Hopkins Honors Seniors, but Fall to Tigers

Under unexpectedly clear skies, the Hopkins Hilltoppers welcomed the Dalton Tigers for Hopkins annual Senior Day Game.  Before the contest started, Hopkins honored their 15 seniors and thanked them for their contributions to the football program.  

In this tightly contested matchup, Dalton got on the board first after a 4th and 4 run on their opening drive broke for a 50 yard touchdown to put them ahead 6-0.  Eli Ratner ‘24 burst through the line on the extra point to force a miss to keep it a 6 point game.  The first half remained low scoring, as Hopkins saw opportunities to capitalize on some long runs and a solid first half ground game.  Dalton ultimately held Hopkins out of the endzone nearing the end of the first half to keep the score 6-0 heading into the second half.  In the second half, Hopkins wasted no time finding the endzone, as Andrew Behr ‘24 connected on a 75 yard touchdown pass to Andy Toft ‘24 to tie things up.  Toft was able to score thanks to some nice blocking from Matias Vece ‘24 who led him down the field as he weaved his way in for the touchdown.  Ratner’s extra point made the score 7-6 in Hopkins favor, but unfortunately that lead would not be safe for long.  After intercepting a Hilltopper pass and returning the ball to Hopkins' 3 yard line, the Tigers would score on a 10 yard halfback pass to make it 14-7 in favor of the Tigers early in the 4th quarter.  Hopkins ultimately turned the ball over too many times and Dalton was able to capitalize on the mistakes, scoring once more to make it 21-7.  Despite the turnovers contributing to Dalton’s good field position, Hopkins saw key defensive contributions from Tommy O’Connell ‘26 and Matt Goos ‘25 who each provided sacks, in addition to some key tackles for loss from Connor Tomasulo ‘24.  

Thus concludes Hopkins regular season schedule as they get ready for postseason play in the consolation bracket of the MIFL.  Hopkins is set to host King School this Saturday for a rematch of their earlier season contest.  Game timing has yet to be announced, but once that is updated we hope to see many of our friends and family at the game.