Football Drops Final Game of Season

CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, November 4, 2023

The Hudson Valley Community College football program dropped its final game of the season 28-20 against Milford Academy at the Outdoor Athletic Complex on the campus of HVCC on Saturday afternoon.

The first quarter went by quick as both programs had missed opportunities to put points on the board. The Vikings Shamilyn Joppy intercepted Milford's Damir Stone on the first play of the game to bring the momentum shift to the Vikings. On the Vikings second possession of the game, Donovan Cole and the offense marched down the field but the drive ended at the Milford 5-yard line when Cole was intercepted in the end zone by AJ Rothfield.

However, that next possession for Milford didn't last long as Shamarr Joppy forced a fumble and Hudson Valley took over in Milford territory. The drive stalled and James Corke converted a 34-yard field goal to put Hudson Valley up 3-0 at the beginning to the second quarter.

Later in the second quarter, Milford jumped ahead on a 36-yard touchdown pass by Stone to Adam Kidder, a quick hitter to complete the 2-plays, 55-yard scoring drive. Right before the halftime break, Corke closed out another Vikings drive as he hit a 41-yard field goal with 1:32 remaining in the half.

On Milford's first possession in the third quarter, they managed another quick hitting drive, which lasted just over a minute as they scored on a Stone 28-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Smith. The extra point was blocked by Hudson Valley's Ryan Southworth, which proved to be a huge play to keep the Vikings within striking distance at the end of the game.

The Vikings immediately answered the bell on their next possession. Donovan Cole connected on a deep 47-yard touchdown pass to Christian Bond and Corke's extra point tied the game up at 13-13. Milford answered again with another quick hitting drive and they went up 19-13 following their failed two-point conversion attempt. Bond had a tremendous day with 130 yards on five catches, including the 47-yard score.

Following a missed field goal by the Vikings, Milford took advantage and put another three points on the board to extend its lead to 22-13 and later forced a Vikings turnover, which put Milford in better field position with less than 10-minutes remaining in the game.

Milford did exactly what the Vikings didn't want to happen. They marched down the field and scored a touchdown and the Falcons were now leading the Vikings by 15 points and less than two minutes remaining in the game after they milked nearly eight minutes over their 13-plays scoring drive.

The Vikings did not give up as Cole hit Kesean Spruill for a game-high 71-yard touchdown score on the first play of the drive. The score put the Vikings within reach as they had all of their time outs remaining and the opportunity to convert an onside-kick. Cole finished the day 20-of-42 with 452 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

On the kick opportunity, the Vikings nearly converted but the ball never bounced on the ground, which required Hudson Valley to give the Milford receivers a clear path to catch the ball. Hudson Valley interfered and Milford regained possession and was able to run out the clock on the Vikings season.

The football program finished the year 5-5, which featured its home game vs Nassau as the NJCAA and ESPN+ Game of the Week. Hudson Valley closes out the season averaging 15.3 points per game with 243.7 yards per game.