Mike Vukovcan It’s hard to believe that we’ve arrived at the final game of the regular season in the 2025 WPIAL High School football season.
Tonight at 7 PM, for the 19 seniors on the team, it will be the last time they play a football game at Tony Dorsett Stadium and it’s a game that has meaning in the standings.
Both Hopewell and North Catholic enter the game with records of 6-3 and fighting to earn the 3rd and final automatic spot in their section.
With the likelihood that the loser of this game still earning a wild card spot, these two teams will be battling for seeding in the playoffs. The loser will receive a seeding between No. 10 and No. 12 while the winner is likely receiving a seed somewhere between 6 and 9.
The top storyline on the field tonight will be the matchup of the two quarterbacks- Hopewell’s James Armstrong and North Catholic’s Joey Felitsky.
Hopewell’s James Armstrong
You know about Boo, but you need to get familiar with Felitsky. How good is he? Entering Week 10 of the season, North Catholic’s senior quarterback has thrown for the most yards in the WPIAL.
Great team win on Friday against Beaver! Proud of my team and how we battled!
14/19 (74% Completion Percentage)
262 Passing Yards/3 Passing TD's
93 Rushing Yards/2 Rushing TD's@michaelemcmahon @NCtrojansFB @CoachRiz_NCHS @TheWPIALEdition @PA_TodaySports @WPIAL_Insider… pic.twitter.com/sDFkW88pku— Joe Felitsky C/O 2026 Quarterback (@JoeFelitsky) October 12, 2025
Felitsky (6’1″, 185-pounds) has completed 117 of his 168 passes for 2098 yards and 29 touchdown passes. On the other hand, Armstrong has the 5th most passing yards in the WPIAL as he’s completed 98 of 158 passes for 1,885 yards and 19 touchdown passes.
With all that being said, this game could and likely will come down to which defense can make a few stops and possibly come up with a turnover or two.
The other million-dollar question is the health of Hopewell’s sophomore quarterback. If he has the same lack of mobility that he had a week ago against Central Valley, it’s going to be hard for him to be productive and will turn him into a one-dimensional quarterback without any mobility. Not only will that make it easier for North Catholic to defend him, but it will also allow them to zero in and running back Nasir Wade. Hopewell’s other sophomore star has rushed for 1,005 yards this season on just 97 carries.
Because of Armstrong’s health, it could come down to the Vikings ability to run the football with Wade, Brody Rock and George Tavkov.
Maybe it’s just the fan in me but something tells me that the Hopewell defensive line, led by Brian McCabe, Nick Thomas, Aris Haniotes, etc., will turn in a big-time performance tonight and positively impact the game.
Will the guys in the back end of Hopewell’s defense be able to keep the North Catholic playmakers in front of them and make some plays? The game could come down to that.
Despite entering this game as a banged-up team, I believe the emotion and atmosphere with playing at home will be a factor and although it won’t be easy, I’m going with Hopewell in a high-scoring close one. While we’re talking touchdowns, it could very well come down to a field goal by Hopewell’s senior kicker Rocco Marcantonio.
If making this prediction with the assumption Armstrong is healthy. If he isn’t and can’t run, then all bets are off.
PREDICTION: HOPEWELL 35 NORTH CATHOLIC 31
