RIVERSIDE– The Hopewell Viking Mighty Mites took a long road trip to Riverside Stadium to face the Riverside Panthers in a thriller! The game began under the blazing sun and ended under stadium lights!
Riverside scored first with a touchdown, but they were unable to score an extra point due as Hopewell defensive lineman Colton Grundza blocking the extra point! Â
Throughout the game, Hopewell quarterbacks Colton Lenart and Michael Ambrose gained positive yardage and scored from the air and on the ground. Kye Hudgins used his body like a bulldozer while making his way into the end zone! He would not be denied the end zone after rolling through the Panther defense with determination.Â
In the 2nd quarter, the Panthers were putting together a drive to answer back and tie the score when Colton Lenart pulled in an interception on the 20-yard line to keep the Vikings on top! The score was 12-6 Vikings in the lead going into halftime.
Emryk Cain made his way to the end zone on a long run. His legs never stopped while he hesitated just a second to let the blockers open a lane, and then almost tripped and fell! The run ended with a touchdown with a trio of panthers in tow!
The defensive line contributed as well as Carson Schofield giving a huge sack to prevent the Panthers from reaching the line of gain on a 4th down play. Â
The game ended in regulation with Hopewell bringing home a victory, 26-18.
After regulation, the future starters took the field for the 5th quarter. This quarter allows competitive in game development that does not contribute to the game score. Riverside scored a touchdown followed by the Viking defense denying them an extra point. The Vikings rolled back down the field and Micah Lattimore scored a touchdown on a long run! The two-point conversion was not successful.Â
The Mighty Mites program would like to give a special shout out to Logan Nelson. Although injured and unable to play, he showed up to cheer his team on! Get well soon Logan!