Vukovcan: Hopewell Football Heading in Right Direction BUT……..

When John Rosa and then Matt Mottes took over the Hopewell Vikings football program, they knew the obstacles that they’d be facing.

Trying to raise a program from the dead is beyond difficult and doesn’t happen in a year or two.

The decline of this program isn’t the fault of the previous coaching staff because they inherited a mess as well. Unfortunately for them, for a number of reasons, despite working hard at it, former head coach Matt Weiss and his staff weren’t able to turn things around.

Once again, that shouldn’t be viewed as a black eye for Weiss because this job is very, very, very difficult and the lift was heavy.

In case you’ve lost track or haven’t been following, here’s what I mean by that.

HOPEWELL VIKINGS FOOTBALL:
-Over the last 6 seasons combined (60 games), Hopewell won just a TOTAL of 10 games.

-Over the last 11 seasons, Hopewell has won 3+ games in a season just 3 times.

-Hopewell’s last season with a winning record was back in 2011, 13 years ago.

I could go on, but I’ll stop, as you probably get the point.

However, for the first time in a long time, the Vikings football program appears to have a heartbeat.

Yes, I know, we’re only 3 games into the season and the difficult part of the schedule is approaching BUT anyone that’s paying attention can clearly see some positives.

Before I get into specifics, as an outsider, the biggest things that I see with this 2024 team are and that give me hope are 1) team discipline and accountability 2) structure and a plan for turning it around 3) a healthy player-coach bond that’s developing.

Go to any winning program whether it be high school, college or the pros and those things exist. Fortunately, in the early stages, I clearly see those elements.

Whether it be the structure of practice, the communication between players and coaches, the tough but fair discipline for correcting issues, the attention to detail on what happens on a Hopewell home gameday and the detailed preparation of an upcoming opponent that this staff is providing the players to put them in the best position to win has been very impressive and at the same time eye opening.

REASONS TO BE ENCOURAGED/OPTIMISTIC
**The first encouraging sign is the size of the Hopewell 2024 roster. I don’t care what high school you are; it all starts with numbers. If you’re struggling to field a team as Hopewell has for many years, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. Regardless of the coach. After having previous rosters in the low 30’s (possibly in the high 20’s), this Hopewell roster is up to 50+ kids this season. That’s obviously a huge improvement.

**Getting results on the field. It’s one thing to put in the work and prepare but if you don’t see tangible evidence of progress, it can be discouraging. I’ll keep saying this because it’s necessary to, ITS EARLY (3 games) but if you can see progress.

Let’s start with production of the Hopewell offense. In 3 games, they’ve scored a total of 92 points (averaging 30 points per game). Reason I bring that number up is if you look back at last season and take away Week 2 in which they scored 56 points against New Brighton, Hopewell scored just 79 points total in the other 9 games combined. That’s a total of 8 points per game.

A big reason for the drastic difference is the solid play of the Hopewell offensive line. While they still have things to clean up and areas in which they can improve, the play of the line is night and day compared to the past. Pass protection has been OK and still needs to get better but in terms of the running game, the 5-man unit have made big time improvements. Hopewell’s offense gameplan is to run the ball and out physical their opponent, and because of the line, they’ve had a punchers chance to compete and win.

**Mindset. The coaching staff has gotten these players to believe in themselves and to not shutdown at the first sign of adversity. The fight and mental toughness of this team has been impressive and noticeable in all 3 games.

–Riverside game: After holding double-digit lead, Hopewell watched Riverside respond in the 3rd quarter and put the lead down to less than a touchdown. Instead of panicking and questioning things and one another, they immediately responded and scored the next couple of TD’s to ice the game.

–New Castle game: Although they didn’t win, it was impressive how they responded to first half adversity. In their first road game and playing at a tough environment, Hopewell watched New Castle score 2 consecutive long TD’s and looked to be on the verge of getting blown out. However, following a long field goal at the end of the first half and a TD in the early part of the 3rd quarter, Hopewell responded and found themselves down by just one score. Late in the 3rd quarter, if they would’ve been able to stop New Castle on 4th down, they would’ve gotten the ball back with the chance to tie. Although the final score wasn’t indicative of a close game, the Vikings were in the game and saw things get away from them in the 4th quarter.

–Ambridge game: Trailing for much of the game and waiting long weather delays, this team stayed mentally tough and after tying the game with less than a minute in the 4th quarter, Hopewell answered Ambridge’s TD in overtime and won it on a 2-point conversion.

All I’ll say is that I’m not sure any of this would’ve happened in years past and that’s what has me encouraged.

CAN THE NEXT STEP BE TAKEN?
This roster has potential, and the program definitely appears headed in the right direction BUT.

*The schedule is going to get very difficult with upcoming games against Beaver, Avonworth and later with Central Valley and North Catholic. Hopewell will be heavy underdogs in those games. How will they respond if losing takes place? Can they stay competitive and still find ways to improve despite the final score of the game?

*In order to take the next step in growing this program, EVERYONE INVOLVED needs to develop a “We Not Me Mentality.

What’s that mean? People can’t worry and be bothered by who gets the attention and the headlines. If that becomes an issue, then Hopewell has zero chance to grow as a program. We should embrace individual success and not treat it like a negative.

It’s way of life and it happens in every sport, certain people, certain positions are going to get noticed more. In winning programs, that isn’t an issue. It should be about team and not individual glory. If you have the choice of scoring 2 TD’s or run for 100 yards or get 4 sacks OR instead have your team win and you pick the individual stats, you’re probably not a good fit for this program.

THE FUTURE
I’m not going to sit here and forecast Hopewell to return to be playing in the WPIAL Championship Game in the next couple of years, but I do believe that this team has a chance to be competitive and get to the playoffs soon.

If everything goes right, I think the Vikings have a chance to earn 5 wins this season, which would be their most since 2016 and a hell of a season. Regardless, in all likelihood, they’ll be finishing with their best record since at least 2017. That’s a sign of improvement.

Next season will be their chance to take a big step because the large majority of this team will be returning and is when they’ll have a chance to make some noise.

Before that happens, a foundation needs to be laid, and all signs are indicating that’s happening this year.

The big question is can and will everyone involved in the program do what’s necessary to make Hopewell a consistent winner?  Time will tell.