third quarter with W&L holding a commanding 30-13 lead. The Generals closed out their scoring by tackling Hopkins' punter Rob Fernand in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, while Hopkins added a four-yard scoring pass from Heleniak to John Baker midway through the fourth quarter.

Baylin enjoyed another outstanding game as he caught 11 passes for a career-high 151 yards and the two touchdowns. The 11 receptions give him 76 in his career, good for 10th place on the all-time list at Johns Hopkins. In addition, he now has 861 career receiving yards, which ranks him 13th on the all-time list at JHU. Heleniak was 19-of-29 for a career-high 258 yards and three TDs to go along with one interception. The 258 yards passing are the most for a Johns Hopkins quarterback since John Guglielmo passed for 320 on October 9, 1993.

Littlehale enjoyed a solid effort in his first career start for the Generals as he was 17-of-28 for 200 yards and the two touchdowns, while Watson gained 99 yards and the one score on the ground. White led the receiving corps for W&L with 99 yards and the one TD.