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Hopkins Wins Shootout Over Riverdale On Homecoming
On Saturday afternoon, the Hopkins Hilltoppers kicked off their Homecoming matchup with division rival Riverdale Falcons in a battle for top spot in the division. Riverdale had started league play 2-0 with big early season wins over Hackley and Poly Prep, while the Hilltoppers rested at 1-1 after last weeks’ big win over Fieldston and an early season loss to Poly. This was a tough, physical game with many momentum swings, and the Hilltoppers adopted a “bend don’t break” outlook. When the dust (or turf) settled, the clock struck 0:00 to end the game it would be the Hilltoppers who would emerge victorious with a score of 30-27!
As the game kicked off, Hopkins started on offense and put together a solid first drive. Unfortunately, the drive would stall on Riverdale’s 31 yard line before a Phil DeLise ‘20 4th down quick punt put the ball inside Riverdale’s 1 yard line and gave them the length of the field to drive. If the Hilltoppers felt momentum from the great punt it did not show right away, as Riverdale drove the length of the field over 13 plays and 7 minutes, sneaking in with their quarterback to take the 7-0 lead. Hopkins would respond on the next drive, which saw nice runs by Matt Diaz ’23 as well as a nice catch from Pearson Hill ’23 to set up a 3 yard Phil DeLise run to even the score at 7 (after the Mike Lau ’20 extra point). Riverdale’s next two offensive possessions would not be as positive as their first. Their next drive ended with a Brandon Smith ’20 sack on their quarterback on 3rd and long to set up a punt. Hopkins defense would get to Riverdale again on their next drive, this time on another 3rd and long which resulted in a Pearson Hill interception which he returned 42 yards to Riverdale’s 33 yard line. With 1:24 left to play in the half, Hopkins marched down the field and put the ball in the endzone with a 19 yard Pearson Hill touchdown run around the left side. On the ensuing kickoff, the Hilltoppers forced their second turnover of the game in the form of a forced fumble by Mike Lau and a recovery from David Buckley ’22 on Riverdale’s 42 yard line. Hopkins would be unable to capitalize on the turnover, and the score would head to halftime at 13-7.
Riverdale started the second half much like they had the first, taking the ball down the field on their opening drive and scoring on another quarterback keeper to put the Falcons ahead 14-13. The Hilltoppers would regain momentum on the next drive, which lasted over 8 minutes and ended in a Mike Lau field goal to make it 16-14 Hopkins. The back and forth nature of the game kept up, and resulted in another quarterback touchdown run to make it 20-16 Riverdale, but Hopkins held tough and stopped Riverdale’s 2-point attempt to keep it a 4 point game. Just after scoring, Riverdale attempted an on-sides kick and the Hilltoppers were ready for it, resulting in the biggest swing of the game. Carson Hill ’24 fielded the ball cleanly with upfield momentum and burst through Riverdale’s ranks for a 60 yard score. The extra point made it 23-20, but Hopkins would not be done there. After forcing a punt on Riverdale’s next possession, Hopkins moved down the field on two big plays from Pearson Hill, including a 41 yard touchdown run, to make it 30-20 in Hopkins favor. With just over 5 minutes to play, Riverdale made things interesting by scoring on another QB run (his 4th of the day), and the extra point closed the gap to 3. Hopkins punted the ball back to Riverdale with just over 1 minute remaining, but timely sacks by CJ Maiurro ’22 and Brandon Smith helped eat away the clock. On the final play of the contest, Pearson Hill jumped the Riverdale WR’s route and finished with his second interception of the day. What a way to win a Homecoming game!
The win puts Hopkins in strong contention for the championship playoff bracket, but they must win their upcoming bid against Hackley to secure the spot. This will be a huge week for the Hilltoppers, and we hope to see many of our friends and fans make the trip to Tarrytown, NY for the 2:30 contest.
Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.
Hopkins School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.