The Yellowjackets football team commenced the season with a tough 34-17 loss against No. 25 ranked Johns Hopkins University. Rochester put up a strong effort to resist the Division III powerhouse but was unable to withstand JHU’s dominating offense and an away crowd.
Just four minutes into the first quarter, freshman kicker Rob Corey connected on a field goal to give UR a 3-0 lead.
The lead did not last long before Johns Hopkins tied the game with a 27-yard field goal of its own later in the quarter.
The second and third quarters were owned by Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays garnered three touchdowns and a field goal, scoring 24 unanswered points that UR would have to try to overcome in the fourth quarter.
The Yellowjackets attempted a fourth-quarter comeback, getting to within 17 points of Johns Hopkins. However, it was too little and too late for UR as the seconds ticked off the clock.
Totaling 252 yards on the ground and 171 in the air, Johns Hopkins mixed the game up enough to keep UR on its toes.
However, junior quarterback Aaron Molisani had a response of his own, passing for a career-best 284 yards and tossing two touchdowns. Molisani also achieved career highs for completions and attempts, as well as completing 28 of 41 pass attempts. His primary targets were juniors Nathan Gibbons and Dave Ferris. Molisani managed to distribute the ball around to his various receivers, connecting with 11 different players.
Ferris had seven catches totaling 51 yards and Gibbons netted 95 yards on six catches.
On the ground, sophomore running back Pat O’Brien handled the ball 11 times and finished the game with a total of 31 yards, averaging 2.8 yards per carry. Molisani carried the ball 13 times for a total of 26 yards.
The Yellowjackets will host St. John Fisher College Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at Fauver Stadium. Last season, Rochester lost to St. John Fisher 27-17 in an away game.
Tice can be reached at ctice@campustimes.org.
