Perfect Start to the Matt Mottes Era, Hopewell Opens Season w/ 38-25 Win Over Riverside

Hopewell Township– All-in-all, head coach Matt Mottes couldn’t have scripted a much better evening than what took place at Tony Dorsett Stadium in his first game ever as a head coach.

The game atmosphere was tremendous, his defense created turnovers, both his veteran and young stars rose to the occasion and most importantly his team won.

In an exciting 2024 season opener, Hopewell opened up the 2024 season with a 38-25 win over Riverside. That final score looked a little closer than the game was as Riverside scored two late touchdowns.

It didn’t take long for Hopewell to get on the scoreboard as freshman running back Brody Rock returned the opening kickoff 82-yards for a touchdown. The ball was kicked to the far-right hash and looked as though it could go out of bounds, however, Rock picked it up before it did and immediately turned up the field and outraced the Panthers kickoff coverage team for a TD. The stadium was rocking, Hopewell led 7-0.

The Vikings defense stepped up on the next two possessions, creating turnovers and halting Riversides threats.

The first one took place as junior Julian Baldwin snapped the first of his two interceptions on the evening.

The second Hopewell turnover of the night was a very timely one as Riverside was inside Hopewell’s 30-yard line and driving. However, junior linebacker Thomas Pipkins III, while in pass coverage, turned his body and reached back to take in the Riverside pass. Very athletic play and definitely one of the nicest plays of the evening.

After having a couple of offensive drives that stalled, Hopewell finally was able to extend that lead. It was a big play for Hopewell and big moment in the career of freshman quarterback James Armstrong.

Making his first career varsity start, Armstrong completed his first pass, and it went for a 36-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Logan Triscilla. It was a perfectly called and executed play. Hopewell was moving right to left and Triscilla was lined up at the bottom of the field and only getting single covered. Armstrong dropped back, pressured a bit, rolled to his left and floated a perfect spiral into the endzone into the outstretched hands of Triscilla. Hopewell now led 14-0.

Two passing tds and 1 rushing td in a 38-35 W Freshman QB1 @PA_TodaySports @wpialsportsnews @WPIAL_Insider @BallCoachJoeMo @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachTerryPSU pic.twitter.com/cRnggyAX5Q

— James “Booboo” Armstrong (@Armstrong_Qb) August 24, 2024

Pretty nice way to complete your first high school pass.

The Vikings extended that lead to 17-0 later in the second quarter as junior kicker Rocco Marcantonio easily connected on a 25+ yard field goal.

Following that field goal, Riverside got back in the game as they returned the kickoff 91 yards down to the Hopewell 7-yard line. Two plays later, they took it into the endzone and cut the lead to 17-7.

That’s the score as the game went to halftime.

Things got a little interesting on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter as Riverside marched down the field, took off close to 7 minutes of the clock and ended the drive with a touchdown. Hopewell now led just 17-13.

As Coach Mottes and his staff no doubt liked to see, the Hopewell players answered and once again it was the combination of Armstrong and Triscilla. Hopewell quickly moved up the field as their offensive line did a nice job being physical and giving Armstrong and the running game room to operate.

Instead of passing the ball, offensive coordinator Zach Rosa utilized Armstrong’s ability to run the ball, using him a lot on designed runs and the RPO. That ultimately led to Hopewell’s second TD as Armstrong connected to Triscilla on a 14-yard comeback route. Two completions, two touchdowns. Hopewell led 24-13.

After an interception by Triscilla, Hopewell found the endzone again, this time courtesy of a 28-yard run by Armstrong, who used both speed and power to barge into the endzone. Hopewell led 31-13. On the night, Armstrong carried the ball 10 times for 112 yards (unofficial numbers).

The final touchdown of the night for Hopewell took place on a nice run by sophomore Jacob Brunton, who used his speed to get around the right end and scamper 43 yards up the right sideline to extend Hopewell’s lead to 38-13.

As I mentioned, Riverside then scored two late touchdowns to make the score closer than it really was.

FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 38 RIVERSIDE 25

Next up for Hopewell (1-0) is a road game at New Castle, who defeated General McLane in their opener, 49-47.