As Johns Hopkins edges closer to making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs, one of the team's defensive players is showing the form that made him an All-Centennial Conference first-team selection last fall.
Senior defensive end Michael Longo has 37 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two pass breakups and two pass defenses for the No. 8 Blue Jays (8-0 overall, 7-0 in the league). Last season, he posted 40 tackles, 11 1/2 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Longo has been especially good recently. In his last four starts, Longo has recorded 18 tackles, six tackles for loss and four sacks. In victories against Gettysburg on Oct. 24 and Ursinus on Saturday, he compiled 11 tackles, 4 1/2 tackles for loss and 3 1/2 sacks.
Coach Jim Margraff said Longo is emerging at the right time.
"He's just been playing great," Margraff said. "He's strong, fast, and he tackles well. I think everyone who plays us comes in and at least has a Plan B for Michael Longo to get a second guy on him or chip him. He's been playing at an extremely high level lately."
Longo may have felt a need to fill the void created by the absence of fellow senior Matthew Connery. The defensive end who led the defense in 2013 in tackles for loss (12) and ranked second behind Longo in sacks (6 1/2) has not played since suffering an undisclosed injury in the season-opening win against Randolph-Macon on Sept. 6.
Asked if Longo felt pressure to pick up the slack, Margraff said: "I'm not sure if he consciously thought that. He and Matt are very close friends. I think he's always felt a responsibility to be a great player, but it wouldn't shock me if somewhere deep down he was finding a little extra in himself."
Speaking of Connery, he practiced for the first time Tuesday, participating in some contact drills and one-on-one repetitions. Margraff did not know if Connery would be available for Saturday's game at Franklin & Marshall (5-3, 4-3), but he was cautiously optimistic about Connery's progress.
"We just need to re-evaluate him," Margraff said. "Obviously, it's our sports medicine department's call first, to make sure that he's fully cleared. Once that happens, then we'd like to see him play in some scrimmage situations here or some of the more up-tempo things here in practice. Once he's ready to go, we're fine with putting him out there."