It’s been said by many football coaches that ballgames are won and lost by the wars at the line of scrimmage. Hopkins Friday night won that war at the line, particularly in the first 24 minutes of a 29-14 victory over Dowagiac in the opening round of the Division 5 post-season playoffs.
It was the second straight time the Vikings successfully opened the playoffs at home, but it was only the third time this season they’ve played in front of the home crowd.
The Hopkins interior line of Tristen Perry, Ethan Gilder and Colin Osborn and outside linemen Chase Groenhout and Drew Weber just wouldn’t budge when the Chieftains tried anything that required blocking on the line of scrimmage. They and linebackers Carson DeLao and Colin Weber thwarted almost all running plays and forced a number of desperate offensive attempts that led to turnovers.
Dowagiac failed to score during the entire first half and managed only a handful of first downs.
The Vikings opened the scoring with about two minutes left in the first quarter when junior quarterback Trevor Smith, who enjoyed a terrific first half, lofted a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pierce on a fourth down and 15 that threatened to give the ball back to the Chiefs.
DeLao took in the two-point conversion pass to put the home team up 8-0.
On their next offensive series, Hopkins went 56 yards, with a key third down pass to Matt Reynolds and a nine-yard run by Colin Weber to the 11-yard line. There was some tomfoolery on the next play, as Smith faked a couple of handoffs and went into the end zone virtually untouched.
Drew Weber then pounced on a Dowagiac fumble during a quarterback sack at his own 42 to stop a mild threat. With less than a minute left until intermission, Kyle Pierce came up with an interception at midfield. A personal foul penalty on a Viking screen pass then brought the ball down to the 20, where Smith hooked up with Colin Weber for a 20-yard TD pass. Trey Collins tossed the two-point conversion to Nathan Tew.
After running a no-huddle shotgun offense throughout the first 24 minutes, Hopkins coach Cody Francis settled in to a more conservative approach with Collins barking out the signals under center and a full-house backfield. The move resulted in taking a lot of time off the clock.
Dowagiac finally got on the scoreboard only seconds shy of the fourth period with a 90-yard offensive march that featured a 25-yard run and a trick play halfback pass back to quarterback Callyn Murphy, who raced 57 yards to pay dirt.
About the only time there was any doubt about the final outcome during the second half came after Viking back Hunter Braford spoiled a nice 27-yard run with a fumble. But the Chiefs failed to make any headway and turned the ball over on downs on a sack by Drew Weber at the Dowagiac 36.
Collins fooled everybody not much later with a quarterback keeper into the end zone from nine yards out. Piper Davis followed that up by booting the extra point.
Dowagiac, on the strength of a string of desperation passes, closed the gap to 29-14 with just seconds left in the ballgame on Murphy’s 9-yard pass to L.J. Lanier. But by then, it was all over but the shouting.
Hopkins this weekend will have another home game in round two because Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep scored a 16-12 upset over previously unbeaten Berrien Springs in the opening round. Hackett owns a 6-4 overall record and the Vikings now are 9-1.
COVER PHOTO: Carson DeLao (7) takes a handoff from Colin Weber (10) in an earlier ballgame from this season.
