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Hopewell HS Boys Volleyball

A Playoff Win Would be Huge for Hopewell Boys Volleyball, Now and in the Future

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 3 minutes read

Prior to head coach Rob Hall taking over the Hopewell Vikings HS Boys Volleyball program, any thoughts of a trip to the playoffs were almost a fallacy. The Vikings struggled, especially in section play, where they went years without winning a single game against a conference opponent.

But with Hall at the helm, things have changed as evidenced by the fact that the Vikings have earned their 3rd postseason berth under Hall in his five years as head coach. The two years they missed were by just by 1 game in 2021 and 2024.

Tomorrow night, Hopewell will take the long road as the No. 9 seed and will travel out to Westmoreland County to face No. 8 seed Derry Area. The winner faces No. 1 seed Shaler.

Vikings Sports Now spoke with Hall, who credits a tough early season schedule, which included the likes of Moon, Pine-Richland, Mars and Seton LaSalle, with helping his squad down the stretch of the season.

“We’ve gotten better as the season has gone on,” Hall said. “I would say we’re heating up at the right time and peeking at the right time.”

Despite this being in the 8/9 matchup, Derry isn’t your traditional 8th seed in the playoffs. The Trojans won their section with a perfect 8-0 record, while finishing 11-6 on the season. Coupled with having to travel over an hour for this matchup, it will be no easy outing for the Vikings, but Hall believes his team is up for the task thanks to the road they have already traveled.

“They are a really good team as they (Derry) won their section,” said Hall. “We were third out of our section, but our section is very tough. I think we’re battle tested, and I think it should be a pretty good match. It is gonna be a long bus rude for us, but I think our guys are up for the challenge.”

Playing up in competition early in the season and tough playing in a tough section definitely helped the Vikings get to this point, as they finished 6-4 and 9-8 overall. And for 2025, they saw some new faces in their conference. Both South Fayette and Trinity joined their section while North Catholic moved to a different section. Facing bigger schools can be a change, but the Vikings were able to take care of business, thanks in large part to their big three.

Jake Pollick, Paul Thompson and Alex Alvarado have been a big reason why the Vikings find themselves in the playoffs. Pollock, a junior outside hitter, and Thompson, a senior center, both made first team all-section this season. Alvardo, another junior outside hitter, also made all-section team.

May be an image of 6 people, people playing voleyball and text that says '1ST Team Paul Thompson 2025 WPIAL Boys Volleyball All Section Team 1ST Team Jake Pollick 2nd Team Alex Alvarado Sterank Nex Gen SteramkSHexrGencomira Contra LLOF YOUR SUPPORTI 19 2 ACHTABA ACTIT ሰ Credit IM/ederalorg'

Not only will Pollick and Alvardo be back next season, but the Vikings return their entire roster minus Thompson. A win in the playoffs against Derry could go a long way entering next year.

“Anytime you make the playoffs, number one, it’s a big accomplishment,” Hall stated. “But a win in a playoff game is always big and, on the road, would make it even more special.”

Not only could a win against Derry help the Vikings heading into next season but could also help the Vikings Boys’ program for years to come by getting more kids involved at the junior high level.

“Our program has come a long way since I took over and we’ve been making some steady progress,” Hall said. “I think what would take us to the next level would be if we would get a junior high program going. We’re the only team sport at Hopewell that doesn’t have a junior high program. It would really help and that could really help take us to the next level. Getting kids started at a younger age and going to camp and clubs and stuff like that would really help us out.”

Check out the Hopewell Vikings Boys Volleyball 2025 roster:

-Alex Alvarado, junior
-Sebastian Blue, sophomore
-Dominic Buchanan, sophomore
-Luca Flitcraft, sophomore
-Nathan Frederick, junior
-Aaden Gonzalez, freshman
-Evan Lahtinen, junior
-Nykyeron Leonora, freshman
-Brayden Mowry, junior
-Landon Nelson, freshman
-Christopher Ngueyen, sophomore
-Justin Obeldobel, junior
-Oliver Pickens, junior
-Jacob Pollick, junior
-Quincy Sannan, sophomore
-Eric Sheller, sophomore
-Paul Thompson, senior
-Benjamin Wargula, freshman
-John Wargula, junior

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Hopewell HS Baseball

Coach Morgan Singletary Hopes Team Continues Strong Play Down the Stretch

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 3 minutes read

The 2025 season has been full of peaks and valleys for the Hopewell Vikings baseball team.

Starting off the season 0-5, the Vikings have rallied over the last month and find themselves right in the middle of 4A WPIAL Playoff hunt with a big series looming this week against rival Central Valley.

Despite the slow start, head coach Morgan Singletary is proud of his young team staying the course.


“We’ve been reading the energy of the team, staying positive, and continuing to work towards the goals that we have,” Singletary said. “Nothing’s changed since the beginning of the year. We’re starting to put things together which is a good thing. We just held the course.”

“We know what the potential was. It was just a matter of achieving that. I think we’re getting close to seeing all that put together.”

And that comes at the perfect time with 4 section games remaining in the season. The Vikings will face the Warriors of Central Valley this week and close out their section schedule against Blackhawk next week, which could be a battle for the section title or a fight for a playoff spot.

But after a great sweep series against Hampton last week, Singletary believes his team is peaking at the right time heading into this final stretch run.

“We probably had our most complete game in that first Hampton game where the pitching was really good, defense was extraordinary and then our hitting finally came together,” Singletary stated.


“And then the second Hampton game, hitting held up, pitching was still really good and defense was still good enough. I think we’re starting to put the pieces together. Beginning of the season obviously didn’t go how we wanted to, but I think we’re in a good spot right now.”

Singletary hopes that momentum continues this week.

“I really think we just need to keep playing how we played the past two games,” Singletary said. “We went into the Hampton series and that was pretty much a must win for us and the kids understood it and they responded to that. And now we’re looking at Central Valley. They might not be must wins, but they’re about as close as they can get because if we can end up winning them both, then I think that puts us in the playoffs. So we’re looking at it that way, two games that can get us into the playoffs.”

Coming into the season, Singletary was excited about his pitching staff and knew it would carry them through the year. It has been that and then some this season for the Vikings, but the offense is finally coming around at the right time.

“I would definitely say our pitching is our strength,” Singletary said. “They’ve kept us in a lot of the games that we lost. We had the ability to win just because our pitching performed so well. But with that being said, the offense is doing their part now in the last couple games. I’m happy to see how our offense has progressed and how some of the younger kids have really stepped up and started taking on rules that we want them to take on. So I’d say our strength is still our pitching, but everything’s starting to complement that really well.”

Charlie Smetana and Kingston Krotec have been two of the keys for the Vikings offense in this late season resurgence. Logan Triscila has also set up at the plate throughout the season.

If the pitching continues to control games and the offense progresses like it has, the Vikings should find their way back in the playoffs. For Singletary, he is taking it one game at a time and hopes they continue to roll into the playoffs, and they will be a tough out for any team.

“If we continue to play the way that we have, we can compete against almost any team. It’s just going to be a matter of how we get there,” Singletary stated. “If we get on a nice little roll and put a bunch of games together here at the end of the season, that will give us a lot of momentum going into playoffs, which can really help. It’s just how this next series goes against CV and then honestly, how the series after that goes against Blackhawk, and we’re just really taking it one game at a time because that’s kind of where our season’s at.”

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Hopewell Track and Field

Hopewell’s Hurdler’s Hard Work Lands Him on National List

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 3 minutes read

They talk about late bloomers in sports all the time, whether it’s pro, college or high school.

On the track, Hopewell’s Zach Lucas is blossoming at the right time!

A senior hurdler for the Coach Jeff Brunton’s Track and Field program, Lucas joined the team for the first time last season. Though he had never run track before, Lucas had always dreamed of competing in the hurdles. After trying out some different events, Zach knew the hurdles were his right spot.

“Last year was my first year and I’ve always wanted to do hurdles for practice,” said Lucas. “I did a little bit of the triple jump and I just hurt my leg too much so I decided that wasn’t for me.”

“Going to our first meet last year, I ended up doing the 100 and the 200. I didn’t even touch hurdles to start. Then going to the second half of last season. I started off doing the 300m hurdles and then the 110.”

That first year track was a great experience for Lucas, filled with memories with his teammates and running in the WPIAL Team Championships.

Hopewell’s Zach Lucas

“Last year was amazing,” Lucas said. “We went to team championships for WPIAL, which we haven’t really been there much, that was really exciting. Going to invitationals was really exciting, too. It was really fun.”

“One of my favorite parts about invitational is we would go to the meets and the meets will be done 6-7 hours later. It would be like 8 o’clock at night and we would go out to eat afterward as a team and it was just like one of the best times ever. I think that’s what really encouraged me to come back. I really just enjoyed that.”


The fact that Lucas is starting to excel has also made the sport fun.

The confidence Lucas gained last year has already shown up in a big way. MileSplit USA, a national website, listed the senior as one of the top 50 most improved 110m hurdlers, going from 19.20 to 15.89 on his time.

Lucas couldn’t believe it when he saw that he made the list.

“I was really shocked,” Lucas stated. “I was just going to MilesSplit and I saw my name had been included in a headline and I scrolled down there. I was 50 on the dot. I was like this is crazy.”

A lot of that improvement Lucas credits to his coaches.

“They’re all really supportive,” Lucas said. “I think that’s one thing that Coach Brunton is known for. He’s very supportive and he really looks out for you. He really encouraged me to push through it and that I can do it. I really adapted to how he’s been teaching us. We get individual work with him so we can refine our technique.”


“When Zach came out for track as a junior, I knew hurdles would be a good event for him, because there are so many technical aspects to work on, and I had seen him relentlessly practice football drills on his own for the two years prior,” said Brunton. “I knew he was going to absorb instruction and obsess over every detail to improve. That has been his super power – his unending work ethic.”

With the encouragement of Coach Brunton, Lucas will run track next year at Geneva College. Though he is excited for the next chapter, Lucas wants to end his senior season on a high note.

“I was two seconds shy of WPIALS last year for my 300 because that was the only event I ended up doing towards the end of the season,” Lucas said. “Now that I know I have the speed to do it, I just have to get the mindset right to just run it. It’ll be the first time for me going to an Individual WPIALs rather than just a Team WPIALS.”

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell’s Rocco Marcantonio Working Hard to Improve His Game (Leg)!

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 2 minutes read

Last season, Hopewell Vikings junior kicker Rocco Marcantonio was able to accomplish the unthinkable.

In Hopewell’s 24-7 win over Quaker Valley last September, Marcantonio tied a WPIAL record with a 55-yard field goal, equaling a mark set 22 years ago by East Allegheny’s Josh Miller.

Marcantonio didn’t even know he set the record until he made it to the sidelines, which left him in disbelief.

“My dad and Coach Mottes came up to me and said that was the record and I was shocked,” said Marcantonio. “I couldn’t believe I actually did it.”

A record setting kick combined with a great junior season has Marcantonio on the radar of college football coaches. He has already picked up an offer from the Akron Zips, an honor he shares with teammate freshman quarterback James Armstrong.

But as he prepares for his senior season, Marcantonio isn’t resting on his laurels as he’s looking to take his kicking game up a notch, and that’s with more focused training. In order to work on his game, Rocco traveled down to Florida to take part in a prestigious Kohl’s kicking camp.

“I’ve gained a lot of distance on my kickoff and my field goals have gone back a lot,” Marcantonio tells Vikings Sports Now. “I haven’t really started actually training kicking as much as I did this year. I have been hitting more legs and I’ve been working out like two, three times a week. It’s just helping a lot.”

The distance includes making kicks this offseason from 60+ yards, even further than his 55-yard field goal last season.

Take a look at Rocco’s 60+ yard field and the distance he’s now getting on his kickoffs.

 

Not only does Marcantonio handle the kicking duties for the Vikings football team, but he is also one of the key members of the Vikings soccer team, playing all over the field including at striker.

Balancing one sport can be tough enough for a high school athlete, but two at the same time can be daunting. Not for Marcantonio, who says soccer keeps him performing at his best for both sports.

“Soccer right now is keeping me fit and keeping me in shape,” Marcantonio said. “I’m always active which is good. I’m good at balancing both.”

The Vikings football team will need that balance and big leg to help them make noise in a very competitive Western Hills Conference. After going 4-6 under first year head coach Matt Mottes, Hopewell is looking to take another big step up the ladder in 2025.

That’s what Marcantonio is focused on.

“I see us going pretty far this year. I see us going to the WPIAL finals this year. We’re going to be a really good team, and I think we’re going to do some really good things. We have a really good, hardworking team and the discipline is great. Everyone is getting in the gym and looking great. I think we’re going to do very well this year.”

And if a game comes down to a big kick, Marcantonio is ready for that moment.

“I like pressure. I’m going to be honest, I love it,” Marcantonio stated. “I don’t think there’s any pressure that’s too big for me.”

 

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Hopewell HS Baseball

Baseball Preview: Pitching to Be Key for 2025 Hopewell Vikings

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 2 minutes read

As the Hopewell Area Vikings head into the 2025 baseball season, there’s palpable excitement surrounding their pitching staff. Having established a reputation for strong pitching over the last several years, the Vikings are ready to build and learn from an uncharacteristic 2024 season.

Head coach Morgan Singletary is optimistic about the capabilities of his pitching roster, which features some of the best pitchers in the WPIAL led by junior Kingston Krotec and senior David Medich, who brings a family legacy to the mound being the grandson of former MLB pitcher Doc Medich. Singletary believes this dynamic pitching duo, along with Ben McDonald, will anchor the team’s performance this season.

“I think our pitching is gonna be really solid this year,” Singletary tells Vikings Sports Now. “We have a lot of arms, and we plan on using a lot of them as long as everyone stays healthy, which is always a big question at any level.”

The depth of this pitching staff gives Singletary flexibility, allowing him to maneuver strategically throughout the season with how the Vikings are performing.

The experience gained from 2024 is expected to pay dividends as Singletary noted that many of his younger players had their first real exposure to varsity baseball in 2024, facing challenges that will ultimately help the growth of this team.

“Experience mostly is what’s gonna help out,” Singletary stated, highlighting the importance of this hands-on learning process in an up-and-down 2024 that saw the Vikings eliminated in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.  He anticipates that the lessons learned will translate into improved performance from his returning staff.

Singletary has high expectations for the young pitchers who gained valuable experience last season. He emphasizes that these players, though still having not reached their peak, are ready to shoulder more responsibility.

“We had some younger guys that got some experience last year, but I’m expecting them to take big strides and take some of the load off of the guys,” he remarked.

Behind every great pitching staff is a leader doing the catching, and the presence of junior catcher Charlie Smetana cannot be overstated. His breakout sophomore year has the coaches excited for this season and how he can help take this pitching staff to the next level, competing for WPIAL titles again.

Singletary pointed out that Smetana’s ability to communicate effectively with pitchers is crucial.

“Having a sturdy person back there is very important,” Singletary remarked. “A catcher with Smetana’s ability can be the difference between a solid outing and a challenging game for the pitchers.”

As the Vikings gear up for their first game of the season against Shenango this Friday, it’s clear that the success of the Hopewell pitching staff will be fundamental to their success for a deep playoff run and making a trip back to Washington Wild Things Park. With this strong combination of experience and talent on the mound, the Vikings’ pitchers are poised to play a pivotal role in getting them back to the top of the mountain.

HOPWELL 2025 PITCHERS
Kingston Krotec (junior)
David Medich (senior)
Ben McDonald (junior)
Jake Knobloch (sophomore)
Payton Korker (junior)
Brody McCullough (sophomore)
Drew Donovan (junior)
James Armstrong (freshman)

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Hopewell HS Girls BasketballHopewell HS Girls Volleyball

The Shell Legacy at Hopewell Continues!

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 4 minutes read

When you mention the last name Shell to residents of the Hopewell community, they immediately think of former Vikings standout running back Rushel Shell. During his high school career, Shell became one of the most prolific running backs in the history of the PIAA.

Not only did Shell set the state record for rushing yards, a mark that still stands, he was one of the most highly recruited athletes in the WPIAL in the last 15 years, committing to Pitt before finishing his collegiate career at West Virginia.

Shell also led the Vikings to their last WPIAL Championship appearance, losing to Mike Caputo and West Allegheny in one of the most hyped WPIAL Championship games ever.

But now there are some different Shells poised to continue the family legacy at Hopewell: Rushel’s twin daughters Amiyah and Arionna.

Amiyah and Arionna are currently 7th graders at Hopewell Junior High School. The twins just finished their first season playing basketball for the Vikings and currently, they are beginning their first season playing volleyball.

For Rushel, it is thrilling to see his daughters play for the same school where he stared at.

“It’s a proud moment,” Rushel said. “Kind of makes me reflect on my past and just makes me excited for the future.”

For his daughters, their dad is just that and not one of the best and accomplished football players in Pennsylvania history.

“I handle it very well and I don’t think anything special about it,” said Amiyah. “I just see him as my dad and that’s it and I sometimes feel pressured because my dad is very attached to sports, and I have to try hard.”

“I don’t feel any sort of pressure and actually, I think one day I could have a good legacy if I put in work,” said Arionna.

Despite only being in 7th grade, the pair contributed in a big way, with Amiyah playing point guard and Arionna playing small forward. The duo helped lead the Vikings to a 9-4 record this past season.

The connection they have is pretty clear to their dad and the fact that they get to enjoy these moments in athletics together is special to the entire Shell family.

“Playing with my sisters is very stressful but we make a good duo, and I know us playing together make each other better,” said Amiyah.

“Playing with my sister is the best knowing I always have someone to be rely on, also knowing we are one of the best duos in the Beaver County,” says Arionna.

“They’re like a union, ying and yang,” Rushel tells Vikings Sports Now. “One is a really good dribble and shooter, and one’s good at getting rebounds and playing defense. She guards like a big man.”

Aggressiveness is another reason the twins are excelling at such a young age, something that they’ve inherited from their dad. That trait helped Rushel rush for over 100 yards in 39 straight games in high school, breaking a mark set by former Detroit Lions great Billy Simms in 1975.

Being the daughters of a former standout athlete, doesn’t mean their dad is going to go easy on them.

“I’m pretty tough on them,” Rushel said. “I always tell them if they can deal with me, they’ll be able to deal with any coach they ever run across. I tell them what it takes, the sacrifice, the stuff you gotta put into it to get to that destination.”

“We yell at each other a lot (laughing), but it helps us to get motivated,” said Arionna. ” He’s training me to be one of the best and he’s a tough coach but not to be mean just to show it takes a lot to be the best.”

“My dad coaching me is very hard, but he trains me to be the best and tells me not to give up,” says Amiyah. “One of the best memories we had is when we beat Central Valley twice in the playoffs last year and he was very excited, and I was happy to see him that excited.”

The Shell sisters have one more year in the junior high before they take their talents to the high school level, where they plan on making basketball their primary sport.

“Basketball is my main sport and love it a lot,” says Amiyah. “Basketball teaches me that everyone is an equal part of good. Some players are good are shooters and some are good at taking it to the hoop, etc. But I am looking forward to playing high school basketball and after that hopefully college basketball and I’m working to become one of the best.”

“My passion is playing basketball, which is definitely one of the best things. I can’t wait to play in high school on a big stage trying to be the best and show people who I really am.”

“They both have aspirations to play at the next level,” said Rushel. “The dream scenario would be they both go to the same school and have a good career, killing it and getting a degree. That would be mission complete for me.”

You can expect big things from the Shell Twins in the coming years, Hopewell’s version of the Cavinder Twins.

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Hopewell HS Baseball

Hopewell HS Baseball Ready to Make Another Run at a Title

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 4 minutes read

Expectations are always high for the Hopewell Viking baseball team. And when you win two WPIAL 4A Championships over the past 4 seasons, you can see why.

But 2024 was a back step for the Vikings, exiting in the first round of the playoffs while struggling to stay above .500 with a young roster.

As they enter the 2025 season, Hopewell is ready to make it back to Wild Things Park in Washington County.


Head coach Morgan Singletary shared his optimism with the team’s progression during their preseason training.

“Workouts have been pretty good,” Singletary said. “We have them through the winter with our junior high through varsity kids working out together so we have a wide range of athletes there but it’s really focused on improving aspects of their game and getting better. They’ve gone really well so far.”

If they hope to make it back to Wild Things Park, the Vikings will have to traverse through a tough section. Ambridge, Central Valley and North Catholic are projected to be a lot better than last year while traditional power Blackhawk is always in the mix. Hampton will join their conference after dropping down 5A.

Regardless of tough matchups, Singletary believes the experience his young team gained last year will pay dividends in 2025.

“I think experience mostly is what’s gonna help out,” Singletary stated. “We had a lot of sophomores, a lot of young players playing. We even had some freshmen playing games so we had a lot of young guys in their first real experience with varsity, so them getting that experience and seeing how they performed.”

“Knowing the group of kids they are, they want to improve whether it slightly or a big jump we’ll see, but they’re definitely put in the work to have that improvement.”

Where that big improvement will be needed, according to Singletary, will be on offense for the Vikings.

“Our pitching was really good last year, but our hitting wasn’t as good,” Singletary said. “A lot of kids haven’t struggled like that before so I think getting that experience and seeing what’s expected out of them and what they need to do to be successful really pushed them a little bit and this year I think we’re gonna see the work they put in from last year.”

Pitching will once again be the strong point of this Hopewell squad. The Vikings have a great pitching staff that includes Kingston Krotec and David Medich, who is the grandson of former Pirates and Yankees pitcher Doc Medich, who pitched in the MLB in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. Singletary is excited to see what this group can do again in 2025.

“I think our pitching is gonna be really solid this year,” Singletary stated. “We have a lot of arms and we plan on using a lot of arms as long as everyone stays healthy, which is always a big question with pitchers in high school and pretty much at any level. We’re gonna have Kingston (Krotec), David (Medich) and Ben McDonald. We had some younger guys that got some experience last year, but I’m expecting them to take big strides and take some of the load off of the guys.”

But at the end of the day, a pitching staff is only as good as who is manning the backstop, and the Vikings have a good one. Charlie Smetana had a breakout sophomore campaign behind the plate and has already garnered interest from Division 1 programs. Having a catcher with Smetana’s ability makes life a lot easier for the Vikings, which can be the difference between a good and great team according to Singletary.

“We’ve been really lucky at the catcher position,” Singletary said. “The whole team revolves around that and it can make or break games, giving extra base and giving extra balls that should’ve been strikes. When Charlie went in, we pretty much threw him into the fire his  freshman year because we needed to make a change.”

“He started the second half of his freshman year and was around for that championship working with the pitchers. He knows how to talk to them (the pitchers) and communicate what we need so having him back there and having a steady person back there is very important. He knows how to manage them when their stuff might not be going as good.”

While pitching and catching will be the core of this Vikings team, Singletary expects some of his other young players to take a big step on offense as well.

“I think we’re gonna have a couple guys on offense really step up, ” Singletary stated. “I think Logan Triscilla’s offense is gonna take a big improvement this year. Another guy I see contributing will be Jake Knobloch. He’s a sophomore this year and he’ll be pitching for us along with playing the field so we’re expecting to see some improvement out of him from his freshman year. I’m excited to see what he does. And Drew Donovan’s gonna have more time in the field and we would like to see some improvement from him on offense.”

“Some young guys coming up we’re gonna need to contribute. We’ll probably have two or three freshmen playing with our varsity team including James Armstrong. We haven’t got to see him much because he’s been playing football and basketball, but we are excited to see what he’s able to do on the baseball field.”

With a great nucleus on the mound and behind the plate coupled with a good, young core, the Vikings are in prime position to once again make it back to the WPIAL playoffs and make a deep run.

Their season starts March 11th at home versus Peters Township.

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High School Football

Hopewell’s Matt Mottes Has Only One Goal for 2025, Get Vikings Back to the Playoffs

by Rich Donahue
written by Rich Donahue 3 minutes read

For the first time in over a decade, there is a buzz around the Hopewell Vikings football program as they prepare for the 2025 season.

After winning only 3 games from 2021-23 including an 0-9 season in 2021, the Vikings look to have turned the corner, finishing with a 4-6 record last season.

A lot of that buzz can be credited to new head coach Matt Mottes. Last season, Mottes served as the interim head coach following the departure of John Rosa, who took over as the athletic director for Winchester Thurston two months before the season.

When asked about the momentum heading into next season, Mottes gives all the credit to the Vikings’ players and last years’ seniors for setting up the foundation for 2025.

“The kids are really excited about what we accomplished last year,” Mottes said. “They’re happy that we’re underway for the 2025 season. We’re looking to build off what we did last year. Our seniors last year did a great job of laying the groundwork for our future.”


With that groundwork laid out, Mottes now has the opportunity to lead the Vikings back to the WPIAL playoffs, a place they haven’t been since 2012. That will not be an easy hill to climb as Hopewell must get through the likes of Avonworth, Central Valley, North Catholic and Beaver in the Western Hills conference to get back to the playoffs. The Vikings fell to all four teams by double digits in 2024.

To get through one of the toughest conferences in the WPIAL, Mottes has a similar message for his team.”

“We need to mentally and physically prepare ourselves.” Crediting his strength and conditioning coach, Craedel Kimbrough, for ensuring the players are ready for the rigors of the Western Hills conference. “We played teams tough for periods and stretches of games last year. With the experience from our younger guys playing and our senior class for 2025, I think that’s going to play dividends for us and for our success in 2025.”

One of those younger guys who played a significant role in 2024 was quarterback James Armstrong. Just a freshman, Armstrong earned the starting job following a season-ending injury to incumbent Kingston Krotec. And the quarterback nicknamed “Boo-Boo” didn’t just take the job, but ran with it, displaying incredible arm strength and running ability for a freshman.

His performance was so impressive, Pitt has already offered the 15-year-old quarterback a scholarship. In recent weeks, he has also picked up offers from Sacramento State and Akron. Not since Rushel Shell has a player out of Hopewell received this much interest from big time programs, but Mottes isn’t worried about Armstrong not being able to handle the spotlight.

“James is a humble kid and comes from a great family,” said Mottes. “His dad’s an unbelievable guy, you wish every parent was like that. Talking with James, you would never know that he’s a 15-year-old freshman.”

But even with a young, dynamic quarterback, they are only as good as the pieces around them. For Mottes, he points to the offensive line being a strong point for the Vikings heading into 2025.

“Our line is gonna be all seniors, both offensive and defensive. We’re returning five starters from last year, which is fantastic.”

As for the goal in 2025 for this group? Mottes made it very clear where he sees this Vikings team this coming season.

“We’re gonna go back to the playoffs in 2025,” said Mottes. “And to be honest with you, these kids deserve it. Tough times don’t last, tough people do, and our kids are definitely tough.”

 

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