By Justin Silberman

Johns Hopkins sophomore linebacker Hani Annabi led a Blue Jays defense that stymied the Randolph-Macon offensive attack during the Jays' 36-13 season-opening victory against the Yellow Jackets.

Despite fielding seven new starters, the Hopkins defense limited Randolph-Macon's offense to 32 rushing yards on 40 attempts and 197 yards of total offense. Annabi, a native of El Paso, Texas, registered a career-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, to go along with a forced fumble. For his efforts, Annabi was named Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Last season, Johns Hopkins finished 10th in the nation in total defense, allowing just 244.3 yards per game. The unit yielded an average of 12.3 points per game, ranking 12th in the nation.

Hopkins travels to Susquehanna to square off against the Crusaders for a 1 p.m. kickoff Sept. 8. It is the first of five games the Blue Jays will have in Pennsylvania this season.

During last year's meeting between the two teams, the Blue Jays routed the Crusaders, 56-7. Annabi, then a freshman, had five tackles during that game, and for the season he totaled 32 tackles, good enough for 71st in the conference. 

With his 10 tackles during the team's first game this year, Annabi is tied for 11th in the conference and shares the team lead with Blue Jays defensive lineman Joe Ditrolio.

Hopkins, the 2011 Centennial Conference champion, carries a 15-game regular-season winning streak into this week's contest at Susquehanna. The Crusaders opened the season by defeating the Merchant Marine Academy Sept. 1, 37-21.

Posted Sept. 6, 2012