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Hopewell HS Football

Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell QB James Armstrong Adds Another ACC Offer

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

This morning, Hopewell 4-star quarterback James Armstrong made the 5.5 hour drive to Syracuse, New York and he came home with another Power 4 offer.

Armstrong received an invite to attend a Syracuse spring football practice, which he accepted. At the end of the day, the Syracuse coaching staff informed him about the offer.

Armstrong (6’3″, 225-pounds) now holds 9 Power 4 offers- Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Colorado, Florida State, Ole Miss and Syracuse.

Next weekend, Armstrong will be heading down South as he makes trips to both Duke and North Carolina. This will give him an opportunity to meet with the coaching staffs of both programs, watching their spring practices and checking out their facilities for the first time.

Armstrong recently picked up a 4-star rating from Rivals/On3 and was rated one of the Top 100 overall prospects in the Class of 2028 and the No. 2 recruit in Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell’s Aris Haniotes Continues to Work for That D-1 Scholarship

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

To achieve a life-long goal, it takes hard work and commitment, and you’d be hard pressed to find someone working harder to achieve that goal than Hopewell junior Aris Haniotes.

The 6’3″, 230-pound rush-end’s dream is to play college football at the D-1 level and is doing everything possible to put himself in position to make that happen.

Since Hopewell’s last game of the 2025 season against Imani Chrisitan, Haniotes has focused on one thing and that’s to get bigger, stronger and faster.

Knowing Aris and knowing his work ethic, it’s not surprising to hear that he’s accomplishing those things.

By doing that, combined with his break-out junior season in which he racked up 14 sacks, 23 tackles for loss and 63 tackles, Haniotes is on the radar of many D-1 programs.

This past weekend, Haniotes was invited to attend a spring practice at Bowling Green, who’s head coach is former Heisman Trophy winning Ohio State running back Eddie George. This comes on the feels after making a visit to Pitt a few weeks early.

“Bowling Green was great,” Haniotes tells Vikings Sports Now. “They have a great culture with Coach Eddie George and his staff. I got along well with their D-line coach Clyde Simmons.”

If that name sounds familiar, Simmons was a former All-Pro DE that had a 15-year career in the NFL playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears.

 

What’s next for Haniotes in terms of recruiting?

Monmouth is scheduled to pay him a visit in the spring, along with Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall and Temple. All of which would like to evaluate this talented player.

The Hopewell Vikings team already has two future D-1 players in James Armstrong and Nasir Wade and I believe that number will increase to three in the near future with Haniotes.

Unfortunately, times and different with college recruiting because of the transfer portal with programs pursuing veteran players first before turning their attention to high school players.

Haniotes has D-1 skill and it’s only a matter of time before all the hard work he’s put in the last two years start to pay off.

Remember Aris, Patience, Persistence and Perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success!

 

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Hopewell HS Baseball

Hopewell Loses to Beaver, 3-2, in Season Opener

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

BEAVER– After having their first two non-section games of the season postponed because of weather, the Hopewell HS Baseball team traveled to Beaver for their 2026 season opener.

There were plenty of positives to take from the game but unfortunately for Hopewell, one inning when Beaver scored all 3 of their runs after 2 outs was the difference in a 3-2 loss.

Senior left-hander Ben McDonald got the start for Hopewell and went 4 innings, allowing 4 hits (3 of which came in the 2nd inning), 3 earned runs and struck out 8 batters.

Senior Payton Korker relieved McDonald in the 5th inning and was fantastic going 2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and struck out 4 batters.

Offensively, Hopewell recorded 4 hits and drew 5 walks but were unable to come up with timely hits with runners in scoring position.

McDonald led the way with 2 hits, including an RBI triple in the 2nd inning, which gave Hopewell a 1-0 lead. Sophomore James Armstrong reached base 3 times (3 walks) and scored a run via a Beaver balk. Seniors Logan Triscila and Charlie Smetana recorded Hopewell’s other 2 hits.

The biggest positive coming out of the game was Hopewell’s pitching neutralizing a potent Beaver lineup and holding them to just 4 hits and recording 12 strikeouts in just 6 innings.

When Beaver did put the ball in play, Hopewell was solid defensively with Drew Donovan making a nice play at shortstop as did Korker in right field.

These two teams will play game two of this series tomorrow, with the game once again being played at Beaver due to the Hopewell Track Team having a home meet at the same time.

Senior Kingston Krotec is expected to get the start tomorrow for Hopewell.

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell QB James Armstrong Receives Big Recruiting News from Rivals

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

People in Western Pennsylvania and particularly the WPIAL know about James Armstrong and the talent that he possesses, apparently so do the national recruiting evaluators.

This morning, Armstrong received a huge recruiting bump by Rivals.com as they released their top recruits in the Class of 2028.

The national recruiting staff at Rivals have named Armstrong a 4-star recruit and the No. 90 overall player and the No. 9 quarterback in the country in the Class of 2028.  



The 6’3″, 225-pound left-hander picked up new offers in the 2 weeks from Florida State and Colorado, to go along with previous ones from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.

PSN caught up with Armstrong after he received the news from Rivals as he was both excited and appreciative.

“It just makes me feel really excited and grateful,” Armstrong tells PSN. “I’ve put in a lot of work and have been striving to be officially viewed as a national recruit. This is just the beginning to my journey, but it’s still a great milestone that makes me feel great.”

As far as his spring schedule, Armstrong made a recent visit to West Virginia and this past weekend, he attended Pitt’s scrimmage at Acrisure Stadium.

Armstrong tells PSN that this Thursday he’ll travel to check out a Penn State spring practice and then in April, he’ll make visits to the state of North Carolina to see both Duke and North Carolina for the first time.

 

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Hopewell High School Football

Deion Sanders and Colorado Extend Offer to Hopewell’s James Armstrong

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

The recruitment of Hopewell sophomore quarterback James Armstrong continues to skyrocket as this morning; he received an offer from one of the top names in all of college football.

Armstrong learned that his latest offer came from Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado offensive coordinator and Pittsburgh native Brennan Marion informed Hopewell HC Matt Mottes of the offer to Armstrong.

Armstrong’s list of Power 4 offers now includes- Colorado, Pitt, West Virginia, Duke, Penn State, Florida State and North Carolina.

This morning, Armstrong traveled to Pittsburgh in order to take in Pitt’s scrimmage this morning at Acrisure Stadium. Armstrong was one of a number of top priority recruits for Pitt that was in attendance.

Next week, Armstrong will make an unofficial visit to State College to attend a Penn State Spring practice. This will be his first opportunity to be in attendance for one of new head coach Matt Campbell’s practices.

Later in April, Armstrong is scheduled to travel to the state of North Carolina in order to make unofficial visits to both Duke and North Carolina.

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell 2028 RB Nasir Wade Picks Up Another D-1 Offer

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 2 minutes read

Vikings Sports Now has some recruiting news for a member of the Hopewell HS football team.

This morning, Hopewell sophomore running back Nasir Wade received an offer from Kent State University. This becomes the 3rd D-1 offer for Wade, with the first two coming from Buffalo and Akron.

HC Mark Carney took over at Kent State last season and made huge improvements to the program in his first season, winning 5 games. Keep in mind, the previous two seasons, Kent State won a total of 1 game. Carney definitely has that program going in the right direction.

Possibly adding a huge talent like Wade would be a huge addition for Carney and Kent State.

IMO, Wade (5’9″, 170-pounds) is one of the Top 10 returning running backs in all of the WPIAL, regardless of classification. Very few players have the breakaway speed, ability to cut on a dime and capability to run between the tackles or off tackle like Wade.

In his first season at Hopewell, Wade totaled over 1,900 all-purpose yards along with 19 touchdowns. On the ground, ‘Bruiser’ carried the ball 125 times for 1,352 yards, while also collecting 365 receiving yards and 200+ yards on kick and punt returns.

Defensively at safety, Wade made 3 interceptions and recorded 2 defensive touchdowns (fumble recovery and a pick six).

The most intriguing aspect to his game from college coaches has to be his ability to go the distance every time he touches the ball.

Consider the fact that Wade averaged 11.2 yards per carry and 15 of his 19 touchdowns were from 45+ yards and 10 of his 19 were from 65 yards or more.

Bottom line is that he’s a human highlight waiting to happen.

The visibility that he’ll receive this coming season from playing in this Hopewell offense and sharing the backfield with quarterback James Armstrong will no doubt increase his visibility with Power 4 coaches and eventually land him a Power 4 offer(s).

This spring, Wade will work to increase his speed while being a member of the Hopewell Vikings HS Track and Field team and work with HC Jeff Brunton.

Wade tells me that he’ll be making upcoming spring visits to Virginia and Western Michigan, while taking part in a Prep Red Zone Showcase in West Virginia.

 

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Hopewell High School Football

The Complete Hopewell Vikings 2026 HS Football Schedule

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

As expected, the WPIAL released the 2026 high school football schedule, including the non-section games.

To say that the Hopewell Vikings will have a challenging schedule would be an understatement. While there’s no exact way of determining this, it no doubt has to be one of the most difficult schedules in the entire WPIAL.

Coach Matt Mottes has a talented group of players returning for the upcoming season so their opponents, especially the non-section ones, will no doubt challenge them and give them a sense of where they are as a program.

As Vikings Sports Now reported earlier this week, Hopewell will open the season with a Week 0 game against defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A champion Avonworth. At this time, it’s not been determined where that game will be played.

After Avonworth, the Vikings will go on the road for 2 games taking on Chartiers Valley (4A) followed by a contest against Imani Christian, which will be a rematch of last season’s WPIAL playoff quarterfinal matchup.

After those 2 road games, Hopewell will return home for back-back games at Tony Dorsett Stadium against Central Valley on September 18th and then Western Beaver on September 25th.

Both Central Valley and Western Beaver advanced to the WPIAL semifinals last season, which means that 4 of Hopewell’s first 5 games will be against programs that made it either to the semifinals or championship game of the 2025 playoffs.

Following the Western Beaver game, Hopewell starts up section play with a game at Beaver on October 2nd. That game will then be followed by a home game against Ellwood City, a road game at OLSH and then another home game against Ambridge.

The 2026 regular season will then conclude with Hopewell traveling to Aliquippa on October 30th. Considering the talent on both programs, that game will likely have major playoff implications.

HOPEWELL VIKINGS 2026 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Avonworth (not determined whether it’s home or away)
at Chartiers Valley
at Imani Christian
vs. Central Valley
vs. Western Beaver
at Beaver
vs. Ellwood City
at OLSH
vs. Ambridge
at Aliquippa

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell HS Football to Open Season Against Avonworth

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Last week, VSN reported on the new section that the Hopewell Vikings football team will a part of next season.

Later this week, it will officially be announced that Class 3A/Section 3 will be made up of Hopewell, Aliquippa, Beaver, Ambridge, OLSH and Ellwood City.

Those will be 6 teams in Hopewell’s 11 game schedule, meaning 5 more non-section games need to be filled.

Vikings Sports Now can tell you who one of their 2026 non-section games.

The Vikings will open up the 2026 season with a Week 0 game against defending WPIAL 3 A champions Avonworth. No word yet on where that game will be played.

Avonworth is and has consistently been one of the best 3A teams not only in the WPIAL but in the state of Pennsylvania so this will be a huge early challenge for Hopewell.

The Avonworth roster is loaded with talent and this year, one of their top players will be 2028 athlete Jaden Jones (6’3″, 185-pounds), who currently holds Power 4 offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Kentucky, NC State and Maryland.

HC Matt Mottes obviously wants to test his team before getting into section play and playing this type of opponent will certainly do that.

4 remaining games on the 2026 schedule need to be filled.

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell Junior DE Aris Haniotes Attends Pitt Spring Practice

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Hopewell Vikings standout defensive end Aris Haniotes is preparing hard for what he’s hoping to be a standout senior season.

The playmaking defensive end is coming off a season in which led the Vikings defense with 13.5 sacks.

Haniotes’ top off-season priority has been to add good weight to his 6’3″ frame and so far, so good as he’s currently up to 230 lbs.

Coming off that spectacular junior season, it’s no surprise that Haniotes has piqued the interest of D-1 football programs having received interest from Michigan State, Boston College along with serious interest from Villanova, Monmouth, Bowling Green, Georgetown and Temple.

This morning, Haniotes traveled to Pittsburgh in order to take in Pitt’s 3rd spring practice of the season. Receiving an invite to a Power Four programs is a big deal especially for a player that aspires to be a D-1 player one day.

Vikings Sports Now caught up this evening with Haniotes and asked him about his impressions of the day and what stood out.

“Going to Pitt for their spring practice was a really cool experience,” Haniotes told VSN. “It means a lot to be in this position and have the chance to go through the process of playing football at the next level. I’m really grateful for opportunities like this and getting to learn more about different programs and how they run things. Every program does things a little differently, so being able to see practices, meet coaches, and understand how teams operate has been a great experience for me.”


“It’s helped me learn what different schools value and what kind of environments they create for their players. Watching Pitt’s practice and seeing how their defense runs was awesome. The scheme is something I could definitely see myself playing in, and it was easy to picture myself out there. Chris LaSala was also really nice and welcoming to me during the visit, which I really appreciated. Overall, it was a great experience, and Pitt is definitely one that stands out to me.”

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Hopewell High School Football

Hopewell Vikings Football Section Opponents for Next 2 Seasons

by Mike Vukovcan
written by Mike Vukovcan 1 minutes read

Over the next two seasons, the Hopewell Viking football team will be having some new section competition.

Due to updating enrollment numbers and their new competition formula, every two years the WPIAL realigns sections in all of their conferences.

Over the last couple of years, Hopewell was in a section with Avonworth, North Catholic, Beaver, Central Valley, Quaker Valley and McGuffey.

That will change for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The WPIAL will officially announce the new sections next Wednesday, but Vikings Sports Now can give you a little inside when it comes to the Vikings.

For the next two years, here’s the five teams that will be in Class 3A/Section 3: Hopewell, Aliquippa, Beaver, Ambridge, OLSH and Ellwood City.

The notable departures are North Catholic, who will be moving to a different section in 3A, same with Avonworth, who’s expected to be in a section with Imani Christian and Central Valley, who’s moving up to 4A.

With this alignment, it would be nice to see Hopewell vs. Aliquippa as the last game of the season. With the talent in both programs, you would imagine it could be a meaningful game with a lot on the line.

Now with 6 known opponents, the next question is who will Hopewell’s 5 opponents be in non-conference?

A lot of factors go into this so it’s not as easy as calling a school and asking them to play. Plenty of things could impact a school’s decision. Bottom line is sometimes ‘it takes two to tango’.

The biggest reason for most of these names is that I believe playing local/area teams is very important and it’s also a good thing for the fans.

That being said, in a perfect world, here are schools that I’m hoping to see on Hopewell’s 2026 schedule
-Blackhawk
-West Allegheny
-Central Valley
-Beaver Falls
-New Castle

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