HVCC Football Wins Season Opener Since 2019
By Robert Dungan, Junior Photo Editor
Credit: HVCC Vikings
On Saturday afternoon the 4th of September, the Hudson Valley Community College football program won their 2021 season opener 12-6 on the road against Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Bulldogs in Lancaster, Penn.
Preparation for the return to play followed Coach Jackson’s usual vision for the program, “Our preparation for this game journey has not been much different than previous preparation. The biggest difference being consistent covid testing and making our we are mindful to protect ourselves when off-campus. Once players began to get into football shape, it is like riding a bike for a lot of them. We simply did our best to pick up where we left off. Our vision and prime directive for HVCC football has not changed. I use that as always to start and finish our preparation for our fall journey”.
Saturday was the third consecutive program win dating back to the 2019 season. The Vikings have six returning players from the 2019 season, including sophomore running back Desi Floyd from Rochester, NY. Floyd had one touchdown, 29 carries, and 105 total rushing yards.
The trip to Lancaster was typical besides the mandated wearing of masks according to Coach Jackson. The ride home was a different story with a joyful team celebrating the return to the field with a win.
The Vikings found their way to the scoreboard first with 5:14 left in the opening quarter, Floyd ran on five of the six possession plays completing a 1-yard scramble to find the end zone. Sophomore Frederick Callo’s kick attempt was blocked resulting in a 6 point lead.
The rest of the first half consisted of short possessions on both sides of the ball with neither offense finding their stride. Thomas Howard & Jayon Renfro both had 2nd quarter interceptions to help ensure the 6-0 lead held at halftime.
The 3rd quarter was more of the same, a total of 6 possessions with few yards gained by either team. Coach Jackson summed it up this way, “Anytime you have deviance of expected performance there will be frustration. What must be remembered is a lot of our young men have not seen college football action. We only have 6 or 7 guys who have participated in an actual college football game. It takes some time to adjust and with such a layoff; that adjustment has been harder. However, the objective is to win the game and we achieved that goal”.
Player Desi Ford. Credit: Robert Dungan
At the start of the fourth, the Vikings optioned for play-action to go up two scores on the Bulldogs when Jordan Moran found a wide-open Omari Hopkins down the right side of the field for the easy 42-yard touchdown.
The Bulldogs found their fight in the 4th quarter with 6:10 left in the game. The nine-play, 91 total yard possession was capped off with a 46-yard reception, their only end zone appearance of the day.
Sophomore Quarterback Jordan Moran was 11 for 21 for the day with 131 passing yards and a commanding 44:41 time of possession.
The Vikings next outing is the home opener on Saturday, September 11th against the Nassau Community College Lions. Pick up a copy of the Hudsonian for a recap of the game.
The Numbers:
| QTR | TIME | SCORING PLAY |
| 1st | 05:14 | Hudson Valley Community College – Desi Floyd 1 yd run. (Frederick Callo kick failed).Drive: 6 plays, 23 yards in 3:26. 6 – 0 |
| 4th | 14:52 | Hudson Valley Community College – Omari Hopkins 42 yd pass from Jordan Moran. (Frederick Callo kick failed).Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards in 2:06. 12 – 0 |
| 02:34 | Thaddeus Stevens Tech – Team 46 yd pass from Team. (Team kick failed).Drive: 9 plays, 91 yards in 3:36. 12 – 6 | |
| 02:34 | Hudson Valley Community College – Thomas Hicks 97 yd extra point return. 12 – 6 |
| HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE | THADDEUS STEVENS TECH | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 14 | 10 |
| RUSHES-YARDS (NET) | 44-135 | 34-96 |
| PASSING YDS (NET) | 131 | 82 |
| Passes Att-Comp-Int | 21-11-0 | 20-7-2 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS | 65-266 | 54-178 |
| Fumble Returns-Yards | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Punt Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 2-30 |
| Kickoff Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 3-66 |
| Interception Returns-Yards | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts (Number-Avg) | 6-229 | 8-243 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 10-82 | 10-114 |
| Possession Time | 44:41 | 28:31 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 35% (6 of 17) | 21% (3 of 14) |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 0% (0 of 3) | 100% (1 of 1) |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 2–2 | 3-20 |