New Hopewell coach, QB Malachi Goudelock aim to rewrite Titans’ football story
New Hopewell High football coach Brandon Sneed said that one of the best things about his new job is when he was hired.
“I came in during the middle of the (2025) spring semester,” Sneed said, “so I had time to get to know the guys.”
And one of the players Sneed got to know best was senior quarterback Malachi Goudelock, who will play full-time varsity ball for the first time ever this fall — and as the Titans’ starter.
Sneed — who played at Olympic High School and later at N.C. A&T and Fayetteville State — knows it’s unusual for potential varsity starters to be playing junior varsity as a junior. He said it’s unusual for most juniors to play down, but he feels that persevering through that, the self-doubt and the doubt from peers, has made Goudelock tougher and more ready than ever to lead the Titans.
“I’ll be honest,” Sneed said. “My first response when I saw him was, ‘You probably should’ve played varsity at something last year: running back, or some other position. But I’m glad now because playing quarterback did get him reps and you can see there was some potential there. Last year he ran the ball very effectively on JV.
“I like to tell him that he’s a fullback because he’s like 230 pounds.”
Goudelock said he can’t wait until his first varsity start — at home against East Mecklenburg on Aug. 22.
“This is my senior year, my last year, and my first time starting on varsity,” Goudelock said. “And I’m starting at the position I want to be at, and I have a lot of drive behind me this season.”
As the starting quarterback on junior varsity last season, Goudelock spent a lot of Friday nights on the sidelines watching friends he played with that had moved up. He said it was hard. He said getting all the questions about it was hard, too.
“It was very difficult,” he said. “I faced a lot of battles, just people bringing it up all the time. But playing JV I was still able to put some things on film. It’s not my best stuff, but I overcame a lot of battles.”
Sneed, Goudelock and all the Titans have a lot to try to overcome this season, too.
Hopewell has not had a winning season since going 8-5 in 2010. From 2011-24, the Titans have endured six seasons with no wins or just one. Sneed is the school’s fifth coach in 10 years.
But Hopewell is moving out of a conference with past state champions and state heavyweights like Chambers, Mallard Creek and West Charlotte into a conference with schools with more similar resumes.
Among teams in the Greater Charlotte Athletic Conference, only Hough had a winning record last season. So the new league brings new opportunity for teams like Hopewell, Garinger, Myers Park, South Mecklenburg and West Mecklenburg.
There will be many Friday nights that are not foregone conclusions.
“I was excited” when I saw the new conference, Hopewell’s Miles Vanderspuy said. “There’s a couple new teams — South Mecklenburg, Myers Park — and we have never played them. (There is) room for success and to really hit our potential.”
Said teammate Randrez Lyons: “I feel like we have a better chance of competing.”
So does Sneed.
He said the transition for his new coaching staff has “been as smooth as possible” and the former Mallard Creek coordinator is bringing a winning culture with him that he said his players are flocking towards.
“We have had to change our approach to football here,” Sneed said. “In terms of behavior and schematics. We made big improvements on the personnel side and the football part has come along rapidly. Our approach to how we play football, I’m ready for people to see that. Our biggest thing is to be different. We refuse to be conventional just to be conventional.
“There will be times where people are going to say, ‘What are they doing? I’ve never seen that before.’ I enjoy that.”
To help change everything at Hopewell, Sneed said he’s totally comfortable entrusting a big role to his new quarterback.
“Malachi has just progressed so fast,” Sneed said. “I’m not just blowing smoke. Our (offensive coordinator) worked with him really tightly and some days we give him an idea of what we want to see and we don’t have to tell him much more. He’s dialed into what we’re doing.”
Sneed said that Goudelock has a hunger from his experience that could pay off big this fall.
“In today’s world,” Sneed said, “it would be easy for him to transfer somewhere where he probably could’ve played varsity quarterback or just varsity football. It’s really impressive for him to stay here and fight through it. Kids can be hard on each other. But I’ve had kids that were juniors on JV and played D1 (college) football. It’s hard to do. You’ve got to have a certain mindset to make that happen, but I’ve been impressed with his mental fortitude and his ability to learn and be ready to go.”
And, if nothing else, Goudelock said he’s ready to go.
Like, really ready to go.
“I think there’s a lot of anger, but energy, pent up,” he said. “And this season, I keep saying, is going to be like a movie. I’m just ready to play.
“I can’t wait for our first game.”
