The Muhlenberg football team opened up a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and went on to defeat Johns Hopkins, 31-16, to keep its undefeated record intact.

With the win, the sixth-ranked Mules (8-0, 7-0) remained a game ahead of Susquehanna in the Centennial Conference standings. They need to win only one of their two remaining games (against Gettysburg and Moravian) to clinch a share of the CC championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The fact that the Blue Jays (5-3, 4-3) came in to the game with two losses and little shot of winning a share of their 11th straight CC title did not make the win any less significant. Muhlenberg had not beaten Hopkins since 2010 and not at home since 2007. 

The Blue Jays had not lost a game by more than eight points since the start of the 2013 season.

It was also a milestone victory for the Muhlenberg senior class, which improved its four-year record to 36-7 and tied last year's seniors (36-10) as the winningest class in program history.

Although the Mules were outgained, 412-409, they made four fourth-down stops and forced four turnovers to hold down a Hopkins offense that came in averaging 33.4 points per game.

Junior Michael Hnatkowsky threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns to break the CC all-time record for passing yards by a left-handed quarterback (7,044), knocking former Mule southpaw Michael McCabe '01 out of the top spot. Senior Todd Spirt made all four extra points to tie the school record of 55 consecutive successful PATs.

Junior James Diggs rushed for 98 yards, surpassing 2,000 for his career, and set the tone of the game early. On the second play after the Blue Jays missed a field goal on the game's opening drive, Diggs ripped off a career-best 68-yard run to the 1-yard line. Hnatkowsky sneaked the ball in two plays later to give the Mules a 7-0 lead.

A fumbled snap recovered by senior Dante Lonardo ended the next Hopkins drive and set up Muhlenberg with a short field. It took only four plays for the Mules to capitalize, with senior Nick DeLucas covering the final 10 yards for his second touchdown in as many weeks.

Spirt's 27-yard field goal with 2:13 left in the first quarter made it 17-0.

Sophomore John Washington picked off a pass near midfield on the second-to-last play of the quarter, setting up Hnatkowsky's 20-yard touchdown pass to senior Ryan Curtiss and a 24-0 lead three minutes into the second period.

Hopkins scored its first touchdown with 3:22 left in the half and went for two, but Washington tackled the receiver short of the goal line. 

Senior Mickey Kober (pictured above) recovered a fumbled pitch to end the Blue Jays' last drive of the first half.

Johns Hopkins did close to within 24-13 on a 75-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter, but Muhlenberg had quite the answer, scoring a 75-yard TD pass of its own just two plays later. Senior Max Kirin was on the receiving end of Hnatkowsky's longest career pass, giving the Mules a 31-13 edge.

Muhlenberg did not score again, but the defense held Hopkins to a single field goal the rest of the way. Sophomore Owen Daddona recorded a third-down sack, senior defensive lineman Brian Raguseo notched his second career interception, and senior Frankie Feaster batted down a fourth-down pass on the final play from scrimmage.

Kober and junior Nick Sirico led the defense with eight tackles apiece, while senior Frank Lucchesi assisted on a sack and broke up two passes.