Mike Vukovcan Things get real tomorrow night for the Hopewell Vikings football program.
After breezing through the last couple of months because of superior talent, things will get more challenging as the WPIAL playoffs begin.
While that might not necessarily be the case Friday night against Mt. Pleasant, Hopewell will eventually get tested as they look to win their first WPIAL Championship since 2002.
The questioning and disappointment of their No. 3 seed is behind them as HC Matt Mottes has his players focused on playing their best football of the season over the next month. While a different seed would have given them a more manageable path to Acrisure Stadium, in the end, if you’re good enough to win a championship, you take care of business regardless of the opponent.
Hopewell will enter the playoffs with plenty of things that will give them a chance to have success starting with No. 5.
In any sport, when you have the best player on the field, you’ll have a chance and Hopewell has that with junior quarterback James Armstrong. Regardless of who they end up playing in the playoffs, Armstrong will be the most talented player on the field, and I expect him to take his game to another level. Because of the opposition and not being able to play four quarters, we have not been able to see the real James Armstrong.
That will change tomorrow night against Mt. Pleasant. It should be fun to watch Armstrong, Nasir Wade, Brody Rock, Avery Bokor, Tre Cameron, etc. light up the scoreboard.
The second biggest reason Hopewell has a chance to do something special is the talent on defense.
The job that first year Hopewell defensive coordinator Wayne Tatalovich has done can’t be understated. If there’s such a thing as WPIAL assistant coach of the year, Tatalovich should win it. This group of kids know their assignments, are playing fundamentally well and are executing the gameplan of Tatalovich and his coaches.
Armstrong will always give Hopewell a chance so will the Vikings defensive line, which is arguably the best is 3A. You’d be hard pressed to find a more talented trio up front than Keith Young, Aris Haniotes and Brody Rock. Young is virtually unblockable and then you add someone like Haniotes, who has shown his pass-rushing ability for two years, along with stuffing the run.
Those two players are dominant enough but then you add Rock to the equation, as he’s been a gamechanger. Opposing offensive tackles haven’t been able to stop him off the edge all season as he led Hopewell in sacks (12) and has batted some numerous passes. First year contributor Richie Johns has also been impressive, as he Young and Haniotes each have a team-high 14 tackles for loss.
The dominance of that defensive line has allowed Tatalovich’s linebackers to roam free, fly to the ball and cause havoc on opposing ballcarriers. Despite being first-year starters, Roman Amadio, Evan McCabe, Javion Lindsey and Greg Gigliotti have had outstanding seasons and turned the linebacking unit into a strength.
When a defense is getting that sort of productivity up front, it makes things a lot easier for the secondary. That being said, Wade, Maddox Fattore, Cameron, Tamar Tisdale, etc. have done their jobs and have practically eliminated big passing plays from the opposition.
The third thing that this Hopewell team has going for them is that they’re hungry. Not that they needed motivation, but the disrespect shown to them by the WPIAL football playoff committee has lit a real fire for the players and coaches.
Aside from being pissed off, this group of players know that they’re window and opportunity is closing soon. This collection of talent won’t be together forever, and they feel the urgency to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. The opportunity to play with a generational quarterback doesn’t come along often.
All this being said, a WPIAL Championship isn’t going to be handed to them just because they’re talented.  There will be a few other teams also skilled enough to get crowned as champions.
The question will be whether Hopewell can play mistake free football and take advantage of this opportunity that’s in front of them.
That journey begins Friday night at Tony Dorsett Stadium.
