The entire Hopewell football program went into last night knowing that they needed to start playing their best football of the season in order to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.
This group of coaches and players have been working literally since the conclusion of last season to become a playoff team, which would be the first time Hopewell did so since 2012.
The Vikings entered last night’s game on the outside looking in of that goal but knew that they controlled their own destiny with tests against 6-1 Freeport, 2nd place Central Valley and 3rd place North Catholic.
Despite being a non-section game, this Freeport game was important because a win would improve Hopewell’s resume in the event, they were hoping to be one of the 2 wild card teams selected from Class 3A.
Mission Accomplished.
In arguably their best all-around performance of the season, Hopewell completely outplayed and out skilled Freeport, 48-20, in a game that wasn’t even that close due to two late TDs by the Yellow Jackets.
Hopewell’s resume now looks pretty impressive owning wins over Freeport (6-2) along with 4A New Castle (6-2), plus competing in the most talented conference in 3A.
The story of last night’s game was pretty simple: 1) Hopewell’s skill position players 2) Their defensive line was dominating.
Freeport might have been 6-1 but there’s no chance they played a team with offensive talent and speed of James Armstrong, Nasir Wade, Tre Cameron, Avery Bokor, Kingston Krotec and Logan Triscila. Not to mention a defensive line that was relentless in their pursuit of the quarterback and running back like Aris Haniotes, Brian McCabe, Nick Thomas, Justin Obeldobel, George Tafkov were.
Hopewell’s defense recorded 9 sacks, led by Haniotes with 3, forced 3 turnovers, allowed only 6 first downs and completely shut down Freeport’s running attack. Because of that and the score, the Yellow Jackets were forced to throw and were limited to just 24 yards on 21 attempts.
DOMINATION
Offensively, it was all about Hopewell’s big play capability which was clicking on all cylinders.
Hopewell’s Scoring Summary:
-After Freeport took an early 7-0 lead, Hopewell went on to score the next 42 points. Following a long run by Wade down to the 4-yard line, Armstrong ran it in for a touchdown, the game was tied at 7-7.
-Early in the 2nd quarter, after a defensive stand, Wade broke loose again, this time for a 53-yard TD, Hopewell led 14-7. For the game, Wade had 10 carries for 182 yards.
-The score remained 14-7 at halftime and the 3rd quarter was all Hopewell. After another 3 and out, the Vikings offense took over and struck quick. Armstrong found Cameron deep for an 83-yard touchdown to increase their lead to 21-7.
-More Nasir Wade as one the Vikings next possession, he went 46-yards for a touchdown, Hopewell led 28-7.
-With 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the defense created a turnover as Zander Muzzy came up with an interception. What a senior season Zander has had! Following the pick, Hopewell OC Zach Rosa dialed up a trick play, and it worked. Armstrong handed it off to Krotec, who started to run but then pulled up and showed off his quarterback skills by launching a 68-yard TD pass to a wide-open Avery Bokor, who got behind the Freeport defense. Hopewell now led 35-7.
-Moving to the 4th quarter, Armstrong connected with Cameron for another touchdown, this time from 18-yards to increase Hopewell’s lead to 42-7. For the game, Cameron had 3 catches for 119 yards, while Boo was 5 of 10 for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns.
-The last Hopewell touchdown came courtesy the defense was Wade scored his 3rd touchdown of the game, this one on a 98-yard interception return for a TD.
FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 48 FREEPORT 20
Hopewell improved their record to 6-2, which guaranteed them their first winning season since 2011. By the way, the last time Hopewell won more than 7 games was back in 2009 when they finished 12-1.
HERE’S A LOOK AT THE UPDATED STANDINGS AND NEXT WEEK’S SCHEDULE.
Western Hills Standings:
Avonworth: 4-0
Central Valley: 4-1
North Catholic: 3-1
Hopewell: 2-2
Beaver: 2-2
Quaker Valley: 0-4
McGuffey: 0-5
Next Week’s Schedule: Central Valley at Hopewell, Avonworth at North Catholic, Beaver at Quaker Valley
VSN also wanted to give a shoutout to Hopewell offensive coordinator Zach Rosa, who dialed up all the right plays and was able to do a near impossible job of getting everyone touches.
*Riverside’s 3rd drive ended up being a 7-minute drive but in the end, Hopewell kept them out of the endzone. The Panthers converted a 3rd and 19 as they ran for 66 yards down inside the Hopewell 10-yard line. That was their only big play of the game. However, the defense stepped up as on 4th and Goal from the 3-yard line, Bokor sniffed out a WR screen and came up with a tackle for loss.
*Riverside’s 5th drive lasted one play as Tafkov made a diving interception at midfield.
*Hopewell got the ball to start the second half and took just 3 plays to score as Armstrong threw a strike to Cameron, who then ran for 31 yards. Next play, on a designed run, Armstrong ran for 23 yards up the left sidelines down to the Riverside 1-yard line. Tafkov then got rewarded for his tremendous game as he took the handoff and powered his way in from the 1-yard line, Hopewell led 42-0.
*Still in the 3rd quarter, because Riverside had their starters in, Hopewell kept some of their first team players in it resulted in the final touchdown of the game as Armstrong hit Cameron up the seam with a perfectly placed 31-yard TD.
