It was a wild opening two minutes to a football game Friday night at Sparta, where Hopkins posted its second triumph this season without a loss, 32-10.
The host squad struck like lightning on the second play of the ballgame when freshman quarterback Nick Gordon hooked up with wide receiver Sam Whitmore for an electric 77-yard touchdown pass. But it was for naught because the Spartans were whistled for a penalty that nullified the play.
After a punt was blocked just a couple of plays later, Vikings back Matt Reynolds scored on a 23-yard sweep. And the contest was less than two minutes old.
Sparta responded quickly when Dylan Turosky returned the ensuing kickoff to the Vikings’ 43 and then broke loose on a 27-yard run to pout the ball at first and goal from the five. But the Hopkins defense stiffened and one fourth down and goal from the six, Bella Veloni kicked her first prep field goal.
The Vikings wasted no time in answering, moving the ball smartly and efficiently down the field 67 yards, with Reynolds taking it in from 14 yards out and adding a two-point conversion.
On Hopkins fifth play in its next series, Dylan Roberts hauled in a 79-yard pass from Colin Weber to push the advantage to 20-3. It all happened on third down and 17.
Sparta put together its only touchdown drive of the evening, sparked by a couple of passes from Gordon to Turosky, one a 30-yarder on fourth down and the last one an eight-yard TD strike, enabling Veloni to register her first PAT.
Things quieted down offensively for the rest of the half, but the Vikings took the third quarter kickoff and marched down the field, all on the ground, until QB Trevor Smith tossed a 9-yard scoring strike to Weber. The 65-yard drive chewed up more than six minutes on the clock.
Buoyed by the new-found passing tandem of Gordon and Turosky, the Spartans made a couple more threats to get back on the scoreboard, but the Hopkins defense played that old refrain pf “bend, but do not break.”
Sophomore lineman Tristen Perry was allowed to get in the fun with just 3:32 left in the ballgame when he took a direct snap into the backfield and carried the football into the end zone from nine yards away.
The Vikings, who have scored 75 points to their opponents’ 10 thus far this season, will attempt to make it three in a row next Friday evening against perennial O-K Silver Conference rival NorthPointe Christian.
