Hopewell Football

Hopewell Football Displays Mental Toughness in Thrilling 35-34 OT Win over Ambridge

Published

5 months ago

September 7, 2024

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– It was quite the night last night at Tony Dorsett Stadium as the Hopewell Vikings football team battled the elements, battled a tough opponent and after a real long night, came away with one of the most exciting wins for this football program in many years.

The game was scheduled to kickoff at 7 PM but because of lightning throughout the night, things didn’t get underway until around 8:30 PM.

It goes without saying that’s a long time for a group of high school kids to be waiting to play, especially considering they showed up at the stadium around 5 pm.

Once the game finally started, it was going to be a battle of the big men on the offensive and defensive lines. Which team was going to be able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball and stop the run.

While the Ambridge ground game was able to collect 287 yards rushing, Hopewell was able to counter that with 137 rushing yards and also 176 yards passing from freshman quarterback James Armstrong.

In the end, Hopewell was a better conditioned team and made the winning plays in crunch time to come away with a 35-34 overtime win. The win improves Hopewell’s record to 2-1.

Here’s a Scoring and Statistical Recap:

Hopewell got on the scoreboard first, when it sure looked as though that wasn’t going to be the case. Ambridge was driving and inside the Hopewell redzone, but the Vikings defense came up with a big play. Vikings defensive back Zander Muzy recovered a fumble and returned it 88 yards for the Hopewell TD. The PAT was no good, but Hopewell took the lead 6-0.

Later in the first quarter, the Bridgers responded with a 57-yard TD run by Martese Priest. Ambridge took the lead 7-6.

The score remained the same following the end of the first quarter.

The only scoring that took place in the second quarter was another Ambridge TD as Jayce McCracken took in a 34-yard TD reception. The PAT was good, and Ambridge led at halftime 14-6.

HALFTIME: Ambridge 14 Hopewell 6

Due to the weather but also good defenses, both offenses really didn’t get going all game. For the game, Ambridge didn’t really have any sustained drives, with three of their touchdowns coming on big plays. For the game, the Hopewell defense held Ambridge to just 6 first downs and limited the Bridgers passing attack to just 3 completions for the contest for 55 yards.

In the 3rd quarter, Hopewell got on the scoreboard first on a 10-yard TD run by freshman Brody Rock. Hopewell went for the 2-point conversion to tie the game but were unsuccessful. Ambridge still led 14-12.

In the last two games, Rock has really been coming on and is developing into a featured back. Last night, Brody carried the ball 23 times for 74 yards and a TD.

However, Ambridge extended their lead back to 9 points on a 7-yard TD run by DJ Cain. Ambridge retook their two-score lead, 21-12.

This is when Hopewell’s mental toughness and physical conditioning started to be on display. After following behind by two scores again on a rainy night, these kids could have shut it down.

But that’s not something that’s going to happen under Matt Mottes and this coaching staff. Quitting and lack of fight will not be tolerated.

Right before the end of the 3rd quarter, Hopewell cut the deficit to 3 points as Armstrong connected on a 48-yard TD pass to Rock. Hopewell went for 2 points and were unsuccessful. Tonight, Rock put his receiving skills on display as he caught 5 passes for 123 yards.

END OF THE 3RD QUARTER: Ambridge 21 Hopewell 18

Hopewell took their first lead at the early stages of the 4th quarter as James Armstrong scored on a 1-yard rushing TD. For the game, Boo ran the ball 24 times for 61 yards. Hopewell now led 25-21.

To their credit, Ambridge answered that TD with one of their own as Zavion Lewis ran for 55 yards to give the Bridgers a 27-25 lead. They missed the PAT which proved costly.

Following a Hopewell turnover with a minute left in the game, it appeared as though the game would end with the score being 27-25. But that wasn’t the case.

With under a minute to play, the Hopewell defense tackled Ambridge in the endzone for a safety. Coach Mottes sent Vinny Boris on a blitz. The Ambridge quarterback took his eyes off the ball and the snap went through his hands. A great and game-changing play made by Boris!

Following a good kickoff return, Ambridge had a chance to win it at the buzzer but weren’t able to make a 42-yard FG, so the game went to overtime.

OVERTIME:
Ambridge got the ball first and immediately scored on a 2-yard TD run by Lewis. Following the PAT, Ambridge led 34-27.

Hopewell needed to answer that TD, and they did.

Offensive coordinator decided to keep the ball in the hands of Armstrong, and it proved to be the winning decision.

After 3 straight runs, Armstrong plowed into the endzone for the TD to make the score 34-33.

What happened next was interesting as Hopewell bypassed the PAT and went for the win. Once again, the coaching staff relied on Armstrong and the offensive line to get the job done and they did just that as Armstrong ran behind the left side of the offensive line and found the endzone.

”We wanted to win the game and I knew I could trust our kids to make a big play,” Mottes tells HSN. “Our line pushed them back and James made the big play.”