Playoffs a Possibility for 2024 Hopewell Vikings

“PLAYOFFS??”

Prior to the start of the 2024 season, if you’d have included the word playoffs in the same sentence with the Hopewell Vikings football team, someone would have called you crazy.

Thanks to a lot of hard work and dedication by everyone in the Vikings program, that once thought unattainable goal is within reach.

Yes, with 3 games left in the regular season, Hopewell has a path to the playoffs.

If the Vikings are able to win one of their remaining three games (Freeport, Central Valley or North Catholic), we believe that Hopewell will qualify for the playoffs.

Although this will be difficult, the fact that it’s even a possibility is a testament to the job Coach Mottes has done in his first year as a head coach.

Regardless of if they’re able to accomplish this tremendous feat, the progress has been undeniable.

Total Points Scored: 

2024 season (7 games): 208

2023 season: 135

2022 season: 150

2021 season: 50 points

Hopewell Sports Nation had the opportunity to talk with Coach Mottes about his team and his pride in this group was evident.

“It shows that they can overcome adversity,” said Mottes. “We had a couple of bad weeks in a row with Beaver and Avonworth but we’ve pulled it together and have won two straight games. I think that it’s a testament to how these kids worked in the offseason with lifting, conditioning and installs. All the hard work and preparation is starting to pay off.”

“After we lost to Avonworth, we declared a new season and told the boys it’s one game at a time. If you keep winning, we can make the playoffs. They’ve taken that to heart, went out and won two straight games and we hope to make it three.”

Ask a head coach in any sport and all they want are meaningful games at the end of a season. To the surprise of everyone expect this Hopewell coaching staff, this team has just that.

“Not really. Getting to know our kids, they had a will to win and a will to get better,” said Mottes. “I expected us to be competitive and we’ve been able to pull out a few tight games, especially that Ambridge game. To be honest, this is what I expect out of them. We come out with the mindset that we can beat any opponent on any given night. That’s our expectation.”

Preparation for the Freeport game started on Saturday morning. However, I asked Mottes if the word ‘playoff’ has been brought up to the players.

“One of the things that we’ve been talking about the past few weeks is legacy,” said Mottes. “How will you be remembered after this season. This team has the opportunity to be the team that turns Hopewell football around. To go from 0-10, 3-7, 2-8, 1-9 or whatever they’ve been in the past handful of years to a possible 6-4, 5-5 team and breaking a 12-year playoff drought gets the kids motivated.”

“Everyone wants to leave with a positive legacy, especially guys like Thomas Pipkins and Hank Berner, it means a lot to them. It resonates with them that we can be the class that everyone remembers that turned this program around.”

Friday’s game against Freeport will be the last home game of the season. It would be tremendous if the team played in front of a packed Tony Dorsett Stadium for this huge game.