Mike Vukovcan HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– The big sports night at Hopewell High School tonight started with a 7-on-7 football game between Hopewell, Aliquippa and New Castle.
In the first game, Hopewell took on Aliquippa, followed by New Castle vs. Aliquippa and finished up with Hopewell vs. New Castle.
The way it worked was the game consisted of two halves with a 25-minute running clock. Each took started at the opponents 40-yard line, with a 1st down at the 25 yard line and then again at the 10 yard line.
If they failed to do so, the other team took over once again at the 40-yard. The quarterbacks had 4 seconds to throw the ball, or it counted as an incomplete pass. A touchdown counted for 6 points, while an opposing interception counted as 2 points.
HOPEWELL VS. ALIQUIPPA:
-This game was dominated by the defenses as the opposing secondaries did a good job of taking away anything deep.
*On their 2nd drive, Hopewell got on the board first. Things got get up by a big gain from quarterback James Armstrong to Brody Rock. The drive was completed by a TD pass from Armstrong to sophomore wide receiver Avery Bokor. Hopewell led 6-0.
*Aliquippa tied the game at 6 but Hopewell had an answer. Armstrong connected with senior wide out Logan Triscila followed by a long TD from Armstrong to Rock. Hopewell led 12-6.
*Aliquippa tied the game at 12 but the Vikings responded with another TD. On 3rd down, Armstrong hit Rock for a first down. Then next play, Armstrong connected on an inside slant in the endzone to Cameron. Hopewell led 18-12.
*On their last drive, Aliquippa tied the game at 18 and the game looked like it would end in a 18-18 tie but that wasn’t the case. Stay tuned for the end result.
HOPEWELL VS. NEW CASTLE:
-It took a while for Hopewell’s offense to get going against Aliquippa but that wasn’t the case against New Castle. The Vikings had it in high gear from the start and looked really good in a 30-18 win. In fact, every time the Hopewell offense had the ball, they scored a touchdown.
*1st Drive: On 3rd down, Armstrong connected on a corner of the endzone TD to senior Kingston Krotec. Hopewell 6-0.
*2nd Drive: On the very first play, Armstrong connected with Rock on a 40-yard TD pass up the right sidelines. Rock is going to be an extremely different matchup for opposing teams trying to guard him this season because of his size and speed. Hopewell 12-6.
*3rd Drive: On the 2nd play, Armstrong scanned the field and found sophomore running back Bruiser Wade in the back of the endzone. Hopewell 18-6.
*4th Drive: Once again, Armstrong found Rock deep up the right sidelines to a TD, Hopewell 24-12.
*5th Drive: Armstrong rolled out to his left and threw deep and connected with Rock in the back of the endzone. 30-18.
FINAL: HOPEWELL 30 NEW CASTLE 18
ALIQUIPPA VS. HOPEWELL:
-As I mentioned, this game appeared to end in an 18-18 tie however, Aliquippa didn’t want things ending in a tie and after the Hopewell/New Castle game, they wanted to resolve things to determine a winner. Each team started at the opposing teams 15-yard line and had 3 plays to score.
*Aliquippa got the ball first and scored to go ahead 24-18. Hopewell took over and on the very first play, Armstrong connected with Cameron for a TD. Game tied at 24.
*On Aliquippa’s next possession, former Aliquippa player came up with an interception, which gave Hopewell 2 points and a 26-24 win!
FINAL: HOPEWELL 26 ALIQUIPPA 24
