Last week, Hopewell proved it could win a game without standout running back Rushel Shell.

Last night at Ambridge High School's Moe Rubenstein Stadium, Hopewell proved it could win a game with Shell not having, for him, a great game.

Hopewell defeated Mars, 33-0, on a perfect night for football in a WPIAL Class AAA second-round contest. And while Shell rushed for 253 yards and scored three touchdowns on 28 carries, he was hardly the reason the Vikings had a commanding, 21-0 lead at the half.

Hopewell (11-0) will face Hampton in a semifinal next week. Mars finished 7-4.

The Vikings held a commanding advantage at the intermission but they also squandered another scoring opportunity when Ryan Carson missed a 26-yard field-goal attempt with 20 seconds left in the half.

Still, Hopewell coach Dave Vestal was uncomfortable, even though Mars' leading rusher, Austin Miele, had not seen action.

Miele, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards during the regular season, did not play because of leg injuries.

"I still was nervous at the half," Vestal said. "Even though we beat them early in the season I knew they had gotten better."

Any anxiety he had went away when Shell ripped off a 91-yard touchdown run with 8:51 left in the third quarter to give Hopewell a 27-0 lead. Shell set up the score by intercepting a pass at the Vikings 9.

"Just too many turnovers," Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. "Hopewell's a very good team, and you can't turn the ball over like that against them."

Mars had three passes intercepted and lost a fumble. Two of the turnovers resulted in Hopewell touchdowns.

Shell, who led the WPIAL in rushing in the regular season, scored on runs of 27 and 12 yards in the first half. But it was Hopewell's so-called supporting cast that sparked the first-half surge.

Quarterback Matt Hundenski, who finished with 83 yards rushing on eight carries, scored on a 1-yard run with 9:04 left in the second quarter to give Hopewell a 14-0 lead. He rushed six times for 45 yards, returned a punt 34 yards to set up the Vikings' first score, a 27-yard dash around the right side out of the wildcat formation by Shell, and intercepted a pass in the first half.

Fullback Brendon Taylor carried just six times for 41 yards, but two of those were consecutive 12-yard bursts on a 73-yard scoring drive in the second quarter that took just eight plays.

Shell closed that one out with a 12-yard dash up the middle.

Shell, a sophomore who did not play last week because he was suspended for violating a school policy, now has 2,296 yards rushing this season. He needs 188 more yards to reach 4,000 for his career.

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