Page 10 Fall Football Preview • Thursday, August 28, 2025 sailor. mnsun. com
HOPKINS ROYALS
Optimism follows 3 victories last year
JOHN SHERMAN john. sherman @ apgecm. com
Going into the 2024 high school football team, Hopkins was feeling blue with a 28-game losing streak.
But then the dark clouds parted and a new team emerged. It was a fast team and also a determined one, and by the end of the season Hopkins had broken its long losing streak and finished 3-6 overall.
While it wasn’ t a rise all the way to a championship, Hopkins’ success was noticed around the Lake Conference. Chauncy Williams-Barefield, who took over as head coach last season, changed the culture in a big way. First of all, he came with a positive, upbeat demeanor. Second, he found a way to get the basketball players out for football. Third, he surrounded himself with talented assistant coaches and ran the team the way a CEO runs a Fortune 500 company.
The players looked forward to practicing every day. The weight room became a hive of activity and the student body rallied around the team. When the Royals broke their losing streak with a 22-21 win over Eastview at Hopkins High Stadium, fans flooded the field and lingered for more than 30 minutes as they congratulated the players. Hopkins football was back.
Turning the page to the 2025 season, coach Barefield-Williams has most of his skill-position players back, led by the Moore brothers – Senior wide receiver Jayden and sophomore quarterback Tre.
( SUN PHOTO BY JOHN SHERMAN)
Captains of the Hopkins High football team for 2025 are, from left to right: Freshman Cordell Givance and seniors Charlie Pollen, Ignacio Cisneros and Ben Spilde.
Coach Barefield-Williams referred to Jayden Moore as“ a world-class athlete” midway through last season. Jayden’ s career at Hopkins High is the stuff of legend. Entering his senior year with the basketball team this winter, he is already a four-time All-Lake Conference guard.
Last fall marked Jayden’ s first year of high school football, and he took to it immediately. Shakopee shut out Hopkins in the first half of the season opener, but after that Hopkins made some halftime adjustments and put up a school-record 35 points in the second half. Although the final score was 58-35 in Shakopee’ s favor, fans could see Hopkins’ potential.
Jayden finished the season 924 yards and 11 touchdowns on 44 receptions. And he had a scholarship offer to join the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Tre Moore was brilliant in his first year as a starter. Early in the season, coach
Barefield-Williams handed Tre the reins and let him pass frequently. Tre looked mainly to his brother, but began to use his other receivers more to finish with 1,438 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Also coming back for the Royals is senior halfback Desmond Moody, who had 120 rushes for 563 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. Moody gave the Royals excellent ball security with only three fumbles last season. In addition to his 120 rushes, he had 17 pass receptions.
Hopkins has five captains this season. They are wide receiver Ben Spilde, corner back Ignacio Cisneros, lineman Charlie Pollen and Cordell Givance. The first three are seniors. Givance is thought to be the first freshman ever named a captain in Lake Conference football. He scored the two-point conversion that gave Hopkins its initial victory over Eastview last season.
Spilde is the receiver who lines up with Jayden Moore. He will get some single coverage this year, especially when teams double up on Moore.“ We’ re going to score a lot of points,” Spilde predicted.
Cisneros is ready to take on the best wide receivers in Minnesota Class 6A football after starting last season. Asked if he prefers single coverage or doubling a receiver, Cisneros said,“ I’ ll go wherever the coaches need me.”
Pollen becomes the key player in Hopkins’ offensive line now that 6-5, 295-pound powerhouse Nathan Dobbs has graduated. Pollen goes 6-4 and 240 pounds and has unusual speed for a man his size.
Coach Barefield-Williams could talk for hours regarding Givance’ s potential on the football field. Givance was called up to varsity early last season and looked the part at 6-2 and 225 pounds. He is slightly bigger this year and has gained
See HOPKINS | PAGE 24
QUICK HITS
Head Coach
Chauncy Barefield-Williams Second Year
Last Year’ s Record: 3-6
Key Returning Players
Two Moores are better than one for the Hopkins Royals. Tre Moore got the nod as starting quarterback last season and completed more than 60 percent of his passes for 1,438 yards and 14 touchdowns. Only six of his passes were intercepted.
Jayden Moore, the senior wide receiver, caught 11 touchdown passes and amassed 924 yards. Look for freshman captain Cordell Givance to impact the game on both sides of the ball.
Desmond Moody returns as a quality running back. Charlie Pollen is the top returning player in the line and Ignacio Cisneros leads the secondary as a returning corner back.
Schedule
Aug. 28: Edina Sept. 5: At East Ridge Sept. 12 Woodbury Sept. 19: Park of Cottage Grove Sept. 26: At Roseville Oct. 3: Eastview Oct. 10: At Coon Rapids, 6 p. m. Oct. 15: At St. Michael-Albertville
Game times 7 p. m. unless otherwise noted