Hopkinton Hillers Defeat Medfield 42 to 36

Article by: Tom Nappi

On Saturday April 3rd, Hopkinton hosted their first home football game of the Fall 2 season. The game featured constant momentum shifts and resulted in a Hopkinton 42 to 36 victory over Medfield. Both teams now have 1 win and 2 losses on the season.

Just under 90 seconds into the action, Senior Captain QB, Ryan Murray connected with James Wilder (SR) on a 65 yard TD reception. The extra point made it a 7-0 Medfield lead.

Hopkinton responded in their first offensive drive of the game. The Hillers marched down the field 55 yards for a Touchdown. Senior Captain, Cam Mulvaney rushed for the 8 yard TD and the extra point tied the game up at 7. The Hopkinton defense then forced a Medfield punt and the offense strung together another Touchdown drive. The Hillers marched 69 yards and fed Mulvaney once again for an 11 yard touchdown run to make it a 14 to 7 game.

Medfield responded quickly after with a 79 yard connection. QB Ryan Murray found Senior Captain, Ben Leonard wide open in the middle of the field. Leonard took the reception to the end-zone for a 79 yard Touchdown. The 1st quarter ended tied at 14 with Medfield on driving into Hillers territory after forcing a punt.

A little 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter, Medfield capped off a 60 yard touchdown drive with an 8 yard touchdown run by Junior, T.J. Casey and made it a 21 to 14 game. The rest of the 2nd quarter was filled with great defensive stops on both sides and the game went into the half with Medfield leading 21 to 14.

In the 2nd half, the Hillers strung together an 80 yard drive which featured a 21 yard reception to Senior Captain, Brian Keefe and a 17 yard reception to Senior, Ethan Champlin. Senior Captain, Cam Mulvaney capped off the drive with his 3rd touchdown run of the game. The 4 yard TD run and extra point made it a 21 to 21 game with 7:37 left in the 3rd.

On the following kickoff, Medfield Senior, James Wilder broke free and ran 95 yards up the field and took it to the house, the extra point made it a 28 to 21 Medfield lead.

After forcing a Medfield punt, late in the 3rd quarter, Hopkinton had a return of their own to the end-zone but it was called back due to a holding call. The Hillers started the drive at the Medfield 45 yard-line and in a little less than a minute would find the end-zone. A 15 yard touchdown reception to Senior, Nick Lecesse and extra point from Sophomore, Avery Ravech made it a 28-28 game. The score remained until the 4th quarter.

After forcing a Medfield punt, the Hillers possessed the ball for nearly 9 minutes and capped off an 88 yard touchdown drive with a 13 yard keeper from Senior Captain QB, Cole Salyards and made it a 35-28 game with the Ravech extra point.

The Hillers lead did not last long however, Medfield responded with a 48 yard touchdown reception to Senior, James Wilder (SR) from Ryan Murray (SR) and then Murray hit Wilder again on a risky 2 point conversion to make it a 36 to 35 Medfield lead.

The remaining 3:42 in the game proved to be plenty of time for the Hillers to respond however. After a good mix of gains from the running and passing game, QB Cole Salyards took care of business again with a 7 yard touchdown run to make it a 42 to 36 game. The Hillers defense took care of business on the one play Medfield had time for and took the 42 to 36 win in perhaps the most action packed game of the season. Three lead changes took place in the final 3 minutes and 42 seconds of the incredible game.

Notable Stats
Hopkinton:
QB #3 Cole Salyards
1 TD Reception (15 Yards), 2 TD Runs (13 Yards, 7 Yards)
(Approximately 109 yards Passing)

RB #27 Cam Mulvaney
3 TD Runs (8 Yards, 11 Yards, 4 Yards)
(Approximately 176 yards rushing)

Medfield:
QB #12 Ryan Murray
2 TD Passes
(Approximately 276 Yards Passing)

WR #3 James Wilder
3 Receptions, TD, 107 Yards Receiving

Photo Courtesy: John Ritz