Hopkins Rushes to Second Win of the Season

Under sunny skies on the last day of Summer, the Hilltoppers traveled south on I-95 to face the Fieldston Eagles.  It was a beautiful day for a football game, and the Hilltoppers matched the sunny conditions with their play on the field, leading to a 24-14 victory over Fieldston.

The Hilltoppers started the game on offense and were eager to improve on their offensive performance from a week prior against Hackley.  After positive runs from Maurice Ellis ‘27 and captain Matt Goos ‘25, captain Mars Fine ‘25 dropped back to pass but instead decided to scramble and picked up a key downfield block from Marcus Rosario ‘26 to rush into the endzone for a 50 yard touchdown.  Daniel Hittelman ‘28 connected on the extra point, and after 4 plays Hopkins was up 7-0.  Hopkins' defense played tough to start the game, with a key 4th down stop from Aedan Flanagan ‘26 and Arthur Fusscas ‘26 to give the ball back to the Hilltoppers.  After Fieldston forced their own 4th down stop on the Hilltoppers second possession, Hopkins defense made a big play to build on their lead.  On the first play of Fieldston’s second offensive possession, Arthur Fusscas and Nate Levitt ‘26 shoved the offensive line back into the quarterback, forcing an errant throw which ended up in the hands of Matt Goos who scampered into the endzone from 10 yards out to make it a two score game (followed by a Hittelman extra point to make it 14-0).  Fieldston was eager to respond before the half, and connected on two touchdown passes to even the score at 14-14 heading into halftime.  

Hopkins started the second half on defense and forced a quick 3 and out, thanks to an Aedan Flanagan tackle for loss on 3rd and short and a nice punt return from Dylan Mulligan ‘28.  Tied at 14-14, the Hilltoppers drove the ball down the field leaning heavily on captain Matt Goos and punched the ball in from 1 yard out for Goos’ second touchdown of the day.  Hittelman’s extra point gave Hopkins a 21-14 lead, but the Hilltoppers were not done scoring.  After another Fieldston 3 and out on their second possession of the half, Hopkins meticulously drove the ball down the field, eating up all of the 3rd quarter en route to an early 4th quarter field goal courtesy of Hittelman from 22 yards out (Hopkins first field goal since the 2021 season!).  The field goal made it a 10 point deficit for Fieldston, which would prove to be too much to overcome for the Eagles.  When the final whistle blew, the game ended 24-14 in favor of Hopkins.  This was a big win for the Hilltoppers and a great game running the ball, combining for 275 yards of rushing between Goos (18-143-1), Ellis (9-73), and Fine (15-69-1).  A big thanks is in order to Hopkins offensive line, led by captain Nate Testa ‘25, captain Tommy O’Connell ‘26, Aedan Flanagan, Arthur Fusscas, Nate Levitt, Chris Lee ‘26, and Holden Scheps ‘27.

To see highlights from the game, please click here.

Hopkins will look to build on their 2-1 start with a matchup on the road next weekend against the 3-1 King School Vikings.  King has early season MIFL wins over Rye Country Day School (33-14) and Riverdale Country School (26-14), and we hope to see many of our fans in Stamford for the game at 3:30pm!

Go Hop!