Hopewell held on to beat North Catholic 27-21 on Friday night in their WPIAL 3A quarterfinal at Collier Township, advancing to the semifinals despite a shaky second half.
The Vikings carried a 14-point lead into halftime, powered by Brody Rock’s two four-yard touchdown runs. Rock’s second score came late in the second quarter, putting Hopewell up 27-13 and seemingly in control with the ball to start the second half.
Things quickly shifted after the break. Hopewell quarterback James Armstrong threw a backward pass that slipped through running back Nasir Wade’s hands, turning over possession. North Catholic capitalised fast, with quarterback Teagan Thomas connecting with Jack Croft on a 14-yard touchdown strike. That cut the deficit to 27-20 and swung momentum toward the Crusaders.
The two teams traded blows into the fourth quarter, with Armstrong fumbling a snap in the red zone that kept North Catholic alive. At 27-all, the Vikings needed a response. Armstrong delivered a drive featuring several quarterback draws, culminating in a four-yard touchdown run that put Hopewell back up by six points with under four minutes remaining.
“In my mind, I knew that if I had another opportunity to get the ball in my hand, I was going to take it to the crib,” Armstrong said. “That turnover was my mistake and I wanted to fight for my guys. I needed to take ownership of that mistake and make up for it on the next drive.”
Hopewell’s defence made the final difference. The Vikings forced three interceptions, with Wade snagging two and Avery Bokor sealing the win with the third. Despite missing two linemen to injury, coach Matt Mottes praised the resilience of his team.
“We made some mistakes tonight that let them gain some momentum, but hats off to North Catholic; they capitalized on our mistakes and that is what good teams do,” Mottes said. “It’s a culture thing. These kids are conditioned differently than Hopewell teams of the past, have a winner’s mindset and when things don’t go our way, we still fight and pull out games.”
Armstrong echoed the coach’s remarks on staying tough amid adversity. “We needed to stay resilient through it all,” he said. “I was telling everyone on the sideline that god put us in that position and he wanted to challenge us to see if we could win close games. We got challenged tonight and kudos to North Catholic.”
Hopewell finished the season 11-1 and will face No. 2 Propel Braddock Hills in the semifinals on Friday, November 20. The location and kickoff time have yet to be announced.
This marks Hopewell’s best postseason run in years; the Vikings have not reached the WPIAL championship game since 2009.
According to Yahoo Sports.
