CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-629-7898 or 518-416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, August 26, 2023

The Hudson Valley Community College football team was victorious in the 2023 season-opener as the Vikings defeated Castleton State JV 21-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Outdoor Athletic Complex on the HVCC campus.

The Vikings (1-0) started off slow as both programs traded possessions for a majority of the first half of the game. The Spartans (0-1) had to settle for a field goal with three minutes remaining in the opening quarter, which was a result of the Vikings defense clamping down in the red zone to bring an end to the Spartans extended 11-play drive.

Hudson Valley jumped on the board with 2:37 remaining in the second quarter, which capped the 5-play scoring drive, with a two-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Harbaugh to Christopher Laplante. James Corke converted on his first of three point-after attempts to give the Vikings a 7-3 advantage. Corke successfully converted on all three point-after attempts.

Right before halftime, the Vikings scored again, completing a 6-play, 32-yard drive, resulting from an interception by Shamilyn Joppy. Joppy undercut a pass by Castleton State to give the Vikings possession in Castleton territory. Joppy finished the game with two interceptions and added four tackles, including two tackles for loss. Harbaugh hit Christian Bond for the 14-yard touchdown and the Vikings went up 14-3 at the halftime break. Bond finished the game with a team-high eight catches for 56 yards and a score.

Mitchell MacKissock and Harbaugh connected for several big plays, which helped set up the Vikings' scoring drives., including receptions for 39-yard reception in the second, which ended with Laplante's touchdown. He also grabbed an acrobatic sideline catch in the third to keep the drive alive, which ended with Bond's touchdown. MacKissock finished the game with four catches for a team-high 95-yards.

Later in the third, Harbaugh launched another deep pass and found an open Demetrius Williams for a 48-yard touchdown and the Vikings put the Spartans away for good with a 21-3 lead with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter.

Defensively, Joppy and his brother Shamarr Joppy guided the Vikings to allow just three points, which is the fewest points the football program has allowed in a game since the Vikings shutout Buffalo State on Sept. 4, 2022. Shamarr led the team with five tackles and added one sack for a loss of six-yards. As a team, the Vikings combined for three sacks for a loss of 20-yards and accumulated seven tackles for loss.

The football program is back in action next Saturday, Sept. 2 when they travel to take on Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology at 2 p.m.