Butler shakes off pesky Hopewell, advances in NCHSAA 7A playoffs
Now that Brian Hales is back as Butler’s football coach, he’s got a simple philosophy for his players come playoff time.
“We just want one more week,” Hales said.
Well, the Bulldogs will get another week, pulling away in the fourth quarter to defeat Hopewell 42-28 on Friday night in the first round of the NCHSAA 7A playoffs.
Battling to a 21-all tie through three quarters, Butler (5-6) — the No. 13 seed in the 7A Western bracket — got some key plays from its defense and special teams over the final 12 minutes to beat the 20th-seeded Titans (4-7) and advance.
“We knew coming in, obviously it’s a playoff game and everybody’s season is on the line,” said Hales, who returned to coach the Bulldogs after taking a year off. “Nobody’s going to roll over and play dead out here.
“(Hopewell) did a heck of a job getting prepared for us, and made us work really hard tonight. But I’m just super proud of our kids; they forced things to happen out there, made big plays when they needed to and were able to put it away.”
The Bulldogs’ offense was working over the first half in building a 21-14 lead, DaMaurion Thomas-Wright busted off a pair of 29-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter, and quarterback Nico Henderson found Lucas Culbertson open on a 39-yard TD pass late in the second quarter.
But Hopewell – making its first playoff appearance in 12 years – matched Butler offensively. Zac Jones sprinted 56 yards for the Titans’ first score, and Kareem Marshall used a 70-yard run to set up his own TD run, a 4-yarder early in the second quarter.
Jones then evened the game at 21-all on Hopewell’s first play of the third quarter, running 65 yards for his second touchdown.
Suddenly, it became a whole new ballgame — and the Bulldogs responded.
A strip sack on Hopewell quarterback Malachi Goudelock led to Kenyan Stewart’s 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown to put Butler back in the lead.
An interception in the end zone by Bulldogs cornerback Amari Sifford ended one Titans scoring threat, and eventually led to Culbertson’s 2-yard touchdown run and a 35-21 lead.
While Hopewell got its bearings when Jones had his second long TD run — a 65-yarder with 3:34 left — to pull the Titans within a touchdown, Butler immediately responded when D.J. Starling returned the kickoff 85 yards for a score.
The Bulldogs were then able to run out the clock when their defense came up with another turnover, with Israel Henderson picking off Goudelock again with 2:34 remaining.
“Football’s always a game of momentum,” Hopewell head coach Brandon Sneed said. “We played well, and I think we did what we wanted to, but the breaks sometimes don’t go your way. It took us a minute to bounce back (in the fourth quarter), and they took advantage of that.
“That’s a tradition-rich program (at Butler) with a great coach in Coach Hales, and you can’t give them so many opportunities. We just gave them too many.”
Three who made a difference
DaMaurion Thomas-Wright, Butler — The junior running back, who had 1,128 rushing yards entering Friday’s game, nearly broke the 100-yard mark for the eighth time this season. He finished with 92 yards on 18 carries and the two TDs, giving him 10 on the year.
Butler’s defense — While the Bulldogs’ D gave up yards (391 yards total offense by Hopewell), they also forced three turnovers (two interceptions and the fumble for a touchdown).
Zac Jones, Hopewell — The senior running back, who led the team in rushing (790 yards, eight TDs) despite appearing in just six games, ran for a game-high 194 yards on 21 carries and two TDs. When he went out for an extended time in the second quarter, Marshall picked up the slack, adding 88 yards on just six carries.
Up next
Butler will next take on Mooresville (8-2) — which as the No. 4 seed in the 7A West bracket earned a first-round bye — in the second round of the 7A playoffs next Friday at Coach Joe Popp Stadium in Mooresville. Game time is 7 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
HOPEWELL 7 7 7 7 – 28
BUTLER 14 7 0 21 – 42
First Quarter
B—DaMaurion Thomas-Wright 29 run (James Vastis kick), 10:15.
H—Zac Jones 56 run (Chase Erskine kick), 8:12.
B—Thomas-Wright 29 run (Vastis kick), 3:12.
Second Quarter
H—Kareem Marshall 4 run (Erskine kick), 11:18.
B—Lucas Culberton 39 pass from Niko Henderson (Vastis kick), 3:50.
Third Quarter
H—Jones 65 run (Erskine kick), 11:39.
Fourth Quarter
B—Kenyan Stewart 70 fumble return (Vastis kick), 11:02.
B—Culbertson 2 run (Vastis kick), 9:00.
H—Jones 1 run (Erskine kick), 3:41.
B—D.J. Starling 85 kickoff return (Vastis kick), 3:34.
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM.
