Exciting Night as Blue/Gold Game Ends in 30-30 Tie

Hopewell Township– Football was back as the Hopewell high school team hosted a Blue/Gold scrimmage tonight at Tony Dorsett Stadium.

It ended up being a competitive and fun event to watch as both offenses looked great and the game ended in a 30-30.

The two sides received tremendous play at quarterback from both junior Kingston Krotec and freshman James Armstrong.

While it was hard to truly make any real evaluations on the defensive side of the ball, the same can’t be for the offense.

While I won’t go as far as saying they’ll be like the Kansas City Chiefs, the Vikings offense looks to be more dangerous and explosive than they were a year ago. A big reason for that is the amount of playmakers the quarterbacks have to throw to.

Here’s a some highlights from tonight’s scrimmage.

*The Gold team got the ball first and moved inside the Blue 30-yard line but were stopped on downs. In that drive, running back Josh Brunton ripped off two nice runs and Krotec connected with Ross for a first down completion.

*The Blue team didn’t take long to score on their first drive. On the first play, Armstrong ran a play-action, rolled to his left and connected deep down field to junior Logan Triscilla for a 70-yard TD pass. Blue led 6-0.

*The Gold immediately answered as Krotec led them up the field. On 3rd and 5, Kingston escaped some pressure and connected on a deep pass to a streaking Zander Muzy. The play went for approximately 40 yards. The Gold led 7-6.

*The next Blue drive was all Armstrong and fellow freshman Brody Rock. On the first play, Rock took a sweep to the right for 11 yards. On the 2nd snap of drive, same play but longer result as Rock went for 30+yards.

Later in the drive, on a designed run, Armstrong ran for 15+ yards. Then on an RPO, Boo ran it in from 8 yards. The Blue regained the lead 13-7.

*Krotec’s legs were key in the Gold’s next drive as on one play, King scrambled for 20 yards. Then on 3rd and 11, Krotec ran for 11 yards straight up the middle.

The drive was capped as Krotec evaded a pass rush and while running to the right, threw back across the middle to tight end James Gill for a TD. Gold led 14-13.

Right before the half, the Blue team successfully ran the two-minute drill.

On a sprint left, Armstrong connected with Julian Baldwin for 14 yards. On 3rd and 10, Rock took a screen pass, made two nice cuts and picked up the first down.

That allowed junior kicker Rocco Marcantonio to come out to attempt a 54 yard FG. Rocco showed off his leg as he drilled it, as the kick would’ve been good from 60 yards. Blue led 16-14.

On the opening drive of the second half, Avery Bokor came on to quarterback the Gold team, while Aiden Heppner led the Blue team.

On the Gold drive, sophomore running back Greg Gigliotti busted off a 20+yard to the left. That was followed by a 15-yard wide receiver screen from Bokor to freshman Brian Olden.

On 3rd and 5, Bokor took a designed run for a first down. Then on the next play, Bokor lofted a pass to the back of the end zone, while in tight coverage, freshman wide receiver Jack Biega tipped the ball up and then went up to make an athletic catch for a touchdown. Following a 2-point conversion run by Gigliotti, the Gold led 22-16.

On the ensuing drive by the Blue, two 9th graders made a couple ‘splash plays’.

First, Biega ran across the field to track down Heppner for a sack. A couple plays later, Olden pulled down an interception.

With the game tied at 22, both teams were given one more possession and both took advantage.

Following a nice gain on a reverse by Baldwin, Armstrong ran it in for a 10-yard touchdown, along with a 2-point conversion. Blue led 30-22.

As they did all evening, the Gold responded.

Krotec made his best throw of the night, throwing a dart to Muzy down the seam. It was an equally impressive catch as Muzy showed guts making a catch with the safety right there in position to pop him.

Following a 15-yard scramble down to the 1-yard line by Krotec, the drive was capped off as Krotec rolled to his right and found Bokor for the TD.

The Gold was still down 2-points and needed a 2-point conversion to tie it and got it as Krotec used his legs to get into the end-zone.

The game ended in a 30-30 tie.

Up next, Hopewell will travel to Ellwood City for a scrimmage at 10 AM.