Hopewell/Central Valley Football Recap; All Comes Down to Last Game for Vikings!

Well, it’s all going to come down to the final game of the regular season for the Hopewell Vikings football team.

To have a chance to qualify for the playoffs, the Vikings must go on the road and defeat North Catholic.

Hopewell will enter the game with a record of 4-5, coming off a 44-20 loss at Central Valley. North Catholic is 3-6 and like Hopewell 2-3 in conference.

North Catholic is coming off a 48-28 loss to Avonworth and have lost 4 straight games:

Imani Christian 48 North Catholic 28
Central Valley 46 North Catholic 38
Beaver 48 North Catholic 10
Avonworth 48 North Catholic 28

Although it’s not official, in all likelihood, the winner of this team would receive a wild card bid considering the strength of the Western Hills Conference.

Looking back at Hopewell’s game this past Friday against Central Valley, they trailed 7-0 after the 1st quarter and went to halftime down 20-6. Following a 3rd quarter TD from James Armstrong to Brody Rock, Hopewell cut the score to 20-13 but Central Valley followed that by scoring the next 3 touchdowns to take control of the game.

Hopewell’s scoring plays occurred on:

-Rocco Marcantonio 28-yard FG
-Rocco Marcantonio 25-yard FG
-Armstrong 21-yard TD pass to Brody Rock
-Armstrong 15-yard TD run

Here are key factors in this game:

*The Vikings dominated time of possession by running the ball

*Had to settle for field goals in the redzone

*Freshman quarterback James Armstrong racked up a bunch of total yards (257 yards (123 passing and 129 rushing)

Fought hard but fell short 44-20 against a good Central Valley team Here are some clips @cjlquips @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachTerryPSU @BallCoachJoeMo @210ths @PA_TodaySports @PghSportsNow @CoachTylerAllen @CoachCalley21 @CoadyKeller1 @DannyOBrienQB @wpialsportsnews @HopewellSNation pic.twitter.com/UI4I4UUHd3

— QB James “Booboo” Armstrong (@Armstrong_Qb) October 19, 2024

*Total First Downs: Hopewell 15 Central Valley 12
Penalties: Hopewell 5 for 20 yards Central Valley 7 for 75 yards
Rushing Yards: Hopewell 40 attempts for 178 yards Central Valley 33 for 232 yards
Passing Yards: Hopewell 123 yards, Central Valley 128 yards
Turnovers: Hopewell 0, Central Valley 2

*Defensive Stats:
Brian McCabe: 10 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
Avery Bokor: 7 tackles
Julian Baldwin: 6 tackles
Justin Obeldobel: 6 tackles
Nick Thomas: 5 tackles
Jake Pollick: 5 tackles
Zander Muzy: 5 tackles, 1 sack

At the start of the season, the goal for this team was to somehow qualify for the playoffs and with one game remaining, that is still a possibility!