Hopkins Falls Late to Poly Prep

After an early season bye week, the Hopkins Hilltoppers boarded the bus and slogged down I-95 and I-278 into Brooklyn take on division opponent the Poly Prep Blue Devils. The Hilltoppers were looking to avenge last season’s loss to the Blue Devils, which saw them erase a 16 point deficit in the final 4 minutes before escaping in OT with the win. It appeared that last year’s misfortune for the Hilltoppers would be repeated, as the Hilltoppers saw a 14 point lead slip through their fingers before falling to Poly 27-21 in OT.

From the start of the game, the Hilltoppers showed no signs of wear from the long bus ride as they came out and stopped Poly’s initial drive before punching it into the endzone on a 49 yard rush by Pearson Hill ’23. A Mike Lau ’20 extra point set the scoring at 7-0 midway through the first quarter, but the scoring would not stop there. Poly connected on a long play action pass for a touchdown early in their next drive to tie the scoring at 7-7, but the Hilltoppers would respond with a touchdown pass of their own from Phil DeLise ’20 to Mike Lau to make it 14-7. After failed drives by both Poly and Hopkins, the score would remain 14-7 at halftime and the momentum with Hopkins.

Hopkins started the 3^rd quarter with the ball, and after a 20 yard strike from Phil DeLise to Pearson Hill the Hilltoppers lead grew to 21-7. The score would remain 21-7 for most of the 3^rd and 4^th quarters before a Poly Prep rush closed the gap. Poly would convert on another long play action pass to make it 21-14, recover the ensuing onside kick, and then score again this time on the ground to tie the game at 21 with just over 2 minutes to play. Neither team could punch the ball in the endzone before the end of regulation, so the teams went into overtime for the second year straight. This year, Hopkins started with the ball on offense and were unable to put any points on the board before giving Poly a shot. On 3^rd and 7 from the 17, Poly’s quarterback his the inside receiver on a wheel route to put Poly ahead for good, ending the game at 27-21. It was a brutal end to the game for the Hilltoppers who can’t help but feel déjà vu from last season’s performance.

Highlights from the game can be found HERE

Despite the tough loss, Hopkins is looking forward to getting past the hurdle and heading on the road again next week to take on the Morristown Beard Crimson at their home field in Morristown, NJ. This will be the 4^th straight year that the Hilltoppers will face Morristown Beard which has quickly turned into a bit of a rivalry game between the two teams. We thank our parents and fans for supporting us and hope to see many of you in the Garden State!