HOPEWELL TWP. — In the end the Steinert High football team did not even come close against undefeated Hopewell Valley on Friday night, but at least it got the Bulldogs’ attention in the beginning. On a night in which coach Dave Caldwell was honored for recording his 100th win the previous week in his 22 years at the Hopewell Valley helm, the game was actually tied midway through the second quarter. But after posting wins over quality Burlington County teams  in the previous two weeks, Hopewell eventually found its stride and as a result it became business as usual against Mercer County opposition as the Bulldogs pulled away for a 45-14 win. With junior Isaac Pate running it and senior Anthony Giglio throwing it, Steinert (3-4) does have some offensive weapons who were particularly effective in the first half. After Hopewell took the lead in the first quarter when a Luke Caldwell diving interception led to a 1-yard TD run by quarterback Milan Desai, Steinert stunned the home team with an 83-yard touchdown bomb. On this play Giglio threw a perfect pass deep down the right sideline in which Jace Maher was able to catch the ball in full stride and race into the end zone. This play also seemed to wake up the Hopewell offense because two plays later Desai connected with a wide open Owen Lengle that resulted in a 59-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Two things happened from there that allowed Hopewell Valley to take control. The first was a 21-yard touchdown reception by Lengle on a pass from Desai with just :07 remaining in the first half that gave Hopewell a 21-7 lead. This TD came after Hopewell took over on its own 5 yard line with a little over a minute remaining in the quarter. In that short time, Hopewell was able to storm down the field on just four plays. The first of those plays that got the quick drive going was a 31-yard pass from Desai to Luke Hemmer. The start of the third quarter was a disaster for Steinert because after an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Spartans before the second half even got started, Jude Berman returned the kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. The lone second-half bright spot for the Steinert offense followed when Giglio threw a 12-yard pass to Jon Weaver to make the score 28-14. But after completing seven of 12 passes in the first half, Giglio cooled off and ended up 10-for-25 for 171 yards. A big part of this was a strong pass rush by a Hopewell defense that held Pate to 1 rushing yard in the second half. Hopewell Valley, meanwhile, got its running game cranked up after a slow start. The result was two fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Ben DeCore, who finished with 176 rushing yards, including 146 in the second half. The victory moved Hopewell closer to possibly locking up the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group III. Steinert is also alive after entering the game in the 13th spot in S.J. Group IV. Steinert (3-4) 0 7 7 0 —14 Hopewell Valley (8-0) 7 14 7 14 — 42 HV-Desai 1 run (Lengle kick) S-Maher 83 pass from Giglio (James kick) HV-Lengle 59 pass from Desai (Lengle kick) HV-Lengle 21 pass from Desai (Lengle kick) HV-Berman 75 kickoff return (Lengle kick) S-Weaver 12 pass from Giglio (Lengle kick) HV-DeCore 13 run (Lengle kick) HV-DeCore 10 run (Lengle kick)