Mike Vukovcan Becoming a winning program takes time and is a process and certainly doesn’t happen after a few games.
Although they’re in the process of becoming one and certainly have everything in place to become one, Hopewell isn’t there quite yet.
I know everyone wants it to happen right away as we live in an instant gratification society but that’s not the way things go.
Hopewell is finding that out as they’re in the middle of a rough two game stretch; including last nights 48-14 loss to Avonworth. Over the last two games, Hopewell has given up 99 points.
While the loss wasn’t surprising considering Avonworth is one of the top AAA teams in the state, the way the first half ended was certainly disappointing.
Hopewell took over a possession trailing 14-6 with 1:58 left in the 2nd quarter but ended up going into halftime trailing 28-6. Â That was a killer.
There’s certainly plenty they can learn from and will need to do so in the second half of the season.
As they start the last 5 games of the season, the Vikings currently sit at 3-2. Despite starting out 0-2, they’re far from out of a playoff spot.
Here are the current standings and keep in mind, the top 4 teams qualify for the playoffs.
North Catholic 2-0
Central Valley 2-0
Avonworth 1-0
Beaver 1-1
Quaker Valley 0-1
Hopewell 0-2
McGuffey 0-2
Hopewell’s quest to qualify for the playoffs begins this Friday as they take on Quaker Valley, followed by McGuffey. That will likely take their record to 2-2.
As I’ve suspected from the start, Hopewell making the playoffs will come down to the final two games of the season against Central Valley and North Catholic.
Everyone needs to take a big breath, don’t panic and trust the process. Everything is fine and correctable.
With that being said, two things that need fixed are: 1) Hopewell’s line play 2) costly turnovers.
The Vikings defensive line is more talented than they’ve been performing of late. In the first 3 games, they dominated against the run and got after the opposing quarterback but neither has happened in the last two games.
This team is facing some adversity right now but that’s not a bad thing.
It’s time for the leaders on the team, especially the seniors, to take control and remind everyone that all of their goals are still in front of them and very much attainable.
Sustained winning and becoming a winning program isn’t easy and doesn’t happen overnight or because you’re ranked by a media outlet. It happens with good performances and winning games week after week.
Hopewell has a chance to start that tradition this season and I believe it’ll happen with a strong end of the season run starting this Friday at Quaker Valley.
