What a strange voyage on the gridiron this season has been for Hopkins.
After struggling with a 1-4 overall record in its first five games, coach Cody Francis’ outfit has exploded for 144 points in its last three games to even its season mark at 4-4. And now for their season finale, the Vikings will have to play at undefeated and state-ranked Kelloggsville, perhaps their toughest opponent in 2017.
The latest in the three-game burst was a Happy Homecoming with a 62-20 verdict over Wyoming Lee. A defensive struggle it was not.
The two teams put six touchdowns on the scoreboard in the first quarter alone, and the visiting Rebels dared to scare the homecoming crowd for just a little while by scoring two touchdowns in the first 10 minutes to pull into a 14-14 tie. But that’s when the wheels came off for Lee.
Things couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start for the homecoming guests, as they fumbled the opening kickoff and Colin Weber pounced on the pigskin just 12 yards away from the end zone. With the contest just 12 seconds old, Viking QB Nolan Smith tossed a 14-yard scoring strike to Hunter Lewellyn.
Undaunted, Lee answered with a 76-yard drive highlighted clutch third down swing pass to Valentino Savala and a couple of surprising quick running bursts by Alex DeLeon, who broke loose on a 40-yard gallop to the one-yard line and then took the ball into the end zone on the next play.
Hopkins then went to the bread-and-butter rushing of Ryan Haveman and a surprise first down pass to Weber. But it was Cole Marschall who took a direct snap in a three-man backfield and carried the ball to pay dirt from 17 yards out to cap the 65-yard scoring drive.
But the Rebels struck quickly in retaliation shortly afterward when quarterback Florencio Guilarte clicked with Aridel Torres for a 51-yard TD pass play. There was just 1:55 left in the opening period there already had been four touchdowns. And the Vikings weren’t done yet.
Lee kicked off after its second touchdown and Lewellyn found an opening to race 85 yards to the end zone to break the last tie of the evening. And just seconds on the clock later, after key defensive stops by Jonathan Ryan and Drew VanDenBerg, Marshall picked off a pass at the Lee 14 and on the next offensive play scored from there. The quarter ended with Hopkins up 28-14.
Things continued to go south fast for the Rebels early in the second quarter. Weber recovered another fumble at the Lee 29 and Smith fired a 29-yard TD strike to Bryce Smith with the period only 23 seconds old. That made it seven TDs, five by Hopkins, in only 23 seconds more than 12 minutes.
The Vikings were a little more deliberate methodical in their next scoring march, covering 91 yard. After a couple of quick opener bursts Brad Langlois, Smith went back to the air and tossed his third TD pass of the night, hitting Bryce Smith again, this time from 31 yards out.
Haveman scored his only touchdown of the night with 3:04 left until intermission on a seven-yard run, so Hopkins was enjoying a 48-14 cushion while the homecoming king and queen were being selected.
Mason Schaendorf did the bulk of the rushing in the first scoring drive of the second half and he scored from a yard out to start the running clock for the rest of the ballgame at the 7:46 mark in the third period.
Zack Szubinski scored the last Viking touchdown of the evening late in the fourth quarter and Tom Robinson hauled in a 35-yard TD pass from Guilarte with less than a minute showing on the clock to cap the evening’s offensive fireworks.
Eliott Fair, Joe Bala and Jeff Glascott shared the extra point kicking duties for the evening, making eight of nine. Bala even attempted a field goal, but missed wide left. It had the distance, but not the direction.
Congrats to Hopkins on their win and to my good friend Zach on earning the Homecoming King title!