Mike Vukovcan Regardless of the sport, when you’re a ranked team and lose, you’re going to drop in the standings and that’s what happened with the Hopewell Vikings.
Following their 28-21 loss on Friday to Imani Christian, Hopewell is no longer the No. 1 ranked in WPIAL Class 3A.
The latest rankings are out, and various media outlets have the Vikings in a couple different spots in the rankings.
*WPIAL Insider now ranks Hopewell as the No. 2 ranked team in 3A.
*Trib Live/TribHSSN, Don Rebel drops Hopewell down to No. 3
Class 3 A
1. Elizabeth Forward
2. Propel Braddick Hills (Imani Christian)
3. Hopewell
4. Avonworth
5. Aliquippa
*PA Today Sports places Hopewell as No. 2
*The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also ranks Hopewell as the No. 2 team in 3A.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 3A Rankings
1) Propel Braddock Hills (Imani Christian)
2) Hopewell
3) Avonworth
4) Elizabeth Forward
5) Aliquippa
Where Hopewell should be ranked is a conversation piece with no right answers. The only thing that matters is washing away the taste of defeat and to getting another win ASAP.
They’ll have that opportunity this Friday in what I feel is a very critical game for the Vikings as they’ll host Central Valley.
I believe this will be a very telling game for a number of reasons. Like with Avonworth, Central Valley is a football program with a long history of winning, including WPIAL championships. They’ve always been considered a measuring stick for any team to see how good you really are. This will certainly be the case for Hopewell.
Central Valley is no longer in Class 3A as they’ve moved up to 4A. HC Mark Lyon’s program is once again ranked in the Top 5 and are led by talented senior quarterback Braddock Ambrose.
The Warriors will enter this game with a record of 2-1. CV wins have been over Beaver, 28-18, and Shaler, 34-17, while they lost in Week 2 to Avonworth, 28-14.
Will this be the year Hopewell is finally able to beat Central Valley? Unfortunately, the games between these two teams haven’t been close. In fact, Hopewell has lost 13 consecutive games to CV, with their last win coming in 2010.
Recent Games Between Hopewell and Central Valley:
2025: CV 23-7
2024: CV 44-20
2021: CV 47-6
2020: CV 51-2
2019: CV 63-28
2018: CV 52-7
2017: CV 38-16
2016: CV 35-0
2015: CV 41-7
2014: CV 57-7
2013: CV 42-14
2012: CV 35-17
2011: CV 34-23
